What information can be gathered from Barnes & Noble’s statement of cash flows?

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 […]

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How much does Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida pay to redeem one share of its preferred stock?

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 […]

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How does a stock buyback impact AutoZone’s balance sheet?

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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Should the town of Allentown, PA, outsource its pension check-writing?

For years, the City of Allentown, PA, has had its payroll clerk write the pension checks to its retirees every two weeks. The pension check-writing system is based in an older accounting system that was installed in 1983.  The only person who has been trained to use the older accounting system to write the pension […]

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How does Starbucks account for gift card sales?

In December 2013, Starbucks was predicting it would have record gift card sales for the year. Last year (2012), Starbucks sold more than 2 million gift cards on the Thursday before Christmas, which was a rate of more than 1,500 gift cards per minute. In 2013, Starbucks expects to top that figure.  For the entire […]

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How should Amazon Web Services price its services to Zappos?

Amazon.com has some of the biggest data centers in the world, where it runs cloud-based hosting services.  Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), is the division of Amazon.com that provides compute, storage, and database services to a wide variety of companies, including GE, Netflix, Pfizer, Pinterest, and others. Amazon’s divisions also use its cloud-based hosting services. […]

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When does Ford Credit recognize bad debt expense associated with a new car loan?

Every individual has a credit score, which is an approximate measure of the risk of loan default to potential lenders.  Credit scores range from about 300 – 850, with 850 being the best credit score possible.  This credit score is a combination of several categories of history about the individual, including length of credit history, […]

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Should you rent a cable modem from Time Warner Cable or buy one?

When you have internet service from Time Warner Cable, you will need a cable modem.  Time Warner will rent you a modem for $5.99 per month.  Alternatively, you could purchase your own cable modem.  For example, you could purchase the Motorola Surfboard SB6121 cable modem from Amazon for $79.99. Questions What is the payback period […]

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How is the redemption of preferred stock reported on the statement of cash flows for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida?

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 […]

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Should Apple Country Orchards sell Granny Smith apples or make cider from those apples?

Apple Country Orchards in Idalou, Texas, has 6,000 apple trees and offers 30 varieties of apples.  The orchard is 29 years old and allows customers to pick their own apples or to purchase pre-picked apples. In addition to apples and apple picking, the orchard offers hayrides, lunch, pumpkins, and a variety of other items. Apple […]

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