Warren Buffett is paying a hefty price for the biggest bet of his career as his Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) has agreed to buy Precision Castparts Corp (PCP.N), valuing the maker of aerospace and other parts at $32.3 billion. Questions: 1. According to the article, Berkshire’s new deal joins a foray of companies within other… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Video Updates
Hard Times in TeslaLand? A New Type of Company, for Sure!
The Silicon Valley automaker is losing more than $4,000 on every Model S electric sedan it sells, using its reckoning of operating losses, and it burned $359 million in cash last quarter in a bull market for luxury vehicles. The company on Wednesday cut its production targets for this year and next. (As an aside:… Read more »
A Good Thing or A Bad Thing? WOW!
Three months ago, Dan Price announced he was setting a new minimum salary of $70,000 at his Seattle credit card processing firm, Gravity Payments, and slashing his own million-dollar pay package to do it. The result has been turmoil, both internally and externally. Questions: 1. What new costs has Mr. Price faced since his announcement… Read more »
Corporate Culture Sinks the Firm
The chief executive of Toshiba and two of his predecessors resigned, along with several lesser executives, over accusations that they drove the company to overstate its earnings by $1.2 billion over the last seven years. The figure is equal to about a third of the pretax profits that Toshiba reported during that period. Questions: 1…. Read more »
Well-Oiled Machine? Well – Maybe Not!
United and Continental closed their merger in 2010 and created what was then the world’s largest airline. After nearly 5 years, executives are still working to integrate United Continental Holdings into a single company—and struggling with some high-profile operational and customer service problems. Questions: 1. What types of customer service and employee problems have plagued… Read more »
Bye-bye Loopholes! You will be missed!
Keep an eye out for three retirement loopholes that the government may close shortly. They have become increasingly popular as financial advisers have learned how to exploit kinks in the law. Questions: 1. Who benefits from the Back-door Roth IRA conversions and how does this work? 2. What bothers lawmakers about “the stretch IRA?” 3…. Read more »
More Woes in Greece
Greece will close its banks on Monday to try to avert financial collapse. The anticipated closure is expected to last about a week. This temporary decision was made along with keeping the stock market closed on Monday after the European Central Bank said it would not expand an emergency loan program to prop up Greek… Read more »
Unlimited Data Slowdown at AT&T
The FCC accused AT&T of improperly slowing down Internet speeds for customers who had signed up for “unlimited” data plans and imposed a $100 million fine on June 17. Questions: 1. How long has this practice been impacting customers? 2. Has the company violated FCC rules for similar issues prior to this current one? 3…. Read more »
Uber: Employees or Contractors?
The California Labor Commission has found that a driver for Uber in San Francisco is an employee of the company. Questions: 1. Why is this such a nightmare for Uber? 2. Discuss how this will change the company’s accounting system and business model if this ruling is upheld and the costs involved. 3. The article… Read more »
New Study on Hospital Costs
Twenty of the 50 U.S. hospitals that charge the most for their services are located in Florida — and all but one of them are for-profit, according to a study released Monday. Questions: 1. Which facility is at the top of the list for charging the most and how many times more do uninsured patients… Read more »