Description: Strong global iPhone sales helped Apple beat expectations, as usual. Doubters beware – it’s hard to hate on AAPL. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 04/25/2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2012/04/25/mkts-bz-apple-iphone.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the financial results and the reasons there is surprise. Do you see an end for the current success of Apple?
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Put Down the Smartphone and Pick Up a Pencil
Description: Put down that smartphone; pick up that pencil. Employees are being encouraged by their companies to try visual note-taking to explain complicated concepts to colleagues and clients. Rachel Silverman explains on The News Hub. Photo: Getty Images. Source: Marketwatch – video report Date: 04/24/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/put-down-the-smartphone-and-pick-up-a-pencil/784F0652-2269-4061-A5CF-607A22F06B01 Questions for discussion: Summarize the highlights of the… Read more »
Wal-Mart Bribery Probe Seen as Examining Coverup Claims
Description: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) may spend hundreds of millions of dollars investigating $24 million in alleged Mexican bribes as the U.S. government weighs whether the company or executives also broke the law by covering up an internal probe, former federal prosecutors said. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 04/24/2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-24/wal-mart-bribery-probe-in-u-s-seen-as-examining-coverup-claims.html Questions for discussion: What are… Read more »
Apple Profit Rises 94% on Growing Global IPhone Demand
Description: Apple Inc. (AAPL) profit almost doubled last quarter, reflecting robust demand for the iPhone in China as well as purchases of a new version of the iPad tablet, allaying the concerns that fueled a 12 percent two-week slump in the stock. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 04/24/2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-24/apple-profit-rises-94-on-growing-global-demand-for-iphones.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the financial results… Read more »
Video Is a Rising Star Among Content Marketers
Description: Companies have long emphasized the role of content for providing customers and prospects with useful information and meaningful insight, and the rise of digital distribution and production channels over past years has certainly propelled content marketing to new heights and investments. Source: eMarketer.com Date: 04/23/2012 Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008991&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4 Questions for discussion: Why do you think… Read more »
Demand Alone Doesn’t Make a Successful Startup
Description: Odysseas Tsatalos’ entrepreneurship story started during his childhood in Greece. Reading about inventors in his encyclopedia, he decided early on that his dream was to one day see himself in print for one of his inventions. While his parents wanted him to become a doctor, Tsatalos travelled to the U.S. and got his Ph.D… Read more »
Verizon’s Answer to iPhone: Windows
Description: Verizon, fed up with the high costs of offering the iPhone, plans to push smartphones powered by Microsoft’s Windows software, as a counterweight to the popular Apple device. George Stahl reports on digits.Photo: HTC. Questions for discussion: How is the cost of a smart phone spread out through distributors? What risk does Verizon face… Read more »
No grimacing for McDonald’s investors
Description: With a boost from strong earnings, McDonald’s isn’t the only fast food co. on the up and up. Chipotle and Yum! Brands are following suit. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 04/20/2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2012/04/20/mkts-bz-fast-food.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Explain the international success of these brands? Are there other strategies that management could use to leverage… Read more »
Disney Bets on ‘The Avengers’ After ‘John Carter’
Description: In the months prior to the release of Walt Disney’s (DIS)John Carter sci-fi epic, Hollywood debated why the film wasn’t catching fire with potential moviegoers. Maybe it was the ho-hum trailers; a title that didn’t cue viewers that the story took place on Mars; or the departure of the studio’s marketing chief two months… Read more »
Five Ways to Turn Your Website into a Sales Machine
Description: Your online presence is a vital part of any sales strategy. But is your website the sales powerhouse it should be? Source: Entrepreneur.com Date: 04/16/2012 Link: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223348 Questions for discussion: What do you think of these recommendations? What other suggestions would you make?