個案總覽

CircleLending, an innovative start-up, offered individuals the ability to set up and manage informal loans made between relatives and friends. The company must decide which market segment to focus on and then how much money to raise from investors. CircleLending is a pioneer in the informal lending market, a largely unstudied and little understood consumer finance segment. Asheesh Advani, the founder and CEO of CircleLending, must evaluate the relative attractiveness of various segments, including housing, small business, and other lending.

The president of Fuji Television must decide how to respond to a competing bid for the shares of Nippon Broadcasting Systems (NBS). Livedoor, the other bidder, is a highly valued Internet company that has been accused of financial wizardry to keep its stock price high.

In 2003, the chairwoman and controlling shareholder of Argentina's leading residential mortgage lender are considering how to bring the bank's restructuring to a successful conclusion as the country's economy continues to suffer from the impact of the 2001-2002 currency crisis and default. As the bank's competitors, many of whom were also creditors, begin to close ranks, Banco Hipotecario's management and shareholders need to come up with a plan that will satisfy creditors and keep the bank's business model intact.

This technical note describes parity conditions (PPP, UIP, and CIP) and develops a model of exchange rate determination.

Supplements the (A) case.

In 1997, building on its earlier success with Tokyo Disneyland, Oriental Land Corp. Japan and the Walt Disney Co. discussed the possibility of a new joint project known as the Tokyo DisneySea Park. Different approaches toward capital budgeting and distinct corporate governance regimes led the two firms to evaluate the project in different ways. Although globalization of the Japanese economy has advanced with astounding speed, management philosophy and capital budgeting techniques still differ significantly among Japanese and American firms. In a joint venture, such differences have a momentous impact on decision-making processes. Illustrates key divergent practices between Japanese and American firms in the realm of corporate governance and finance.

In 2001, Pankaj Bajaj is considering whether to go forward with a residential development outside New Delhi. Facing an uncooperative local authority, he must determine how to evaluate the risks of proceeding against the potential loss of a golden opportunity to bring Eldeco, his real estate development company, into the top tier of industry players.

Howard Atkins, the chief financial officer of Wells Fargo, is considering issuing $3 billion in convertible debt. With an investment-grade credit rating, Wells Fargo is not the typical issuer of convertible securities, but the market conditions in 2003 are unusual. Strong demand from both convertible arbitrage hedge funds and income mutual funds appears to create an opportunity for Wells Fargo to raise capital at a low cost.

In 2004, Adrian Pandal is seeking financing for a residential conversion of a building in Mexico City's historic center district. He must convince potential lenders that the project is viable and that it makes sense to bet on the future potential of an area that, until recently, has not attracted substantial real estate investment.

Technically, the Three-Paned Model helps us understand the determinants of interest rates in general but tells us nothing about any particular interest rate. The vagueness of the Three-Paned Model is useful when first learning international macroeconomics, but is untenable as we move toward a more complete understanding of interest rates. This technical note is much more precise about real and nominal interest rates, providing a more complete IS/LM model as a driver of general movements in interest rates, presenting a supply and demand model for bonds that further enhances our understanding of interest rate movements, and discussing the yield curve, which informs us about the relationship between similar bonds of different maturities.

This technical note discusses risk and term premiums, prominent theories of the yield curve, and how to construct a yield curve.

A well-performing Chinese manufacturer faces major impediments raising funding to grow. Highlights various imperfections that shape the financing decision.

Are financial markets driven by efficiency or by irrational behavior? The "adaptive markets hypothesis" brings Darwinian principles into the mix, suggesting that neither is the case.

The case presents the IPO of Neopost SA, manufacturer of document handling and postage meter equipment on the Paris Stock Exchange. This IPO constitutes the exit for the buyout specialist, BCPartners, who invested in the company during its spin-off from Alcatel, and subsequently took over the majority of the equity in a secondary buyout.

The case presents the IPO of Neopost SA, manufacturer of document handling and postage meter equipment on the Paris Stock Exchange. This IPO constitutes the exit for the buyout specialist, BCPartners, who invested in the company during its spin-off from Alcatel, and subsequently took over the majority of the equity in a secondary buyout.

A retail bank is considering a strategy to improve branch performance. Central to the strategy is a recent study of profitability of three retail products: current accounts, credit cards, and mortgages. The strategy involves giving branch managers incentives to sell profitable products. A senior bank manager evaluates the product-profitability-based strategy in the light of recent statistics on major variations in profitability of customers (these statistics are included in the database provided with the case).

Spreadsheet supplement for INS453.