Lee Schafer

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Lee Schafer

Columnist | Business

Phone: 612-673-4302

Lee Schafer came to the Star Tribune after 15 years as a corporate officer, consultant and investment banker in the Twin Cities. He has been a columnist for Twin Cities Business magazine and was senior editor for Corporate Report Minnesota.
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Schafer: Piling on is the rage for Best Buy critics

It was probably inevitable, given the challenges at Best Buy Co., but criticism has started to seem like nothing more than piling on.

Updated: October 25, 2012, - 08:54 PM

Schafer: A case for the enabling power of regulations

Businesspeople may gripe about regulatory burdens, but regulations of all kinds enable us as consumers to lead our busy lives.

Updated: October 20, 2012, - 05:03 PM

Schafer: CNS had a simple plan that worked

CNS Therapeutics doesn't fit the classic profile of a successful life sciences start-up.

Updated: October 17, 2012, - 08:40 PM

Schafer: For employers, marriage issue was decided a long time ago

Minnesotans may be evenly divided on the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, but in the corporate community, the issue is far more settled.

Updated: October 13, 2012, - 09:06 PM

Schafer: Small shifts in earnings aren't what really counts

Alcoa's release of third-quarter results this week will mark the unofficial start of another earnings season, the stretch of just a few weeks when most publicly held companies release their quarterly results.

Updated: October 06, 2012, - 04:49 PM

Schafer: Innovation isn't just about technology at Medtronic

Perhaps it's another sign of how much the global health care market is undergoing fundamental change that a conversation about innovation with Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak rarely touches on technical inventions.

Updated: September 29, 2012, - 03:38 PM

Schafer: Fed can't force the borrowers to borrow

As the Federal Reserve pursues its quantitative easing strategy to boost economic growth, the initiative is blunted by many executives too cautious to borrow some of the cheapest money in generations.

Updated: September 22, 2012, - 06:34 PM

Schafer: 'Customer' gives way to 'guest' at Regis Corp.

Dan Hanrahan has been chief executive of Regis Corp. for just six weeks, but the biggest change he may ever bring to the Edina-based company happened on his first day.

Updated: September 18, 2012, - 08:48 PM

Schafer: 3M-Avery deal would help, not kill, innovation

In the self-congratulatory statement the U.S. Department of Justice released earlier this month when it thought it had killed the 3M Co.'s planned purchase of Avery Dennison Corp.'s office and consumer products business, one thing stands out.

Updated: September 15, 2012, - 09:02 PM

Schafer: St. Jude's job cuts are about device tax

St. Jude Medical Inc. said its recently announced restructuring, one that cost 300 employees their jobs, was mostly about taking better advantage of its scale and saving money.

Updated: September 11, 2012, - 08:58 PM