Warm up Discussion

IFEL Warm up discussison 02/22/12 Entreprenuers pg. 98 / Some questions for you.  It is claimed former US president George Bush once said “The problem with the French is they don`t have a word for Entrepreneur”   Why is this an an interesting comment ? What is the equivalent word for entrepreneur in Japanese ?  If you could meet one entrepreneur in Japan who would you like to meet ? Why ? Ask your partner these questions. Here are ten names of some famous entrepreneurs in Japan (You can choose your own of course). If you were a Journalist what ONE question would you ask ? 

  Yoshikazu Tanaka Takashi Sakomoto         Masayoshi Son                             Hiroshi Mikitani Tadashi Yanai                 Tomoaki Nagao (Nigo)                Akio Nitori Takafumi Horie               Minoru Mori                                   Kazuo Okada

Is this the Japanese IKEA ?

_____________is the founder of the Japanese furniture store chain Nitori, which has 146 stores all over Japan. It's now planning on expanding to China and South Korea, as well.  Nitori also runs a scholarship program to help out Chinese, and other Asian students, at Japanese universities. Just in case this wasn’t enough, he has also made important donations to survivors of the major earthquake.

Who is this persons American equivalent ?__________is the top real estate businessperson in Japan. He controls Mori Trust, which manages apartments, high class hotels and office buildings all over the country.   He actually inherited a small fortune and made it grow, becoming one of the most powerful men in real estate in the country.

A very competitive industry

____________is the top businessman when it comes down to online communication and telecom. He runs the telecommunications firm Softbank, and owns half of Yahoo! Japan.       

The perfect business model ? ____________is the founder and president of Fast Retailing, a discount clothing chain that has stores in New York, Paris and Shanghai. His store is one of the leaders worldwide when it comes to retailing.   He manages to keep low prices by outsourcing production to China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, among other countries with cheap labor costs. He is actually one of the richest businessmen in Japan and worldwide.

I think everybody knows of this person ? __________ runs Rakuten, Japan’s most popular online mall.  He has also expanded abroad in countries like Taiwan and Thailand. The upcoming and ambitious plan is to expand to thirty  different nations.

5) Stock options pg. 116

- Option means choice.  You can have a Call (Buy) option or Put (Sell) Option Options are just like coupons. You have a contract with a fixed price that doesn`t change . An option is a contract that gives the holder of the contract the OPTION to buy or sell an UNDERLYING ASSET  at an agreed upon price at a later date and time.  For example, I can buy a contract to buy IBM for $10 in three months from now. If I use that option in three months I'll be exercising that option!   

21) Financial CrisisWhat are some other terms you relate to this term ? Think of words you associate with this.  What countries are experiencing problems with Government Debt right now.  What is the term used for one party "rescuing" another from its financial obligations.  What is another word for obligations ?

Common definition of a recession

A recession is defined as a period of two or more consecutive quarters of decline in the country's GDP.  A recession represensts a decline in activity across the economy, lasting longer than a few months. It is visible in industrial production, employment, real income and wholesale-retail trade.   

Moral Hazard pg. 2

Moral Hazard is a tendency to take risks because the costs or outcomes of the risk are the responsibility of a secondary organisation.  The phrase comes from the Insurance Industry.  For example, a person with car insurance may be less cautious about locking their car because negative outcomes are now the responsibility of the Insurance Company. Of course, this concept also exists in the Financial Markets.(Securitization was a huge trigger to the GFC)

Bubble Burst / What kinds of "bubbles"prices currently valued more than they are worth !

A situation in which assett prices are seriously inflated and come apart suddenly. Assett price bubbles are dangerous and have very negative effects on economies.  The U.S. economy thrived during the 1920s as new technologies, financial innovations, and improved business practices were introduced. The stock market experienced a dramatic rise during that decade until it burst during the Great Crash of 1929.   How can we identify bubbles in the Economy ?