Experience Stern | News & Events

A message from NYU Stern leadership to the Stern community regarding recent events

Excerpt from Money Morning -- "Edward Altman, an emeritus professor of finance for the New York University Stern School of Business, estimates about 8% of all firms whose debt is rated speculative grade will default in the next 12 months. Over the next two years, 20% will go belly-up. Altman also expects at least 165 large firms with more than $100 million in liabilities will go bankrupt by the end of 2020."

Excerpt from MoneyWeek -- "This week, Merryn talks to ex-governor of the Bank of England Merryn King about the pandemic and how to prepare for a future that is unknowable; the government's response and why science may not always have the answers; and how to deal with vast rise in public debt. Plus, a little bit of bonus Brexit."

Excerpt from Yahoo News -- "Instead, implicit biases are a normal part of one's thought process and come from messaging they've internalized over the course of their lives. This messaging comes from media, education, pop culture, and real-life interactions. 'Think of that as a fog we've been breathing our whole life, we never even realized it, what we were taking in,' says Dolly Chugh, an associate professor at NYU's Stern School of Business."

Excerpt from MarketWatch -- "Analysts have also pointed to low interest rates as a reason for higher valuations of late. The equity risk premium, or the expected return stocks will provide over government bonds sits at above 6% versus an average of 3.2%, according to data from Aswath Damodaran, professor of corporate finance and valuation at the Stern School of Business at New York University."

Excerpt from Moneycontrol -- "'For the next three years, until we have herd immunity or a vaccine, we are going to see significantly less consumerism than before as consumers will value savings even more, socially distance from others, avoid visiting large public places like shopping malls, department stores and sit down restaurants, and skip public events, especially indoors that are subject to recirculated air,' said Anindya Ghose who teaches business at the New York University Stern School of Business."

Excerpt from KCRW -- "'We live in a very litigious society, but no employer wants to get sued if their employee gets sick. So in order for that to happen, the employer needs real-time knowledge of every employee's health situation. And because it takes a while for the virus to present symptoms, we're either going to have to have some kind of scanning and scoring system for each person, based on your digital behaviors, and if there are any test results. Or we're going to have to have a much faster test, and it's going to have to be comprehensive and available. We're going to have to be tested every single day as we wait for a vaccine.'"

Excerpt from Project Syndicate -- "COVID-19 is a wake-up call to the global community. The global health and financial architecture must be strengthened, and in parts redesigned, to enhance our preparedness and capacity to act with speed and at scale to fight future crises. We should send a message of hope for the future: that the UN, G20 governments, and all interested partners can turn this crisis into an opportunity to build a new and more effective multilateralism, which more appropriately reflects current economic and political realities and is better equipped to address the challenges of the twenty-first century."

Excerpt from CBS News -- "Adam Alter, a psychology professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, said, 'Behaviors change, but they always change for shorter periods than we anticipate or than a lot of people expect.' 'He points out that the phrase "the new normal" was much used during the last two decades, notably after the 2008 financial crisis."

Excerpt from Poets & Quants -- "The combination of the Fertitta Veterans Program, living in New York City, and the school’s track record in investment banking recruiting led me to choose Stern. As I was transitioning out of the Marine Corps, I was looking for MBA programs with strong veteran clubs. I felt that a strong veteran community would help ensure a smooth transition back to school and facilitate a strong network for future endeavors. Stern has one of the highest military contingents of any MBA program, largely due to the creation of the Fertitta Veterans Program in 2016. The program reduces veterans’ tuition to $30,000 per year and has provided scholarships to many graduates. In addition to tuition assistance, the program helps veterans ease back into academics by taking the statistics and financial accounting core requirements prior to orientation with the rest of the class."

Excerpt from Poets & Quants -- "My favorite professor at NYU Stern has been Tensie Whelan. I had the opportunity to meet Tensie before I enrolled at Stern through events hosted by the School’s Center for Sustainable Business. Through this meeting, I was able to negotiate a research opportunity about ESG credentials of Fortune 100 board members. I was then also able to work as Professor Whelan’s teaching fellow for four of her courses at the Undergraduate, MBA, and Online Certificate levels. Prior to working with Tensie, I was aware of how approaching investing from a sustainable mindset could be used as a risk mitigant. However, as her teaching fellow, I was able to watch her successfully demonstrate the potential financial upside available for companies which I can use going forward in my professional life."

Excerpt from iNews -- "In the long run, this could prove to be a strength for Airbnb over other options, explains Professor Arun Sundararajan of New York University, author of The Sharing Economy. Airbnb apartments offer a greater sense of control over personal space, and lower occupancy rates than hotels, he points out. 'I think there is going to be a very large shift away from hotels and towards vacation rentals and Airbnbs,' he predicts."

