Month: October 2012

Eurobank and National Bank of Greece To Swap Shares

Post author By kylechan
Post date October 7, 2012
No Comments on Eurobank and National Bank of Greece To Swap Shares

As of October 5th, two of Greece’s largest bank firms, National Bank of Greece (NBG) and Eurobank (EFG) have announced their decision to merge with one another. This comes amass the unsettled crisis that have been occurring within Greece. This move is used as a common strategy for firms facing financial problems. In this case, both banks have decided to merge in the hopes of gaining more European market share through increased capital. The merge will also allow the emergent bank to compete more easily against other bigger European banks such as Deutsche Bank (DB) and BNP Paribas (BNP). This long term strategy is truly meant to increase total assets, capital and power. Evidently the share price of both banks have increased recently due to the merger talks; and analysts believe that the merge will benefit both firms and as a result, increase the Time Value Money of both firms.

Do you think the merge is good for the company?

Bell Canada Enterprises Plan to Add Astral Media to Lineup

Post author By kylechan
Post date October 5, 2012
No Comments on Bell Canada Enterprises Plan to Add Astral Media to Lineup

BCE Astral — Bell President and CEO George Cope (left) alongside
Astral President and CEO Ian Greenberg (right)
in a news conference in march 2012

Recent news speculate that Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE.TO) are in the final stages of coming to terms with Montreal based media giant Astral Media Inc. for a reported $3.38 billion acquisition. The main deciding factor for Bell’s decision was their perception of Time Value of Money. With Astral’s net income nearing the $200 million mark as of 2010, Bell has the potential to gain large returns within the next 15 years. One of the opportunities that arise to Bell is the ability to license certain programs owned by Astral, such as Disney, Family, or Teletoon. Because of this, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has conducted an investigation to make sure Bell’s intentions are not detrimental to the competition. Personally, I believe that without the involvement of the government, the most ideal decision would be to hoard the content for a certain amount of time in order to gain a Differentiation Strategy and attract consumers, but eventually license at a slightly higher price in order to obtain a Cost Leadership Strategy and keep consumers from switching to a competitor.

What would you do if you were in the shoes of Bell’s CEO

XL Foods Scorched For Lackluster Safety Procedures

Post author By kylechan
Post date October 4, 2012
No Comments on XL Foods Scorched For Lackluster Safety Procedures

Recent news regarding E. coli traces found in Canada’s largest beef producer, XL Foods have been heightened after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency stated in a press release that the Albertan based meat packaging company did not properly follow certain safety procedures. This article brings up a very serious topic that is business ethics. As a corporation, the decision makers in XL Foods have decided to prioritize the interest of the stockholders as opposed to the consumers by taking shortcuts in their beef production factory. One could argue that it is morally incorrect for anyone to risk putting a consumer in harms way for the sole purpose of maximizing profit, yet it seems to be commonplace in today’s society. Companies such as Mattel and McDonald’s are some examples of reputable brands with reputably bad business ethics. One major concept relevant to the topic of business ethics is the idea of Value-Based Management. This is because decision makers in firms such as XL Food play an important role in the safety of the consumers by understanding their vulnerability.

What is your experience with Food Poisoning