A Yeezy Problem?

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According to the Washington Post, Adidas has more than $500 million of Kanye West sneakers, with no good options for getting rid of them. (See the video for new developments.)

Questions:

  1. What cost Kanye West most of his empire of wealth and fame?
  2. When did Adidas end its relationship with Kanye?
  3. What other celebrity was mentioned in this article that cost another shoe company millions of dollars and why?
  4. What other fashion brands have received negative press because they destroyed their own merchandise (by burning) to preserve their brand?
  5. What option was mentioned at the end of the article that might allow Adidas to gain a bit of goodwill from the bad Kanye situation?
  6. How do you feel about the agreement mentioned in the video? What are the ethical issues?

Source:

Mark, J. (2023). Adidas has $500 million worth of Kanye West sneakers and no good options. The Washington Post, Feb. 27 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/02/27/yeezy-adidas-shoe-sales/)

The Bond Documents Tell the Story

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Pharell Williams, Grammy-winning singer and producer, pitched his idea for a surf park in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia in 2017. Now there’s a bit of action on the long-awaited project.

Questions:

  1. Why does the article explain that this is an important deal to watch?
  2. How big is the surf park and what is it called?
  3. What type of bonds are being sold to finance the deal?

Source:

Smith, A.N. (2023) Pharrell Williams-Backed Surf Park to Tap $121 Million of Bonds. The Washington Post, Jan. 31 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/pharrell-williams-backed-surf-park-to-tap-121-million-of-bonds/2023/01/27/dc6b7184-9e6b-11ed-93e0-38551e88239c_story.html)

Now Your Free Perks Are Going to Cost More!

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According to the New York Times, recent changes to restaurant rewards programs at places like Dunkin’ and Starbucks mean that customers must pay more before their perks kick in.

Questions:

  1. Why are these restaurants are changing up the rewards programs?
  2. What caused Dunkin’ to draw criticism across social media when it made changes to its loyalty program in October?
  3. When Chipotle changed their rewards program, how much more did it require loyalty customers to spend in order to get a free burrito?

Source:

Creswell, J. (2023) Restaurant Chains Make It Cost More to Be Loyal. The New York Times, Feb. 28 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/business/restaurant-reward-programs.html)

Dilbert Canceled By Many Newspapers

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According to a number of sources, Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has sabotaged his brand through racist rants he made on a weekday morning show.

Questions:

  1. What poll did Adams reference?
  2. Where did Adams try to defend himself?
  3. Which company distributes Dilbert?
  4. What papers are quoted in the article as dropping the comic strip?

Source: Rhaman, K. (2023). Dilbert Creator Takes to Twitter After Comic Dropped Over Race Comments. Newsweek, Feb. 27 (Retrievable online at https://www.newsweek.com/dilbert-creator-twitter-comic-dropped-race-comments-1783856)

TD Bank settles Ponzi Scheme case

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According to the New York Times, TD Bank agreed to pay $1.2 Billion to settle a Ponzi Scheme Case.

Question:

  1. Where is TD Bank headquartered?
  2. When did the Ponzi Scheme happen and what entity or entities did it involve?
  3. How much did the scheme cost investors?
  4. Why did TD agree to settle with the receiver?

Source:

Goldstein, M. (2023). TD Bank Agrees to Pay $1.2 Billion to Settle Ponzi Scheme Case. The New York Times, Feb. 27 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/business/stanford-ponzi-scheme-settlement.html).

Retail apocalypse?

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It seems as if each day brings a new list of closing retailers. According to Shimkus (2023), Macy’s, Nordstrom, Kohl’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, and JoAnn’s are only a few of the iconic brick-and-mortar stores to close numerous stores this year.

Questions:

  1. According to the article, how many stores is Macy’s planning to close?
  2. How many states are experiencing closures according to the article?
  3. What is the reason(s) that analysts are attributing to the increasing number of closings?

Source:

Shimkus, B. (2023). SHUTTING UP SHOP: Full list of stores hit by 2023 ‘retail apocalypse’ – the American favorites that are closing down locations revealed, The U.S. Sun, Jan 6 (Retrievable at https://www.the-sun.com/money/7067127/stores-retail-apocalypse-closing-down-locations-revealed/)

A Scam Called “Pig-Butchering”

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According to the Washington Post, federal law enforcement and major crypto exchanges appear to be behind in cracking down on fraud growth.

Questions:

  1. What is “pig-butchering”?
  2. Why is pig-butchering expected to become the costliest internet scam in the U.S. in the next few years?
  3. What is GASO and what does the group do?

Source:

Newmyer, T. (2023). Crypto scam aimed at online acquaintances costs victims billions. The Washington Post, Feb. 14 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/02/14/crypto-scam-lost-billions/)

The top 10 tax “crooks” for 2022

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According to Accounting Today, the Criminal Investigation (CI) division of the IRS has released its top 10 cases for 2022. Which of the agency’s most prominent and high-profile investigations have you heard about?

Questions:

  1. Who were the reality TV stars that were guilty of tax evasion through fraudulent bank loans?
  2. In which case did the underreporting of taxes result in the longest prison sentence?
  3. In which case was the greatest amount of restitution imposed?
  4. Of these cases, how many were committed by women?
  5. Which cases used the ill-gotten gains for Ponzi-like payments?
  6. Which case did you think was the most complex and why?

Source:

Stimpson, J. (2023) The top tax crooks of 2022. Accounting Today, January 16 (Retrievable online at https://www.accountingtoday.com/list/the-irs-names-the-top-tax-crooks-of-2022)

If you are part of “Generation Zalpha,” there might be an internship in your future!

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According to the New York Times, making TikTok content for brands is the hot new gig and job sites are peppering listings with ads for “TikTok content creator interns.”

Questions:

  1. The article talks about a University of Missouri intern. Where was she working when she produced her hit Tik Tok video?
  2. According to marketers, what is Generation Zalpha?
  3. What companies have recently posted jobs for interns that will help them build their presence on TikTok?
  4. Why does the article say that efforts to recruit young people for a TikTok presence is more unique than that for other social media apps?

Source:

Maheshwari, S. (2023). Wanted: Interns Who Can Make TikTok Hits. The New York Times, Feb. 12 (Retrievable at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/business/tiktok-interns.html).

Did you know that this was part of the process?

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Car companies have built life-size clay models for almost 100 years, for nearly every car you see on the road.

Questions:

  1. Are these models made of solid clay?
  2. Bentley sticks to what time frame for its model?
  3. Why are these clay models better than virtual models?
  4. How much do these clay models typically cost?

Source:

Insider Business Staff. (2023). Why Car Companies Still Use Clay Models That Cost Up To $650K. Insider Business, Feb. 9 (Retrievable online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYHBCZdMlqw)