Description:  In 2007, Brazilian geologists made the biggest oil find in the Americas in three decades. Buried more than five miles below sea-level, the discovery was estimated to raise the country’s crude reserves by 62 percent. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 03/13/2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-13/brazil-faces-new-oil-boom-curse-as-the-world-s-resource-engine.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the issues raised in the article about resource based… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Governments & Regulators
End of Days for Independent Pharmacies?
Description:Â Â When patients arrive at Woods Pharmacy & Prescription in Mountain View, Ark., pharmacist Dana Woods greets them by name. In a town of 3,000, where Woods has owned the $2 million pharmacy and soda fountain for 26 years, he usually also knows their parents, their children, and their medications. Source:Â Businessweek.com Date: 03/08/2012 Link:Â … Read more »
Raining on Facebook’s IPO
Description: Fortune’s Allan Sloan says Facebook’s IPO is full of the same hypocrisy, hype and arrogance found in most Wall Street offerings. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 02/17/2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/02/16/t_sloan_facebook_ipo.fortune/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the opinions presented by Allan Sloan. Do you agree with his views?
Soros: Deregulation led to collapse
Description: Billionaire George Soros says deregulation of the private sector allowed the financial system to grow like a cancer until it collapsed. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 02/13/2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/02/13/n_soros_obama_regulations.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the opinions presented by George Soros. Do you agree with his opinions?
Auto Makers Target Indonesia for Expansion
Description: Indonesia is being embraced as a major expansion market for car manufacturers, but will the country’s infrastructure bottlenecks hinder their progress? WSJ’s Deborah Kan discusses with Eric Bellman. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 02/10/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/auto-makers-target-indonesia-for-expansion/9A237207-68FA-4E09-B687-3D0E83588FE6 Questions for discussion: Describe the connection between corporate investing and government investing in infrastructure? What are the… Read more »
Why Cisco parks $43 billion overseas
Description:   Cisco’s John Chambers says the 33% tax rate on foreign profits prevents companies from repatriating the money and creating jobs. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 01/26/2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/01/26/n_davos_chambers_investment.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Where are Cisco’s profits invested in today’s global economy? How is this issue a business, economic, and political issue? Is there a… Read more »
Why you shouldn’t blame ETFs for wild markets
Description:Â Critics say the popular funds are causing stocks to swing wildly together. Finding proof is another matter. Source: Fortune.com Date: 01/27/2012 Link:Â http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/27/etfs-market-swings/?iid=SF_F_Lead Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons ETFs are blamed. Do you agree with these views?
How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work
Description: When Barack Obama joined Silicon Valley’s top luminaries for dinner in California last February, each guest was asked to come with a question for the president. But as Steven P. Jobs of Apple spoke,President Obama interrupted with an inquiry of his own: what would it take to make iPhones in the United States? Source: … Read more »
Bank investors better get used to low returns
Description:Â Reduced risk has translated into a return on shareholder’s equity that’s more akin to a sleepy regulated utility than a top investment firm. Source: Fortune.com Date: 01/20/2012 Link:Â http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/20/bank-earnings-shareholder-return/?iid=SF_F_Lead Questions for discussion: Why are bank stock returns expected to be reduced? Do you agree with the explanation?
New Normal on Wall Street: Smaller and Restrained
Description:Â With firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reporting weak results for last year, Wall Street is having to confront doubts about itself. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 01/19/2012 Link:Â http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/the-new-normal-on-wall-st-smaller-and-restrained/?ref=business Questions for discussion: Summarize the key points presented in the report. Do you agree with these assessments? Is this a good or bad scenario, in… Read more »
