Amazon, who made its reputation on offering deals, is now quietly dropping list prices from its items. The new model is that Amazon does not have to entice customers anymore because they will buy anyway. Questions: 1. When did Amazon begin as a company? 2. When did the company begin dropping list prices? 3. Why… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Financial Accounting
Free Ink! Benefit, advertising, or what?
According to chief executive of “& pizza,” Michael Lastoria, he now foots the bill for any worker — and the occasional customer — who wants to get inked with the company’s logo. Mr. Lastoria says that paying for tattoos is just another way of showing employees that he welcomes their ideas. Questions: 1. What does… Read more »
Phased out in your lifetime????
According to the New York Times, millions of customers at such banks as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, currently log into their bank accounts through their mobile phones using their fingerprints. Introduced in the last few months, this feature enables a huge share of American banking customers to verify their identities with… Read more »
Is this Really a Good Thing?
According to the New York Times, private equity firms have increasingly been taking over public services, like emergency care and firefighting, often with dire effects. Questions: 1. What are the factors that private equity firms apply to public services that put these arrangements into jeopardy? 2. About how many Americans work for companies owned by… Read more »
That’s Billion with a “B!”
According to the Washington Post, the IRS paid $3.1 billion in bogus tax refunds in 2014 due to ID theft. Yes, that’s billion with a “B.” Questions: 1. How many individual tax returns did the IRS process in 2015? 2. What percentage and amount did the IRS identify as fraudulent claims before it paid them?… Read more »
Beat the Clock!
Due to the slow transition to chip credit cards by U.S. retailers, counterfeit credit card fraud will likely rise to $4.5 billion this year. Questions: 1. What percentage rise will this year see as compared to last year’s credit card fraud? 2. Why are these thefts hurting retailers rather than issuing banks? 3. According to… Read more »
Walmart vs. Amazon: A Grocery War?
Questions: 1. Do you see this as a competition between Walmart and Amazon? Why or why not and are there any other players in the grocery war? 2. According to the video, why didn’t Walmart just create their own logistical team rather than use Uber and Lyft? 3. Would you be willing to pay $7… Read more »
Who’s asset is it?
If a person who uses a prepaid debit credit card gets pulled over in Oklahoma, he/she now runs the risk that police can take all of the money loaded onto the card without arresting the person or even obtaining a warrant. Questions: 1. What do the devices purchased by the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety… Read more »
Mutual Funds Extinct?
According to Matt Turner at Business Insider, passive investing is taking over the money-management world through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which simply track an index. Questions: 1. What are some of the advantages of ETFs for investors? 2. During April in the U.S., what amount of money was tied up in ETFs? And according to Credit… Read more »
Cher sues to recover from financial firm over “rosy projections!”
Cher claims Sail Venture Partners and several of its principals defrauded investors to rake in millions in management fees, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in L.A. County Superior Court. Questions: 1. When did this happen? 2. What did the managers do with the money? 3. Based on the information in the article, what do… Read more »