This blogs makes reference to Yan Rong’s internal blog:  “Another Aspect of Considering a Fantasitc Deal: $3B for Buying Snapchat” (https://blogs.ubc.ca/yanrong/2013/11/16/another-aspect-of-considering-a-fantasitc-deal-3b-for-buying-snapchat/)

According to Yan Rong’s blog Facebook made an offer to purchase Snapchat for $3 billion. This amount is considerably high especially since the company is only 2 years old. The founder of Snapchat Evan Spiegel, reportedly turned the cash offer down.

Yan Rong suggest that Evan Spiegel should have taken the money and walked away from the company. The reasoning behind his comments are that the social media app is confined to a small market. However in my opinion the is not very accurate. According to Facebook CFO David Ebersman, Facebook has seen a “a decrease in daily users specifically among younger teens.”[1]. All this while Snapchat is experiencing a significant increase in users. Therefore Snapchat may actually have a very bright future ahead possibly becoming the next Twitter, with its short message format. Knowing all this one may say that Snapchat is doing quite well, but according to Breakout, the CEO is either smart or delusional for not taking the deal, since the company has no assets, and it’s facing a legal battle over the patent of the app.

This blogs makes reference to Chris Sorensen’s external blog:  “WestJet bound for Europe” (http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/11/15/westjet-bound-for-europe/)., Nikola Nedev’s internal blog(https://blogs.ubc.ca/nikolanedev/)

The success of any airline company is closely related to the popularity of the routes they fly on. WestJet was founded on the principle of offering low cost alternatives to popular routes. They were able to do so by removing services and slashing costs. WestJet will soon attempt to move into a new market, the transatlantic flights.

Will WestJet succeed in this new market?

In the past, the company had a very simple strategy, utilizing one type of aircraft, which helped them save a lot of excess cost on parts and personnel training. Nikola Nedev pointed out on his blog that by flying across the Atlantic the company will be forced to change the single fleet strategy, and purchase bigger planes. However this is not entirely correct, according to WestJet the flight time between St. John’s and Dublin – the new proposed route – is approximately the same as the flight time between Calgary and Toronto. Therefore WestJet will be able to still keep its old planes.

In the short term WestJet, will still be able to keep its old planes, however, if they intend on expanding to more European destinations, the single fleet strategy will become useless. I personally believe that WestJet is going in the right direction with looking to expand into more external markets, however Europe might not be the best choice for them.

One year ago, if someone would ask you what Candy Crush is, you probably would not know the answer to that question. Fast forward to today, and the game became insanely popular. In just 365 days Candy Crush has been played 150 billion times, and became #1 on all mobile gaming platforms as well as Facebook.

Candy Crush, level 271

The success behind this very simple game is addiction, the game is so incredibly addictive that many users have reported that the game has taken a toll on their personal lives or work performance.

King, the creator of the game is taking advantage of the addictiveness, and cashing in on it. It is estimated that the daily revenues from the game are around $900,000. This huge amount is very unusual for a mobile game which is free. However the way the game is constructed pushes many players to pay a dollar or two in order to advance to the next level.

Is this the new model for mobile games? Pushing their users into getting an easy way out? Since Candy Crush is experiencing such astonishing results, we should expect to see free games adopt this kind of a model more often in order to increase their profits.

Source 1: http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/15/ahead-of-possible-ipo-king-reveals-candy-crush-hits-half-a-billion-installs-150-billion-plays-to-date/

Source 2: http://business.time.com/2013/11/15/candy-crush-saga-the-science-behind-our-addiction/?iid=biz-main-belt

In July 2012 Yahoo was struggling with competition from other firms and had problems innovating, at that time a new CEO came in, Marissa Mayer. She decided to implement a marking based on a curve, or as it’s more commonly known “rank and yank”, this grading system meant that the bottom part of the curve would be fired. It was also around that time that Windows decided to discontinue the use of such grading system

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo

Should a company implement a grading system?

This question has been asked by many executives around the world, however the answer is not as simple as yes or no. There are some companies which have seen very positive results from such a grading system. Looking at different companies where this system had been implemented there is a striking similarity. The metric acts as an incentive for workers to sabotage their colleagues and work individually rather than as a team.

