COURSE OF THE MONTH: Digital Media Marketing

Digital Media Marketing

Blog Date: 2/13/12

Author: Michael Behan, Business Management Major

Want to dive into the digital media aspect of marketing?

Want to create a relationship with real businesses?

Want to become an expert on Social Media websites?

In Digital Media Marketing students gain the knowledge and skills to build and maintain successful, integrated digital media marketing programs. With clients and businesses progressively more shifting their attention from traditional marketing media like television, radio and print ads, to the Internet, iPads, Smart Phones and other digital media, you will learn how to make online media campaigns a fundamental part of marketing plans. This is a fun, interactive course where you will gain internship-like experience working with a real business and get a real feel for how things are being done in the real world.

Redbox throws a haymaker to Netflix

Redbox throws a haymaker to Netflix

Blog Date: 2/9/11

Author: Edwin Ayala,Business Management Major

            Phone company Verizon Communications Inc. is partnering with Redbox to throw blows at Netflix, with Verizon starting a video streaming service with Redbox and its DVD rental kiosks placed all throughout the United States. Verizon and Redbox’s parent company, Coinstar Inc., announced that the service will be national and available to non Verizon customers. The new service will combine Internet delivery of their movies, similar to Netflix’s system. Specific details and pricing of the new service have not been announced yet.

            According to a person briefed on the plan spoke out about the deal, both companies were looking toward a $6 per month offering that would give subscribers one DVD rental from Redbox per month, as well as an unlimited streaming on a certain selection of movies. It is not certain whether that plan has been altered, but sources say that it will most likely be less than the $16 a month minimum Netflix users have to pay for the same DVD and streaming service.

Do you think Verizon and Redbox can knockout Netflix? Leave your thoughts and opinions below. 

Government Makes a Streaming Dam

Government Makes a Streaming Dam

Blog Date: 2/8/11

Author: Edwin Ayala, Business Management Major

Edited by: Louis Lamonte, Accounting/Management Major

     Just days before Superbowl XLVI, U.S. prosecutors have stated that they have seized 16 illegal streaming websites. These websites have streamed live sports and pay-per-view events over the Internet. The man they have charged owns nine of those websites. According to the government, the 16 websites provided links to give viewers easy access to other sites that hosted pirated telecasts from the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc ("WWE") and TNA Impact Wrestling. The latter is also broadcast on Viacom Inc's Spike TV.

     These websites are costing advertisers, leagues and broadcasters millions of dollars a year, and some of this cost is passed on to the fans and subscribers. The websites are firstrow.tv, firstrowsports.com, firstrowsports.net, firstrowsports.tv, hq-streams.tv, robplay.tv, soccertvlive.net, sports95.com, sports95.net, sports95.org, sportswwe.net, sportswwe.tv, sportswwe.com, xonesports.tv, youwwe.com and youwwe.net.

Feel free to post and share your thoughts below

Facebook $5 Billion Dollar IPO

Facebook $5 Billion Dollar IPO

Blog Date: 2/8/12

Author: Edwin Ayala , Business Management Major

Edited by: Louis Lamonte, Accounting/Management Major

     Facebook recently filed papers with the SEC for a $5 billion IPO. This would be the biggest tech IPO since Google and analysts are projecting Facebook’s value to be between $80 and $100 billion. The IPO filing was triggered by Facebook’s hitting 500 shareholders, a number at which a company must start releasing financials or go public. Facebook has chosen the latter and shares are expected to begin trading in approximately a month. Analysts expect the money will be used for website advancements. 

     This would be the largest internet IPO in history, surpassing Google’s $1.9 billion launch in 2004. This launch would give Facebook financial dominance in the internet world as it tries to make its service even more widespread, a service that has already hit over 845 million users. This would also deal a big blow to Google, who is also trying to insert itself in the social media world by creating a rival social network called Plus.

     Facebook is looking to list its stock under the ticker symbol “FB” on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market. According to the filing, Zuckerburg will have final say on how 57% of his stocks votes. He has also set up two classes of stock that will ensure that he keeps control as Wall Street exerts pressure on his new company. Many of his employees will soon become millionaires as well as they have bought shares at lower prices than are liked to be valued. Facebook employed over 3000 people in 2011. 

Feel free to post any comments below and share your thoughts. 

What is a Hedgefund?

What is a Hedgefund?

Blog Date: 11/26/11

Author: Daniel Soares, Finance/Management Major

The mere thought of the word gets investors salivating. Why do these funds differentiate themselves from other investment portfolios? And, why are some of the richest money managers on the street hedge fund managers? Well, I would like to take the task of simplifying the cash cow investment known as a hedge fund.

