Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Economic Analysis, Industry Analysis, Management Issues.

Description: An investment frenzy over “generative artificial intelligence” has gripped Silicon Valley, as tools that generate text, images and sounds in response to short prompts seize the imagination.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: Jan 07, 2023

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/07/technology/generative-ai-chatgpt-investments.html?

Questions for discussion:

  • Why is there so much excitement about this latest development in AI technology?
  • What are some of the potential product applications?
  • Can some of these become disruptors in an industry?

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Financial analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: The stock and bond market could handle a much more aggressive Fed than expected, strategists argue

Source: MarketWatch.com

Date: Dec 08, 2022

Link: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jpmorgan-looks-at-an-armageddon-scenario-of-the-fed-jacking-rates-up-to-6-5-its-conclusion-may-be-a-surprise-11670507441

Questions for discussion:

  • What is the basis for this argument?
  • Do you agree with this assessment?
  • What do you think the Fed will do over the next few months and what should investors do?

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Financial analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: As 2023 approaches and the prospect of a recession looms, corporate America is preparing for a slowdown in consumer spending. CEOs of major companies including Walmart and General Motors joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday morning to talk inflation, interest rates, geopolitics and what it all means for their outlooks in the new year. Here’s what they said:

Source: CNBC.com – video report

Date: Dec 06, 2022

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/06/recession-walmart-jpmorgan-gm-ceos-talk-about-possible-slowdown.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the opinions presented in this report.
  • Do you agree with the rationale?

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Financial analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: There’s a strong possibility that the bear market in stocks is over as investors have given up hope

Source: MarketWatch.com

Date: Dec 03, 2022

Link: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/theres-a-strong-possibility-that-the-bear-market-in-stocks-is-over-as-investors-have-given-up-hope-11669999664

Questions for discussion:

  • What is the basis for this opinion?
  • Do you agree with the analysis?

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Financial analysis, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Management Issues, Personal Finance.

Description: Yahoo Finance Live checks out Lululemon shares following its latest earnings report and removal from analysts’ conviction buy list.

Source: Yahoo.Finance.com – video report

Date: Dec 09, 2022

Link: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/video/lululemon-stock-drops-following-earnings-205747786.html?contentType=VIDEO

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the analysis presented concerning the firm.
  • Is this a good buying opportunity for investors?

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Growth & Valuation, Management Issues, Personal Finance.

Description: The recent Bentley-Gallup Force for Good study found that most Americans are willing to pay a premium for products from companies that have a reputation for doing good. Specifically, majorities of at least 60% said they would be willing to pay extra for a simple consumer good — a T-shirt — if the company that made it was known for making a positive difference in four specific areas.

Source: Gallup.com

Date: Dec 07, 2022

Link: https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/405794/shoppers-reward-companies-doing-good.aspx

Questions for discussion:

  • What does the research say about consumer decisions and management strategies?
  • How should companies use this information, in your opinion, to advance the firm’s brand?

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Economic Analysis, Financial Planning, Governments & Regulators, Industry Analysis, Management Issues, Personal Finance.

Description: CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple will buy U.S.-made microchips at an event in Arizona on Tuesday, where President Joe Biden also spoke.

Source: CNBC.com – video report

Date: Dec 06, 2022

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/06/tim-cook-says-apple-will-use-chips-built-in-the-us-at-arizona-factory.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.Mail

Questions for discussion:

  • Why is Apple doing this?
  • What are the implications for future global supply channels?
  • What does this decision signal to other industries, in your opinion?

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Financial analysis, Financial Planning, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: In the first session of this year’s Beyond Business discussion series, Wharton professors Michael Roberts and Daniel Taylor explored how analytics is influencing the field of finance, bringing new efficiencies while creating new challenges.

Source: knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu – video report

Date: Nov 29, 2022

Link: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-analytics-is-changing-finance/?utm_campaign=KatW2022&utm_medium=email&utm_source=kw_campaign_monitor&utm_term=11-30-2022&utm_content=How_Analytics_Is_Changing_Finance

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key points made in this report.
  • Do you agree with this analysis and assessment?

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Financial analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: Survey shows investors re-entering the market despite recession concerns

Source: Investopedia.com

Date: Dec 01, 2022

Link: https://www.investopedia.com/investors-cozy-back-up-to-stocks-as-recession-fears-loom-6834242

Questions for discussion:

  • What does the research say about current investor intentions and attitude toward stock market investing?
  • How, in your opinion, should this research be interpreted and applied by investors in their own decision-making?

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Growth & Valuation, Management Issues, Personal Finance.

Description: Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #855. The recently released book, Hangry, is a humorous, rags-to-riches, cautionary tale about Mike Evans, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who founded GrubHub in his basement and expanded it into the multi-billion dollar online food delivery colossus. Hungry and tired one night, Mike wanted a pizza, but getting a pizza delivered was a pain in the neck. He didn’t want to call a million restaurants to see what was open. So, as an avid coder, he created GrubHub in his spare bedroom to figure out who delivered to his apartment. Then, armed with a $140 check from his first customer and ignoring his crushing college debt he quit his job. Over the next decade, Mike grew GrubHub into the world’s premier online ordering website. In doing so, he entered the company of an elite few entrepreneurs to take a startup from an idea all the way to an IPO. GrubHub’s journey from Mike’s bedroom to Wall Street doesn’t fMit into how business schools teach entrepreneurship. With a razor-sharp wit, Mike reveals surprising insights about how people approach food, and hard-won truths about how startups succeed — and even harder-won truths about how startups fail. Shocking everyone, at the pinnacle of startup success, Mike left it all behind, quitting the company he started to bike across the United States in search of balance. But eventually, the grand vistas of America bring the lessons of the past into focus, driving the realization that for entrepreneurs a hunger for success doesn’t end, and he starts another company, even more ambitious than the first. The company is Fixer. Fixer is an on-demand handyperson service. The key to the business is that the fixers are W-2 employees with benefits, trained from scratch in-house. Their goal is to reboot trade education in the United States. Enjoy the conversation…

Source: SixPixels.com – podcast

Date: Nov 27, 2022

Link: https://www.sixpixels.com/podcast/archives/spos-855-mike-evans-on-the-startup-journey/

Questions for discussion:

  • What does the discussion say to investors looking for indicators of entrepreneurial leadership?
  • What are those characteristics, in your opinion?