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April 2013
Case

Europe: An Ever Closer Union?

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Jonathan Schlefer and Diane Choi

In 2010, the European Union faces the challenges of the global financial crisis. With 27 member states, each facing different challenges, can new EU institutions respond effectively? Will its new currency, the euro, survive? View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Money; Trade; Currency; Policy; Government and Politics; European Union

November 1997 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Herbert Hoover (A)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Presents a character sketch of Herbert Hoover, along with Hoover's views on the cause of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Illustrates the political economy of the period and presents different interpretations of the course of the Great Depression. A rewritten version... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Financial Crisis; Government and Politics; Identity; Perspective

December 1985 (Revised January 1989)
Case

Cummins Engine Co.: Black Friday

A new regional manager for Cummins Venezuela faces Black Friday, Venezuela's massive currency devaluation and a weak distribution system. The manager must find a way to collect $1.4 million in receivables due from distributors and reestablish a viable distribution... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Multinational Firms and Management; Crisis Management; Venezuela

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01 Mar 2007
News

Avon CEO Jung on Leadership

corner office, you’re still learning, every quarter, every year.” She further listed pride in one’s self, a sense of purpose, and courage as important to a leader’s makeup. When one is a leader, Jung said, “Every day there will be a View Details

Keywords: makeup; grooming; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Health and Personal Care Stores; Retail Trade

06 Jan 2012
News

Where Are They Now?

the HBS Club of India—over the top. “We identified a significant global market and focused on an unmet but essential need, as health care is not optional,” says Mahesh, who got a very personal perspective on India’s deep deficit of quality hospital beds when his mother... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance; Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

27 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

New Research: Surviving Bankruptcy, Useful Economics, and Retirement

Crisis or Opportunity? Psychological Science Ayse Yemiscigil, A.V. Whillans, and N. Powdthavee “Does retirement lead to an existential crisis or present an opportunity to experience a renewed sense of... View Details

01 Sep 2009
News

Consumer Finance Makes HBS Debut

in the economic crisis that hit last fall. Howell and I have been working on these issues for a decade. With the economic crisis, the issues of household debt, retail financial services, and regulation in this sector came to the fore. But... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Finance

27 Dec 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty on 2010’s Biggest Business Developments

From the problems posed by the Great Recession to the devastation in Haiti and the Gulf of Mexico, from the continuing economic growth of India and China to a cascade of entrepreneurial ventures, the year 2010 offered a wide assortment of accomplishments and... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

September 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Infinity Carpets, Inc.

By: Ronald W. Moore and Thomas R. Piper

A turnaround expert must determine whether a firm in distress is worth more as a going concern than its liquidation value. If so, the finances of the firm must be restructured in a way consistent with the bargaining power of the holders of the various securities. The... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Liquidity; Crisis Management; Value; Apparel and Accessories Industry

March 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Sunōmi Switchel: Time to Switch?

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Shani Carter McKinney and Alexandra Horvitz

Nicole Blank has bootstrapped her functional beverage company, Sunōmi Switchel, to contracts with leading grocery retailers. She is now faced with a series of choices for if and how to continue to grow the business. View Details

Keywords: Startup; Start-up; Startup Management; Burnout; Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Journey; Bootstrap; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Startups; Crisis Management; Financial Condition; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; District of Columbia

October 2004 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Alibris in 2004

Alibris, an online marketplace for rare, used, and out-of-print books, is trying to communicate to the professional book dealers who are its main suppliers that they are in the middle of a crisis. Supply is flooding the market, in part from individuals who simply want... View Details

Keywords: Price; Books; Crisis Management; Supply and Industry; Service Operations; Online Technology; Consumer Products Industry

2007
Working Paper

New Framework for Measuring and Managing Macrofinancial Risk and Financial Stability

By: Dale F. Gray, Robert C. Merton and Zvi Bodie

This paper proposes a new approach to improve the way central banks can analyze and manage the financial risks of a national economy. It is based on the modern theory and practice of contingent claims analysis (CCA), which is successfully used today at the level of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Central Banking; Risk Management

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November 1997 (Revised February 1998)
Case

Finansol

By: James E. Austin, Roberto Gutierrez, Marc Labie and Enrique Ogliastri

Finansol, created to provide loans to micro-entrepreneurs, encountered considerable difficulties after rapidly growing to become the biggest micro-enterprise lender in Colombia. Major restructuring was required to rescue it. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Microfinance; Crisis Management; Problems and Challenges; Social Enterprise; Financial Services Industry