Lowes Companies, Inc. And The Home Improvement Industry In 2007

With the housing boom coming to an end, rising interest rates, and decreasing consumer spending on home improvement products, the home improvement industry is on the brink of change. The industry is seeing increased costs for fuel, raw materials, and lumber in addition to shortages of raw materials. Past years sales growth rates (9.3% in 2005) are expected to slow to 4-5% as the industry reaches maturity. Will Lowes Companies domestic growth strategy be sufficient in the years to come? Robert Niblock, Lowes chief executive expressed confidence in the companys ability to maintain its momentum when he stated, Recent data suggest continued favourable trends in employment levels and income growth which will offset some of the monetary pressures consumers are facing, such as rising fuel prices and interest rates. He also stated, As trends in the housing market normalize from the rapid growth experience over the past few years, we believe we have the programs in place to continue to capture share and deliver solid earnings growth

The European Union: What Might The Future Hold?

Some extraordinary events have been taking place in the European Union in recent years.  This group of countries has introduced a new currency, has expanded to a 25 member country single market, and is in the process of implementing a European Union constitution.  Because these events will have an impact on the United States and on global business, it is important to monitor and evaluate activities of the EU.  This paper briefly reviews the development of the European Union, then discusses recent events and the implications of European Union activities for business, and looks at future possibilities for the EU

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has been plagued with problems over the past two years from an antitrust lawsuit, repercussions from the distributions of funds from the Liberty Fund to the survivors of the World Trade Center disaster, problems with donated blood, a negative report from the Better Business Bureau, and a negative news report on CBS’s ’60 Minutes’.  This case study looks at the history of the Red Cross, provides information about the services provided by the organization, discusses the problems the American Red Cross has encountered over the past 3 years, and introduces Marsha Evans who took the position of CEO in August 2002

Strategic Planning Under Severe Constraints In A State College

This paper examines the difficulties of strategic planning under severe constraints in a state college.  Constraints include the planning models available, the governance structure of the college and other externalities, and a not-for-profit model of constraints by Newman and Wallender. After presenting the planning challenges, we discuss approaches to be used by institutions facing similarly constrained environments.&nbsp

The Streaming Television Industry: Mature or Still Growing?

This paper is about the streaming television industry. It begins by defining the industry and provides a brief history of the television industry in general, from the first transatlantic television signal in 1928 to 2018. From that point, it emphasizes the streaming television industry, which started in 2007, when Netflix first streamed movies over the internet. The main section of the paper focuses on Michael Porter’s theory of the industry life cycle to determine the current stage of the industry. The research question is developed, proposing that the industry is in the growth phase. Then, the number of paid subscribers of the top streaming providers in 2018 is used to address the research question. The results indicate that the industry is in the growth phase. The final section provides an outlook for the industry’s future

Is Lululemon Athletica’s Turnabournd Sustainable?

lululemon athletica, Inc. was founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson with a focus on comfortable, innovative athletic wear for women dedicated to a healthy, fit lifestyle. The company went public in 2007 and has been plagued with product and management issues ever since. Expected revenues for the future have been revised downward and growth in the women’s apparel industry is predicted to be -0.4% in the next five years. Can lululemon athletica, Inc. survive? While it has increased its gross revenue in the last two fiscal years, has it turned the corner on past mistakes

An Industry in Decline: Can U.S. Horse Racing Turn the Corner?

Horse tracks once were at the height of their popularity when it was one of the few options for disposable income and use of leisure time. However, horse tracks have declined in popularity, have seen decreased revenue, an aging target market, and are less attractive to younger generations who are tethered to their cell phones. Given the increasing regulation, market trends, and decreasing revenues can the industry turn the corner to a better home stretch

Chromium stable isotope distributions in the southwest Pacific Ocean and constraints on hydrothermal input from the Kermadec Arc

