Description: Remember the closing days of the 2012 presidential campaign when Mitt Romney ran that explosive ad suggesting Chrysler was going to stop building Jeeps in Ohio and move production to China? Source: Businessweek.com Date: Mar 14, 2014 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-14/the-jeep-plant-mitt-romney-said-was-moving-to-china-is-hiring-1-000-workers-in-ohio Questions for Discussions: What is the message in this report for investors? Why would Chrysler… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Financial Planning
Can’t Get a Bank Loan? The Alternatives Are Expanding
Description: Ivan Rincon’s products may have been skimpy, but he was convinced his growth prospects were not. Orchid Boutique, the online swimwear shop he founded six years ago in Miami with his wife, Mayra, was approaching $3 million in annual sales. It had been profitable since 2010, he said, with margins that ran between 10… Read more »
Buffett: We’d like to own more of Heinz
Description: Warren Buffett may end up putting more money into ketchup maker Heinz. Source: Fortune.com Date: Feb 28, 2014 Link: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2014/03/01/buffett-heinz/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the highlights presented in this report. Do you think the investment in Heinz was a good one? Would you be buying more?
Fed transcripts: Bernanke chose to let Lehman fail
Description: FORTUNE — September 15, 2008 was a watershed moment for the financial crisis that consigned much of the world to an economic malaise from which we are still recovering. That day, government officials hastily arranged a sale of investment bank Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, while another bank — Lehman Brothers — was… Read more »
Why Did Apple Buy Back $14B of Stock?
Description: Bloomberg’s Paul Sweeney reports on Apple’s stock buyback on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg) Source: Bloomberg.com – video report Date: Feb 07, 2014 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-02-07/why-did-apple-buy-14b-of-its-own-stock#r=nav-f-video Questions for Discussions: Summarize the interpretations of Apple’s decisions to buy back shares. What do growth investors prefer to see at tech companies? Why do you think Apple… Read more »
Rocky day for Ken and Barbie
Description: Shares of Mattel were pummeled after the toy maker reported a surprising drop in sales during the holiday shopping season. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Jan 31, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2014/01/31/investing-the-buzz-mattel-toys-barbie-american-girl-disney.cnnmoney/index.html Questions for Discussions: What is the connection between the stock market price of Mattel shares and sales performance during the holiday period? Why… Read more »
Obama’s Keystone Options Shrink as State Downplays Impact
Description: President Barack Obama is in no hurry to decide whether construction of TransCanada Corp.’s $5.4 billion Keystone XL pipeline serves U.S. national interests, the next step in measuring its worthiness. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Jan 31, 2014 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-31/obama-s-keystone-options-shrink-as-state-downplays-impact.html Questions for Discussions: Summarize the state of affairs surrounding the Keystone project to date. Why is… Read more »
Big Oil Has Big Problems
Description: Some of the world’s largest oil companies are reporting pretty ugly earnings. Profits at Exxon Mobil (XOM), the biggest U.S. oil company, are down 27 percent off its worst fourth-quarter earnings in four years. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B), Europe’s biggest oil major, saw its profits tumble 48 percent. Source: Businessweek.com Date: Jan 31, 2014… Read more »
Railroads look at liquefied natural gas to power locomotives
Description: The diesel-burning locomotive, the workhorse of American railroads since World War II, will soon begin burning natural gas — a potentially historic shift that could cut fuel costs, reduce pollution and strengthen the advantage railroads hold over trucks in long-haul shipping. Source: Star-telegram.com Date: Jan 25, 2014 Link: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/01/25/5511561/railroads-look-at-liqufied-natural.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy Questions for Discussions: Do you… Read more »
Starbucks Just Sold $1.4 Billion in Gift Cards. What Did It Do With That Cash?
Description: Starbucks (SBUX) is slowly adding a shot of banking to its grande coffee empire. As customers pour money into its gift cards and its mobile-payment app, the Seattle-based company is booking a tidy profit simply by holding onto customers’ cash. Source: Businessweek.com Date: Jan 24, 2014 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-24/starbucks-just-sold-1-dot-4-billion-in-gift-cards-dot-what-did-it-do-with-that-cash#r=hpt-ls Questions for Discussions: How does this… Read more »
