Economic cycles and trends

It’s disaster in the desert. Late last week, Dubai World quasi-defaulted — and took the Emirate’s credibility with it. Will Dubai meet its obligations? It’s the question the beancounters of the universe are nervously asking. As usual, it’s the wrong question. Dubai was a mini-America: finance and real estate made up the lion’s share of […]

How they can help overcome partisanship and special interests.

John Campbell explains modern asset pricing theory and the links between Fama, Hansen, and Shiller.

Research finds that these fees are an outsized source of revenue for banks in poor communities.

One of the emotional impacts of navigating a tough economy is fear. We speak of courage as a virtue, but seldom do we spend enough time considering the flip side of courage, fear! Of course it’s there, lurking, but how should we deal with it? Specifically, should manager show fear? If so, what happens when […]

There are two kinds of people in the world, the saying goes, people who divide everything into two, and everyone else. Binary divisions everywhere shape our perception of the world. For several years they have crippled our civic life. We are used to partisans uniformly labeling events and ideas “good” or “bad,” without thoroughgoing analysis. […]

Most people who know me know that I'm a devoted Bruce Springsteen fan. I've spent more than 30 years listening to his music, attending his live shows...

I believe the big “innovation story” of 2008 won’t involve a cool product, a specific company, or a new creative hotspot. Rather, it will involve a general sense of anxiety about a phenomenon that I call Innovation Overdrive. And since 2008 is a presidential-election year, this general anxiety may influence the political conversation in the […]

A 3% increase in unemployment rate was linked to a 1% increase in the number of people in pain, according to an analysis of data from 1.3 million people in 146 countries.

Indian inflation has just hit a 3-year high of 7.41%. We can take comfort from the fact that many of our neighbors are faced with 20%; even China has reported an 11-year high of 8.7%. Global trends are cited as the primary reason for the present situation. The IMF has reported that food prices in […]

Several years ago, my colleague Dave Ulrich and I looked at how leaders build value by building employee confidence in the future. Our findings bear revisiting...

How consumer behavior feeds the jobless recovery.

Two years after the financial crisis began, the business community and the broader public are still wrestling with two fundamental questions about capitalism that should help to orient and shape how we think about business ethics. Last week, I discussed the first of these questions: How much faith should we have in capitalism? This week, […]

Data shows that family businesses outperform professionally-managed companies.

What do we need to do to get over these difficult times? Consider a study conducted by a group of Swiss researchers led by Ernst Fehr, who examined psychological motives for taking revenge. The researchers invented what they called “The Trust Game.” Here is how it is set up: You and an anonymous participant are […]

Is it the responsibility of schools to teach ethics? I think it is – but only if it’s done the right way. MBA Students don’t necessarily care about Kant’s third formulation of the categorical imperative — they need a simple values toolkit that they can understand and have at the ready, not an impression that […]

Thanks to everyone who commented in the Pirate Bay thread. I think it's a great thread. Let me respond to the two or three comments about a lack of nuance....

Renewable energy, eco-friendly construction, and many other green initiatives are markets that promise to generate jobs and profits. Former U.S. president...

Corporate interest in and action on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which had risen sharply following the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements,...

There's an old story about two shoe salesmen whose company sends them to a remote village in Africa. Upon arrival, one sends home a message saying, "No...

Describes three years of the Volcker monetary policy experiment. The Federal Reserve changed the focus by its operating procedure from an interest rate...

Since emerging from decades of conflict in 2002, Angola has been growing at a scorching double-digit rate, led by its oil industry. But the nation remains...

In April 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was again in Washington to petition Donald Trump. After years of rapid, export-led growth, Japan had slumped...

A bank loan officer must determine whether to waive convenants and extend terms on a line of credit granted to SureCut Shears. At issue is whether the...

In 2007, California-based Pannacotta Development had built iPort 12 near two active New Jersey shipping ports for $122 million. Now in 2011, with only...

This case presents a comprehensive overview of the BOJ's ultra-easy monetary policy which started in 2012. After years of sustained government and central...

Since 1981, the U.S. federal government has operated a price support program to help sugar beet and sugar cane producers and processors. This complex...

In January 2012, the government of India faced significant challenges to achieving three key objectives of high growth, inclusive development, and improved...

In the summer of 2023, Google (a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.) was planning to issue a $50 billion bond to fund R&D. Bruno Santos, a recent MBA graduate...

The global renewables sector was in a slump, but the Indian market was booming. India's largest renewable electricity generator, ReNew, faced a dilemma:...

For the past few decades, Australia has dealt with the benefits and costs of repeated mining booms-inflation, a housing bubble, a current account deficit,...

This case focuses on the economic landscape of the Chinese city of Chongqing from 2007, the year when its municipal economy began a decade-long ascent...

1980 was a critical time for John Hancock with high inflation, high interest rates, increased competition, and the desertion of policy holders seeking...

In October 2002, Brazilians elected a left-wing president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, for the first time in that country's history. As markets faltered...

Sun Hydraulics, 32-year-old global hydraulics engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida; confronts tough choices due to...

An essential new guide to navigating macroeconomic risk. The shocks and crises of recent years--pandemic, recession, inflation, war--have forced executives...

In 2003, the chairwoman and controlling shareholder of Argentina's leading residential mortgage lender are considering how to bring the bank's restructuring...

Describes the life and times of Alan Greenspan.

This case presents a realistic situation in which a firm in financial distress attempts an out-of-court financial restructuring by means of a debt exchange....

It’s disaster in the desert. Late last week, Dubai World quasi-defaulted — and took the Emirate’s credibility with it. Will Dubai meet its obligations? It’s the question the beancounters of the universe are nervously asking. As usual, it’s the wrong question. Dubai was a mini-America: finance and real estate made up the lion’s share of […]

How they can help overcome partisanship and special interests.

John Campbell explains modern asset pricing theory and the links between Fama, Hansen, and Shiller.

Research finds that these fees are an outsized source of revenue for banks in poor communities.

One of the emotional impacts of navigating a tough economy is fear. We speak of courage as a virtue, but seldom do we spend enough time considering the flip side of courage, fear! Of course it’s there, lurking, but how should we deal with it? Specifically, should manager show fear? If so, what happens when […]

There are two kinds of people in the world, the saying goes, people who divide everything into two, and everyone else. Binary divisions everywhere shape our perception of the world. For several years they have crippled our civic life. We are used to partisans uniformly labeling events and ideas “good” or “bad,” without thoroughgoing analysis. […]

Most people who know me know that I'm a devoted Bruce Springsteen fan. I've spent more than 30 years listening to his music, attending his live shows...

I believe the big “innovation story” of 2008 won’t involve a cool product, a specific company, or a new creative hotspot. Rather, it will involve a general sense of anxiety about a phenomenon that I call Innovation Overdrive. And since 2008 is a presidential-election year, this general anxiety may influence the political conversation in the […]

A 3% increase in unemployment rate was linked to a 1% increase in the number of people in pain, according to an analysis of data from 1.3 million people in 146 countries.

Indian inflation has just hit a 3-year high of 7.41%. We can take comfort from the fact that many of our neighbors are faced with 20%; even China has reported an 11-year high of 8.7%. Global trends are cited as the primary reason for the present situation. The IMF has reported that food prices in […]