Tag Archives: Risk

The risk in Apple’s IP protection and litigation strategy

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 2, 2012) describes Apple’s jihad against Google, Samsung, Motorola and their Andrioid powered hardware devices. But each specific IP case dredges up prior art – work by other several years ahead of Apple, thus casuing … Continue reading

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The collapse of Sony’s interest in Sharp’s Sakai plant

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 29, 2012) describes a collapse in Sony’s interest in Sharp’s Sakai plant, whose production of high end LCD displays was expected to decrease costs for Sony, and garnered a 7 % investment … Continue reading

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Uniqlo’s global expansion

An article in the Economist (March 24, 2012) describes the Japanese retailer’s expansion into the US and China. The company focuses on producing large volume, low cost items that are sold across the season. Given that weather patterns in China … Continue reading

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The Impact of New Emission rules for power plants

An article in the New York Times (March 28, 2012) describes new EPA rules that limit the CO2 emissions of power plants to 1,000 lbs per KWh. The new rules are easy to meet for new natural gas fired plants. … Continue reading

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The forest food chain and noise pollution

An article in the New York Times (March 26, 2012) describes the impact of noise pollution on the forest food chain consisting of pinyon pine trees and their pinyon nuts, scrub jays, mice and hummingbirds. Noise pollution seems to drive … Continue reading

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Multiple suppliers for the new iPad’s components

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 16,2012) describes a teardown of the new iPad – and shows multiple suppliers for memory chips and the high resolution display. Chips are provided by Qualcomm, Broadcom and Elpida, for example. Will … Continue reading

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The supply chain impact of minimum wage increases in China, Vietnam and Indonesia

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 14,2012) describes the impact of wage increases in China on Charming Shoppes, owner of the Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug and Catherine labels. In addition to wage increases, the company realized that 60% … Continue reading

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Sharp’s delivery delays and Samsung’s competitiveness with Apple

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 14, 2012) describes delivery delays for Sharp’s LCD screens for the new iPad.  The new screens were planned to be higher resolution with lower energy consumption. This makes Apple depend on Samsung … Continue reading

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$ 8 billion in fines but still suppliers

An article in USA Today (March 7, 2012) describes the $ 8 billion in fines paid by pharmaceutical companies accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, but with no impact on their supplier status – thanks to them being sole suppliers … Continue reading

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Commodity Prices change direction and supply chain impact

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Feb 1, 2012) describes price declines through the end of December 2011, with fears of European recessionary trends, but price rises though Jan 2012. Copper and corn saw price increases of 15% and … Continue reading

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