Publications

June 2008
Article

Capital Structure with Risky Foreign Investment

By: Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James R. Hines Jr.

Keywords: Capital; Risk and Uncertainty; Foreign Direct Investment

SSRN

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April 1996 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Times Mirror Company PEPS Proposal Review

By: Peter Tufano

Times Mirror Co. (TMC) owns a substantial block of Netscape common stock purchased prior to Netscape's IPO, on which it has substantial unrealized gains. TMC is restricted from selling the stock in a public offering and is therefore considering a proposal by Morgan... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Stocks; Taxation; Corporate Finance; Telecommunications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

April 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Lex Service PLC-- Cost of Capital

By: W. Carl Kester and Kendall Backstrand

Lex Service company has grown into a large multidivisional company with a substantial capital budget. In 1993, the board was reviewing its capital budgeting procedures. Specifically, it sought to determine the company's cost of capital and whether it should use... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Cost of Capital; Equity; Capital Budgeting

July 1986
Article

Inflation, Uncertainty and Investment

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and R. S. Ruback

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Investment; Risk and Uncertainty

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January 2008
Background Note

Equity Derivatives

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

The goal of these simulations is to understand the dynamic replication technique behind the Black-Scholes/Merton options model. The simulations focus on a single stock and a risk-free discount bond, which are used to replicate a contingent payoff. The underlying stock... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Bonds; Stocks; Price; Risk Management

04 Dec 2006
Research & Ideas

The Money Connection—Understanding VC Networks

essential to the functioning of VC and the technology-based industries in which VCs often invest. And in addition to person-to-person social networks, firm-to-firm networks are vital in both contexts. "For example, about two-thirds of venture capital View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services

1998
Chapter

Risk-Taking Incentives and the Cost of Insurance Company Failures

By: Brian J. Hall

Keywords: Insurance; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Motivation and Incentives; Insurance Industry

01 Mar 2012
News

Capitalism’s New Agenda

these problems. When we stepped back from our discussions and considered what was being said, it was clear that the golden goose—global market capitalism—was at risk from the impact of an interrelated set of forces more powerful than the... View Details

Keywords: Joseph L. Bower, Herman B. Leonard, and Lynn S. Paine; social activism; Occupy Wallstreet; Finance; Finance

16 Mar 2023
Blog Post

HySynergy and Crossbridge Energy

“chicken-and-egg” problem: Every energy producer needs off-takers (buyers) and the cooperative strategy between HySynergy and Crossbridge Energy reduces the first-mover risk in order to spur investment from both parties. Additionally, our... View Details

01 Dec 1997
News

Banking on HBS

world's poorest countries. The International Finance Corporation invests some $2.5 billion in private-sector enterprise in developing nations. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency encourages outside investment in developing... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

24 Jul 2014
Op-Ed

Reform Tax Law to Keep US Firms at Home

along partisan lines, from overhauling the US corporate tax to punishing companies who choose to move elsewhere. On July 22, 2014, Mihir A. Desai, Miuzho Financial Group Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School, testified before... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai; Pharmaceutical

November 2005 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Motion Computing, Inc. -- 2004

By: William A. Sahlman and Caroline Perkins

Scott Eckert, the co-founder and CEO of Motion Computing, must decide whether to raise additional capital to support growth. Motion manufactures and distributes Tablet PCs. If the company opts to raise money, it must decide on the source and terms of the financing. View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Computer Industry; United States

24 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Economic Uncertainty and Earnings Management

Keywords: by Luke C.D. Stein and Charles C.Y. Wang; Financial Services

01 Mar 2024
News

The Exchange: Takeaways from the Takedown

committed—his victims lost almost $10 billion in the failed exchange—makes even the crimes of Bernie Madoff pale in comparison, says Professor Eugene Soltes. His work focuses on corporate integrity and risk management; he’s also the... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Finance; Finance

2024
Working Paper

The Rise of Alternatives

By: Juliane Begenau, Pauline Liang and Emil Siriwardane

Since the 2000s, U.S. public pensions have shifted their risky investments towards alternative assets like private equity and hedge funds, some more aggressively than others. We explore several explanations for these cross-sectional trends, focusing on those implied by... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Investment Return; Risk and Uncertainty