M: Art-trepreneurial

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You probably heard the phrase “starving artists.” For artists in Japan, the phrase is a little bit too true. Demand for art in the country has dried up to the point where Japanese artists are looking to other countries in the region (and beyond) for buyers. Demand is so tight that many up  and coming… Read more »

M: Nobody Doesn’t Like A Good Acquisition

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Two corporate mainstays – one in the United States (Sara Lee) and one in Brazil (JBS) – are considering a deal to join the two companies. The move comes in a frenzy of acquisitions by foreign companies in the United States, with Brazilian companies leading the way. Markets reacted favorably to news of a possible… Read more »

Uniqlo Makes Global Push

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Japan’s Fast Retailing Co. plans to dramatically increase its number of Uniqlo stores in China and to expand into India and Brazil. Uniqlo aims to add over 900 stores in China during the next decade. Unlike other fast-fashion retailers such as Zara and H & M which focus on selling trendy items, Uniqlo focuses on… Read more »

U.S. Wins China-Tire Fight

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The World Trade Organization’s dispute-settlement panel ruled in favor of the United States in a trade dispute involving tire imports from China. In September 2009, President Barack Obama imposed tariffs of up to 35% on Chinese tires using a special safeguard mechanism. A special safeguard mechanism is a contingency restriction negotiated as part of a… Read more »

M: The (Former) President’s News Conference

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It was a move that was stunning if not for the fact that a former U.S. President held a press conference at the White House than for the fact that the current President excused himself while it happened. Former President Bill Clinton took the podium to talk to reporters about the necessity of compromise on… Read more »

M: A Sweet Strategy

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Fannie May is a Midwestern candy icon. Yet even icons sometimes do not work and, when the family-owned confectionary struggled in the early 1990s, it was sold to private investors. A decade later, the company was in bankruptcy (twice) and stores and manufacturing operations closed. The company was purchased by Alpine Confections and sales resumed… Read more »

Iceland Strikes New Deal over Failed Bank

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Iceland has reached a tentative agreement with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to recover the losses the two nations incurred as a result of the collapse of Iceland’s banking sector in 2008. Iceland’s three largest banks were nationalized by the Icelandic government as a result of their deteriorating liquidity caused by the global capital… Read more »

M: Plugging the WikiLeak

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The recent release of secret government documents on the website WikiLeaks highlights a serious problem of doing business in the Information Age – it is tough to maintain total control of company data when it exists in electronic form. What is more, information that is transmitted via computer networks is subject to interception. Even if… Read more »

M: Down But Not Out

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The economic recession has been hard on many. While most of the reporting and statistics focus on able-bodied workers that are unemployed, another sector often goes unnoticed. For many laid off during the downturn, getting re-employed means taking jobs with pay and responsibilities much lower than what they previously held. A case study of four… Read more »

M: Streaking Huskies

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The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team is poised to make history by breaking the record for consecutive wins in collegiate basketball (currently 88 held by UCLA). Leading the way is senior Maya Moore, who established a new career scoring mark of 2,355 points when Connecticut beat Sacred Heart. Moore’s total eclipses a record set… Read more »