Forecasts - Publications - Faculty & Research

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

‘Retail Revolution’ Excerpt: The Scale of the Ecommerce Threat

forecasting can be more accurate and replenishment more timely, and thus markdowns, shrink costs, and working capital needs are reduced. Online fulfillment and home delivery also create traffic problems for brick-and-mortar retailers.... View Details

Keywords: Re: Rajiv Lal; Retail

01 Jun 2007
News

Up from the Ashes

industrial capitalism has produced the greatest per capita output of goods ever recorded. And, in direct contravention of the Marxian forecast that workers’ share of income will steadily fall, Schumpeter repeats that “relative shares have... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

March 2011 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Cree, Inc.: Which Bright Future?

By: David J. Collis, Mary Furey and Matthew Shaffer

After its founding in the late 1980s, Cree Inc. quickly grew into a major player in the emerging LED market. By 2007, technological improvements in LEDs had made them suitable for TV, computer, and mobile "backlighting"; and concerns over global warning led to calls to... View Details

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07 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

If you ask any given environmentalist to identify the biggest threat to the planet, you may expect to hear about man-made climate change, consumerism, or overpopulation. But if you ask Harvard Business School's Joseph B. Lassiter, he'll toss in another: single-issue... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

02 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Investor Protection: The Czech Experience

When TV Nova launched in 1992 as the first new television channel in post-communist Czechoslovakia, few might have imagined the joint-venture drama unfolding behind the scenes. Distinguished for bringing Baywatch, soccer matches, and sexy weather View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Media & Broadcasting; Entertainment & Recreation

15 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 15, 2008

option values on volatility. When an investor trades an option, they are essentially trading volatility. Therefore, much of the focus in this lesson is on forecasting volatility. Students are able to use two primary methods for View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

06 Dec 2016
First Look

December 6, 2016

rate. In addition, the real rate forecasts returns on the low-minus-high volatility portfolio, though it appears unrelated with measures of the quantity of risk. Our results suggest that precautionary savings motives, and thus the real... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 11, 2008

at Columbia University, which they had covered together, as all were alumni. They were commiserating about having to submit revised forecasts to their division heads by the end of the week. Alec Hastings, head of Global Institutional... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 14, 2007

and practice of modern contingent claims analysis (CCA). The paper provides a new framework for adapting the CCA model to the sovereign balance sheet in a way that can help forecast credit spreads and evaluate the impact of market risks... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Sep 2018
News

After the Fall

investments, enabling them to forecast higher returns and discount reported liabilities at a higher rate, making the funds appear less under-funded than they were. “The cycles of optimism and pessimism in financial markets will always... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers; illustration by Dan Bejar; Monetary Authorities-Central Bank; Finance; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Government

01 Mar 2015
News

A Boomtown's Echo

George is the finance director for the Post Carbon Institute, a California think tank dedicated to promoting sustainable energy that recently examined the Bakken in its report Drilling Deeper: A Reality Check on U.S. Government Forecasts... View Details

Keywords: Oil and Gas Extraction; Mining

July 2001
Technical Note

Technical Note on LBO Valuation (A): LBO Structure and the Target IRR Method of Valuation

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Explains the equity cash flow method of valuation as it applies to leveraged buyouts. Also explains: 1) earnings and cash flow forecasts, 2) debt structure and the cash sweep, 3) the cashing out horizon and terminal valuation, and 4) the target IRR method of valuation. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Capital Budgeting; Borrowing and Debt; Cash Flow; Equity; Profit; Price; Forecasting and Prediction

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September 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

River Remedy: Navigating Mississippi’s Medical Marijuana Market

By: Robin Greenwood, Richard S. Ruback and Robert Ialenti

MBA student William Chism, the founder of a fully integrated medical marijuana company based in Mississippi, must respond to a significant disruption in the fledgling industry. In late 2023, Rapid Analytics, one of two active licensed testing facilities, has its... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Growth and Maturation; Forecasting and Prediction; Microeconomics; Local Range; Government Legislation; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Competitive Strategy; Governance Controls; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Mississippi

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May 20, 2016
Comment

World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics

By: John A. Quelch

When it comes to emergency preparedness for pandemics, the World Health Organization is falling short. It has not provided prompt and clear leadership to the world in combating either the Ebola or Zika viruses. Its leadership has been low energy, its representatives... View Details

Citation

Read Now

January 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Caterpillar, Inc. (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

2010 Healthcare Reform Act eliminates Medicare Part D subsidy and Caterpillar recognizes a $100 million change. View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Employment; Cost vs Benefits; Forecasting and Prediction; Change Management; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Activity Based Costing and Management; Business or Company Management; Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

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27 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, February 27, 2018

percent increase in housing prices. Moreover, Yelp measures of local business activity provide leading indicators for housing price changes and help to forecast which neighborhoods are gentrifying. Download working paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Oct 2013
Op-Ed

Response to Readers: Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

With more than 7,500 views and 180-plus tweets, I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read the original HBS Working Knowledge piece, The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking, and, in particular, for sharing your thoughts with one... View Details

Keywords: by Joe Lassiter; Energy; Utilities

01 Apr 2002
News

Student Conferences Spark Discussion, Promote Interaction

discussed China's inclusion in the World Trade Organization (WTO). As a member of the WTO, Barshefsky said, China is moving from a protectionist position to a more active, strategic role, an international function it hasn't played for the last two hundred years. In... View Details

Keywords: H Naylor Fitzhugh; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

January 2021
Case

Aster DM Healthcare: Budgeting for a Crisis

By: V.G. Narayanan and Amy Klopfenstein

In April 2020, Alisha Moopen, Deputy Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, a network of clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies in the Middle East and India, must create her company’s budget for the 2021 fiscal year in light of the onset of Covid-19. The pandemic had... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Judgments; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cost vs Benefits; Budgets and Budgeting; Health Pandemics; Health Industry; Asia; India; United Arab Emirates; Dubai

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July 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Background Note

Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Pricing and Profitability Analysis

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Jill Avery

Pricing is one of the most difficult decisions marketers make and the one with the most direct and immediate impact on the firm's financial position. This toolkit will introduce the fundamental terminology and calculations associated with pricing and profitability... View Details