A dramatic fall in business investment

A significant piece of economic data yesterday that business students might consider as they develop their understanding of the business response to an economic slowdown…

Demand and supply in action - oil

A new market forecast from the International Energy Agency provides a useful example to use when helping students understand the interaction of supply and demand.

Print advertising takes the hit as advertisers cut back

As the economy slows and businesses look to make cost savings, its interesting to see where they look to cut back.  The amount spent on advertising looks particularly vulnerable to some cuts…

Crocs - shares of the plastic footwear brand in meltdown

A favourite footwear choice of Kate Middleton, Al Pacino and even President Bush appears to entering the maturity phase of its product life cycle…

Scary Movie 5 - the UK Economy

In recent years, Business teachers have had a hard time trying to make the economics elements of the business curriculum interesting and relevant.  Not any more...its a horror show

Has the Google bubble burst?

What on earth is happening to Google’s share price? Google’s shares first hit the market at $85 in August 2004 and by November 2007 had risen nearly ninefold, turning Google into one of America’s most valuable companies.

But since reaching a record closing price of $741.79, the share price has plunged more than 40 percent. 

Can you guess - what is Britain’s fastest-growing sport?

Friday evening is approaching yet again.  And it turns out that by participating in my regular Friday exercise I’m taking part in Britain’s fastest-growing sport.  A sport that also claims to be “recession-proof”.

Will Advertising spending plunge if the economy gets worse?

I’m reminded by a recent article that ad-spending usually takes a dive when economic growth slows. Will it be any different this time? Usually, marketing spending is one of the first things companies decide to cut when faced with slowing sales.

Although the economic climate seems to be getting darker, some ad-men expect the knife to cut most deeply in 2009 rather than in 2008. This is mainly because three high spend events—America’s presidential election, the Olympics in Beijing and the European football championship—could add as much as 1% of additional growth to advertising expenditure, partially offsetting the damage from weakness in the world economy.

By contrast 2009 does not have big “quadrennial” political or sporting events, and so could be painful.