Faculty News

Professor Edward Altman predicts that corporate bankruptcy filings will continue to rise throughout 2020

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Excerpt from USA Today -- "Edward Altman, the Max L. Heine professor emeritus of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business, credits federal government stimulus, saying small business loans, stimulus checks and additional unemployment insurance have allowed people to avoid bankruptcy so far. 'But these measures are only temporary' Altman said. 'At some point, they’ll run out and personal bankruptcies will surge.' In the meantime, Altman believes corporate bankruptcy filings will continue to rise, and that 2020 will prove to be one of the busiest years since the Great Recession – especially for companies with more than $100 million in total liabilities."
Faculty News

Professor David Yermack explains why he believes the recent Hertz bankruptcy had little to do with its previous private equity ownership

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Excerpt from CNN -- "Still, David Yermack, a professor at NYU Stern School of Business, argued the Hertz bankruptcy had little to do with its previous private equity ownership. 'It was inevitable that a firm like Hertz, which had grossly over-expanded, would have needed to restructure itself,' Yermack said. 'The rental car industry needed to shrink.'"
Faculty News

Center for Business and Human Rights Deputy Director Paul Barrett is quoted in a story exploring Facebook's recent policy shift to hide or block content considered hateful or that could harm voting

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Excerpt from MarketWatch -- "Facebook’s change in policy highlights the increased pressure it faces in a nation roiled by pandemic and protests. 'The decision by Unilever to join the boycott of Facebook illustrates that the pressure is likely to increase,' said Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights."
Faculty News

Professor Priya Raghubir comments on how the hierarchy of human needs plays into the sharp increase of stationery sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic

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Excerpt from Town & Country -- "According to Dr. Priya Raghubir, a professor of business at New York University, the reason why it feels “right” boils down to simple psychology—and the hierarchy of human needs. 'At the bottom are very basic needs: food, water, sleep. The next level is safety, then social needs, followed by esteem and self-actualization,' she says. 'In most advanced Western economies, the basic needs of most people are met. But when anything unsettles, like the pandemic, we obsess over the basics and tend to do things like stockpile food and toilet paper. After the immediate threat is assuaged, we begin to ascend the hierarchy again. Now we want to socialize—sending cards and letters help us form connections.'”
Faculty News

Professor Robert Wosnitzer discusses the recent Fed announcement indicating that it would buy individual corporate bonds, including companies deemed fallen angels since the start of the coronavirus pandemic

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Excerpt from Vanity Fair -- "Last week, the Fed announced that it would buy individual corporate bonds, including companies deemed fallen angels since the start of the pandemic, expanding its support for the riskiest branch of debt. Robert Wosnitzer, a professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business, told me that the central bank’s announcement came after it had exhausted traditional tools like lowering interest rates. 'It’s kind of ludicrous to believe that these corporations—after 12 years of having relatively benign policies on the tax level, on the Federal Reserve level, on every single level—that they couldn’t withstand three to five months of hardship,' Wosnitzer said. “It’s insane to think about that. But that’s the world we’re living in.'"
Faculty News

In a Q&A interview, Professor Scott Galloway offers his thoughts on how some big tech firms are benefiting from the coronavirus pandemic

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Excerpt from Fast Company -- "I think the work from home trend is a double-edged sword, but it’s mostly good for them. I’m not sure it’s good for their employees. What I think big tech workers fail to realize is that if your job can be moved to Denver, there’s a decent chance it can be moved to Bangalore. I think Mark Zuckerberg’s greed glands are going to say, yeah, by all means, let’s figure out how we can move your job to Chicago. And then we’re going to keep moving it further and further east and cut costs."
School News

Stern is recognized on FindMBA's "Top 10 MBA Programs for Working at a Startup" list

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Excerpt from FindMBA -- "At NYU Stern School of Business MBA students can join the NYU Startup Online Hub where they can discover and share startup job opportunities with the student body and alumni network. They can also highlight their skills and interests via an individual profile. On the platform students can also ask for help and share advice on working at a startup."
Faculty News

Research from Professor Edward Altman, addressing the total number of bankruptcies involving more than $100 million in debt in 2020, is highlighted

