For this WSJ Article (available through LIRN https://proxy.lirn.net/CAInstOfAdvMgmt#tabId_alphabetical-view) discussion, you are required to choose a “unique” article related to the core finance concepts from the week. The term “unique” means that you may not post a discussion about an article that another student has already discussed. WSJ articles are first come first served, which should encourage you to reserve your article and post your discussion early.

The objective of the discussion assignment is to apply the core finance concepts from the week. You are free to use outside sources any article/source(article). The key component of your discussion grade will come from your ability to connect the article to one or more of the learning outcomes from this week. The stronger the connection, the better the discussion grade. Students also need to include a brief summary of the article within their write up and remember to properly cite (APA) the article at the bottom of your discussion post. (200-250words)

reply#1

According to the article written by Joseph Walker (2020), many executives at pharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences Inc., meets everyday to discuss the corona virus epidemic in China and the company’s cross-continental scramble to develop the first drug to cure the new disease. It could become the first treatment proven to be effective against a respiratory virus if the company’s new drug is found successful in studies in China, For pharmaceutical companies, it typically takes years to conduct research and development for new drug, to use the new drug in trials, and to be approved by regulators. Because of the severe outbreak of the corona virus, Gilead was given the opportunity to test the drug during a real outbreak. This makes Gilead highly likely to introduce the new drug compared to other drugs due to the outbreak originated in China. At the same time, it appears that most public company in China experienced increase in stock price. The focus of the investors is taken to put their money in the medical related industry not only because the corona virus outbreak triggers significant demand for medical devices and supplies, but also since other industries in China are delayed by the disease causing extending holidays, lack of labor, deficiency in cashflow and decline in profitability overall.

Reference

Walker, Joseph. “Coronavirus-Drug Development Becomes a Top Focus at Gilead.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 12 Feb. 2020, www.wsj.com/articles/gilead-sciences-scrambles-to-supply-experimental-coronavirus-drug-11581522704?mod=business_lead_pos1.

reply2

Barneys New York, a famous retail, filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Even there are a lot of companies file for bankruptcy every day, Barneys’ case does tell us something about US Retail store. Just like Biswas mentioned in his post “the model is not working” (2019). What does that mean? High rent is one of the biggest challenges retail stores face, and the dispute over rent is at the forefront of Barneys most recent bankruptcy filing. Rent of its Madison Avenue jumped from roughly $16 million to about $30 million in January 2019 which almost wiping out Barney’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. In addition, online competition is heated nowadays, such as Net-A-Porter and Moda Operandi. More and more customers prefer to shop online. Furthermore, the vendor bargain power is growing, which means Brands do not reply on department store anymore. Many customers prefer to shop from brands directly instead using department store, such as Barney New York, as the intermediate. Barneys’ CEO pointed it out that the entire industry is in survival mode not only Barneys New York.

APA Reference:

Biswas, S. (2019, September 27). Luxury Retailer Barneys Receives Interest From Potential Buyers. Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/luxury-retailer-barneys-receives-interest-from-potential-buyers-11569617546?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1