Review of Business

From the Editor

Editor

The Goldman Sachs Warrants

Warren Buffet's investment in Goldman Sachs in many respects foreshadowed the Capital Purchase Program's preferred stock plus warrant investments announced a few weeks later by former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. This paper assesses the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) and Berkshire Hathaway warrants issued by Goldman Sachs in 2008. It estimates that on May 1, 2009, the taxpayers' warrants in Goldman Sachs were worth between $250 million and $1.2 billion. In addition, Berkshire Hathaway's w...

The Valuation of Tax Shields Induced by Asset Step-Ups in Corporate Acquisitions

Borrowing is not the only instrument that shields corporate income against taxes. Apart from interest payments, any other expense, but especially depreciation and amortization play a major role in determining the corporate tax liability. Asset step-up induced depreciation and amortization tax shields are created in the framework of corporate mergers and acquisitions. Asset step-ups allow the acquirer to increase (step-up) the pre-acquisition tax basis of acquired assets to the fair market val...

Country Risk Ratings and Financial Crises 1995 - 2001: A Survival Analysis

The health of the financial system is a sign of economic growth and a key indicator for investors. As a consequence, one of the main purposes for policymakers is to guarantee its stability and to shield it from foreign disturbances. Both financial and economic activities are susceptible to crises. As soon as a financial crisis happens, a country may face a default risk, which can be measured in the long term through the country's debt risk rating. Even though, with the recent crisis, the abil...

Fashion Accessory Buying Intentions Among Female Millennials

There is a growing trend for shoppers to customize a large purchase by combining several related off-the-shelf products. This study researched one segment of this retail trend, the in-store customization of off-the-shelf fashion accessories by young women, to analyze selected factors that may affect purchase behavior motivation and to build a profile of do-it-yourself young female consumers. A survey covering selected attitudes, behaviors and demographics was created and pilot-tested. The mai...

An Integrated Framework for Information Security Management

Today information assets face more potential security breaches than at any time in history. To help mitigate the effect of the threats, information security management (ISM) is a very important part of a successful organization's strategic plan. Unfortunately, there is a lack of experts qualified to address the area of IT security. The authors propose an integrated framework for ISM, in which it is conceptualized as a continuous decision-making process. ISM is more about the operating procedu...

Modern Bankruptcies As Tools for Teaching Valuable Lessons in Business

Every day the headlines are full of news of giant corporations that have fallen into bankruptcy or stand on the brink of the abyss. Business school educators can seize this opportunity and turn these calamities into valuable teaching tools, as bankruptcy is not just about insolvent companies and creditors scrambling to get paid, nor is it simply limited to legal issues. To the contrary, modern bankruptcy scenarios provide a wonderful teaching opportunity across a broad swath of disciplines an...

New at the Peter J. Tobin College of Business