Creating a competitive environment for workers could potentially prove very beneficial for the company in the short term. However this could have a crippling effect on the future of the company. This is mostly due to the fact that the vast majority of employees would look for a new place to work, draining the brain power of that company.

Source 1: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-12/yahoos-latest-hr-disaster-ranking-workers-on-a-curve

Source 2: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/marissa-mayers-latest-hr-_n_4260762.html

The holidays are fast approaching, and the big companies are ready to profit from this once again. Sony has already released its PlayStation 4 while Microsoft’s Xbox One is set to be released on the 22nd of this month.

This console upgrade comes after 8 and 7 years since the last release of a new generation. However, since the last release of the consoles, a lot has changed. Back in 2006 and 2007 not many people owned a smartphone or a table, and most of the gaming was done on consoles. This increase in the competition for market share, pushed Microsoft and Sony harder to innovate and come up with a greater product that will be able to do more than just play games and movies.

The new consoles are now able to interact with pretty much anything that surrounds them, from your laptop to your social media accounts. Both makers really emphasized the connectivity with social media and they have integrated DVR which will allow the users to share gameplay footage with their friends.

While the consoles are very similar in specs, the strategy of the companies has changed. In the past, the Xbox console was priced lower than the PlayStation, but required a paid subscription, while the PlayStation was a bit more expensive with no subscription. This time around, the Xbox is more expensive and still requires a subscription. Sony could potentially win some of the Xbox fans, with its very competitive pricing.

Source 1: http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/17/weekend-hot-topic-part-2-xbox-one-and-ps4-launch-games-4188768/

Source 2: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/11/16/xbox-one-vs-ps4-the-console-wars-are-just-getting-started/

Source 3: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/16/playstation-4-xbox-one

The ground breaking design of the Tesla Model S, made headlines when it was release. The anticipation for the vehicle was so high, that some customers were willing to wait for the vehicle for up to 2 years until they could receive it. However, after all that wait time, Tesla (TSLA) may have to recall the Model S.

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, introducing the new Model S

Two weeks ago, a fire erupted in a Model S, as it was being  driven on the highway, after the car struck a trailer hitch. This incident however, is not an isolated one. More than one month ago, another Tesla caught on fire in Mexico. After that first incident the shares of Tesla are down more than 25%.

Elon Musk, the co-founder of the company categorically stated that “there’s definitely not going to be a recall” [1]

Are the consumers safe in a Tesla?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the car received a 5 Star rating on all of the crash tests performed. However some, the test were not designed for electric cars and they do not test the strength of the battery shield. Considering the latest events and the growing popularity of electric cars, a new set of tests should be created specifically designed for electric vehicles.

Source 1: http://www.thestreet.com/story/12111596/1/tesla-motors-inc-tsla-ceo-slams-media-for-unreasonable-coverage.html

Source 2: http://www.autonews.com/article/20131116/OEM11/311189927/tesla-fires-spark-search-for-safety-lessons#axzz2ksIjsgzj

Source 3: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/13/telsa-motors-inc-recall-decision-musk/

Gabriel Resources (GBU.TO) is a Canadian company which plans on opening the largest open pit gold mine in Europe. The company won the contract for the largest deposit of gold and sliver in Europe in a very controversial bid. The process of attributing mining rights for the Rosia Monatana deposit has been tied to many allegations of corruption. 

On September 9th the Romanian government announced a resolution which intends to reject the mining rights of Gabriel Resources and put an end to the possible development of a mine there. If the resolution will be adopted, then Gabriel Resources intends to sue the government on the grounds of  “multiple breaches of international investment treaties”[1] In the same day the shares of Gabriel Resources plummeted an astonishing 51%.

The mining project in that area has been a very controversial topic for the Romanian people. First and foremost their main concern is the methods which the company wants to use in order to extract the gold. The most efficient method would be through the use of cyanide. After the gold is extracted cyanide residues would be stored in massive dams which are known to fail.