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Excerpt from Axios -- "While high-profile "mega-bankruptcies" such as Hertz and J. Crew make headlines, the total number of bankruptcies involving more than $100 million in debt is likely to be substantially lower this year than we saw during the last recession. That's according to NYU business school professor Edward Altman, who sees 192 such filings in 2020, compared with 242 in 2009."
Faculty News

In an in-depth Q&A, Professor Aswath Damodaran shares insights on equity valuations and discusses how investors can move from static to dynamic

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Excerpt from Barron's -- "Aswath Damodaran has taught tens of thousands of students at New York University’s Stern School of Business how to value stocks. Outside of the classroom, he is one of the best-known experts on valuation, and is often the go-to source when reporters are trying to understand how a hot new company can have metrics that seem to defy conventional analysis."
Faculty News

Joint research from Professor Sabrina Howell examining how private equity buyouts affect the quality of care in nursing homes is cited

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Excerpt from Quartz -- "Advocates say that these and other problems have only intensified as large companies began buying and consolidating nursing home franchises. Around 70% of nursing homes in the US are under for-profit ownership, and, since the 2000s, private equity firms have purchased many facilities, hoping to cut costs and increase profits. One recent analysis, published by the New York University Stern School of Business, found 'robust evidence' that private equity buyouts were linked to 'declines in patient health and compliance with care standards.'"
School News

Stern is spotlighted on U.S. News' "10 Best Business Schools for an International MBA" list

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Excerpt from U.S. News -- "International edge: Stern MBA students who specialize in global business can study emerging financial markets, international social impact strategies and similar topics, according to the school's website."
Faculty News

In a radio interview, Professor Robert Seamans discusses his research with PhD student Michael Impink on the impact of AI on the human workforce

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Excerpt from The Academic Minute -- "Applications of artificial intelligence or “AI”—the use of computer software that relies on highly sophisticated, algorithmic techniques to find patterns in data and make predictions about the future—have grown in number and variety over the past decade. AI is now embedded in many products and services that businesses and consumers use in daily life, including for example internet search and road navigation."
School News

Dean Raghu Sundaram is quoted in a peer-school roundup of b-school deans' reactions to the suspension of H-1B visas, noting that the restraints will restrict innovation, economic recovery, and the potential for economic growth, hurting all Americans

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Excerpt from Poets & Quants -- NYU Stern School of Business Dean Raghu Sundaram calls Trump’s move a 'zero-sum presupposition' and says it will damage the U.S. economy in ways that will hurt all Americans. 'We are deeply disappointed by the restrictions placed on high-skilled immigrants coming to the United States,' he tells P&Q, 'and by the zero-sum presupposition behind this move. These restraints will restrict innovation, economic recovery, and the potential for economic growth, hurting all Americans. Last fall we, along with many of our peers, signed an open letter to U.S. policymakers with GMAC to stress the importance of international mobility to the global economy — a position that has taken on new urgency and by which we unambiguously stand today and re-endorse.'"
School News

Five winning student venture teams from Stern's $300K Entrepreneurs Challenge, hosted by the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship, are spotlighted; Profs Hegde & Franklin explain how the competition helps students navigate through the startup process

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Excerpt from American Entrepreneurship Today -- “'A common startup trap many would-be entrepreneurs fall into is developing a solution in search of a problem,' said Professor Cynthia Franklin, director of the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship. 'With the help of our rigorous process, each of these teams identified a demonstrated and compelling market need as well as a clear path forward.'"
Faculty News

Professor Arun Sundararajan is quoted in an article addressing California's plans to go to court to compel Uber and Lyft to reclassify their drivers as employees

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Excerpt from SF Chronicle -- "Arun Sundararajan, an NYU business professor who studies the on-demand economy, agreed that ride prices would rise if drivers were employees. In addition, 'I think service availability is bound to suffer because this is a market that works very well,' he said. 'The extreme flexibility that Uber and Lyft provide workers now makes it much easier to cover the high-demand periods.'”
Faculty News

Insights from Professor Thomas Philippon's book, "The Great Reversal," are spotlighted

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Excerpt from Bloomberg -- "There’s a danger here. As Thomas Philippon documented in his book, 'The Great Reversal,' the EU has become more competitive than the US. Its antitrust regime isn’t perfect: For example, it has cleared too many horizontal mergers. However, the increase in markups (as measured by higher profit margins) after these deals has been generally less steep than in the U.S. because the market has remained more open."
School News

