U.S. Clamps Down on Corporate Tax Inversions

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/business/dealbook/pfizer-allergan-merger.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/business/dealbook/us-acts-to-end-use-of-foreign-acquisitions-to-dodge-taxes.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-touts-new-federal-rules-that-target-corporate-tax-inversions/

http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2016/04/05/treasurys-new-inversion-rules-at-a-glance/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/aparnamathur/2016/04/06/note-to-treasury-the-problem-is-the-corporate-tax-rate-not-inversions/#300868415808

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/health-pharma/explained-the-upside-down-world-of-corporate-tax-inversions-1.2440947

Qs

1. What impact do you think the new rules will have on corporate tax inversions, such as Pfizer's proposed merger with Allergan?
2. Do you think increasing regulations is the best method to stop corporate tax inversions, or is decreasing the corporate tax rate itself a better solution?
3. How can corporate income taxes be reformed so companies can locate where they want and still pay their fair share of taxes?

FaceBook programs computers to Describe photos for the blind

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/business/2016-04-06/facebook-programs-computers-to-describe-photos-for-the-blind/1776425161264.html

1. Does being able to hear a description of a photo of one your friends post appeal to you?Why or why not?
2. Are there groups other than blind people who might use this service?
3. How could the automatic alternative text feature become more dynamic in the future?

Forget delivery drones, meet your new delivery robot

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/02/forget-delivery-drones-meet-your-new-delivery-robot.html

Discussion Qustions

1. What do you like about the idea of robot delivery of packages? What do you see as the potential concerns?
2. Are drones or robots the better solution for automated package delivery? Why?
3. Would robots increase profits for Fedex and UPS? Why or why not?

Russia claims its deadly T-14 Armata tank is in full production

http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-claims-t14-armata-tank-is-in-production-2016-3

• What concerns do you have about the current trends in the arms industry? Why?
• Why do you think modern armaments are so expensive?
• Should there be an internationally standardized method to accurately measure armaments data? Why? Is it feasible?
• How do you think military's can decrease armament spending? What are the costs and benefits? Are they worth it?

CrowdSignals Aims to Create a Marketplace for Smartphone Sensor Data
Christian Reyes

• In your opinion, will this project be successful in raising money?
• If so, what has caused it to successfully raise money?
• If not, what caused it to be unsuccessful? What may the project need to include for attracting attention and gathering donations?
• Would you (or other companies) be interested in investing in the project?
• Other than getting donations, how else could the company raise money besides crowdfunding?
• Would the findings open up new opportunities for different fields?

Why Obama’s visit to Cuba is groundbreaking

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2016/03/economist-explains-13

1. Would you visit Cuba once travel there is easier?
2. Do you think Cuba will benefit from trading with the US and allowing tourists from the US as well? Why?
3. Why do you think the relationship between the US and Cuba changed?

USC’s Tuition Will Top $50,000 for the First Time

Discussion Questions:

1. Is attending a private school of global renown like USC worth paying over $50,000 annually? Would the tuition hike change your mind?
2. Do you believe that the USC student government was right in demanding transparency on the allocation of tuition funds? Was their tuition freeze request reasonable?
3. How much will cost, college reputation, or program quality factor into your decision of where to attend college? What other crucial factors have influenced your preference of where you study?

Financing Divorce

Discussion questions:

1. Do you think it’s fair that financiers are allowed to get a share of the settlement while divorce lawyers don’t?
2. What do you think of the idea that lending to divorcees is growing?
3. Who do you think would be willing to take divorce loans and why?
4. Thinking back to the marriage and divorce graph, why do you think both have been decreasing in recent decades?

Article: http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21694473-firms-who-lend-people-seeking-end-marriage-are-attracting-interest-inside

How Donald Trump could cause a recession

Fourth Period Discussion Questions:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/03/news/economy/donald-trump-economy/

1. The end of the article states that there are some people on Wall Street who believe that Trump will be pretty "moderate" if elected because they doubt that he'll create policies that will hurt businesses. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

2. Per Mitt Romney's quote you read earlier, why do you think establishment leaders of the Republican party are speaking out against Donald Trump and his campaign?

