Dealing with employee problems is rarely enjoyable, yet action is often necessary to ensure problems are not repeated. When the National Hockey League gave its toughest suspension of the season to the Pittsburgh Penguin’s Matt Cooke, it was trying to send a clear message that violent hits are unacceptable. Cooke is popular with his teammates… Read more »

In a rare concerted move, the central banks of major economies intervened in the foreign exchange markets on Friday to keep the value of the Japanese yen from appreciating. The currency had been appreciating since last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, and the currency broke through to record highs in late-day trading on Wednesday. Trading… Read more »

The situation in Japan highlights the dangers of globally integrated supply chains. The devastating effects of the natural disaster have created product shortages for critical component parts. Disruptions to the power supply and damage to the transportation infrastructure are contributing to production challenges even for Japanese firms that were not directly damaged by the earthquake… Read more »

As Japan begins the difficult recovery process after Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, the short term and long-term consequences of the wide-spread destruction on the nation’s economy are unclear. Immediately following the earthquake on Friday, the value of the Japanese yen rallied based on expectations that Japanese companies would bring cash home and buy yen… Read more »

The top appellate body for the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled on Friday that the method the United States used to calculate punitive duties on certain Chinese goods violates WTO policies. The United States had imposed both antidumping and antisubsidy duties (i.e., countervailing duties) on certain Chinese imports of steel pipes, off-road tires and woven… Read more »

Entrepreneurial activity has been increasing slightly each year during the three years of recession. The paths to business ownership taken by four individuals are chronicled and provide a nice case study in entrepreneurship. QUESTIONS: Discuss how Rino Greenwood’s story parallels that of Anita Roddick in your text. What are the common entrepreneurial elements in the… Read more »

On the eve of the company’s 40th anniversary, USA Today’s Bruce Horowitz interviewed Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Topics include the company’s iconic status, its resiliency, plans for the future, as well as an analysis of successes and failures. One thing appears clear – Schultz is deeply committed to the company and plans to be out… Read more »

Without question, Google is the leading search engine on the internet. Advertisers flock to the company. Businesses (and other websites) clamor to move up in Google’s rankings. Yet not everyone is satisfied that Google’s results are the best they can be. University of California Visiting Scholar Vivek Wadhwa says a lot of spam makes its… Read more »

The much anticipated annual letter to shareholders from Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is out and the picture is quite rosy. Berkshire reported a 61% increase in earnings for 2010 and net income swelled to $13 billion. The company is poised to make major acquisitions in 2011. The success of 2010 is due largely to… Read more »

Two weeks ago it was Egypt. This week it is Libya. Who knows where the unrest will be in the future. One thing is certain – the political situation in the Middle East is definitely unstable. Predictions about oil supply and pricing are equally unstable. Few will argue that oil drives the world economy and… Read more »