Volatility - Publications - Faculty & Research

June 24, 2016
Other Article

Why Brexit Is a Big Deal

The consequences of yesterday's vote by the British people to leave the European Union will be far-reaching, but there is no reason for global markets to panic.
Brexit is a vote against the European Union. Once heralded as the engine of a one-for-all and... View Details

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03 Nov 2003
What Do You Think?

Can Investors Have Too Much Accounting Transparency?

are more frequent, at times becoming a quarterly feature of a company's earnings. Reserves are created closer to an adverse event at a time when the cost of the event may be better known. One result has been greater volatility in... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

31 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

The Dow at 20,000: What's That All About?

economy in the last hundred-plus years. There was no specific event that brought the Dow over the 20,000 mark last week. Markets exhibit a fairly large degree of short-term volatility, so once you get close to 20,000, normal daily market View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

October 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Weight Watchers Mexico

By: David J. Arnold, Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling

Weight Watchers must decide how to react to the Mexican financial crisis. Options include exiting, reducing investment, or continuing previous operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Restructuring; Volatility; Economy; Investment; Marketing; Problems and Challenges; Mexico

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27 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 27, 2009

Working PapersThe Long-Run Risks Model and Aggregate Asset Prices: An Empirical Assessment Authors:Jason Beeler and John Y. Campbell Abstract The long-run risks model of asset prices explains stock price variation as a response to persistent fluctuations in the mean... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2012 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Egypt: Turbulence, and Transition?

By: Diego Comin, Mohamed Heikal and Adam Said

The case goes over the evolution of politics and institutions in Egypt over the last 50 years. The case provides new insights on the reasons for violent political transitions and also explores the effects of political instability on productivity and competitiveness. View Details

Keywords: Institutional Change; Military; Competitiveness; Democracy; Revolution; Productivity; History; Transition; Economic Systems; Competition; War; Performance Productivity; Organizations; Government and Politics; Volatility; Egypt

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March 2006 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Tecsis: A Global Cleantech Venture Based in Brazil

Bento Koike, founder and CEO of Tecsis Ltda., is facing a number of important decisions. With ups and downs typical of self-funded start-ups, Tecsis has grown to about 1,500 people and over $50 million in revenues with one major customer. Tecsis, located in Brazil, is... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Cost vs Benefits; Diversification; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Volatility; Green Technology Industry; Brazil; United States

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16 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Surveying the VC Landscape

VC investing and innovation? A: Buyout groups in fact exacerbated much of the volatility in the venture capital cycle. During the late 1990s, many buyout groups began abandoning the basic industries in which they had traditionally... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

August 2008 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Martingale Asset Management LP in 2008, 130/30 Funds, and a Low-Volatility Strategy

By: Luis M. Viceira and Helen Tung

In early July of 2008, William (Bill) Jacques, Chief Investment Officer at Martingale Asset Management, a quantitative value-oriented investment manager in Boston, Massachusetts, was busy preparing for an upcoming meeting with the group that made new product decisions... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Asset Management; Stocks; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Product Development

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29 Apr 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Use Personal Experience to Pick Winning Stocks

make it move the way you want," says Malloy. Team members Nami Singhal, Trish Higgins, and Yura Mikhalev (all MBA 2013) used a case that Singhal had studied about Argentina's volatile political system as background information to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

09 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Stock Options Are Not All Created Equal

take into account such factors as the number of years until the option expires, prevailing interest rates, the volatility of the stock price, and the stock's dividend rate. Fixed value plans are popular today. That's not because they're... View Details

Keywords: by Brian Hall

28 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World

the results of his inquiry in a new book The Good Struggle: Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World, which deals head on with the growing management complexities in the new economy. “What's going on now is a return to an earlier more View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

January 2013 (Revised April 2017)
Supplement

Maxum Petroleum, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester

Maxum seeks an oil-price hedging strategy that yields substantial cash during oil price spikes, is affordable under ordinary circumstances, and is easily managed. It is striving to avoid a repeat of the challenging situation encountered in 2008 when spiking oil prices... View Details

Keywords: Hedging; Options; Commodities; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Risk Management; Futures and Commodity Futures; Financial Strategy; Volatility

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13 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 13

Interest Rates Author:Luis M. Viceira Publication:International Journal of Forecasting (forthcoming) Abstract This paper explores time variation in bond risk, as measured by the covariation of bond returns with stock returns and with consumption growth, and in the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 1987
Case

Altoona Corp.: Computer Products Division

By: Roger E. Bohn and Robert H. Hayes

A relatively small manufacturer of computer memory disks has achieved a major market position through the use of its statistical quality control (SQC) program. It is now expanding the production of a new line of disks and is encountering problems getting the process... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Volatility; Performance Consistency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Quality; Mathematical Methods; Hardware; Manufacturing Industry

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11 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

The Business of Saving the Planet

"The fact that the benefits of addressing the problem of climate change almost certainly outweigh the costs ... does not make concerted global action to address the problem easy." —Climate Change in 2018: Implications for Business If there is one positive... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Energy; Green Technology

27 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 27

investment flow adjustment costs in the developing economy. We calibrate the model to match the Mexico-U.S. trade and FDI flows. The model is able to explain (1) why U.S. shocks have a larger effect on Mexico than in the U.S. and hence why the Mexican economy is more... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Venture Capital Goes Boom—or Bust?

Uncertainty about the future Information gaps "Soft" assets Volatility of current market conditions All companies must grapple with these difficulties, but young, emerging enterprises are particularly vulnerable to them, as... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner

March 2021
Supplement

Snapp: Scaling Under Sanctions in Iran (B)

By: Meg Rithmire and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in November 2020 as Eyad Alkassar and Mahmoud Fouz, co-founders of Iran’s first and leading ride-hailing platform, Snapp, eagerly await the results of the U.S. presidential elections.
The case takes us through the challenging times between... View Details

Keywords: Sanctions; Change Management; Disruption; Volatility; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Health Pandemics; Transportation Industry; Middle East; Iran

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July 2013 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Collaborating for Growth: Duane Morris in a Turbulent Legal Sector

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Annelena Lobb

By the late 2000s, the law firm Duane Morris had transformed itself from a growing U.S. law firm to a significant global player. The firm's uniquely collaborative organizational culture, which featured a transparent, data-driven compensation system, practice-group... View Details