Publications

January 1987 (Revised September 1991)
Case

Walt Disney Co.'s Yen Financing

By: W. Carl Kester and William B. Allen

Walt Disney is considering hedging future yen inflows from Disney Tokyo. It is evaluating techniques using FX Forwards, swaps, and Yen term borrowings. Goldman Sachs presents a rather unusual but potentially attractive solution: Disney could issue ECU Eurobonds and... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Currency; Bonds; Valuation; Tokyo

September 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Dream: Impact Through Real Estate

By: Michael Chu and John Masko

The Canadian city of Toronto had one of the largest housing affordability problems of any city in the developed world. One company trying to address this problem was Dream, one of the largest real estate groups in Canada. In 2021, Dream had just launched a new system... View Details

April 2011 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Jamaica's Anemic Growth: The IMF, China and the Debt(th) Trap

By: Rafael Di Tella and Natalie Kindred

This case describes the economic development problems faced by the small Caribbean-island country of Jamaica over most of the past half-century. The Jamaican economy showed relatively strong growth in the 1960s but stagnated in the 1970s. By the end of that decade,... View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; International Finance; Crime and Corruption; Poverty; Private Sector; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Economy; Developing Countries and Economies; Borrowing and Debt; Jamaica

09 Nov 2023
News

From the Brink

Antonio Weiss (MBA 1994), Adam Chepenik (MBA 2010), Sebastián Negrón-Reichard (JD/MBA 2024) As the senior top official in the US Treasury Department on domestic finance issues, Antonio Weiss (MBA 1994) could see Puerto Rico’s financial meltdown coming, like watching a... View Details

Keywords: Ralph Ranalli

January 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Lyons Document Storage Corporation: Bond Math

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

In 2009 a recent MBA must analyze the possible refunding of bonds issued in 2000 when interest rates were much higher. She must consider the possible consequences of repurchasing company bonds outstanding using cash that might be obtained by issuing new bonds at a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Accounting; Quantitative Analysis; Securities; Debt Securities; Bonds; Cash Flow; Mathematical Methods; Accounting; Interest Rates

September 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Emergence, Valhalla, and Orchid: Divergent Models for Venture Capital Funds

By: William A. Sahlman and Matthew Willis

Compares and contrasts three different venture capital funds from the perspective of a potential investor. The first fund has a technology-enabled services preference, the second a Mid-Atlantic region preference, and the third a seed round preference. Students are... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Entrepreneurship; Service Operations; Information Technology; Venture Capital

Web

Accounting & Management - Faculty & Research

Accounting & Management Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students June 2025 Case Transforming a Titan (A) By: George Serafeim and Lena Duchene Dimitri Papalexopoulos, fourth-generation CEO of... View Details

May 1986 (Revised February 1991)
Case

Wilson Lumber Co.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The Wilson Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of the... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Financing and Loans; Banks and Banking; Forecasting and Prediction; Sales; Financial Strategy

Web

Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century - Leadership

Fisher Body Company, 1908–1926 Herman G. Fisher Fisher-Price Toy Company, 1930–1966 Donald V. Fites Caterpillar Tractor Company, 1990–1999 Henry M. Flagler Florida East Coast Railway, 1886–1913 Henry Ford II Ford Motor Company, 1945–1979 Henry Ford Ford Motor Company,... View Details

07 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 7

Legal Education What Courses Should Law Students Take? Lessons from Harvard's Big Law Survey By: Coates, John C., Jesse M. Fried, and Kathryn E. Spier Abstract—No abstract available. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Mar 2016
First Look

March 29, 2016

2016 Boston: Cengage Learning Management: An Integrated Approach By: Gulati, Ranjay, Anthony Mayo, and Nitin Nohria Abstract—The goal of Management: An Integrated Approach, 2nd ed., is to prepare students for leadership positions in 21st... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2010
Case

Financing Higher Education in Australia

By: David A. Moss and Stephanie Lo

Even before Australian lawmakers abolished university tuition in 1973, students in Australia had long benefited from low tuition and large government subsidies. By the early 1980s, however, the nation's universities faced growing budget challenges and an apparent... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Higher Education; Borrowing and Debt; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Education Industry; Australia

29 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 29

none of the five measures identifies firms that behave as if they were constrained: public firms classified as constrained have no trouble raising debt when their demand for debt increases, are unaffected by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

firms lever up, the overall cost of capital falls as leverage increases equity beta, but as debt becomes riskier the marginal benefit of increasing equity beta declines. They find that leverage is inversely related to asset beta,... View Details

10 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 10

no. 11 (November 2009) Article: http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/11/what-would-peter-say/ar/1 Teach Workers About the Perils of Debt Authors:Annamaria Lusardi and Peter Tufano Publication:Harvard Business Review 87, no. 11 (November... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

Finance Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students September 2025 Article Using Satellites and Phones to Evaluate and Promote Agricultural Technology Adoption: Evidence from Smallholder Farms in... View Details

16 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 16

low and unstable income, but also by heavy debt burdens. We find that the inability to save contributes to this indebtedness. Access to free savings accounts substantially decreases participants' propensity to use short-term credit. In... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

Web

Help - Alumni

prospective student to campus to see what the case method is like. Please review the Visit Campus page for the latest on visiting campus. While in-person classes may not always be available for observation, you may explore the HBS Case... View Details

February 1982 (Revised June 1990)
Case

Massey-Ferguson Ltd.—1980

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Scott P. Mason

Massey Ferguson began fiscal year 1981 in default on $2.5 billion of outstanding debt. The company's future depends on the ability of lenders, the governments of Canada and Ontario, and management, to agree on a refinancing plan. The case reviews Massey's performance... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Financial Markets; Financing and Loans; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance; Canada