Excerpt from New Books Network -- "I spoke with Dr Simon Bowmaker, Professor of Economics at New York University, Stern School of Business. He has recently published When the President Calls: Conversations with Economic Policymakers (MIT Press, 2019). His book is a very original and timely contribution on the relationship between US presidents and their economic advisers. The book, 674 pages, is divided into nine sections (one for each president from Nixon to Trump) and 35 chapters (one for each economic adviser of those nine presidents). The book covers 50 years of US history, 1969 to 2019 and is enriched by amazing pictures of the advisers ‘in action’ with their presidents."

Excerpt from City A.M -- "COVID disruption has pushed us to do more things remotely and digitally. Even though the tough social distancing measures (which are actually physical distancing measures) are being relaxed, we will keep doing more things remotely and digitally. Both these forces create a more favorable environment for the adoption of blockchain solutions and cryptocurrencies."

Excerpt from Forbes -- “'This strikes me as potentially good politics in revving up his base, but not at all sound as a matter of administrative law or constitutional law,' said Paul Barrett, deputy director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU."

Excerpt from Institutional Investor -- "In the first two months after the Covid-19 pandemic struck the U.S., early-stage venture capital activity dropped by 38 percent relative to the previous four months, reported the paper’s authors Sabrina Howell (New York University), Josh Lerner (Harvard University), Ramana Nanda (Harvard), and Richard Townsend (University of California, San Diego)."

Excerpt from WalletHub -- "There are hundreds of millions of credit cards issued in the US and most people with a credit card have multiple pieces of plastic in their wallet. To successfully launch a new card into a crowded market you need a gimmick. Another card simply offering 2% cashback would get lost. But a card with a gimmick of 1% on purchases and 1% on payments is different. The segment may not be that large but it is better than being unsuccessful. Although for the issuer it is a bit counter-intuitive as the banks make most of their money on people who carry a balance and pay the high rates of interest. Giving people an incentive to pay right away eliminates the interest charge revenue stream."

Excerpt from WalletHub -- "A 2% incentive on purchase versus a 1% on purchase and 1% on payment has differential implications for credit risk (the likelihood that customers may not be able to repay the amount they borrowed and the credit balance will go into default.) With an incentive to pay off credit card balances, the credit card company walks a tight rope between encouraging a credit card balance (on which it will charge interest, and so, make money), and taking on a potentially delinquent asset which will need the services of a debt collector, and, may, only result in partial repayment, if any."

Excerpt from Adweek -- "Brands that do retain their spend are more likely to retain the relationship they have with a consumer, which has come to expect business from these brands—even in a pandemic, said Thomai Serdari, a strategist in luxury marketing and branding and adjunct professor at NYU Stern."

Excerpt from Poets & Quants -- "In mid-March in response to the pandemic, New York University’s Stern School of Business created the SternWorks program to “ensure that every full-time MBA student who seeks a summer experience (or whose start date for an internship is delayed) will have one in order to skill build, create impact, and have the opportunity to give back to the NYC community during these extraordinary times,” a Stern spokesperson says. In three weeks, the school partnered with many stakeholders and created more than 100 projects and $600,000 to support MBAs this summer."

Excerpt from Financial Times -- "If earnings calls move markets, and markets are increasingly focused on the impact ESG can have on companies’ financial performance, then what role should ESG play in the quarterly calls that executives hold with investment analysts? That is the question Kevin Eckerle and Tensie Whelan of NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business and Brian Tomlinson, a research director with Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), tackle in a paper out today, which can be found here." 

Excerpt from Poets & Quants -- "NYU Stern’s The Center for Real Estate Finance Research was established in 2012 to foster research in real estate finance, economics, and operations at Stern, and to improve and expand course offerings and career services in the MBA and undergraduate programs. Its mission also includes deepening the relationship between the Stern school and the real estate industry."

The CEO Investor Forum and NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business are calling for leading companies to adapt and identify new ways to demonstrate value to investors. A new research paper written in partnership between the two organizations found that for companies to move the markets away from “short-termism,” and focus on long-term value creation and stakeholder engagement, they must increase the volume, quality, and prominence of ESG-related information and disclosures shared on the quarterly earnings call.

Dean Raghu Sundaram and Professor Jonathan Haidt engaged in a wide-ranging discussion, touching on a variety of topics including the impact of social media on democracy, the importance of human connection, and what morality looks like in a pandemic.

Excerpt from FindMBA -- "FIND MBA has updated its shortlists of the top 10 MBA programs by specialty for 2020. These Top 10 Lists—which group the best MBA programs for specific industry areas and business functions—are designed to help potential applicants quickly find the best MBA programs for their career goals. The lists take into account employment data, MBA concentrations on offer, research capacity, and other factors to help future MBA students find some of the best business schools for careers in various industries and functions."