3. The article has outlined five things that will be hurt by Trump's policies. If this is the case, why do you think his presidential campaign is successful as of now?

Nevada: The Battle for Solar Energy(Net Metering)

Fourth Period Discussion Questions:

http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-solar-power-buffett-vs-musk/

http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-03-03/warren-buffett-s-utilities-overshadow-solar-power

1. Should states be able to limit how much energy solar panel users sell back to power companies?

2. Given how much cheaper it's become to produce solar energy, how can states further incentivize people to install solar systems on their homes?

3. What potential growth do you see for solar power in the future?

KFC Hires, Fires, then Re-Hires a Transgender woman

Magali's Discussion Questions and Links

• Is the gender discrimination even worse for low-income people? Should Carter still have switched her government issued ID? What measures could expedite this process?
• To what extent is having a huge, international corporation take a public pro-transgender rights action a big step forward for transgender rights?
• Should the push for transgender rights be coming from the government, interest groups, corporations, or all of them?
• What  could be KFC’s possible motivations for addressing the problem (and the manner in which they did it)?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kfc-fire-hires-trans-woman_us_56d5bec7e4b0bf0dab336fbe

Peyton Manning Says Goodbye

Discussion Questions

1.)Do you believe professional athletes are paid too much, even though the demand for them is so high?

2.) Do you believe that endorsements are going to become increasingly popular in professional athletes as Manning made an estimated $157 million?

3.) Despite Manning’s success, and likelihood of entering the hall of fame, why do you think his networth is substantially lower than people such as Beyonce?

4.) How do you think our society can bridge the gap between the networth of professional athletes and the average household?

Articles:

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/03/07/sports/football/07reuters-nfl-manning.html?_r=0

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14913587/peyton-manning-announce-retirement-monday

Nike (NKE) Stock Falls on Alleged Bribery Scandal

1. Do you believe that Nike is a monopoly or an oligopoly?

2. Do you think that Nike was giving the $500,000 purposely  for bribery or, to their knowledge, towards the benefit of Kenyan runners?

3.   How is Nike staying ahead of its competitors? Athlete promotions?

http://www.thestreet.com/story/13485341/1/nike-nke-stock-falls-on-alleged-bribery-scandal.html

Why Fast Food is Cheap. Really Cheap.

http://www.marketplace.org/2016/03/04/business/why-fast-food-cheap-really-cheap

http://www.buzzfeed.com/venessawong/why-fast-food-is-ridiculously-cheap-right-now#.pvGzgzj0B

Starbucks is Now Serving Alcohol

Starbucks is Now Selling Alcohol 

6th Period 2/26/16

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/18/news/companies/starbucks-alcohol/?iid=EL

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/23/news/companies/starbucks-alcohol-liquor-license-utah/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom

https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-evenings-stores

4th period Econ Presentation

Clean Power Muddied by Cheap Fuel

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=News&limiter=&u=aragon_hsl&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA443728629

Economic Impacts of Gambling

https://www.library.ca.gov/CRB/97/03/Chapt9.html

Netflix expands into 130 more countries in surprise move (2/19/16) (Period 3)

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/business/2016-01-07/netflix-expands-into-130-more-countries-in-surprise-move/1776425156310.html

Questions:

1. Are you a Netflix user?
1. If so, do you believe that as a provider for streaming, it has reached it’s highest potential to where instead of improving its service, it expanded to more countries?
2. Because Netflix is expanding to many different and diverse countries, do you see any problems coming up with this expansion?
3. Does Netflix influence the way people watch tv now and what they watch?

6 Period Current Events 2/19/2016

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/energy-environment/oil-prices.html?action=click&contentCollection=Energy%20%26%20Environment%20&region=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&moduleDetail=undefined&pgtype=Multimedia

http://www.marketplace.org/2015/11/24/education/college-enrollment-drops-among-low-income-students

Built Up by Oil Boom, North Dakota Now Has an Emptier Feeling

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/us/built-up-by-oil-boom-north-dakota-now-has-an-emptier-feeling.html?_r=0

• How does foreign oil affect the U.S. economy?

• Do you feel like you’ve been driving more because of low gas prices?

• Should people be encouraged to drive less?

• How are low oil prices likely to impact the U.S. economy?

