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.

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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. 

New CEO Reinvents JC Penney

New CEO Reinvents JC Penney

Blog Date: 2/1/12

Blog Author: Saniya Khan, Accounting and Finance

The retail store JC Penney is planning a huge revamping of stores starting February 1^st.  Some of the upcoming changes include a new logo that evokes an image of the American flag as well as a simpler way of pricing merchandise, eliminating complicated coupons and sale promotions.  All merchandise will be divided into a three tier system:  everyday prices, monthly specials, and clearance; and stores will be offering new boutique style areas that highlight a specific brand the company is working with, for example H&M and Sephora.

This new marketing campaign is headed by the company’s new chief executive, Ron Johnson, who previously was in charge of Apple’s retail strategy, and its new president, Michael Francis, who was the former chief marketing officer for Target.  The company plans on holding twelve simple sales events a year rather than the close to 600 promotions they held this past year in an effort to simply their pricing strategy for consumers and to cut back on promotional costs from over $1 billion required to advertising all the sales they held now down to spending $80 million per planned promotion.

In other cases, when a company wants to completely change their image and marketing strategy, it can take up to a year to figure out the kinks and predict potential problem areas before making the change public across stores, however, Johnson is moving fast.  With initial changes rolling out the first day of February and plans to have a new layout of the retail stores by having around 100 or so boutique-style stores-within-stores and a central service center called the “town square” by the next four years, he is wasting no time.  The goal is to increase traffic flow and profits by providing the best prices year-round for customers while saving the company money, but will this new strategy really work?  Do consumers prefer simple once-a-month sales over the excitement of a “one-day only” sale or coupons they can use anytime to save even more?  Johnson has only been with the company since the fall, but his plans are moving quickly.  Now it is up to consumers to react to these changes.

Never eat more than you can lift." ~Miss Piggy

Never eat more than you can lift." ~Miss Piggy

Blog Date: 1/23/12

Blog Author: Saniya Khan, Accounting and Finance

If you're in business, there will come a time when it becomes necessary to talk work outside the office in the form of a business dinner, breakfast, or lunch. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones who have been making deals since your diaper days about nap time and can't wait to get down to business. But maybe you're a little more on the shy side and the thought of making small talk while eating and remembering to mind your manners and fitting in something about your company is a bit more daunting. Not to worry, your business days don't need to be over just yet. Conversing is an art. Business doesn't need to be uptight and impersonal. And an invitation to share a meal is the perfect way to become more familiar with the other person.

But how? I just recently read Don Gabor's "Talking with Confidence for the Painfully Shy" and I'd like to go through five basic rules of business dining, as adapted from that book:

1. Know your business purpose. Are you discussing a new marketing plan or using this meeting to gather information for a sales presentation? Always keep this purpose in mind.

2. Balance talking with listening. Talking about yourself and sharing the information you have to contribute to the purpose of the meeting is very important. But people like to talk about themselves too, so remember to listen.

3. Know when to have small talk and when to transition into business mode. Often the meal will start out with small talk and, depending on the length of meeting, the focus will eventually shift to your business purpose. But how do you bridge your conversation without sounding forceful or being abrupt? This brings us to the next point.

4. Bridge smoothly from small talk to your business topic. Tactfully changing the focus from everyday musings to the main idea is important. Gracefully steer across several conversations to your business topic by taking key phrases from the conversation and relating them to your own business purpose.

5. Eat and converse at calm rates. Pace yourself moderately regarding your meal and your conversation. Don't speak so fast that no one can understand what you are saying, but don't bore the person to sleep either. You can gauge yourself by eating at the same pace as your dining companion.

Now the basics are covered, but depending on the time of day the meal is chosen to be shared, how conversation should proceed will vary.

The Breakfast Meeting: These power breakfast meetings are shorter than lunching and dining, lasting only around 45 minutes total, so adjust accordingly. Small talk can lead up to ordering and pouring the first cup of coffee. After a couple of minutes, once you are sure your partner is actually awake and alert, shift gears to the business topic you want to discuss, and take it away.

The Business Lunch: Lunch time offers a break from the office and a chance to interact with the rest of the world and will usually last from about an hour to an hour and a half. More time for small talk and socializing is available so take advantage of forming a personal connection. Remembering to bridge the conversation after sufficient family vacations and hot topics have been discussed, you can then proceed to your main topic of conversation.

The Dinner Meet-up: Similar to the lunch meeting, time to socialize is available before food arrives. Creating a relaxed and comfortable environment is important, so avoid topics like politics, sex, and religion. Before narrowing in on your main topic, or if you are done discussing business before the meal ends, inquire about general business practices and the philosophy of your partner and what his "big picture" is for his company and how he goes about managing his people. Gaining this insight can also lead to more in-depth conversations which forms a better rapport.

Now that a nice meal has been shared and business has been taken care of, it's time to part ways. As the recipient of a nice meal, be sure to thank them. But instead of ending the meeting abruptly, opt to letting your meal partner know that you will be sending him a recap of the main points that were discussed and what conclusions had been reached to close the deal. End on some light conversation, and you have just concluded a successful business meal meet-up. And now that you have gained this experience, the next business lunch won't seem as daunting!

