The Super Bowl Economy

BUSINESSWEEK— Super Sunday generates major bucks for all involved, from its host network to snackmakers, HDTV sellers, and especially the game’s host city. For entrepreneur Steve Sodell, the Super Bowl started in late October. That’s when he and his staff of 12 began renting retail space in shopping malls and hotels across the Phoenix metro area—stuffing shelves with NFL-licensed T-shirts, hats, and other collectibles emblazoned with this year’s Super Bowl XLII logo. By the day of the big game on Feb. 3, his makeshift merchandise empire will comprise 24 stores and 42 employees. Ten days later, business shuts down and Sodell starts planning for next year’s Super Bowl in Tampa. “We have a very short window of opportunity to make our money,” he says. Read article.

Saving Sears Doesn’t Look Easy Anymore

THE NEW YORK TIMES— By all accounts, Edward S. Lampert, the billionaire hedge fund manager whose investment savvy earned him renown as “the next Warren Buffett,” is a man not accustomed to rebukes.

But that is precisely what the stock market delivered in mid-January as Sears Holdings, the Kmart and Sears combination engineered by Mr. Lampert in 2005 and his hedge fund’s biggest holding, sank to $86.02 a share. It was a level last seen three years ago, just after the ballyhooed merger was announced, and far below the stock’s peak of $193 in April 2007. In the course of nine months, $14 billion in market value had evaporated. Read article.

India’s Rising Middle Class Wants a Better Life

MCKINSEY QUARTERLY— The same furious energy that made India a world-class provider of software and business services is creating a huge urban middle class. By 2025, household spending could more than quadruple, generating the 5th-largest consumer economy on Earth, up from 12th now. About 400 million Indian city dwellers—nearly 100 million more people than the United States has today—will enjoy comfortable living standards. Even India’s most affluent consumers will outnumber not only the comparable segment in China but also the entire current population of Australia. Read article.

What Could Cage the Bear

BUSINESSWEEK— An aggressive Fed can blunt its bite. And so can foreign investors in search of bargains. Bear markets are always difficult to predict, but this one is straight out of The Twilight Zone. Barely a year ago, market watchers were wringing their hands over the reckless ascent of Chinese stocks; the profligate bond terms being extended to banana republics; the lust for all things emerging market. Surely, said the experts, a snafu in some far-flung place would bring the global stock market bull to its knees. The U.S., of course, would be the redoubt of quality.

Not quite. Foreign markets are swooning all right, but on fears over what’s happening stateside. The supposedly steady U.S. market has been a basket case, dipping on Wednesday morning to 19% below its October high. (O.K., quibble if you must that the bear market threshold is 20%. But what’s a percentage point among friends?) Despite the midweek rally, stocks are down a sickening 9% for the year. Read article.

A Goodbye to Gates

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL— After a lifetime of computing, it’s odd to see Microsoft’s icon exit the stage. I’ve never interviewed Bill Gates or reported on his company day-to-day — my personal contact with him has been limited to being one of a gaggle of Journal editors in the same room. (OK, I did drive rather absurdly fast to get from the airport to that room.) Yet I feel this curious sense of loss at thinking he’s in his final days at Microsoft.

That’s not new news — Microsoft said back in late 2006 that Mr. Gates would give up his role overseeing product development next summer to focus on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (He’ll remain Microsoft’s chairman.) But it was brought home last week at the Consumer Electronics Show, where Mr. Gates delivered what was billed as his final keynote address. Read article.

When Should You Keep Your Ideas to Yourself?

HARVARD BUSINESS—One of the classic interpersonal challenges I see in brilliant, technically gifted people is their desire to “add value,” especially to other people’s ideas.

When does this occur?

Imagine that you are an entry-level employee. I am your manager. You come to me with an idea — which you think is great. You have been working on this idea for months and are really excited about what you have developed. I like the idea. Read article.

Best of 2007: The Halo Effect, and Other Managerial Delusions

MCKINSEY QUARTERLY—In the quest to achieve superior performance, executives often rely on advice in business books, articles, and business school case studies that claim to reveal a blueprint for gaining lasting competitive advantage.

The research underpinning this advice, however, is often deeply flawed and, worse, obscures the basic truth that success in the business world is based on decisions made under uncertainty and in the face of factors executives cannot control. Read article.

The Role of Critical Thinking in Effective Decision Making

BNET—Critical thinking is the art of raising what is subconscious in our reasoning to the level of conscious recognition. It is the art of taking control of our thinking processes so as to understand the pathway and inputs that our thinking employs.

Download this white paper to learn how critical thinking can improve your productivity, enhance efficiency, and sharpen your competitive edge. Read article (registration required).

‘What Are You Giving Away?’ The Challenges of Marketing in Asia

KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON— Western companies looking to do business in Asia, especially in China, don’t always confront a homogenous market, and the ways that consumers make decisions about what to buy aren’t always predictable, according to a group of marketing experts who spoke at the 2007 Wharton Asia Business Forum. Like developed-world consumers, many urban Chinese people are technologically savvy and comfortable seeking product information on the web. But unlike them, they don’t typically show brand loyalty and are often more motivated by price than perceptions of product quality or prestige.

Consider cosmetics. Ellene Hu, director of global skincare marketing, Asia, for Estee Lauder, said that Chinese women will willingly pay for premium products such as the ones her company sells. But they are also willing to jump to another higher-end brand if that company offers a generous giveaway. “For cosmetics, the Asian market is very promotion-driven,” Hu noted. “‘What are you giving away?’ is always a question in the consumer’s mind. We have had to struggle with how to do that and preserve our brand equity.” Read article.

How Arab Countries Are Coping with Globalization

KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON— At the beginning of 2008, crude prices are at record highs, creating immense wealth for oil-exporting nations in the Middle East. Yet the Arab economies also face what economists call “a demographic bulge of a fast-growing labor force” — and the challenge of creating enough jobs for the population. This is happening at a time when the arrival of China and India is raising the competitive stakes for other emerging economies that want to make their mark on the global economic stage. How are the Arab economies dealing with these challenges? Howard Pack, a professor of business and public policy at Wharton, and Marcus Noland, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, address these issues in a book titled, The Arab Economies in a Changing World. Knowledge@Wharton recently spoke with Pack about his book. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Read article.

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