Industry Focus

From mental competency hearings to billionaire family trusts and rebelling management, Viacom has become the stage for a very public, very ugly dispute between ailing media mogul Sumner Redstone, his daughter, and the company’s CEO and Board of Directors. But what about the company’s long-term business prospects?

Direct download: 05312016_IF_ConsGoods.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:10pm EDT

This episode we go inside Apple’s supply chain, explain the contract manufacturing model that the company uses, and highlight a few manufacturers to show how many different pieces go into the iPhone.

Direct download: 160527_IF_Tech.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 7:09pm EDT

It’s found in the ground and winds up in your gas tank – but who makes money making this process happen?  

Direct download: 05262016_IF_Energy.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:14pm EDT

Walking investors through drug discovery, development, and approval and how to profit at each stage along the way.

Direct download: 05252016_IF_HC.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:24pm EDT

For over 20 years, Chipotle has prided itself on fresh, quality ingredients sourced from only the best vendors – in other words, “food with integrity”. Asit Sharma joins Industry Focus to discuss the company’s suppliers, its high standards, and some of the growing pains Chipotle has encountered adapting its supply chain to work for over 2,000 restaurants.

Direct download: 05242016_IF_ConsGoods.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:08pm EDT

How interest rates have shaped stocks and the economy since the Great Depression.

If you want to understand the last century of finance, it helps to have a general idea about the trend in interest rates since the 1930s. Not only does this explain the spectacular bull market that began in 1982 and ended when the technology bubble burst in 2000, but it also helps one understand why and how the U.S. economy grew so rapidly during this stretch.

In this episode of Industry Focus: Financials, The Motley Fool’s Gaby Lapera and John Maxfield kickoff lifecycle week by discussing how and why interest rates have gone full circle since the Great Depression.

 

 

Direct download: 05232016_IF_Financials_PreRec.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Wearables industry expert and long-time fan of the Fool Ramon T. Llamas joins us to talk about his team’s work at IDC, what’s going on in the smartwatch and fitness wearables markets, and some trends to watch in the next couple quarters.

Direct download: 05202016_IF_Tech_prerecord.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Shell Oil is feeling the strain of its massive debt load, and just announced plans to do something about it.  

 

Direct download: 05192016_Energy_prerecord.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Peter Lynch once said “never invest in any idea you can’t illustrate with a crayon.” Does that hold true in the highly scientific world of biopharma? Find out in this special edition of Industry Focus: Healthcare with Motley Fool healthcare analysts Kristine Harjes and Max Macaluso.

Direct download: 160518_IF_Healthcare.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 1:54pm EDT

From the apparel industry to your local grocery store, metrics like inventory turnover can tell investors a lot about a company and its operations. But in the words of one of the most well-run retailers today, should management treat inventory as “fundamentally evil”?

Direct download: 05172016_IF_ConsGoods.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:59pm EDT