Fashion trucks are starting to pop up across the country. These fashion trucks are fashion boutiques on wheels. The owners of the fashion trucks drive them from locale to locale, seeking to bring clothing and accessories to urban dwellers who value the convenience of a mobile store front. Emily Duran operates the light pink Passionista […]
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How does the renegotiated labor contract impact the standard cost of cars for GM?
February 24, 2014 
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A few years ago, Chrysler renegotiated its labor contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. New hires were to be paid $14 per hour, down from the $28 per hour veteran workers received. That cut resulted in an average combined wage and benefit rate per hour in 2011 of $49, compared to $76 per […]
Continue readingHow does the SEC allege that Diamond Foods fraudulently increased earnings?
February 19, 2014 0 Comments
Diamond Foods produces and markets Emerald snack nuts, PopSecret popcorn, and several other snack brands. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged Diamond and two of the company’s former executives (the CEO and the CFO) with misleading investors by fraudulently manipulating income (see “Diamond Foods to Pay $5 Million to Settle SEC Fraud Charges,” […]
Continue readingWhat is the NPV of Applebee’s investment in tableside tablets for its restaurants?
February 14, 2014 0 Comments
At Applebee’s, Presto tablets by E la Carte are being installed at every table. In total, Applebee’s will be purchasing 100,000 tablets. Customers will be able to pay their food bill and order appetizers and desserts using the tablets. The tablets are not replacing wait staff; wait staff will still take the orders for entrees. […]
Continue readingWhat is the balance sheet impact of Crocs’ repurchase of its own shares of stock?
February 3, 2014 0 Comments
At the end of December 2013, Crocs Inc. announced that Blackstone Group is investing $200 million into the footwear company in the form of a preferred stock purchase. Crocs plans to use the $200 million plus another $150 million of cash it already has on hand to repurchase its own common shares during the first […]
Continue readingHow is the term “depreciation” used in a news story about the resale value of electric cars?
January 27, 2014 0 Comments
A recent news story in USA Today was entitled “Depreciation hits electric cars hard.” According to USA Today, a Ford Focus Electric automobile will be worth about 20% of its initial $35,995 list price after five years, while a conventional Ford Focus (gas-engine) will be worth about 36% of its initial value. The 2013 Nissan […]
Continue readingShould the original cost of the leftover 10 million pounds of Mighty Wings matter to McDonald’s decision makers?
January 20, 2014 0 Comments
In the first half of 2013, McDonald’s bought and stockpiled about 50 million frozen chicken wings for a promotion it was planning for fall 2013. In the fall 2013, McDonald’s debuted Mighty Wings, a menu item that would be available only through the end of November 2013. When Mighty Wings came out, McDonald’s did not […]
Continue readingWhat information can be gathered from Barnes & Noble’s statement of cash flows?
January 10, 2014 0 Comments
Barnes & Noble is a retailer of content, digital media, and educational products. It has nearly 700 bookstores in 50 states and also has a large e-commerce presence on the Web. In the past few years, there has been speculation that Barnes & Noble will not survive in the long-term. Among other news stories, the […]
Continue readingHow much does Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida pay to redeem one share of its preferred stock?
January 6, 2014 0 Comments
The following is from a press release from Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida, the holding company for Seacoast National Bank, dated November 29, 2013: “…Seacoast National Bank…announced it has issued a notice to redeem, subject to regulatory approval, all of its 2,000 shares of Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A… for an aggregate […]
Continue readingHow does a stock buyback impact AutoZone’s balance sheet?
January 2, 2014 0 Comments
In December 2013, the Board of Directors of AutoZone Inc., an auto parts retailer, approved an increase of $750 million in its stock buyback program. Since 1998, AutoZone’s board of directors has approved $14.2 billion in buybacks. Questions On the date of the announcement that AutoZone has authorized the increase in its share buyback program, […]
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