Description: Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics chain, swung to a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by charges and lower sales of notebook computers and televisions. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 03/30/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/best-buy-swings-to-loss-to-shut-50-stores-2012-03-29?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons for Best Buy’s financial problems. Do you think they can be resolved easily? What are the arguments for… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Management Issues
Apple becomes a portfolio must-have stock
Description:Â Now that it will start paying a regular dividend, Apple Inc. has become a must-have for portfolio managers with blue-chip stocks in their investment funds. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 03/20/2012 Link:Â http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-becomes-a-portfolio-must-have-stock-2012-03-20?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons given for such positive endorsement of Apple. Do you agree with the assessments? What are risks associated… Read more »
Goodbye to Goldman: Will Blankfein Be Next?
Description: Some day, when they write the definitive history ofGoldman Sachs (GS), Wall Street’s 143-year-old warehouser of brass rings, the date March 14, 2012, will stand in infamy. If you haven’t already heard, that’s when Greg Smith, an executive with the bank in London, resigned with guns a-blazing, in a corporate revenge fantasy worthy of… Read more »
Investing in Foreclosures: How One Company Does It
Description: Buying foreclosures to turn them into rental properties is tricky business. Mack Companies, a Chicago real-estate firm, invests in about one out of every 40 homes it inspects. MarketWatch’s Amy Hoak looks at why some make the cut and others don’t. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 02/03/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/investing-in-foreclosures-how-one-company-does-it/08159368-9CE4-4D5C-BE15-1DD13BC08DF8 Questions for discussion: Describe… 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 »
Weidner: There’s a Rotten Side to Apple’s Success
Description: Marketwatch’s David Weidner makes a stop on Mean Street to point out that amid all of Apple’s recently reported financial successes, there is a familiar dark side to all the good news. Photo: Reuters. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 01/26/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/weidner-there-a-rotten-side-to-apple-success/595D3920-BA75-44B6-9C8D-E33B59F12A13 Questions for discussion: Summarize the criticisms levied against Apple? Are they… 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 »
How Nike keeps running up profits
Description:   With the stock up 120% in the last three years, Nike pushes more retail in emerging markets. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 01/20/2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/01/20/n_nike_china_oil.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Why are inventories a concern for a company like Nike? Do you think the growth prospects are good for the company? What level of growth… 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?
