Regulation in the cable industry

From the New York Times (see here for article) about the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner:



Investor concerns focus mainly on the Internet side of cable operations. They include these questions: Will the Federal Communications Commission
act to ensure an open Internet — also known as net neutrality — and
competitive and reasonably priced choices for consumers, in ways that
might impair cable company profitability? Will federal agencies block
the merger outright, or impose conditions that might make it
economically unattractive? And if the merger does not take place,
auguring a tougher regulatory climate, are the two companies,
particularly Time Warner Cable, appropriately priced?



The merger will create higher prices for consumers and less choice.  But the article is fairly neutral on these issues.

I Walked Into Abercrombie And Saw Everything That's Wrong With The Brand

Abercrombie & Fitch's sales are in a downward spiral. How could  once-leading teen retailer  struggle to compete with fast-fashion brands like Forever 21 and H&M? With the new strategy includes scaling back on logos and spraying less of its Fierce cologne in its stores, Abercrombie still continues to struggle.

What clothing stores would you choose to shop among Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M and Forever 21? What is your suggestion for Abercrombie & Fitch to improve their sales?

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-store-photos-and-problems-2014-11#ixzz3IRDFTbnd

Apple iPhone and iPad 'Banned in Russia' from 2015

For anyone who is a big fan of Apple in Russia, this would be a very disappointing new.

Russia is set to ban the Apple iPhone and iPad from next year as a result of a new law that forces online services operating in the country to store their data locally, according to a report. 

The law, which comes into effect on 1January 2015, will affect any device that makes use of Apple's US-based iCloud servers. "The internet ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev believes that Apple will not have enough time to move all the data storage to Russian territory by 2015," the report states.

Furthermore, after Tim Cook comes out with his honesty, Russia removes Steve Job monument in St.Petersburg. In a statement from ZEFS (Western European Financial Union),  "After Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called for sodomy, the monument was taken down to abide to the Russian federal law protecting children from information promoting denial of traditional family values."

Do you think Russia's ban on Apple's iPhone and iPad would hurt the corporates' sales? The crisis in Ukraine already damaged relations between Washington and Moscow, do you think this ban would have an effect on that damaged relations? Do you think this ban is one of the examples for Obama administration's foreign policy failure?

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/apple-iphone-ipad-banned-russia-2015-1473236

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/steve-jobs-iphone-memorial-dismantled-st-petersburg-after-apples-tim-cook-makes-gay-revelation-1472912

Privitizing regulation

Many multinational companies now require their suppliers comply
with global standards ranging from safety to labor conditions to
minimum wage levels. Such requirements are not required by local law.
Indeed, they usually dramatically exceed local practice. These rules and
regulations have the same practical impact as traditional governmental
regulation. A manufacturer that does not comply with Wal-Mart's
environmental standards may be shut out from the U.S. market.



Governments
play little to no role in such agreements. They are negotiated and
enforced by private parties: companies and activist groups. This new
form of regulation has sparked controversy. Recently, economists Jagdish
Bhagwati and Amrita Narlikar have accused activists of bamboozling
retail companies into taking responsibility for safety at garment
factories, a burden that should rest on the factory owners. Exit doors
existed, the scholars wrote, but managers closed them.





 Can or will companies police themselves? 



Outside Opinion: Private regulation on the rise - Chicago Tribune

Seeking New Tools to Address a Wage Gap

This is other article about "What can be done about income inequality?"

Reducing income inequality is hard but what would be the most efficient tool to fix the problem? We have talked about income redistribution, more education, increase on minimum wage, tax reforms for corporations. President Obama has certainly tried to redistribute more, however, that does not seem powerful enough to make an impact on income gap. To Professor Solow, the Nobel laureate economist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, comments that “we have a better shot at doing something with changes in corporate governance than with direct redistribution.”

Do you agree with Professor Solow's statement? Are you optimistic about the capacity of the American political system to redistribute income within a reasonable period of time? Do you think with the Republicans are set to control both houses of Congress, our political system would be better and things could get done?

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/05/business/economy/seeking-new-tools-to-address-income-inequality.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw%2C{%222%22%3A%22RI%3A14%22%2C%221%22%3A%22RI%3A6%22}

Eagles vs. Ducks: From “the Movie Wolf of Wall Street” to "The real-life Wolf of Wall Street"

Jordan Belfort, "the real-life Wolf of Wall Street," is earning $100,000 a day as a motivational speaker and will be making $100 million on his speaking tour. This was the guy that spent 22 months in jail for money laundering and securities fraud in the 1990s and owed the federal government $110,362,993.87 in restitution. This was also the guy that his "legendary" life  was turned into a blockbuster film starring by Leonardo DiCaprio.  After 22 months in jail, he is planning to pay back his victim in 1 year through his earnings from a 45-city speaking tour in the U.S. In his speech, he stated that: "The world is divided between ducks and eagles,  "The 'duck, has a story, their bullshit story... why can't they have what they want... their story stops them from getting what they want while the Eagles are different, they soar above the crowd." 

What is your perspective toward the Ducks and the Eagles? In TED talk by Nick Hanauer, he claimed that his  success was the consequence of spectacular luck, of birth, of circumstance and of timing. Do you think those three factors are what differentiates the Eagles and the Ducks? If not, what makes the Eagles soar above the crowd and what makes this world is divided into ducks and eagles?
 
Furthermore, there was a woman and her husband who paid $500 each for VIP seats and a one-on-one meet-and-greet Jordan Belfort. If you had lots of money, would be you be willing to spend that amount of money to listen to such motivational speaker?

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/jordan-belfort-cringeworthy-la-convention-center-2014-11

Shy bladder group protests DirecTV ad starring Rob Lowe

By now everyone has seen the new DirecTV commercials starring Rob Lowe. Generally people see the comedy in these commercials and enjoy them. Well now DirecTV is catching some flack from shy ladder sufferers. The ad is in poor taste and ridicules a serious problem, said Steve Soifer, CEO of the International Paruresis Association, which estimates that some 7 percent of Americans have some form of "shy bladder syndrome. What if he didn't have a leg or an arm?" he said. "Are you going to make fun of them?" These people are now requesting that DirecTV remove these fairly expensive commercials. 

What would you do if you were in DirecTV's shoes? Cut the commercials to save the feelings of a very small group of people, or, continue airing the successful ad campaign? How serious of a situation do you think this is for DirecTV?

Here's the article http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/11/04/shy-bladder-group-protests-directv-ad/18466771/