Special attention has been given to chromium (Cr) as a paleoproxy tracing redox cycling throughout Earth’s history, due to differences in the solubility of its primary redox species at Earth’s surface (Cr (III) and Cr(VI)) and isotope fractionation associated with their interconversion. In turn, chromium’s pale- oproxy potential has motivated studies of the modern ocean to better understand which processes drive its cycling and to constrain their impact on the Cr isotope composition (d53Cr) of seawater. Here, we pre- sent total dissolved seawater Cr concentrations and d53Cr along the GEOTRACES GP13 section. This sec- tion is a zonal transect extending from Australia in the subtropical southwest Pacific Ocean. Surface signals of local biological Cr cycling are minimal, in agreement with distributions of dissolved major nutrients as well as biologically-controlled trace metals in this low productivity, oligotrophic environ- ment. Depth profiles have Cr concentration minima in surface waters and maxima at depth, and are lar- gely shaped by the advection of nutrient- and Cr-rich subsurface waters rather than vertically-driven processes. Samples close to the sediment–water interface indicate important benthic Cr fluxes across the section. The GP13 transect crosses the hydrothermally-active Kermadec Arc. Hydrothermal fluids (consisting of <15% background seawater) were collected from three venting sites at the Brothers Volcano (along the Kermadec Arc). These fluids yielded near-crustal d53Cr values (!0.17 to +0.08‰) and elevated [Cr] (7.5–23 nmol kg!1, hydrothermal endmember [Cr] % 8–27 nmol kg!1), indicating that the Kermadec Arc may be an isotopically light Cr source. Dissolved [Fe] enrichments have been reported previously in deep waters ($1600–3000 m) along the GP13 transect, east of the Kermadec Arc. These same waters show ele- vated [Cr] compared to Circumpolar Deep Water ([Cr] = 3.88 ± 0.11, d53Cr = 0.89 ± 0.08, n = 32), with an aver- age [Cr] accumulation of 0.71 ± 0.11 nmol kg!1 (1 SD), and an estimated d53Cr of +0.46 ± 0.30‰ (2 SD, n = 9) for the accumulated Cr. Comparing high-temperature vent and neutrally buoyant plume data, hydrothermal-sourced Cr is likely negligable compared to Cr contributions from other processes (benthic fluxes, release from particles), and the advection of more Cr-rich Pacific Deep Water. It is unlikely that hydrothermal vents would be a major contributor within the regional or global biogeochemical Cr cycle, even if hydrothermal fluxes change by orders of magnitude, and therefore d53Cr trends in the paleorecord may be attributable, at least in part, to major changes in other controls on Cr (e.g. widespread anoxia)

Upregulation of the voltage-gated sodium channel beta2 subunit in neuropathic pain models: characterization of expression in injured and non-injured primary sensory neurons

The development of abnormal primary sensory neuron excitability and neuropathic pain symptoms after peripheral nerve injury is associated with altered expression of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and a modification of sodium currents. To investigate whether the beta2 subunit of VGSCs participates in the generation of neuropathic pain, we used the spared nerve injury (SNI) model in rats to examine beta2 subunit expression in selectively injured (tibial and common peroneal nerves) and uninjured (sural nerve) afferents. Three days after SNI, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis reveal an increase in the beta2 subunit in both the cell body and peripheral axons of injured neurons. The increase persists for >4 weeks, although beta2 subunit mRNA measured by real-time reverse transcription-PCR and in situ hybridization remains unchanged. Although injured neurons show the most marked upregulation,beta2 subunit expression is also increased in neighboring non-injured neurons and a similar pattern of changes appears in the spinal nerve ligation model of neuropathic pain. That increased beta2 subunit expression in sensory neurons after nerve injury is functionally significant, as demonstrated by our finding that the development of mechanical allodynia-like behavior in the SNI model is attenuated in beta2 subunit null mutant mice. Through its role in regulating the density of mature VGSC complexes in the plasma membrane and modulating channel gating, the beta2 subunit may play a key role in the development of ectopic activity in injured and non-injured sensory afferents and, thereby, neuropathic pain

Anionic 1-Aza-3,4-diphospholides as redox active ligands

ISSN:0020-1693ISSN:1873-325