This New York Times article exposes a growing industry that makes money by coaxing women into having surgery — sometimes unnecessarily — so that they are more lucrative plaintiffs in lawsuits against medical device manufacturers. Questions: 1. What is the role of lawyers in this industry? 2. What is the role of marketers in this… Read more »
Posts Categorized: All Articles
Big Bad Pharma
According to the New York Times, Trump administration officials are seeking ways to lower drug costs but target pharmaceutical companies that refuse to provide samples of their products to generic drug companies, making it impossible to create inexpensive generic copies of a brand-name medicine. Questions: 1. Argue both sides of this issue as a good… Read more »
They’re back!
According to CNN, shares of BlackBerry (BB) were up in early trading Wednesday after the company reported earnings and sales that topped forecasts, led by growth in its software and services business. Questions: 1. Why is this such big news? 2. How is the company making a big bunch of their money? 3. What has… Read more »
Enough to eat?
According to the Washington Post, researchers at Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab found that 36 percent of students at 66 surveyed colleges and universities do not get enough to eat, and a similar number lack a secure place to live. Questions: 1. What do the researchers blame the problem on? 2. What does… Read more »
Time for PAWternity leave
Raising a puppy can be hard work. It turns out that some companies sympathise with this transition and now offer what’s known as “pawternity leave.” In fact, research from Petplan found that 5% of owners have been offered paid leave from their job to adjust to their pet owning duties. Questions: 1. How much time… Read more »
DMX’s attorney cannot persuade the judge to go light on the tax fraud
Rapper DMX’s attorney played the rapper’s song “Slippin’” during his sentencing on Wednesday to help the musician express his struggles, but it was not enough to convince a judge to let the rapper off the hook. Instead DMX got 1 year in prison for tax fraud. Questions: 1. According to court records, how long did… Read more »
The Top Frauds of 2017
Monica Vaca, the Associate Director of the Division of Consumer Response and Operations at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just released the results from last year regarding the top frauds of 2017. Topping the list of reported frauds are the imposter scams, with nearly 350,000 reported. Questions: 1. How many people fell for someone pretending… Read more »
Big Time Food Stamp Fraud
Sheriff Mike Williams of Jacksonville, Florida, announced Tuesday the results of a multi-agency, undercover investigation into the exchange of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for cash and, in at least one case, cocaine. Questions: 1. From 2012 to 2017, how many food stamp transactions were fraudulent in Jacksonville and what was the dollar amount?… Read more »
Cyclic Component of the Labor Force Participation Rate
According to Bloomberg, U.S. central bankers seem to feel that when it comes to employment, they’ve done about as much as they can. As a result, the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy Report (released last week) concluded that the labor market was “at or a little beyond full employment.” Questions: 1. If you boil the whole… Read more »
Bitcoin Investment Fads
According to Bloomberg.com, Bitcoin began the week on a down note, declining as much as 8.7 percent and pushing the biggest cryptocurrency’s decline for March to about 25 percent. Questions: 1. Who has confirmed that it will ban Bitcoin offering advertisements? 2. How is the SEC involved with Bitcoin in recent weeks? 3. Why have… Read more »