Hedge funds are unlike mutual funds and retirement funds in that they can undertake a broad range of investment and trading activities, and invest in a diverse range of assets, including equities, bonds and commodities. With the ability to diversify its investments, hedge funds obtain the possibility of performing exponentially better in return on investment. To really understand hedge funds, it is essential to classify them according to the investment strategies they use. There are a few other strategies that can be used but the following three are most common:

1.Long/short equity
2.Short-selling
3.Event Driven

Long/short equity is a portfolio that contains a long position (buying) in undervalued shares, and a short position (selling) in overvalued shares.

Short selling consists of selling shares in companies with precise problems, or dumping shares because of the "market sentiment". In other words, it means betting on falling markets or securities.

Lastly, the event-driven strategies are fixated on certain events, which can accumulate an increase in the price of the stock. These hedge funds buy, after an announcement of lets say a merger, the shares of the company that is being acquired, and sell shares of those of the purchaser. These are all a variety of ways in which hedge funds invest their money.

Hedge funds have a "V.I.P." guest list of investors who are invited to their party, so to speak. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university endowments and foundations, or high net worth individuals. An accredited investor will have one of three situations:

1. Net worth that is greater than $1 million.

2. Income for two years that has exceeded $200,000.

3. $5 million in assets

A qualified purchaser will be:

1. Someone who holds more than $5 million in investments

2."A family-owned'' business that has $5 million in investments or more

3. A business that holds $25 million in investments.

These list of credentials exemplify just how exclusive hedge funds are. Hedge funds as of late perform better then most investment portfolios. As of 2009, hedge funds represent 1.1% of the total funds and assets held by financial institutions. The estimated size of the global hedge fund industry is $1.9 trillion. The top 5 hedge fund managers are worth an estimated $112 billion.

Hedge funds are a great way to make a lot of money fast. But in order to do so you must be extremely quantitative and have a strong stomach. Hedge funds can get excruciatingly volatile and definitely carry great risk. With that being said, I feel hedge funds are your best bet on landing yourself on the Forbes top 100 list.

Market Misconceptions

Market Misconceptions

Blog Date: 11/09/11

Author: Eric Haslbauer, Accounting Major

Despite all of the negativity presented in the media, there seems to be little attention focused at the positive. For instance, many don't even know that the Dow Industrial Average finished the month of October with its biggest advance since 1987!!!! The Dow finished at about a 14% increase for the month!

The Wall Street Journal contained two rather interesting articles which discussed this topic. The first, entitled "Brighter Mood Buoys Dow Rally", was published on October 22, 2011, and it discussed how the Dow finished that week in positive territory, its longest such run since January. The article discussed that hope was the main reason for the Dow's success. It explained that US companies that have impressed analysts by surpassing profit expectations as well as the meetings of the EU involving the Greece crisis have contributed to this growing hope in the market. Rebecca Patterson, the chief markets strategist for JP Morgan, summed it all up saying, "There are a few factors at work here, and they're all hope-based." At the start of October, stocks were falling to there lowest in over a year (close to a bear market which is defined as a 20% decline from a recent high). The S&P 500 finished the week of 17th up 9.4%. The article centered upon the aspect of attitude and how it is a key to success. Without the thought of success or even the belief of the possibility of success, you have already counted yourself out before the "race" even started. Being an avid runner, I can really relate to this statement. While anxiously standing on the line for the gun to go off, you must genuinely believe you are going to run well. If I don't believe in my abilities and have a poor attitude about the race, I can count myself out before the race even starts because of my mental perception. Success is partially a mental game requiring physical performance as well as psychological aptitude. The article concluded with another quote by Rebecca Patterson which clearly illustrates the situation, "I wouldn't claim victory yet. I would love for hope to stay around for a while and there's a good chance that it could, but until I see the details from Europe, I'm convinced that the trend has not changed."

The second article in the Wall Street Journal was entitled "Stocks Cap a Big Week with Gains." It was published on October 29, 2011 and also discussed the surprising gains in the Dow. It explained how the week's gains came just after the 300 point surge which investors claimed was due to the European plan to combat Greece's debt issues, expand a bailout facility, and recapitalize the region's biggest banks. Investors are also shifting their attention from Europe to the U.S. and how 300 plus companies on the S&P 500 have reported earnings well above analysts' expectations. Likewise, the focus has migrated toward Congress's so-called super committee on deficit reductions which is supposedly going to decide on budget cuts by Thanksgiving weekend. All of these facts have contributed to the Dow's success as the article explained. Similarly, the S&P 500 is on pace to reach its first month without a back-to-back decline since October 2006.

Overall, these two articles exhibit how the Dow is still experiencing success despite the negativity in the media. However, despite all of these positive gains in October, questions still remain regarding how Europe will implement its plans and whether these plans will be enough to resolve the debt crisis. As spectators, all we can do is wait and see how the current situation unfolds.