Jonathan Lewellen looks at five periods of increasing rates from 1983 to the present comparing high book and low book to market stocks (value). “The short answer is that value stocks seem to outperform growth stocks during periods when the federal-funds rate is increasing, mostly because growth stocks do relatively poorly. However, growth stocks have historically performed well in the six months leading up to rate increases."
Sydney Finkelstein comments on the track record of boomerang C.E.O.s and how corporate success depends not just on the insight and leadership of the person at the top but also on factors—changing consumer tastes, demographic shifts, the broader state of the economy—over which the C.E.O. has little control.
Noreen Doyle T'74, who was born in Ireland and has joint US and Irish citizenship, will become the first non-briton and first woman to chair the British Banker's Association in its 96-year history when she replaces Sir Nigel Wicks on October 17.
Poets and Quants says Marshall Goldsmith's latest book, Triggers, offers solid advice and strategies to overcome the triggers in our environment and achieve strong abilities of willpower, focus, and self-discipline. Goldsmith says, “Triggers is really extra-personal—or about the outside environment. It’s a book about not only, ‘How do I create the world?’ but, ‘How does the world around me create me?'”
Paul Argenti and a co-author write, "A corporate brand can actually drive business decisions that keep a company on track with its strategic objectives. It creates expectation in the minds of consumers. Meeting those expectations creates the image in consumers’ minds that the company desires."
Stephen Pidgeon T'07 was quoted on the growth and M&A activity from PwC and Deloitte. “For us, the demand has come through the smaller and more ‘premium’ companies they have acquired, which have traditionally been strong recruiters of MBAs.”
John Vogel comments on the study produced by CVS indicating a shift in corporate responsibilities a year after CVS pulled tobacco products from its shelves. “I think it’s an interesting example of the nonprofit sector and the for-profit sector both working in the same direction.”
Paul Argenti notes leaders should take a proactive approach to apologies otherwise the delay can look particularly bad. "If you don’t take control of the situation yourself, it just looks like you’re responding to what critics say.”
Forbes released its 2015 List of America's Best Business Schools, placing Tuck in the #5 spot. Forbes highlighted that among those seeking employment in the Tuck class of 2014, 98% accepted a job within 3 months of graduation, the most of any business school.
A feature story on how a 1992 paper written by Kenneth French and his colleague Eugene Fama identifies three major criteria a savvy stock picker can follow to beat the odds in the investment world. Since that first paper, the two continue to issue major reports only every few years, and each is generally considered a landmark among managers.
Peter Fisher says, "Chairman [Janet] Yellen has made it very clear—and Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer repeated it—the start of [a rate increase] is much less important than the pace at which they are expected to raise rates."
Cites a new paper co-authored by Richard Townsend. The research found that the more time investors spend with their portfolio companies, the more innovative those startups are and the more likely they are to have a successful exit, whether that's an IPO or an acquisition.
Highlights Ron Adner's work on eReading platforms that compete aggressively with each other, yet also collaborate on certain dimensions. The study investigates the compatibility decisions of the two competing platforms that generate profits through both hardware sales and royalties from content sales.
Kevin Lane Keller says, "They said they're doing this in part in response to consumer demand, and what a way to kind of demonstrate that. It totally fits the rationale of what they're doing."
Sydney Finkelstein says, "The way most search processes go, you start with your wish list, and it's a very long wish list. So check-the-box thinking is risky. There's one thing I would put on that checklist, though, that you can't give up, and that's the ability to adapt and adjust in real time."
Highlights Tuck's announcement that a record 42% of the incoming class of MBAs are women, a ten-percentage point increase from only a year earlier.
Tuck's Center for Digital Strategies collaborated with experts from business and academia to introduce a “5-point plan” to boost the global competitiveness of European high-tech start-ups.
Sydney Finkelstein discusses how companies such as Accenture, Adobe and Medtronic are doing away with traditional performance reviews in favor of more personalized and developmental feedback.
Matthew Slaughter discusses China's recent purchases of stocks in government-owned firms. “The parallel would be if the U.S. Treasury or Federal Reserve stepped in to purchase the stocks of IBM or of Apple,” he says.
Matthew Slaughter discusses Tuck's mission and goals as well as how the Upper Valley’s economic health is linked to the world economy.
John Vogel discusses Tuck BUILDS, a pre-term program for incoming students that offers them the opportunity to help the local community and learn how business knowledge intersects with social and environmental needs.
Peter Fisher, senior lecturer and senior fellow for the Center for Global Business and Government, is a guest on CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss China's currency devaluation and the Fed's interest rate policy.
Erin McCafferty T'13 shares her personal experience of having children while at business school and offers ways students with children can build a strong support network while getting their MBA.
Sydney Finkelstein says, “If [Amazon] gets the image of an unfriendly place to work for tech people, that would be a disaster. Google and Facebook don’t have this reputation. They would end up having to pay people more to attract them to the company, a hit to the bottom line and a competitive disadvantage.”
Career coach Mathias Machado says, "Students get kind of bucketed into which companies shout the loudest. By coming to the heart of the tech industry before they’re swamped with recruiter messaging and enticements, the students are much better prepared for the decisions they’ll have to make during the recruiting process."
In this op-ed, Peter Fisher says, "Central banks have pumped up financial conditions in the hope of creating a good equilibrium between the supply and demand for resources. It is unlikely they have simultaneously engineered an enduring equilibrium in asset prices."
Alva Taylor says, "For small businesses, digital know-how can mark the difference between closing shop quickly and growing into a thriving company."
Sydney Finkelstein says, "Amazon is perfecting the American business model: working day and night. No meaningfulness."
Kevin Lane Keller says, "Fundamentally, brands survive and thrive on their ability to deliver on a compelling brand promise—to provide desired benefits in ways that can't be matched by another brand or firm."
Anant Sundaram says that because CEOs have accumulated savings and their shares are highly valued, they say to themselves, "I feel wealthy so I’ll go shopping for big-ticket items."
Matthew Slaughter says, "We already have seven million people today in the U.S. economy who say that they're working, but they're not on the payroll of a company. So these people are driving cars for Uber ... they're riding their bicycles for TaskRabbit; those types of new gig jobs. They're growing and it's going to be important to get good measures of them."
Michaela LeBlanc T'15 says, "At Tuck, I took courses in the core curriculum like marketing and operations that were far out of my previous knowledge base.”
Sydney Finkelstein comments on the apology by the CEO of Takata for faulty airbags. "His apology was definitely overdue. This has been going on for a while."
An interactive table shows how the top 25 U.S. schools compare with each other when it comes to the industry choices of MBAs.
Sydney Finkelstein says, "You need way fewer middle managers. It’s not that middle management is going to disappear, but the number of middle managers absolutely is going down.”
Marshall Goldsmith offers book recommendations for leaders striving to enhance their performance.