Publications

January 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Innovation at the Treasury: Treasury Inflation-Protection Securities (A)

By: Kenneth A. Froot, Peter A. Hecht and Christopher Edward James Payton

In 1997, the U.S. Treasury was deciding whether to proceed with a proposal to issue inflation-indexed bonds. This case explores the challenges facing innovation in the financial markets as the Treasury tries to determine whether to introduce Treasury... View Details

Keywords: Inflation; Innovation; Federal Government; Securities; Debt Securities; Risk Management; Bonds; Investment Portfolio; Capital Markets; Inflation and Deflation; Government and Politics; Innovation and Invention; United States

August 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Consumer Payment Systems — United States

By: Benjamin Edelman and Andrei Hagiu

In 2008, the U.S. consumer payments landscape was characterized by the ongoing prevalence of credit and debit card networks, the decline of checks, the rise of stored value cards, and the growth of new payment methods such as PayPal, Bill Me Later, and decoupled debit.... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Personal Finance; Digital Platforms; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; United States

03 Jan 2017
First Look

January 3, 2017

these issues. Firms devote more external capital to finance their share repurchases than to avoid regular dividend cuts. Debt is the main source of capital used to externally View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

15 Oct 2019
News

In Pursuit of Academia

the work and knowing that a consulting salary would help mitigate the debt she and her husband, Alberto Fernandes (MBA 2012), had acquired to finance their degrees, she turned down the company’s offer of... View Details

June 2025
Case

TfL Pension Fund and the 2022 Gilt Market Crisis

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Vincent Dessain, Emer Moloney and Carlota Moniz

On September 27, 2022, Padmesh Shukla, CIO of the Transport for London (TfL) Pension Fund, was keeping a careful eye on the turmoil in the U.K. sovereign bond (or gilt) market. When the new government announced the largest tax cuts the U.K. had seen in half a century,... View Details

08 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 8

correlated with growth only if net public debt is financed by another sovereign, iii) net public debt financed by private creditors is positively... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 1991 (Revised November 1993)
Case

Dynashears, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Piper

A senior loan officer is reviewing the recent performance of a company that has failed to repay its loan as scheduled. The failure results from a cyclical downturn in sales, coupled with a lag in cutting back production. Inventory risk is minimal. Teaching objective:... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Business Cycles; Financial Condition; Risk and Uncertainty; Failure

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

Keywords: Capital; Debt Securities; Legal Liability; Production; Business and Shareholder Relations; Manufacturing Industry; Massachusetts

19 May 2023
Blog Post

Choosing To Be Optimistic about Climate Change

not feel comfortable. Listening to the speakers and panels, I found myself both uplifted and devastated. I offer a few examples. Climate Finance Prof. Peter Tufano posed the question, “How do we 100x the amount of climate View Details

10 Oct 2018
News

Building Paths to Success

charities. The federal government contributed as well. SVA offered 12 percent return. Wind the clock forward eight years, and we met and exceeded our targets. We repaid the debt two years before expected, and there’s better quality early... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

04 Nov 2014
News

Fundación México en Harvard Celebrates 25 Years

the significant debt that might have hindered his social entrepreneurship goals. The idea for the Fundación México en Harvard was born in 1989 after a small group of Mexican HBS graduates learned a single, dramatic statistic: half of the... View Details

Keywords: April White

13 Jun 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: A Startup Takes On the Credit Ratings Giants

overview of the bond ratings industry, including its history, its major players, who uses ratings, and how they are used. The case concerns the strategic options facing a new entrant hoping to exploit the potential crack in the dominance of Moody's, Fitch, and S&P.... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Banking; Financial Services

January 2022
Technical Note

Introduction to Capital Structure Analytics

By: Samuel Antill and Ted Berk

This technical note provides an overview of key analytical approaches that are useful in assessing the appropriateness of a firm’s capital structure and funding plan. This note introduces basic quantitative tools and metrics that are commonly used as inputs to this... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Business Plan; Forecasting and Prediction; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Financial Liquidity; Financial Management; Financing and Loans

March 2006 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Hexcel Turnaround — 2001 (A)

By: Paul W. Marshall, James Quinn and Reed Martin

Hexcel's new CEO is faced with deciding how to "take out" $60 million in cash costs in fiscal 2002, as two of the company's end markets—electronics and commercial aerospace—are expected to decline precipitously. Options include closing plants, exiting a business, or... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Negotiation; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Change Management; Crisis Management; Borrowing and Debt; Aerospace Industry; Electronics Industry; United States