In description
Is the GameStop Affair a collective action revolting against major hedge funds, or is it just another form of speculation by amateur investors also aiming to become rich? In the course of one week, GameStop’s stock value had catapulted to an impressive 1600% rise from its previous value. This situation had Wall Street trembling, and had hedge funds and individual investors at attention. As GameStop’s stock value continues to fluctuate towards a lower price, its initial steep climb up raises questions on stock market behavior, the actions of hedge fund investors, and the trading technique of short selling. HEC Paris professor of Finance Johan Hombert explains the mechanics behind the GameStop affair and Robinhood trading application.
Are the efforts of transparency by the pharmaceutical industry sufficient to regain the trust of the world population? The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world hostage since March 2020, yet there is hope that this health crisis may be vanquished this year, thanks to the approved vaccines by Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna. While there are ongoing campaigns encouraging vaccination, there are nonetheless doubts about these newly-developed vaccines. This reticence compromises the effectiveness of vaccination drives already underway. HEC Paris Professor Vedran Capkun tells us why transparency is critical in this current context. He explains what the outcome of the production of these vaccines represents for the pharmaceutical industry.
Denis Gromb, Antin I.P. Chair Professor of Finance at HEC Paris, and HEC Paris EMBA graduate François Sauvageot present their business case study “Midas in Brazil”. Midas is a global chain of auto repair and maintenance centers, and the case connects several key themes such as franchising, the automotive aftermarket, valuation and joint ventures in a country renowned for its challenging business environment.
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics recognized Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson of Stanford University for their research on auctions. In this interview, Jean-Edouard Colliard, Associate Professor of Finance at HEC Paris and author of "Les Prix Nobel d’Economie", explains their research, and its role in the economy, society, and the perception of economists.
The idea of issuing perpetual debt to combat the Covid crisis has recently been floated by prominent public figures such as hedge fund manager George Soros (The EU Should Issue Perpetual Bonds), economist Luis Garicano and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (Toward a European Reconstruction Fund). A perpetual bond is a bond that pays an annual coupon forever and whose principal is never repaid. Conceptually, a perpetual bond is a coupon-paying bond with an infinite maturity.
According to recent research published by the Harvard Business Review, a strong privacy policy can help firms save millions. If privacy policies have indeed become more important for firms and consumers today, the real challenge lying ahead is to ensure compliance within and beyond the firm. A new tool developed at HEC Paris uses artificial intelligence to help managers, data protection officers, and project leaders take privacy-preserving decisions and implement privacy by design.
At the senior level, men outnumber women by a 10 to 1 ratio in the private equity sector. Considerations about gender equality notwithstanding, such a testosterone-only environment is not good for... the bottom line. A large-scale study of investment deals by HEC Paris professor of strategy and business policy proves that teams with at least one female member dramatically outperform male-only teams. An interview with Oliver Gottschalg.
HEC Paris Ph.D. student Huan Tang was rewarded the 2020 AQR Top Finance Graduate Award. This prize rewards the six best finance Ph.D. graduates in the world. Huan works on the value that consumers place on the privacy of information in online bank lending platforms, under the supervision of Johan Hombert, HEC Paris professor of finance. In this interview, Huan explains what her latest research brings to the field of data privacy in online banking and FinTechs.
The image of a Falcon rocket topped by the Crew Dragon capsule designed and manufactured by private company SpaceX as part of a NASA mission, has struck world public opinion in May 2020. Like its landing in the Gulf of Mexico a few weeks later, in early August. It illustrates the profound changes that have affected the space industry in recent years. In this article, Professor of international business law Lucien Rapp describes the transformation of the space industry and the strategies developed to enter the space market, as well as the challenges of its privatization for the future of the industry.
How to lead positive change within organizations in order to adapt to the coronavirus crisis, and yet continue to inspire and motivate people under such highly uncertain circumstances? Mathis Schulte, Associate Professor in Management & Human Resources at HEC Paris, elaborates on social psychology’s terror management theory, and what we can do to prepare for the disruptive changes ahead of us.
