1173 Posts Found

Content: Book | Author: Peter L. Bernstein | Subjects: Finance, Miscellaneous | Industry: Investing

“With the U.S. economy’s spectacular performance over the last decade, why bother with the political instability, the double-digit inflation, and the local currencies [of foreign markets] that can implode overnight? One reason: ‘That’s where the growth is,’ says Robert Gluck, vice president and treasurer of Bestfoods . . . Few U.S. companies, however, are chasing that growth. While strategic planners are willing to make large, … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Andrew Osterland | Source: CFO Publishing | Subjects: Finance, International

Not to mince words, but corporate budgeting is a joke, argues HBS professor emeritus Michael C. Jensen in this Harvard Business Review excerpt. The problem isn’t with the budget process—it’s when budget targets are used to determine compensation.

Content: Article | Author: Michael C. Jensen | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Finance, Management

Pressure to meet the numbers is greater than ever. But don’t let your company issue a misleading earnings report. An excerpt from the Harvard Business Review shows how to spot signs of trouble.

Content: Article | Authors: H. David Sherman, S. David Young | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Accounting, Finance | Industry: Investing

High book-to-market (B-to-M) firms tend to be in poor financial health, as reflected by their low stock prices and poor earnings performance. Yet research consistently shows that a portfolio of these “value” firms outperforms both the overall market and portfolios comprised of low B-to-M “glamour” firms.

The reason for this is because a small number of high B-to-M firms are strong enough to raise the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Joseph D. Piotroski | Source: Capital Ideas | Subjects: Accounting, Finance | Industry: Investing

In discussing the state of the financial services industry, it’s hard not to reference the events of Sept. 11. Yet even before that day, the industry was undergoing a number of changes that will affect customers, employees, analysts, managers and others. These changes, and the outlook ahead, were the focus of two Wharton conferences in October (2001).

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Finance, Industry Specific | Industry: Finance / Banking

Companies are being pressured to eliminate classes of stock with supervoting rights.

Content: Article | Author: Andrew Osterland | Source: CFO Publishing | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Finance | Industry: Investment Banking

Corporate boards have long used such techniques as poison pills and anti-greenmail to stave off hostile outsiders. But shareholders’ organizations say such anti-takeover techniques are really meant to protect bad executives. Wharton finance professor Andrew Metrick and two colleagues examine which side has the better claim.

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Finance | Industry: Investing

International bank regulators are currently drafting a new version of the historic 1988 Basel Capital Accord, which set minimum capital requirements for banks around the world. Far from being an esoteric banking issue, the new rules will have far-reaching implications for banks and borrowers alike. As currently written, however, proposals for the new accord threaten to put an undue and unintended capital burden on … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: David Bear, Gunnar Pritsch, Kevin S. Buehler | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Finance, Industry Specific | Industry: Finance / Banking

Rice’s Jones School finance seminar links; includes some .pdf files for download

Content: Online Resource | Source: Rice University | Subject: Finance | Industry: Finance / Banking

Wall Street analysts relentlessly cheered the dot-com mania that pushed technology stocks to stunning gains in 1999. But even after those stocks went into a tailspin in 2000, few analysts urged investors to sell. Such behavior has drawn the attention of both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Congress, which held hearings on the subject in mid-June.

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Finance, Industry Specific | Industry: Investment Banking

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“Especially in environmental matters, the link between socially responsible practices and shareholder returns is becoming evident. That’s because a company’s ability to deal successfully with environmental issues can be a credible measure of management quality, which is notoriously tricky to gauge, contends Frank Dixon, managing director with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, New York. Management teams that excel in handling environmental issues, which come with a … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Karen M. Kroll | Source: IndustryWeek | Subjects: Finance, Social Responsibility (ESG) | Industry: Investing

Developing a local-currency bond market tops the agenda of many emerging economies intent on financial reform. The reasons are clear: a deep and liquid bond market provides an alternative to bank credit and thus helps to create a more competitive financial sector and to lower the cost of borrowing. And bonds tend to have longer maturities than bank loans in these economies, thereby reducing the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Tobias Hoschka | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Economics, Finance | Industry: Finance / Banking

By the time NASDAQ reached its peak in the recent bull market, many financial commentators had begun to accept the idea that stock market valuations were no longer driven solely by the traditional economic factors: earnings growth, inflation, and interest rates. Instead, they suggested, new factors—such as structural changes in the economy, new rules of economics, and the value of intangible assets and brands—justified the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Tim Koller, Zane D. Williams | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Economics, Market/Investment | Industry: Investment Banking

An overview of the business valuation process for business owners and chief executives.

Content: Article | Author: Michael Hoffman | Source: CEO Refresher | Subject: Finance

What makes the difference between a good finance environment and a great one? We asked the Association for Financial Professionals and Hackett Benchmarking & Research to help us find out. CFO’s survey of more than 100 corporations reveals best practices for financial workplaces.

Content: Article | Authors: Alix Nyberg Stuart, Roy Harris | Source: CFO Publishing | Subjects: Career, Finance

With stock prices down, poorly performing companies are more vulnerable to hostile takeovers. So it comes as little surprise that an increasing number are popping poison pills, a familiar takeover defense mechanism. What is surprising are the terms of some of the latest deals.

Content: Article | Author: Kris Frieswick | Source: CFO Publishing | Subject: Finance | Industry: Investment Banking

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20 years pass and one becomes two: that is, over time, the once-unified financial services industry split into two broad sectors. One is wholesale finance, where clients who have direct access to capital markets may receive financial services. The second is retail and regional finance, where clients do not have direct access but still receive services. Professors Ingo Walter and Roy Smith compare and contrast … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Ingo Walter, Roy Smith | Source: INSEAD Knowledge | Subjects: Finance, Industry Specific | Industry: Finance / Banking