Publications

June 2004
Article

A Catering Theory of Dividends

By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler

We propose that the decision to pay dividends is driven by prevailing investor demand for dividend payers. Managers cater to investors by paying dividends when investors put a stock price premium on payers, and by not paying when investors prefer nonpayers. To test... View Details

Keywords: Dividends; Catering; Financial Instruments; Investment Return; Business and Shareholder Relations

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February 2012 (Revised December 2012)
Supplement

Sino-Forest (B)

By: David F. Hawkins

Excerpts from a hedge fund's report accusing a Chinese bond company of using fraudulent financial statements. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Crime and Corruption; Accounting Audits; Business Earnings; Financial Services Industry; China

09 Mar 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Impact Investing: A Theory of Financing Social Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Benjamin N. Roth; Financial Services

April 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Seagate Technology Buyout

By: Gregor M. Andrade, Stuart C. Gilson and Todd C. Pulvino

In March 2000, a group of private investors and senior managers were negotiating a deal to acquire the disk drive operations of Seagate Technology. The motivating factor for the buyout was the apparently anomalous market value of Seagate's equity: Seagate's equity... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Strategy; Computer Industry

December 1989 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Manufactured Homes, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Focuses on analyzing the growth potential of the company using the company's financial statements. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Statements; Growth and Development

January 1994 (Revised August 1998)
Case

Hold or Fold?: The War of Attrition

Costly "wars of attrition" are common. Examples include: 1) the battle over the business of market-making in British government bonds that took place following the 1986 deregulation of the London financial markets, and 2) the battle that took place in the late 1980s... View Details

Keywords: Competition

2025
Working Paper

Generative AI Use by Capital Market Information Intermediaries: Evidence from Seeking Alpha

By: Mark Bradshaw, Chenyang Ma, Benjamin Yost and Yuan Zou

We study the use of generative AI for firm-specific financial analysis on the Seeking Alpha platform. We find that, after the initial launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the share of AI-generated articles rose sharply to 13.4% of all articles, then declined in late... View Details

Keywords: Generative Ai; Seeking Alpha; Equity Research; Large Language Models; Gpt; AI and Machine Learning; Information Publishing; Financial Markets

SSRN

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May 1995 (Revised August 2008)
Background Note

Intercorporate Equity Investments

By: David F. Hawkins

Discusses accounting for intercorporate equity investments and the preparation of consolidated financial statements. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Investment; Financial Statements

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

'GEnron'? Markopolos versus General Electric (A)

By: Jonas Heese and David Lane

In August 2019, Harry Markopolos—the forensic accountant known for uncovering Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme—alleged that General Electric had committed accounting fraud totaling $38 billion, coining the term “GEnron” for perceived similarities with the 2001 accounting... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Communication; Energy; Financial Condition; Insurance; Performance; Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Value; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

July 2009
Supplement

Spreadsheet Supplement to Blue Ocean or Stormy Waters? Buying Nix Check Cashing (CW)

By: Peter Tufano

These spreadsheets will allow students to analyze financials for Kinecta Federal Credit Union and Nix Check Cashing. They also provide insight into the banking and AFS markets in which both organizations operate. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Institutions; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

January 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Case

The Case of the Unidentified Industries - 2006

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Helps students to understand how the characteristics of a business are reflected in its financial statements. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Business Ventures; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Management

August 2018 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Fair Value Accounting at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (A)

By: Jonas Heese, Suraj Srinivasan, Francois Brochet and Christine Johnson

In May 2018, Berkshire Hathaway announced an unprecedented loss of more than $1 billion for the first quarter of 2018. Warren Buffett blamed this loss on the new accounting rules for equity securities which he criticized. In the case ‘Fair Value Accounting at Berkshire... View Details

Keywords: Equity Securities; FASB; Fair Value Accounting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Services Industry

Research Summary

Information Intermediation

Christopher F. Noe's research involves examining a variety of issues relating to the process through which firms communicate with external parties. He has shown that trading by corporate officials in their own firms shares of common stock increases in the period... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Begenau’s research agenda is directed at better understanding how financial markets work and how they affect the real economy. She uses quantitative analysis to build both prescriptive and descriptive models concerning financial risk in banking, and she also... View Details

June 2010 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Vereinigung Hamburger Schiffsmakler und Schiffsagenten e.V. (VHSS): Valuing Ships

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Albert Sheen

After booming for more than five years, the global shipping (maritime) industry experienced a dramatic crash in late 2008 as the global financial system froze and the global economy slid into recession. Ship charter rates (revenue) fell by as much as 90% causing prices... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Crisis; Capital Markets; Financial Liquidity; International Finance; Globalized Markets and Industries; Valuation; Banking Industry; Shipping Industry; Germany

07 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: Sept. 7

sociologists present a clear analysis of Cuba's economic and social circumstances and suggest steps for Cuba to reactivate economic growth and improve the welfare of its citizens. These authors focus first on trade, capital inflows,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

This Crisis Loan Program Preserved Jobs—and Made Money

after an event passes, according to recent research based on a survey examining French firms with fewer than 250 employees during the global financial crisis last decade. Conducted over a seven-year period starting in 2008, the research... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

January 1996
Case

Case of the Unidentified Industries--1995, The

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Helps students to understand how the characteristics of a business are reflected in its financial statements. View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Supply and Industry; Financial Statements