Sears to close as Hillsdale revamp proceeds: San Mateo Planning Commission to consider future of shopping center

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2016-01-27/sears-to-close-as-hillsdale-revamp-proceeds-san-mateo-planning-commission-to-consider-future-of-shopping-center/1776425157446.html

• Would a movie theater, open air restaurants, bowling alley, and a fitness center attract you to the Hillsdale shopping area?

• Do you think the shopping center owners made a good choice to pass on Target in favor of mixed entertainment?

• How will these new entertainment options impact the other stores in the Hillsdale mall? Will these additions impact the overall city economy?

The Super Bowl Ad That Set Off Economic Alarm Bells

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/upshot/the-super-bowl-ad-that-set-off-economic-alarm-bells.html?ref=economy

For 4th Period

1. What is your view on the "Rocket Mortgage" app? Should buying a house be as simple as a click of a button?
2. Do you think that people are overreacting to this ad?
3. Will more likely benefit of hurt the economy? How could this idea be modified/better executed?

How can we tell if a recession is upon us?

Period 3 story for 2/12

http://www.marketplace.org/2016/02/09/business/signs-recession

Is OPEC still doing its job?

3rd period story

http://www.marketplace.org/2016/02/09/world/post-opec-world

Chipotle shutters dozens of locations as more confirmed E. coli cases emerge

For period 6, read Andrei & Eden's articles on Chipotle closing and Mogadishu flight bomb

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/01/health/chipotle-closings-e-coli-scare/

1. Do you believe that people are overreacting or do you think they have the right to?

2. Who do you think is to blame for this incident?

3. How has this incident impacted your affiliation with the food chain?

The troubling case of the bomb on a flight from Mogadishu

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2016/02/more-african-problem

Do you feel security in airports is enough in today's world?

Are there certain airlines that you feel more comfortable traveling in than others?

Do you still feel comfortable traveling internationally?

Current Event 2/5/16 - Andrew Abbott

http://fortune.com/2015/08/06/super-bowl-ad-cost/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31064972

Questions:
-Would you be willing to pay for the game if there were no commercials? How much would you pay? Why or why not?
-How would the experience of watching the Super Bowl change if there were no commercials?
-Do you think the money spent by the companies is worth the publicity they receive?

Current Event 2-5-16 Taite and Ally

A Mean Feat

Tales of the Unexpected

Flint Water Crisis

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35376517

Did you know this water crisis was occurring in Flint?

Do you think it’s fair for Flint’s city government to continue to charge its residents for contaminated water?

Discuss a cost-benefit analysis of the Santa Barbara Desalination Plant.

The Biggest Powerball Jackpot Ever

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/us/powerball-drawing-jackpot.html?_r=0

1. Do you think lotteries help or hurt state economies?
2. Do you think there are psychological repercussions to participating in lotteries?

Home Prices Rise, Aided by Strong Hiring Growth

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/business/economy/home-prices-rise-aided-by-strong-hiring-growth.html?ref=economy&_r=0

• How have you felt the high housing prices, since we live in one of the most expensive areas in the country?
• What are your predictions on our future economy? Are there any factors that you believe could cause a real estate bubble that could eventually burst?
• What are your opinions of affordable housing in the Bay Area? Should the cities spend money on creating affordable housing, since the demand is high?

Marijuana, Not Yet Legal for Californians, Might as Well Be

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/us/politics/stigma-fading-marijuana-common-in-california.html?_r=0

• Will legal marijuana laws be able to edge out the black market drug trade?
• Do you think legalizing what some call a “gateway drug” is a good idea?
• Do you think the prohibition of marijuana leads to more problems than if it were to be legalized?

Why a Meaningful Boost for Those at the Bottom Requires Help From the Top

Main points:

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed reducing inequality by lifting up the bottom instead of pulling down the top.

Even if minimum wage was $15 per hour, income inequality still would have increased over the past five years.

The 1990’s had excellent income growth overall, but much more for the top 10% of earners than the bottom 90%.

Discussion Questions:

1. Should we be worried about income inequality as a society?
2. How do you recommend we decrease income inequality in the US?
3. What should we do here in San Mateo about income and wealth inequality?