個案總覽

In 2006, Progressive Corporation announced a change in its dividend policy. Henceforth, dividends would be paid annually rather than quarterly and, more important, would be set according to a formula that would result in considerably greater year-to-year variability than was the case historically. Under the new policy, dividends would be tied to the company's underwriting results, its performance relative to pre-determined goals, and a target payout ratio. Progressive's new policy was intended to help with overall capital management in the cyclical property and casualty insurance business.

In early July of 2008, William (Bill) Jacques, Chief Investment Officer at Martingale Asset Management, a quantitative value-oriented investment manager in Boston, Massachusetts, was busy preparing for an upcoming meeting with the group that made new product decisions within the firm. The objective of the meeting was to review the backtesting and real-time investment results of a new minimum-variance strategy within the framework of a 130/30 fund. The performance results were very encouraging, but Bill still wondered if they were a fluke of the data, a result of data mining rather than the reflection of a true market anomaly. He wanted to discuss several possible explanations of the phenomenon, and to decide whether Martingale should offer the strategy to its clients.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 209047.

Recently, the Indian Congress asked a distinguished committee of experts to analyze and make policy recommendations about India's Cooperative Financial Institutions (CFIs), which included organizations such as credit unions and cooperative banks. One committee member, Mohan R. Narayan, a leading economist at a prestigious Indian university, was enthusiastic about the job; it was an opportunity to help millions of rural poor and to have a positive effect on the country. Some poor farmers, deeply in debts to money-lenders, had been reported to resort to committing suicide when they faced with drought or other catastrophes and saw little reason to continue living. Well-functioning CFIs would certainly help restore hope and boost income for the rural poor. But he knew the system had a long history of overregulation, financial laxity, and corruption. Creating an actionable and clear strategy would be no easy task. The case, written at the invitation of the World Bank to study the challenges of building inclusive financial system in emerging countries, invites students to discuss 1) The roles and responsibilities of financial institutions in poverty-reduction and economic development, 2) the benefits and risks of using public versus private institutions to aid development, and more specifically, 3) the economics of credit cooperatives-in particular how they function in an emerging market setting.

In 2006, Citect Corporation, a publicly traded Australian software company, was the target of a takeover battle between a financial sponsor and a strategic buyer. Thoma Bravo, the US-based private equity firm, had to decide on its acquisition strategy in the face of competition from Schneider Electric, a large French multinational. The case allows for a thorough analysis of buyer types (financial vs. strategic), deal strategy and valuation. Among other topics covered in the case are the importance of due diligence, the potential for value creation by private equity firms through operational improvements, the use of footholds in deal strategy and the challenges of cross-border acquisitions.

The person responsible for global allocation for a large pension fund had been asked by the board of directors in April 2008 for an assessment on whether she thinks the dollar would appreciate or depreciate over the next five to ten years. She has heard mostly negative views about path of the dollar over the long term, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's suggestion that the Gulf States, and others, should de-link from the U.S. dollar as a way to contain inflationary pressures. Currently, the fund is 60% in dollar-based assets and 40% in foreign markets. The dollar's sharp decline against a broad array of currencies, central banks diversifying reserves away from dollars, and some OPEC members invoicing oil-sales currencies in other than dollars are discouraging news. She considers whether to increase the foreign weighting and, because the dollar has overshot its "long-term value," whether it is now more likely to appreciate than depreciate, and finally whether the fund should use the recent dollar pessimism as an opportunity to take profits on its foreign positions and increase the weighting on the now relatively cheap U.S. securities.

This technical note introduces the basic structure of what we call the Three-Paned Model. The model is essentially just an "opening up" of the closed-economy IS/LM Model, with the main pane being the IS/LM Model (modified only slightly to allow for international trade) and two additional panes that determine the amount of capital inflows, net exports, and the exchange rate. This note is not a substitute for the more in-depth presentation of these models found in textbooks, but should be used to complement each textbook's richer treatment of the theoretical and technical aspects of these models.

A major bankrupt retailer is poised to emerge from Chapter 11. Two activist hedge funds ("vulture investors") will own over 50% of reorganized Kmart's common stock, based on prior investments in Kmart's debt claims, and an infusion of new equity financing. The chapter 11 process has generated both costs and benefits for the company. Its future profitability, and the value of the reorganized business, are both highly uncertain.

Roberto Charvel is a young MBA graduate making his first personal real estate investment in his native Mexico City. Charvel is planning to purchase and renovate a nine unit apartment building. Is the market good? Should he sell or lease the units? How should he handle other issues like the architectural designs, the construction process, and the legal process? How should he balance all the competing demands on his time? This case serves as an introduction to the multifamily property type.

On November 30, 2007, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Goodwin Wealth Management (Goodwin), decided to hire a consultant to make an assessment of his current situation. Recently, several firms had expressed interest in acquiring Goodwin. The CEO knew he would have to decide whether to consider these offers or not very soon in order to avoid a hostile bidding situation. If the CEO did decide to consider an acquisition, he would have to act quickly in order to take advantage of the current stock's high price. Further complicating the decision was the fact that Goodwin had been built by the CEO's father, George, who would try to influence the decision-making process. The CEO wanted to do what was best for the company while protecting his family's reputation. He awaited the advice from the consultant.

This case presents students with an opportunity to develop a set of performance metrics based on four strategic goal statements. The setting is a highly ranked United States MBA program. Students are given some basic, limited-but-sufficient contextual information about the school to get a sense of its heritage, avowed differentiating characteristics, and important foci.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The lender case for the Real Property Negotiation Game. Porus Bank must decide to which buyers they must learn and at what terms.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The buyer case for the Real Property Negotiation Game. Celia Hernandez must decide which of two properties to purchase.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The buyer case for the Real Property Negotiation Game. Celia Hernandez must decide which of two properties to purchase.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The seller case, Raleigh Commons, for the Real Property Negotiation Game. Steve Stroud must decide whether and at what price to sell his property.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The seller case, Las Vegas, for the Real Property Negotiation Game. David Stephens must decide whether and at what price to sell his property.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The seller case, Las Vegas, for the Real Property Negotiation Game. David Stephens must decide whether and at what price to sell his property.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The seller case, Raleigh Commons, for the Real Property Negotiation Game. Steve Stroud must decide whether and at what price to sell his property.

The founders of BarKar, an investment company, are considering whether to invest in Harley-Davidson Inc. BarKar is a value-oriented investment company in Vancouver, B.C., Canada that specializes in identifying and investing in companies trading at more than a one-third discount to their intrinsic value. In order to reach a decision, the founders have to look at the financials and carry out a strategic analysis to determine the intrinsic value of this stock.

Spreadsheet for case UV1205