Publications

February 2019 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Scandal at Steinhoff

By: Kristin Mugford and Phil Caruso

Keywords: Volatility; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Corporate Accountability; Failure; International Finance; Restructuring; Business Conglomerates; Crime and Corruption; Retail Industry; South Africa; Austria; Netherlands

September 1992 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Summit Distributors (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Amy P. Hutton

Summit Distributors was in danger of violating loan covenants because of slow economic activity and forecasted losses and was faced with a choice. Changing the inventory valuation method from LIFO to FIFO would avoid default but would require higher future income... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Cost Accounting; Cash Flow; Interest Rates; Economic Systems; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Statements; Valuation; Accounting Audits; Financing and Loans; Accounting Industry; Legal Services Industry

01 Dec 2015
First Look

December 1, 2015

an additional tax rate of around 11% on the longest lived capital. To pin down credit constraints as the underlying cause, we apply triple differences strategies using foreign ownership or pre-crisis debt maturity. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 27

finance a new venture? In this note, I will try to help answer this question by addressing the following topics: 1) Types of funding. The two major types of startup capital are equity funding and debt funding although there are a few... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Crowdfunding a Poor Investment?

debt or equity, saying 'I want to invest in my local bakery or dry cleaner that I know and support,' " he says. No matter how crowdfunding emerges following the SEC decision-process this year, it's likely to play a role in the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

of these net shareholder payouts were offset by net debt issuances, and thus effectively recapitalizations rather than firm-shrinking distributions. After excluding marginal debt capital inflows, net... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

10 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 10

in terms of both the bankruptcy code and the cultural attitudes toward corporate restructuring. This case can fit into an introductory course in a module on capital structure and the tradeoff between the costs and benefits of debt or in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Aug 2014
Op-Ed

Why Small-Business Lending Is Not Recovering

Assessing creditworthiness of small businesses can be difficult due to information asymmetry. Little, if any, public information exists about the performance of most small businesses because they rarely issue publicly traded equity or View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking; Financial Services

09 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 9

http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/709495-PDF-ENG Wal-Mart's Use of Interest Rate Swaps Harvard Business School Case 108-038 "Wal-Mart's Use of Interest Rate Swaps" recounts Wal-Mart's use of interest rate swaps to hedge the fair value of its fixed-rate... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 11, 2007

perceived as value-destroying and may not improve a firm's competitive advantage. Bank Debt and Corporate Governance Authors:Victoria Ivashina, Vinay Nair, Anthony Saunders, Nadia Massoud, and Roger Stover Periodical:Review of Financial... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Oscar de la Renta

By: Bharat N. Anand, Elizabeth Lea Carpenter and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti

Over three decades, Oscar de la Renta (ODLR) had established itself as one of the premier luxury brands in America. Its mainstay business had always been producing and marketing high-priced, couture/ready-to-wear luxury goods. Now, in September 2003, it faced a series... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Production; Family Ownership; Luxury; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; United States