It appears as if the continued protests of the Romanians have made the government reconsider the project and weigh the cons and pros of the mining operation. This company serves as an example why investors should look into the ethics of a company before they invest in it.

Source 1:    http://www.stockhouse.com/news/natural-resources/2013/09/09/gabriel-resources-(t-gbu)-falls-51-canadian-market

Source 2:   http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/gabriel-resources-romanian-gold-mine-in-jeopardy-1.1701501

Source 3:  http://www.bnn.ca/News/2013/9/11/Gabriel-Resources-CEO-threatens-to-sue-Romania-on-mine-dispute.aspx

Japan Airlines has announced on Monday a deal with Airbus worth $9.5bn. JAL has a fleet of 159 airplanes which are 70% Boeing. This new order for 31 Airbus A350 XWBs, shows a significant change in strategy for JAL. They are appearing to move from a predominantly single fleet strategy to a multi fleet strategy.

Airbus has been appearing to enter the Asian market in full force. Its main competitor Boeing has been the principal supplier of jets in Asia, however recent deals that Airbus made with two Chinese companies, a Vietnamese carrier and a Singaporean lesser have amounted to $13bn.

During the past couple of months Boeing has been hit by serious setbacks. It first started when it’s newly lunched plane the Dreamliner 787 had problems with its onboard batteries, now it’s new rival the A350, has better fuel economy and seems to be taking Boeings market share rapidly.

Could this deal signify the demise of Boeing’s supremacy in the Asian market? According to recent studies, no. “Asia is expected to become the biggest source of jet orders over the next 20 years.”[1]

According to Chris De Lavgon, aviation analyst,  the JAL contract  “Is a big win for Airbus. This was the final frontier for them and they have conquered it.”[2]

Current Airbus Stock Price

Stock Price of Boeing, Airbus’s main competitor

Source 1:   http://rt.com/business/airbus-japan-airlines-deal-828/
Source 2:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24424873
Source 3:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/business/international/jal-orders-9-5-billion-worth-of-airbus-jets.html

Earlier this week the biggest online black market place has been seized and shut down by the FBI. The founder of Silk Road, Ross William Ulbricht, was arrested and charged with narcotics trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering. So what do Bitcoins have to do with any of this?

You might be asking yourselves what is a Bitcoin in the first place. A Bitcoin is a digital currency first introduced in 2008 and what makes it unique aside from the fact that it only exits in the virtual world is that there is no government regulating it in any way. The transfer of Bitcoins from one owner to another is done through the use of peer-to-peer networks, therefore no fees are charged, the transfer is done immediately and anonymously.

Silk Road, the biggest online illegal market place was one of the biggest user of Bitcoins, “The FBI estimated that in two-and-a-half years of operation, the underground website generated 9.5m Bitcoins worth of sales”[1] this equates to about $1.2 billion worth of sales.

The closing down of Silk Road could be seen by some as a big hit for Bitcoin, the currency “slumped 8.6 per cent following a raid on Silk Road”[2] However the way I see it is that the closing down of the illegal market place is a positive thing for Bitcoin. This will allow the currency to distance itself from criminal activities and it will enable to become a global currency.

Source 1: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/27ca2d60-2b89-11e3-a1b7-00144feab7de.html#axzz2h6V9eCYN

Source 2: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2013/10/could-the-silk-road-closure-be-good-for-bitcoin.html

Source 3: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/07/fbi-bitcoin-silk-road-ross-ulbricht

Samoa Airlines, is a small company offering connecting flights between the Samoan islands. At the beginning of this year, the CEO of the company, Chris Langton, changed the pricing policy from per seat to per pound pricing. Therefore in his opinion the new pricing system offers a fair price to all his customers. However the question remains if the pricing policy is ethical? Charging people based on their weight, may not seem fair and could be seen as a discriminatory practice, however companies have to pay for their fuel based on how much the plane weighs. With fuel prices raising daily the airlines have to look for new ways of lowering their costs in order to offer competitive prices.In some cases, some of these new ways of cutting cost may seem unethical but are for the benefit of the customer.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505266_162-57581555/plane-travel-by-the-pound-samoa-air-says-charging-passengers-by-weight-is-paying-off/