Publications

20 Jul 2021
Research & Ideas

Bankruptcy Spells Death for Too Many Businesses

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is supposed to allow companies to shed debt and get a fresh start. Ideally, creditors recover most of what they’re owed as the restructured firm begins turning a profit. Yet, more companies are liquidated... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

September 1997 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Bankruptcy and Restructuring at Marvel Entertainment Group

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Jason Auerbach

Marvel Entertainment Group is the leading comic book publisher in the United States, with superheros like Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, and Captain America. It is also one of the leading manufacturers of sports and entertainment trading cards under the... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governance Controls; Courts and Trials; Planning; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 1992 (Revised December 1992)
Case

Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction

By: Dwight B. Crane

Set in June 1991, two months prior to Salomon Brothers' announcement that the firm had violated the Treasury Department's rules governing the auctions of new Treasury securities. Salomon Vice Chairman John Meriwether must decide how to address problems that continue to... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Managerial Roles; Ethics; Market Transactions; Bonds; Investment Banking; Crisis Management; Auctions; Legal Liability; Banking Industry

08 Jun 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Loan Types and the Bank Lending Channel

Keywords: by Victoria Ivashina, Luc Laeven, and Enrique Moral-Benito; Financial Services

June 2014
Case

Financial Policy at Apple, 2013 (A)

By: Mihir A. Desai and Elizabeth A. Meyer

By the end of 2013, Apple had $137 billion dollars in cash and marketable securities. This case explores how companies can generate such large amounts of cash and how and if they should distribute it to shareholders, especially in the face of shareholder pressure. In... View Details

Keywords: Apple; Steve Jobs; Forecast; Forecasting; Forecasting And Prediction; Shareholder Activism; Share Repurchase; Dividends; Financial Ratios; Preferred Shares; Cash Distribution; Corporate Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Republic of Ireland

October 1991 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Butler Lumber Company

By: Thomas R. Piper

The Butler Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of the... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banking; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Capital Structure; Forecasting and Prediction

November 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Celsius Network Inc.: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt in the Brave New World of Crypto Bankruptcy

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

In July 2022, Celsius Network filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. CEO Alex Mashinsky acknowledged that Celsius had grown its assets “faster than the Company was prepared to deploy [them]” and as a result had made “certain poor asset deployment decisions.” Two months after... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Chapter 11; Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Asset Management; Acquisition; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Services Industry; United States

06 Nov 2008
Op-Ed

Selling Out The American Dream

that enable them to do so. Hardly any politician has had the courage to call for restraint. Average household debt in the United States is currently 130 percent of average household income, up 20 percent since 2005 and double what it was... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

01 Dec 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Financing Innovation

Keywords: by William R. Kerr & Ramana Nanda

28 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Could Create a 'Bankruptcy Pandemic'

cover debt payments owed to creditors. This could set up the perfect storm for a huge wave of bankruptcies in the weeks and months ahead, says Stuart C. Gilson, the Steven R. Fenster Professor of Business Administration at Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

25 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

A Macroeconomic View of the Current Economy

there's in fact no alternative to foreigners buying our assets, either debt or equity. As I said, if you're earning $100,000 and you're spending $106,000, you're going to have to borrow or draw down your assets to make up the difference.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 2015
Case

The Valuation and Financing of Lady M Confections

By: Mihir A. Desai and Elizabeth A. Meyer

This case explores the decision-making process that small, private businesses must undertake when considering an expansion and when selling equity to outside investors. In the process, students are asked to complete two exercises: a break-even analysis and a valuation... View Details

Keywords: Lady M; Bakery; Foodservice Industry; Breakeven Analysis; Restaurant Industry; Forecasting; Forecast; Financial Analysis; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance; Equity; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Finance; Food; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry; New York (city, NY)