For years, Yahoo was the front door to the web and its services still attract a billion visitors a month. But…times are changing and as a result, Yahoo’s core internet operations and land holdings are being sold to Verizon Communications for $4.8 billion. Questions: 1. Why was the Yahoo model changing and how? 2. What… Read more »
Posts Tagged: strategic management
Amazon goes into student loan business, sort of ……
This week a partnership between Amazon and Wells Fargo was announced. Members of Amazon Prime Student will receive a 0.5 percent interest rate discount on student loans taken out through Wells Fargo’s Education Financial Services. Questions: 1. Why are financial advisors wary of the deal? 2. How much did the Washington Post calculate a student… Read more »
Submarine Patents: What is their Role?
Humira and Enbrel are biologic drugs, composed of complex proteins made in living cells. Humira was the No. 1 selling biologic with $14 billion in global sales and Enbrel was the No. 3 biologic at $8.7 billion. Questions: 1. Approximately how much is the yearly price tag for these drugs per patient? 2. During the… Read more »
Auction misconduct, silly mix-up, or something else…………?
The Keno brothers, stars of the PBS series Antique Roadshow, have recently exhibited strange behavior that is oddly out of sync with their stature as antique world luminaries. Leslie and Leigh Keno, twins and celebrity appraisers, say they accidentally bid against each other this spring. Questions: 1. A New Orleans auction house is suing the… Read more »
No List Prices?
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Here we Go Again? Another Enron?
Short-seller and hedge fund manager, Jim Chanos, contends that the Alibaba Group is as problematic in its accounting positions as the now-defunct, corrupt energy giant, Enron. Questions: 1. What part of the company’s operations are most problematic and why? 2. What does cash flow have to do with this story? 3. What does Chanos claim… Read more »
Arbitration Smack-Down
According to the New York Times, a federal appeals court ruled last week that companies cannot force their employees to sign away their rights to band together in legal actions. In doing this, they delivered a major victory for American workers and opened an opportunity for the Supreme Court to weigh in. Questions: 1. What… Read more »