Cover your basis: Hedging real estate risk

Since the turn of the millennium, real estate has become one of the fastest growing investment sectors, not just in the United States but globally as well. But as much as we would like to think otherwise, there's considerable risk involved in real estate investing.

Another steak or another year of life? Consumption choices and the rise in health spending

Americans currently spend about 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on health care, but new research is projecting that by 2050, we'll be spending more than 30 percent of our income on health.

Podcast: Tips for filing your 2006 tax return

With tax returns due on April 16, we get an extra day to file this year.

Getting out early: An analysis of market-making activity

Stock market analysts move markets, and not just because investors believe in the validity of their research and legitimacy of their opinions. In an important new study, Assistant Professors Jennifer L.

Accounting cues bolster or bust restructuring efforts

Accounting practices can influence behavior that aids or thwarts organizational efforts to get the job done, according to research conducted by Casey Rowe, an assistant professor of accounting at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Betting on basics: An investment banker goes public with what appeals to financiers

Named one of "America's 50 Most Powerful Women" by Fortune magazine, Cristina Morgan has represented her firm on more than 100 IPOs for such familiar names as Adobe, Google, Pixar and Netscape. Recently she was inducted into the W. P. Carey School's Alumni Hall of Fame.

Are investors really fooled by earnings manipulation?

Accrual accounting, which allows firms to adjust cash flow from operations, is intended to provide flexibility so that financial statements can be made more informative. Nevertheless, managers may instead use the flexibility to mislead stakeholders about the underlying strength of the company.

Analyze this: Listening to experts doesn't always work

A recent study tracked investor reaction to more than 50,000 reports issued by 2,794 analysts between 1993 and 1999. While the data show that both large and small investors react to analyst counsel, the larger — and presumably more sophisticated — traders tend to make more money doing so.

Junk bonds, subprime and the pepper crises: Investor behavior follows pattern

In his classic book on economic history, Charles Kindleberger argued that asset bubbles follow a predictable pattern. A new opportunity or technology sparks investor euphoria. Asset prices quickly rise to an unsustainable level. Then suddenly, people stop buying, and panic ensues.

The cost of capital: Goldman Sachs' extreme makeover

In September 2008, the financial storms that had battered global markets since spring began to threaten the legendary investment bank Goldman Sachs. The 139-year-old financial titan had seen its stock plummet nearly 50 percent in a matter of weeks.