What killed Lehman

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  Failings by Lehman Brothers executives and its auditor led to the bank collapse that unleashed the worst of the financial crisis, according to a report by a court-appointed investigator.

Source: CNNMoney.com
 
Date: 03/12/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/12/news/companies/lehman_examiner/index.htm

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the findings in the report?
  • Who do you believe is mostly to blame for the failure of Lehman?
  • Do you believe government should regulate the financial services industry more?

Rampaging Toyotas obscure highway safety strides

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  For drivers living in fear of the rabid Toyotas prowling America’s roadways, the horse-and-buggy era is looking pretty good. But, in reality, there has never been a safer time to get behind the wheel. According to data released Thursday from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the fatality rate on the nation’s roads fell in 2009 to its lowest level ever — 1.16 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.25 per 100 million in 2008.

Source: Marketwatch.com
 
Date: 03/12/2010

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rampaging-toyotas-obscure-highway-safety-strides-2010-03-11?siteid=nwtwk

Questions for discussion:

  • Why do you think the public perception of automobile safety is so lopsided?
  • Do you believe the recent negative publicity that has generated this fear will fade away quickly?
  • How can the industry respond to the publicity?

How Men’s Overconfidence Hurts Them as Investors

Posted by & filed under Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: MEN and women invest differently, a growing body of research has found. And in at least one important respect, women may be better at it.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 03/12/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/business/14mark.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • How are men and women investors different from each other?
  • What lessons are there that each gender can learn from the other?
  • What lessons are there here for investment dealers?

Great Time to Buy (Famous Last Words)

Posted by & filed under Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: “IT’S a great time to buy a home.” Real estate agents were saying that in 2001, as home prices were rising. They also said it when home prices peaked in 2005 — in fact, David Lereah, former chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, published a book that year titled “Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?” And many real estate agents said it was time to buy as prices began to drop — and continued to say it over the past several years as prices fell by an average of 33 percent in America’s 20 largest cities.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 03/12/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/business/14every.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the arguments for and against buying a house.
  • What are the key measurements that should help guide an evaluation of the best time to buy?
  • How do you think house prices will behave over the next five years in your region?

Online video saves business big bucks

Posted by & filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information.

Description:  Web-conferencing software and cheap digital video cameras are reducing the need for costly business travel.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
 
Date: 03/04/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/03/04/tm_video_conference.fortune/

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the arguments presented favouring the growth of online video.
  • What are the reasons for consumer use of online video?
  • How does this compare to business market use of online video?
  • Which market do you believe will grow faster?
  • How does this product compare to the adoption of cell-phone technology?

Madoff whistleblower blames regulators

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  Harry Markopolos, independent financial fraud investigator, says SEC regulators are at fault for failing to protect investors.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
 
Date: 03/02/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/03/02/n_ss_markopolos_reg.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you agree with the arguments presented that explain the fraud?
  • Do you believe government should regulate the financial services industry more? Explain your thinking.

A fresh (and cheap!) sound for TV soundtracks

Posted by & filed under Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Like many aspiring rock stars, Jared Gutstadt, 32, used to split his life in half. He held down a day job editing television shows for clients like Disney, MTV and VH1. He kept his nights free for what he really wanted to do: make music.

Source: CNNMoney.com
 
Date: 03/02/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/02/smallbusiness/jingle_punks/index.htm

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the business model and why it works.
  • How is this  a good example of small business carving out a specialized niche in the online-search marketplace?

Getting Older Without Getting Old

Posted by & filed under Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: FACEBOOK now has more than 400 million active users, up from only 50 million as recently as 2007. If social networking still resembled a young, hip downtown nightclub scene — one day a site is hot, the next it’s not — we might expect the crowds to decamp soon. Facebook would become another Friendster, still around but ghostly, forgotten by most.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 03/05/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/business/07digi.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the ongoing success of FaceBook.com.
  • Do you believe this business model is sustainable?
  • How can FaceBook increase revenues?

Will ‘fun factor’ or mandates drive electric car sales?

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: If the green-tech industry had its equivalent of the iPhone, it would be the electric car, a product that has cachet with consumers. But it’s still unclear what will drive sales of plug-ins: will it be consumers willing to pay more for a greener ride or government mandates for fuel efficiency?

Source: CNET.com

Date: 03/06/2010

Link:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10465134-54.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Questions for discussion:

  • What do you think will drive sales of electric vehicles?
  • Do you believe that “green” vehicles will eventually become more common than regular automobiles?
  • How much more do you believe the “green-customer” would be willing to pay over the price of a conventional automobile of the same model?

Is Dell salvageable?

Posted by & filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  Computer maker’s shares fall more than 5% after the company reports a drop in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
 
Date: 02/26/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/02/23/f_tm_dell_hp.fortune/

Questions for discussion:

  • Why is Dell’s stock value falling?
  • What would management have to do in order to improve profits?
  • Is Dell a good candidate for merger or acquisition with another firm? Explain your thinking.
  • Who might be interested in merging with Dell?