Publications

October 2009
Case

Noble Group

By: C. Fritz Foley, Michael Shih-ta Chen, Matthew Johnson and Linnea Meyer

What role does trade finance play in facilitating global supply chain management? Richard S. Elman, founder and CEO of Noble Group Ltd., a global commodities trading company based in Hong Kong, must raise capital to support the firm's working capital and investment... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Capital; Financing and Loans; International Finance; Globalized Firms and Management; Risk Management; Supply Chain Management; Hong Kong

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

and loved reading, often devouring two books a week. He was a responsible child who eagerly volunteered for the school’s safety patrol to guide young students across the street. But Miller’s surroundings would change for the worse—and so... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

15 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 15, 2019

two very different alternatives as to which direction to take Bausch & Lomb. Essentially, she can either stay the course or terminate the management team she originally selected to run Bausch & Lomb only two years beforehand. At the end of the (A) case, View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

checks, or use convenient banking products and services, like debit cards and direct deposit. This possibility induces some low-income customers to pay back the bank with high-interest loans from payday lenders, the researchers suggest.... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

April 1990
Case

Philip Morris Companies' ""Bill of Rights"" Sponsorship Program

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Describes the new policy of the National Archives of inviting corporate cosponsorship of historic exhibits and commemorations. In November 1989, Philip Morris Companies (PM) became the first cosponsor of the bicentennial commemoration of the Bill of Rights, and used... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Brands and Branding; Decisions; Advertising; Marketing Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Reputation; Nonprofit Organizations

February 1986 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Travelers Mortgage Securities CMO

Describes a series of collateralized mortgage obligations offered by Travelers Insurance. Provides a general description of the life insurance business and the role of life insurance in the capital markets. Also describes a variety of mortgage related instruments,... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Capital Markets; Mortgages; Insurance Industry; United States

04 Mar 2009
Op-Ed

Credit is Not the Bogey

to loan Americans money. In the housing sector, an explosion of subprime lenders gave borrowers deals that were truly too good to be true, trapping them in impossible loans. In the retail sector, credit card agencies flooded mailboxes,... View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas & Eric S. Belsky; Construction; Real Estate; Financial Services

March 2009 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Washington Mutual's Covered Bonds

By: Daniel Baird Bergstresser, Robin Greenwood and James Quinn

Washington Mutual issued 6 billion euro of covered bonds in 2006. The objective of the case is to ask whether these bonds are mispriced in late 2008. The case is set in September 2008, and Washington Mutual is facing considerable distress due to mounting losses in its... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Mortgages; Price; Banking Industry; United States

29 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 29, 2007

needs of the "poorest of the poor," who cannot even repay loans and therefore do not qualify as Habitat beneficiaries? How can Makar continue to innovate to achieve the greatest mission impact while maintaining funding and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Nov 2023
Book

Economic Growth Draws Companies to Asia. Can They Handle Its Authoritarian Regimes?

about the potential dangers of unlimited states, and with deep knowledge of how power is practiced in whatever regime they are in. “I suggest students think in terms of political empathy—asking how different constituencies that matter to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

November 2009 (Revised October 2010)
Case

AME Learning Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ann Leamon

Justin Joffe is about to graduate from HBS in Spring 2009. He must decide whether to join his father's company, Toronto-based AME Learning, as president working alongside his father who will be CEO. AME has been in business for 12 years, mostly as a small consulting... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Family Business; Age; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Growth and Development Strategy; Family and Family Relationships

Find at Harvard

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

quantity. Overall, athletic success has a significant long-term goodwill effect on future applications and quality. However, students with lower than average SAT scores tend to have a stronger preference for athletic success, while View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Apr 2007
HBS Case

How Magazine Luiza Courts the Poor

developed a flexible procedure for credit approval, using nontraditional metrics to enable customers with lower, less easily established incomes (a pushcart vendor, for example) to make purchases. "Their loan repayment rates are the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

26 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Japanese Businesses Are So Good at Surviving Crises

people in the area regained confidence that life was returning to normal. Niinami’s company also donated lunch to Soma City elementary school students for three days in April before the school could get lunch service going again. When he... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

July 1984 (Revised September 1986)
Case

CML Group, Inc.: Going Public (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a series of decisions confronting Charles Leighton, co-founder and chairman of the CML Group. CML is a successful participant in the leisure time industry with two lines of business: specialty retailing and recreational consumer products. The key issues in... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Going Public; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Cost vs Benefits; SWOT Analysis; Investment Banking; Financing and Loans; Planning; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Find at Harvard

January 2005 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Stonewall Kitchen

By: Myra M. Hart, Victoria Winston, Kristin Lieb, Kenna Wyllie Baudin, Alison Bell and Leslie Simmons

Jonathan King and Jim Stott, the founders of Stonewall Kitchen, started out in 1992 with a simple business selling jams and jellies at local farmers' markets. By 2004, they had grown the company into a $25 million organization with 250 employees. They expanded their... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Food; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

January 2001 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Pharmacyclics: Financing Research & Development

By: Malcolm P. Baker, Richard S. Ruback and Aldo Sesia

Pharmacyclics (NASDAQ: PCYC), a pharmaceutical company that manufactures products that will improve existing therapeutic treatments for cancer, arteriosclerosis, and retinal disease, was considering a $60 million private placement in February 2000. The company had more... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry

March 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Harmonic Hearing Co.

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Craig H. Stephenson

Harmonic is a small, privately held manufacturer of hearing aids. Harriet Burns and Marc Davis, two employees at Harmonic, have an opportunity to purchase the company from the founder. As well-informed insiders who understand the industry, Burns and Davis believe the... View Details

Keywords: Debts; Quantitative Analysis; Financing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Development Stage Enterprises; Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Small Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Cash Flow; Mathematical Methods; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Manufacturing Industry