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 Tagged: Profit Margin
Innovation, Price Fixing, or Rotten Apples?
Recently, a federal appeals court upheld a ruling whereby Apple was determined to be the leader of an industrywide conspiracy among book publishers. Their goal was to raise prices of digital books. Questions: 1. When was the original case brought? 2. What were the damaging words in the case and who are these attributed to?… Read more »
Another Bubble?
Airbnb’s latest financing round is being led by private equity firm General Atlantic, and includes Hillhouse Capital Group, a Chinese fund manager, and Tiger Global Management, which just led a big $80 million financing for Postmates. The deal is expected to be officially announced today, Monday, June 29. Questions: 1. What is a “private IPO”?… Read more »
Shaking up Pricing
Because the costs of health-care are rising, along with higher insurance deductibles and co-pays, the way medical services are being delivered is changing. unlike hospital ERs and urgent care centers, retailers, such as grocery and drugstore chains, who operate in-store clinics are displaying pricing information upfront for consumers paying cash. Questions: 1. What are the… 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 »
Team Disney – Its a Small World After All
Nothing could be worse than losing your job, except maybe being required to train your replacement. That is what happened in the Magical Kingdom when cheaper H-1B workers from an India outsourcing firm replaced about 250 U.S. employees at the end of January this year. Questions: 1. What explanation did Disney executives give for this… Read more »
Spies Everywhere!
A U.S. District Judge ordered Yahoo Inc to face a nationwide class-action lawsuit and accused the company of illegally intercepting email content sent to Yahoo Mail subscribers from non-Yahoo Mail accounts. Subsequently, Yahoo used the information to boost advertising revenue. Questions: 1. Which subscribers and non-subscribers does this class-action allow to file suit? 2. What… Read more »
The Hidden Costs of Beautiful Nails
Manicures were once for special occasions only. Now they have become a staple for women across the economic spectrum. With more than 17,000 nail salons in the United States, there are about 2,000 nail salons in New York City alone. This New York Times research article looks at the dirty little secret of exploitation of… Read more »
How would you like a Big Raise?
Dan Price, the founder of Gravity Systems—a credit card processing company based in Washington—shocked his employees by raising the minimum wage to $70,000 over the next three years. Questions: 1. What percentage raise will that be based on the average wage now? 2. Where did Dan get the idea? 3. Do you think that his… Read more »
Need a Repair? Need Drum Lessons?
Need a plumber? If Amazon.com succeeds, it will soon be a very large marketplace of home services and will connect customers with electricians, plumbers and painters in a move to have its services tied to every product sold on its website. Questions: 1. How will this change Amazon’s chart of accounts? 2. Provide three accounts… Read more »