Description: TD bank economist, Craig Alexander, prices trees in Toronto at $7 billion or $700 a tree; he suggests that investments in urban forests in a city pays dividends. Source: CBC Date: June 9, 2014 Video Link:http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/ID/2463724090/?page=2 Questions for Discussion: How does investments in city’s urban forests pay dividends? How do the tress reduce household… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Social Responsibility
More U.S. cities could be bankrupt soon
Description: Richard Ravitch, adviser to the Detroit bankruptcy judge, discusses why more cities might be moving towards bankruptcies. Source: CBC Date: June 02, 2014 Video Link:http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/ID/2461765335/?page=2 Questions for Discussion: What are some of the reasons why cities go bankrupt? Is it the job of the government to bail out cities? Who should be held accountable… Read more »
Can higher taxes combat inequality?
Description: Inequality is becoming an increasing norm across most developed economies. Thomas Piketty, the author of a book titled “Capital in the twenty-first century”, advises countries to increase wealth tax to increase wealth mobility and eventually curb inequality. Source: CBC Date: May 22, 2014 Video Link:http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/ID/2459304448/ Questions for Discussion: What does income inequality mean? How… Read more »
GM CEO apologizes
Description: Mary Barra, GM CEO, apologizes to the U.S. senate committee for covering up faulty ignition switches in GM cars, which led to at least 13 deaths and several crashes. Source: CBC Date: April 02, 2014 Video Link: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/ID/2446158934/?page=2 Questions for Discussion: Should the GM top management face criminal charges? Do you agree with the… Read more »
Lululemon’s shares nosedive
Description: Lululemon announced that its 4th-quarter results will not meet its expectations: This news sent their share price falling more than 15%. Lululemon has had a rough last year with some major public relation (PR) disasters. Source: CBC Date: Jan 13, 2014 Video Link: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/ID/2429880202/?page=3 Questions for Discussion: What were the major PR disasters for… Read more »
JPMorgan fined $1.7 billion
Description: The U.S. government seems to be coming hard on Wall Street. In a recent judgment, the U.S. justice fined JPMorgan $1.7 billion for failing to inform the authorities over Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Source: CBC Date: Jan 10, 2014 Video Link: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/ID/2429428298/ Questions for Discussion: Should JPMorgan be held responsible and fined… Read more »
Swiss to vote on CEO pay
Description: Switzerland goes to vote on capping CEO pay to 12 times the pay received by the lowest paid employee in the company. The reasoning behind this referendum is to maintain some level of parity among the highest and the lowest earners in the country. Source: CBC Date: Nov. 21, 2013 Video Link: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/ID/2419872290/ Questions… Read more »
Emissions from Canadian oilsands
Description: A recent report by IHS global finds that total greenhouse emissions from oilsands have increased by 21% since 2008, although the emissions per barrel have come down. Also, emissions from oilsands are at least 12% higher than emissions from the average crude oil processed in the U.S. Source: CBC Date: November 13 2013 Video… Read more »
Public cost of low wages
Description: Sylvia Allegretto, Labour Economist at University of California, Berkley, discusses the high public costs of paying low wage to fast food employees: it costs U.S. public $7 billion dollars to compensate these employees. More than half of fast food employees are enrolled in U.S. public programs. Source: CBC Date: Oct 18 2013 Video link:… Read more »
Female representation on corporate boards
Description: Maureen Jensen, executive director of Ontario Security Commission (OSC) , discusses new provisions to increase female representation on corporate boards. Presently, corporate boards across Canada include only 14% females. The OSC is bringing in measures to increase gender diversity. Source: CBC Date: July 30 2013 Video Link: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Business/ID/2398849816/?page=2 Questions for Discussion: What are some of… Read more »
