The Manitoban

Business section

• Poverty

  Poverty refers to either an individual or collective situation, in which a certain level of well being or wealth is not met. Different countries define poverty in different ways, but there is a wide consensus on the use of the $1.25 a day mark, as defined by the World Bank. Poverty is often caused by [...]

• Pass the ball, and your wallet

  Anyone who watched this year’s Super Bowl was likely impressed with the new Dallas Cowboys’ stadium. This US$1.15 billion mega-structure features a retractable roof and variable seating, which, at its full capacity, can fit 100,000 people. Stadiums serve as status symbols, either for the owners of the team or the city in which the team [...]

• Word of the Week

  Inflation is a measure of the speed at which the price of goods and services increases. As inflation increases, the value of your money is lessened, since each dollar you have purchases less and less as time goes on. As an example, if inflation is at 5 per cent, then a $100 iPod will cost [...]

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  Dinner with Arnold Schwarzenegger

  My eyes squinted as I looked at my emails, the type seeming a bit too small and the screen a bit too bright. I was tired. Sitting near the elevator in the Fairmont Hotel, my mind began to drift into that haze that accompanies the desire to sleep. Just as I began to drift off, [...]

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  iLeave

  Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple (AAPL), has announced that he will be relinquishing his day-to-day duties, taking a “medical leave” from the company. In Jobs’s absence, COO Tim Cook will manage the day-to-day operations of Apple, the manufacturer of the popular iPhone and iPod devices. “I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of [...]

• Word of the Week

  An adhocracy is a business model in which individual initiative is paramount. A business that functions as an adhocracy is highly decentralized, as opposed to a bureaucracy, which is highly centralized. The term was introduced into the lexicon by Alvin Toffler in the 1970s. Adhocracies are seen as more viable in smaller companies, or in [...]

• The Big Issue

  Over the holiday season, a day in a new city and a brief encounter with a man named Victor taught me an important lesson, managed to tweak my perspective and granted me inspiration. Victor is a street vendor who was selling a magazine, which I bought simply out of curiosity. What makes Victor unlike other [...]

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  It’s a long way to the top

  Life at the top is something that is difficult to fathom from the bottom. While average Canadians are still struggling with the effects of the global recession, CEOs of Canada’s largest publicly traded companies are far from pinching pennies. According to a recent report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), Canada’s highest paid [...]

• Word of the Week

  “Yield” Yield refers to the income gained on an investment; it is also similar to return on investment (ROE). A high yield would seem to be universally positive, however, this is not true when it comes to bonds. Bonds are debt issued by various governments, which are a way for them to borrow money. A [...]

• Ford is No. 1

  For the first time in 50 years, Ford has surpassed General Motors in total vehicle sales. This development is another indication of the changing global economy and the ripple effects of the economic crisis. Of the big three automakers, Ford, GM and Chrysler, only Ford did not require a bailout from the U.S., Canadian and [...]