Disney, China Will Invest $4.4 Billion in Shanghai Resort

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Description: Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and its state-owned China partner will invest about $4.4 billion building a resort in Shanghai, the entertainment company’s second amusement park in the world’s most-populous nation. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 04/08/2011 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-08/disney-breaks-ground-on-4-4-billion-shanghai-resort-in-china-market-drive.html Questions for discussion: Do you think Disney will do well with this venture? What are the factors supporting… Read more »

The Megabus Effect

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  Description: After decades of decline, the bus is the U.S.’s fastest-growing way to travel, led by curbside service from Megabus, BoltBus, and others. Source: Businessweek.com Date: 04/07/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_16/b4224062391848.htm Questions for discussion: What does this report have to say about the current business models for transportation? What are the competitive advantages for this firm?… Read more »

TV ads targeted to you

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Description:   Information sent from your cable box about your viewing habits allows advertisers to target ads more effectively. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 03/30/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/03/30/t_tv_advertising_target.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion:  Do you think television viewers will collaborate with the effort to deliver smarter advertising to them? What incentives could encourage compliance? Why is this technology… Read more »

How E-Books Are Coming Full Circle, Thanks to Tablets

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Description:  E-readers may evolve into multipurpose devices that can surf the Web, show movies, play music, and perform other tricks Source: Businessweek.com Date: 03/28/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2011/tc20110325_523054.htm Questions for discussion:  What does this report have to say about the evolution of ebooks and the related technologies? Where do you think this will all lead in terms… Read more »

Moving boxes made of recycled trash

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Description:   One company in Orange County, Calif., mines landfills and converts consumer trash into reusable, eco-friendly moving boxes. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 03/25/2011 Link:   http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2011/03/24/sbiz_green_box.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion:  What are the ethical and social responsibility issues associated with this business from the company’s point of view as well as their customers’? Should government… Read more »

Remembering the Triangle Fire 100 years later

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Description: As labor unions battle to retain collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states, they are marking the centennial of a tragic factory fire that started the movement that first won those rights. Source:  CNNMoney.com Date: 03/25/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/24/news/Triangle_fire_centennial/index.htm Questions for discussion:  Summarize the details of this event. How has it come to influence… Read more »

No Buyers for Barnes & Noble at 60 Cents on Dollar: Real M&A

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Description:  Even with Barnes & Noble Inc. selling for 60 cents on the dollar, the cheapest retailer in America still isn’t cheap enough to entice private-equity buyers looking for cash. Source: Businessweek.com Date: 03/25/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-25/no-buyers-for-barnes-noble-at-60-cents-on-dollar-real-m-a.html Questions for discussion:  What does this report have to say about the financial viability of this business model? What… Read more »

Japan quake threatens global supply

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Description:   Some say the quake’s hit to Japan’s manufacturing sector will have a profound impact on the global supply chain, CNN’s Kyung Lah reports. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 03/18/2011 Link:   http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/03/18/n_japan_supplychain.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion:  What does this report have to say about the global nature of business? How might businesses be expected to… Read more »

Apple, Google May Profit on a Tax Holiday

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Description: Those companies and others say they’ll bring home billions in earnings—but only if they get a big tax break Source:  Businessweek.com Date: 03/17/2011 Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_13/b4221064108107.htm Questions for discussion:  Summarize the basic arguments surrounding this topic. What are the factors favoring allowing tax-free repatriation and those against?

How the Colonel Convinced the Chinese to Eat More Chicken — Lots of It

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Description:  KFC’s success in opening and operating fast food restaurants in China is such that one analyst declared it to be “the most successful foreign company in China.” Now, here’s one of the broader effects of that achievement — a huge surge in chicken consumption among the Chinese. Source: BNET.com Date: 03/18/2011 Link: http://www.bnet.com/blog/food-industry/how-the-colonel-convinced-the-chinese-to-eat-more-chicken-8212-lots-of-it/2733?tag=fd-featureRoto;fd-featureRoto5 Questions… Read more »