Adapted from Don Gabor's Talking with Confidence for the Painfully Shy

Let's Order Now: An Appetite for Success

Let's Order Now! An Appetite for Success

Blog Date: 12/05/11

Author: Eric Haslbauer, Accounting Major

Lets Order Now, affectionately referred to as LON, is a start-up company taking leaps and bounds in the small business industry. Lets Order Now^TM officially went live on 11/11/11, making the company less than a month old. Despite its nascency, LON is generating big press. M. ‘Wazi'hullah, Professor, Director: Molloy College, Entrepreneurship & Small Business Institute, is the creator and CEO of Lets Order Now. He appeared in a full page article in Long Island Business News explaining his new company. Verizon Fios Channel 1 News also aired a segment on Lets Order Now, describing the goals and ideas behind the company. So what is Lets Order Now? What are the goals of LON? And what kind of company is it?

Lets Order Now is an online social ordering system. From the perspective of a user (someone ordering from LON), this website eliminates lunch frustration. After creating a free personal account on the site, it automatically keeps track of the user's address, tastes, payments, and favorites. There are two options for ordering lunch: 1) Cuisine Calendar and 2) I Wanna Choose. Cuisine Calendar offers a certain restaurant that is specifically delivering to the user's building. I Wanna Choose is for those who do not want to order lunch from the Cuisine Calendar, enabling them to select any type of food from any restaurant that delivers to that building. Now here's the fun part! When ordering through Cuisine Calendar, the price of a meal goes down as more co-workers order. Essentially, the more people you have ordering from Cuisine Calendar, the cheaper it is for everyone! Lets Order Now's slogan "Simple Social Ordering"^TM clearly summarizes the main elements of the company. It's a quick and easy way to order cheap lunch with friends and co-workers.

On the other hand, Lets Order Now is great for restaurants too. From their perspective, this website lowers preparation and delivery fees, benefitting the restaurant. By informing the restaurant owner of a large order (30 to 40 people), the restaurant can deliver a sizable amount of meals to one location. Instead of delivering two or three orders at ten stops, the restaurant can make one trip delivering to 30 or so people. This process greatly decreases the restaurants fulfillment costs while at the same time enabling them to sell to a wider market segment. This is the magic of the whole company! In essence, it's the best of both worlds! The customers are happy because they are paying less, and the restaurant owners are happy because they are selling more. What is there to lose?

An additional aspect to Let's Order Now is that a group of about 16 students, graduates and undergraduates, are working as the Customer Order Representatives (COR). The CORs serve as the agents who promote the company. They are the people who go to the restaurants and the users, presenting Let's Order Now. Their goal is twofold. First, they are trying to convert the restaurants by assisting them in registering onto the website. Second, they are attempting to attract large buildings by convincing a collection of co-workers to order lunch together through LON. M. ‘Wazi'hullah, by assisting the students working on his company, is teaching them vital characteristics of a successful business: execution, entrepreneurship, negotiation, and sales. These students are actively learning how to execute a business idea through personal experience. Rather than memorizing or reading about people who have successfully executed a business plan, the students are actually going out and executing it themselves. It's a unique opportunity, executively educating the future leaders of the corporate world.

Lets Order Now is a prime example of a new business that has a promising future despite these difficult economic times. Although it is still early, I personally believe that Lets Order Now has a high potential for success and will become an international giant in the years to come. However, the fate of Lets Order Now rests on one universal element: Time. All we can do is wait and see how the untold future of this nascent company unfolds. 

AT&T Tie Up

AT&T Tie-Up

Blog Date: 11/21/11

Author: Eric Haslbauer, Accounting Major

AT&T, a giant in the telecommunications industry, has been in the news the past few weeks regarding its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. Offering $39 billion for T-Mobile, AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson in March announced the proposed purchase of T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG However, the combination of the country's second- and fourth-largest wireless carriers would violate antitrust law and "substantially lessen competition," says the U.S. Justice Department. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle aims to block the deal, the largest announced acquisition of the year according to data compiled by Bloomberg. "Given the size of the cancellation fee that was negotiated into this agreement (at utmost $7billion), AT&T has the incentive to fight," said Andrew Gavil, who teaches antitrust law at Howard University in Washington. "The fact that the Justice Department is challenging the deal doesn't mean they won't negotiate a resolution at some point."

In more recent news, AT&T has signaled for the first time since March that its planned acquisition is more likely to fail than to succeed. According to the Wall Street Journal, they plan on setting aside $4 billion in this year's final quarter to cover the potential cost of the deal falling apart. Deutsche Telekom AG (AT&T and T-Mobile's parent company) pulled their application for merger approval at the Federal communications Commission in order to focus on their fight with the Justice Department, which has sued to block the acquisition. This action illustrates AT&T's growing doubt in the success of their proposed merger. Does this mean AT&T is throwing in the towel? Are they giving up?

Well according to the Wall Street Journal, AT&T insisted this past Thursday that they are not ‘throwing in the towel;' rather they are strategizing and essentially attempting to strike a settlement with the Justice Department. So, which is it? Why should AT&T keep fighting? Or why should they give up?

For AT&T, the benefits of the deal are potentially huge, indicating their desire to continue fighting for permission to merge with T-Mobile. T-Mobile uses the same network technology as AT&T allowing for easy access to larger market segment. The deal also would potentially lower prices due to the overlap of technology between the companies. Perhaps most beneficial is the fact that the deal would propel AT&T ahead of rival Verizon Wireless, making them number one cell phone service in the nation. However, AT&T has failed to anticipate the antitrust officials' concerns about the wireless industry, which is already dominated by Verizon and AT&T. The involvement of the U.S. Justice Department raises a great deal of concern, suggesting that AT&T drop their proposition.

Personally, I feel AT&T should accept the unlikelihood of their acquisition and prepare to cover the losses. Ultimately, only time will tell what is to come of AT&T and T-Mobile.

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.