Quotes of the Week

Professor of Finance Harlan Platt is quoted in Reuters in a listing entitled “Quotes of the Week,” commenting on the instability of the credit market on Wall Street. “It would not be surprising, should the market continue to correct, that come December people will be surprised by the paucity of their bonuses next year,” said Professor Platt. “And a goodly number may find themselves looking for work elsewhere.”

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/dealzonesweek.htm

Job Fair ‘Do’s’

In an August 20th story in The Detroit Free Press entitled, “FIVE THINGS: About going to job fairs,” by Margarita Bauza, she features suggestions made by Lynn Sarikas, director of the MBA Career Center at Northeastern University. Lynn offers pointers to job seekers ranging from how the person should dress when attending to prioritizing the companies they visit that enables them to make the most of their time.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/fivethings.htm

A Hole in the Donut Market

With Krispy Kreme's restructuring with closures in the past year, they recently made an announcement that would discontinue the sale of their products in grocery stores and convenience stores. The popularity of their extremely sweet donuts quickly grew to intense popularity but was short lived.
From an economic standpoint, the problem for Krispy Kreme is that it tried to do too much too fast, said Harlan Platt, professor of finance at Northeastern University. "If you have all this competition, the unique aspect of the product is diluted," said Platt. "Krispy Kreme sought to saturate the market with a unique novel product that wore out."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/krispykreme.htm

Valuation Standards

In an August 14th story in Compliance Week entitled, “More Sparring Over Fair Standards for Valuation,” by Tammy Whitehouse, the reporter covers the issue of increased importance of Sarbanes Oxley rules and valuation guidelines. Northeastern University's professor of Accounting David Sherman expresses his thoughts on the accounting practice of valuation. “If you think about what people hoped for from Sarbanes-Oxley, fair value accounting has provided more room to manage earnings than we’ve ever had before,” said Professor Sherman. “There is less opportunity to game the values if you determine fair value with empirical data and market transaction data. As people move toward more empirical data and [have] less reliance on models, we’re going to see fewer disputes about what the fair value is. True market data has a wonderful way of resolving disputes.”

Madden NFL 08

With the ongoing success and popularity of the Madden NFL game line, Madden NFL 08 was recently released on store shelves. This new version has graphics will make the player feel as if it's the real thing. Electronic Arts is hoping to break previous sales records with this new edition.
"I think it's going to continue to sell well, because the new 9-year-old gamers that are just now becoming interested in football games are going to have to buy Madden," said Ted Pollak, senior analyst with San Francisco-based Electronic Entertainment Fund. "EA can do pretty much whatever they want with the game, because they basically have a monopoly."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/maddennfl.htm

Spalding's Use of Content Syndication

In an August 13th story in DM News, the reporter discusses Spalding's new approach to help increase sales with content syndication on their website with the help of WebCollage. This new approach is helping Spalding by placing video and content directly from their website on the retailers website. When consumers are researching products from a retailers website, more and more of these retailers are able to link the manufactures direct content on the retailers website, giving the consumer the information at their fingertips.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/documents/DMNews8_13_076.pdf

Wall Street Uncertainty

In an August 13th story in Reuters entitled “Wall Street bonuses, jobs lose certainty,” by Tim McLaughlin, the reporter discusses the threat of job growth on Wall Street in the credit market and mortgage industries. The combination of unstable markets and declining mortgage industry have led to uncertainty with jobs and even bonuses. "It would not be surprising, should the market continue to correct, that come December people will be surprised by the paucity of their bonuses next year," said Harlan Platt, Donald J. Harding Professor of Finance at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration. "And a goodly number may find themselves looking for work elsewhere."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/wallstreetbonuses.htm

Sarbanes-Oxley Woes

In an August 12th story in The Daily Herald, the reporter explores the recent happenings and difficulties that smaller companies that have to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley rules are having. After five years, the bigger fortune 500 companies are in complience but the smaller corporations are having a hard time reaching complience even after getting a two year extension.
Sanjay Anand, chairman of the Sarbanes-Oxley Institute, believes that restatements are going double next year.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/corporatecheckups.htm

A Taste For Wine

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort's wine director, Brian Henderson writes a reveiw in the August 10th addition of USA Today on a 2007 Monters Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc.

To read the full review, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/documents/08_2007USATODAYwine.pdf