Martín Rodríguez Rodríguez reports on the promise and perils of El Salvador making Bitcoin legal tender Last month, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender, granting people the possibility of discharging debts and contractual obligations, such as paying taxes, in the cryptocurrency. The new law raises… Continue reading Financial Empowerment or Dangerous Gamble?
Category: Finance
Exclusive: Interview with Carlyle Co-Founder David Rubenstein
The following is a Harbus exclusive interview with David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity and alternative asset management firms with $174 billion under management. Rubenstein, who is a member of the Harvard Corporation as of July 2017, addressed the community at Spangler Auditorium in an event co-hosted… Continue reading Exclusive: Interview with Carlyle Co-Founder David Rubenstein
Social Impact and Fintech: The Prodigy Finance Story
Creating a global company with social impact at its heart doesn’t happen overnight. But, as Prodigy Finance demonstrates, it can definitely happen within a matter of years. Cameron Stevens, like any recently-accepted INSEAD candidate, was looking forward to his MBA experience in France. And, like most other grad students, began looking for the financing needed… Continue reading Social Impact and Fintech: The Prodigy Finance Story
Activist Investors: The Untold Story
Ask many HBS students about the perception of activist investors as perpetuated by the RC curriculum, and you’ll hear the words “short-term,” “meddlers,” “aggressive,” and a number of other pejoratives that are neither politically correct nor publishable by the Harbus. Indeed, many of the cases taught throughout the RC curriculum (across disciplines – FIN, FRC,… Continue reading Activist Investors: The Untold Story
Goliath vs. Goliath: Hospital Mega-Mergers and the Fight for Your Healthcare
A turbulent year for healthcare policy, 2017 was capped off with a spree of healthcare mega-mergers. Some transgressed traditional industry boundaries, reflecting the evolving dynamics of a sector in dramatic flux since the 2010 implementation of the Affordable Care Act. CVS’ $69bn acquisition of Aetna, the nation’s third largest insurer, introduced the possibility of converting… Continue reading Goliath vs. Goliath: Hospital Mega-Mergers and the Fight for Your Healthcare
The MBA as a Finance Case
With Round 1 MBA admissions in the books and Round 2 underway, we are now seeing the mix of HBS campus visitors shift from Class of 2020 hopefuls toward Class of 2021 prospects. For many, the decision to apply entails weighing benefits of the MBA—facilitating personal and professional growth, gaining access to a strong brand… Continue reading The MBA as a Finance Case
A Macro Framework For Valuing Crypto – All About Velocity
Even the most ardent cryptocurrency enthusiast will usually admit, in a vulnerable moment or after a few drinks, that parts of the cryptocurrency market are likely overvalued, and perhaps enormously so. But the question of precisely how cryptocurrencies should be valued is rarely discussed at HBS. Given the level of investment in the space, this… Continue reading A Macro Framework For Valuing Crypto – All About Velocity
Personal Finances: What Credit Cards are right for an HBS student?
Personal Finance Corner: Credit Cards Between section dues, small group dinners, drinks in town, and treks around the world, MBA students can rack up a lot of spending on their credit cards. But which ones are the best to take into business school? Depending on your spending habits, choosing the right credit card can be… Continue reading Personal Finances: What Credit Cards are right for an HBS student?
The MBA Tax Deduction
One of the gray areas that the LCA curriculum does not cover is deducting the cost of MBA tuition for tax purposes. Every year in the United States, a select portion of MBA students deduct educational expenses including tuition and fees, books, equipment, software and miscellaneous school supplies on their tax returns. The result is… Continue reading The MBA Tax Deduction
The future of payments: A conversation with Hassan Ahmed of Venmo
Samar Sikka discusses the origins of Venmo, scaling fast-growing startups, and business strategy with Hassan Ahmed, HBS ’11, Business Operations Manager at Venmo. Venmo – the one app you will find across every student’s phone at the Harvard Business School. Just as Facebook has forever changed the way we share and interact with the world, Venmo… Continue reading The future of payments: A conversation with Hassan Ahmed of Venmo