Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,156)
- Faculty Publications (476)
- January 2009 (Revised October 2011)
- Case
Barack Obama and the Bush Tax Cuts (A)
By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Eric D. Werker
As his inauguration approached, President-elect Obama faced a financial sector meltdown, a costly bailout, and massive government deficits. With the economy in recession, interest rates near zero, and joblessness on the rise, Obama needed to decide whether, and how... View Details
- Article
Debt Maturity: Is Long-Term Debt Optimal?
By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk
We model and calibrate the arguments in favor and against short-term and long-term debt. These arguments broadly include: maturity premium, sustainability, and service smoothing. We use a dynamic equilibrium model with tax distortions and government... View Details
- December 2008
- Case
JBS Swift & Co.
By: David E. Bell and Cathy Ross
Brazilian meat packer JBS surprised many in the U.S. beef industry when it acquired Swift & Co.—a company more than five times its size—in 2007, then moved to acquire the U.S.'s fourth and fifth largest beef producers in 2008. The new JBS Swift slashed costs and... View Details
- December 2008 (Revised March 2009)
- Case
Rosetree Mortgage Opportunity Fund
By: Victoria Ivashina and Andre F. Perold
In December 2008, in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Rosetree Capital Management was evaluating the purchase of a pool of U.S. residential mortgages. The firm had formed an investment vehicle to acquire troubled residential mortgages... View Details
Keywords: Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Mortgages; Investment; Housing; Valuation; United States
- October 2008 (Revised August 2010)
- Background Note
Understanding the Credit Crisis of 2007 to 2008
By: Arthur I Segel and Ben Creo
This note details the background of the credit crisis, discusses potential causes of it, and considers its ramifications. The exhibits contain a variety of pertinent data regarding the rise of securitization, debt levels, and typical aspects of financial crises. A new... View Details
- October 2008
- Teaching Note
Samoa Tala (TN)
By: Joshua D. Coval, Bhagwan Chowdhry and Konark Saxena
Teaching Note for [209053]. View Details
- October 2008 (Revised August 2009)
- Case
Subprime Crisis and Fair-Value Accounting
This case examines the challenges in implementing fair value accounting for mortgage instruments, the role of accounting in the sub-prime crisis, and proposals for revising accounting standards given the crisis. View Details
- August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
- Case
Kmart and ESL Investments (A)
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott
A major bankrupt retailer is poised to emerge from Chapter 11. Two activist hedge funds ("vulture investors") will own over 50% of reorganized Kmart's common stock, based on prior investments in Kmart's debt claims, and an infusion of new equity financing. The Chapter... View Details
- February 2008 (Revised November 2011)
- Case
The International Monetary Fund in Crisis
By: Rawi Abdelal, David Moss and Eugene Kintgen
When Dominique Strauss-Kahn became the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund in late 2007, he faced a number of significant changes. The organization had lost much of its legitimacy over the previous decade, and countries seemed increasingly reluctant to... View Details
- January 2008
- Background Note
Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs)
By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford
This lesson integrated Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims with the CAPM, which allows us to examine the risks and pricing of credit portfolios and the derivative claims issued against them. In particular, this model is used to make... View Details
- January 2008
- Teaching Note
Credit Risk: Valuing Risky Debt & CDOs (TN)
By: Joshua D. Coval and Erik Stafford
Teaching Note for [208111] and [208113]. View Details
- January 2008
- Background Note
Valuing Risky Debt
By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford
This lesson develops the classical structural approach to pricing and hedging credit risk: Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims. This model is used to make investment and risk management decisions in an over-the-counter (OTC) market for... View Details
Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Investment; Price; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods; Valuation
- January 2008 (Revised April 2009)
- Case
Kinyuseisaku: Monetary Policy in Japan (A)
By: Laura Alfaro and Akiko Kanno
Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, faced a complex situation in the fall of 2007. An economic recovery had allowed the central bank to abandon its zero interest rate policy, which had been in place for years, and raise rates to 0.5%. The Bank of Japan was... View Details
- January 2009
- Article
Bank Debt and Corporate Governance
By: Victoria Ivashina, Vinay Nair, Anthony Saunders, Nadia Massoud and Roger Stover
In this paper, we investigate the disciplining role of banks and bank debt in the market for corporate control. We find that relationship bank lending intensity and bank client network have positive effects on the probability of a borrowing firm becoming a target. This... View Details
- December 2007
- Case
Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts
By: David A. Moss and Eugene Kintgen
In 1830, Governor Levi Lincoln, Jr. urged the Massachusetts state legislature to introduce a limited liability regime for manufacturing corporations similar to that adopted in neighboring states. At least since 1809, shareholders in the state's manufacturing... View Details
- December 2007 (Revised December 2021)
- Case
The South Sea Company (A)
By: David A. Moss, Eugene Kintgen, Agnieszka Rafalska and Kimberly Hagan
In early 1720, the South Sea Company and the Bank of England were cometing for the right to issue new shares and to exchange those shares for government bons that were then in the hands of the public. The British government had already executed two such debt conversion... View Details
- November 2007 (Revised June 2011)
- Case
ISS A/S (A)
By: Clayton S. Rose
Provides the opportunity to examine the nature and extent of a company's responsibilities to its bondholders, and to develop an enhanced understanding of the challenges in managing contractual obligations, and circumstances under which business leaders might agree to... View Details
- September 2007
- Case
Tetra Pak Argentina
By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Gustavo A. Herrero
Deals with the hands-on management of a difficult situation facing the subsidiary of a multinational corporation (Tetra Pak) in a developing country (Argentina). The situation arises from a major economic, social, and institutional breakdown that jeopardizes the... View Details
- August 2007 (Revised April 2008)
- Case
Texas Pacific Group--J. Crew
By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Lauren Barley
Describes Texas Pacific Group's purchase and operation of J. Crew, the catalog and specialty clothing retailer. Highlights the issues involved in financing such a transaction, and then focuses on the operational challenges of turning around the business, and of TPG's... View Details