Takeaways from the Sustainable Market Share Index™, research by the Center for Sustainable Business and IRI, are referenced

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Excerpt from Business Insider -- "Research from NYU Stern's Center for Sustainable Business, as reported by Harvard Business Review, says products with a sustainability claim made up 16.6% of sales in 2018, up from 14.3% in 2013."
Faculty News

Professor Viral Acharya argues that the Fed should require banks to increase their cash reserves against potential losses by halting dividend payments

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Excerpt from The Washington Post -- "So policymakers should not wait to act, said Acharya, an economics professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. For now, interest rate increases are a non-starter given the economy’s profound weakness. But the Fed should require banks to beef up their reserves against potential losses by halting dividend payments, he said. 'You have to ensure that banks have enough capital on the balance sheet that you can afford to let these firms go bankrupt,' Acharya said. “It’s not about what’s happening right now. It’s whether you have created resilience in the financial sector to deal with what is a plausibly weak outlook.'”
Faculty News

Professor Joshua Ronen weighs in on GE's recent announcement that the company is hiring a new, independent auditor for the upcoming fiscal year

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Excerpt from Forbes -- “'GE wants to somehow signal to the marketplace that things are going to change,' with the auditor switch, said Joshua Ronen, an accounting professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business."
Faculty News

Professor Jared Watson explains how private messaging and communities have the potential to boost customers’ brand empathy, which has a direct impact on brand loyalty

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Excerpt from Vogue -- "Micro-communities act like a backstage pass or an Amex Centurion card by 'making people feel special', says Forrester’s Kodali. Private messaging and communities have the potential to boost customers’ brand empathy, which has a direct impact on brand loyalty, adds Jared Watson, assistant professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business. 'It allows brands to craft individualised messages for each subgroup of consumer rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.'"
Faculty News

Postdoctoral Fellow Rachel Marie Brooks Atkins cites findings from her research including that Black and white households with similar financial resources do not have equal access to commercial loans

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Excerpt from Los Angeles Times -- "Even when Black and white households have similar financial resources, there’s still not the same level of access to commercial loans, said Rachel Atkins, a post-doctoral faculty fellow in the management and organizations department at the NYU Stern School of Business. For example, Atkins’ research is showing that Black homeowners weren’t as able to use their home equity for start-up capital as white homeowners could. 'There’s just too much evidence that Black business owners are not able to access commercial lending to the same degree,' Atkins said."
Faculty News

Center for Business and Human Rights Deputy Director Paul Barrett warns that a new Twitter feature, which allows users to add up to 140 seconds of audio, could be used to spread harmful content

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Excerpt from The Washington Post -- “'Unfortunately, if the company gives users a new way to express themselves, some of those users are likely to take advantage of the situation to spew the sort of harmful content that has long been associated with Twitter,' said Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Center for Business and Human Rights."
School News

Data from a new report published by the Center for Business and Human Rights examining how social media companies have outsourced the critical function of content moderation to third-party vendors is cited

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Excerpt from Business Standard -- "Even Facebook moderators do blunders. Tasked with reviewing about three million posts a day, Facebook moderators make about three lakh mistakes in 24 hours in deciding what should stay online and what should be taken down, according to a new report from New York University's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights."
Faculty News

Insights from Professor Adam Alter's book, "Irresistible," are spotlighted in an article exploring targetless scrolling on social media

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Excerpt from Forbes -- "According to Adam Alter, a professor at New York's Stern School of Business, the author of Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked , we will find ourselves in a kind of autopilot as the 'sliding down' of all the news on Pinterest."
Faculty News

Professor Edward Altman comments on why he believes even a rebound in economic activity won't stop a record-breaking wave of bankruptcies in 2020; his Z-Score research is mentioned

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Excerpt from The New York Times -- "Edward I. Altman, the creator of the Z score, a widely used method of predicting business failures, estimated that this year will easily set a record for so-called mega bankruptcies — filings by companies with $1 billion or more in debt. And he expects the number of merely large bankruptcies — at least $100 million — to challenge the record set the year after the 2008 economic crisis."