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As the world haltingly recovers from the recession regulators are struggling to modify the financial system to prevent another crisis. The latest effort: stricter capital requirements to help prevent large banks from collapsing under the weight of unexpected losses. While the new proposals -- called Basel III -- are designed to reduce risk-taking by assuring that banks continue lending in a weak economy Wharton faculty and others are skeptical that the new proposals will accomplish this goal. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After losing equity in their homes and stock portfolios Americans are now scrambling to make up lost savings by moving money into bonds and a host of other investments once considered either risky or unattractive. Although the dramatic shift in investment behavior is unlikely to have a long-term impact on the economy analysts warn that the new strategies could have a profound effect on individual investors themselves. Wharton faculty weigh in on the potential upsides and downsides that consumers face as they move into new investment categories. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

AT&T and Verizon are about to throw the dice in a bet that will put billions of dollars on the line. The companies the two largest mobile phone operators in the United States are expected to launch a pilot program to see whether their customers are ready to trade credit cards for smartphones equipped with similar swipe technology for making purchases. But will Americans want to put aside their comfortable relationship with plastic credit cards? And can they overcome security concerns about adopting a new payment system? Industry experts weigh in. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The collapse in home prices during the past few years is a reminder of the horrors of deflation. Millions of homeowners owe lenders more than their homes are worth making it impossible to sell trade up downsize or move for a new job. What would happen if deflation were to spread across the entire economy driving down wages and the prices of all goods and services? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A board’s primary fiduciary responsibility is to ensure that a CEO is generating profits for shareholders but Mark Hurd’s abrupt departure from the top job at Hewlett-Packard underscores how boards of directors do not judge a CEO’s performance on company prosperity alone. Rather boards use a broad set of intangible criteria -- ranging from how well leaders are able to earn employees’ trust to how well they deal with customers to how they conduct themselves off site -- as a way of evaluating success or failure. But these standards experts say can be extraordinarily difficult for boards to assess. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It has been a battle of the balance sheets as rivals Dell and Hewlett-Packard continue to wrangle over who will win the right to acquire 3PAR a little known data storage company. While the 3PAR bidding war which HP is expected to win is part of Dell’s ongoing ambition to get a bigger foothold in high-margin enterprise technology services the $53 billion company has also been chasing consumers with lackluster products. As one expert asks: ”Dell sees the need for diversification but does it see the need for transformation?” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Despite being pilloried by the public lately a banker’s lot can’t be all that bad. At least that’s what Wal-Mart executives must be thinking. Over recent months there has been a flurry of announcements from the world’s largest retailer about the expanding array of banking products sold at its U.S. stores. Company officials insist that their main aim is to reach the ”unbanked” and ”underbanked” with the type of low-cost services that cemented Wal-Mart’s reputation as a retail giant. So do traditional retail banks on Main Street USA have reason to worry? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When Roche Holding acquired full ownership of Genentech last year the $46.8 billion deal was the culmination of a more than 20-year relationship between the Swiss pharmaceutical giant and the Silicon Valley biotechnology company. In a recent presentation at Wharton San Francisco Steve Krognes -- a former Roche executive who is now senior vice president and CFO of Genentech -- talked about the pharma company’s decision to pursue the merger efforts to raise capital amid the beginnings of the 2008 recession and the aftermath of the deal. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What inspires an employee to work harder? More money more often than not. But what about being benchmarked against peers asks Wharton management professor Iwan Barankay in a new study titled ”Rankings and Social Tournaments: Evidence from a Field Experiment.” With the help of a ”crowd-sourcing” website Barankay set out to discover not only whether workers are interested in how they rank against their peers but also what happens to their performance if they find out how they placed. His conclusion may leave companies thinking twice about the best way to appraise staff performance. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a year of solid gains the economic recovery is beginning to slow. Demand is trailing off as inventory levels have been restored and emergency stimulus measures withdrawn. Continued high unemployment and a downtick in housing are weighing on consumer confidence and spending. Add unexpected shocks from Europe and a slowdown in China and forecasters are now ratcheting down their expectations for growth over the next year. While many still expect economic expansion to continue in the longer term ”we have definitely hit a soft patch ” one Wharton faculty member notes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

While most experts agree that a single-minded focus on the short term can cause negative consequences for companies they also suggest that blaming quarterly earnings reports and the pressure to meet analysts’ targets or company guidance is like shooting the messenger. Although the system of quarterly earnings might be broken fixing it is no easy matter and might create even more pressure to produce immediate results. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

China’s announcement in June that it will abandon the peg tying the renminbi (RMB) to the U.S. dollar and gradually let its currency appreciate was widely applauded in international business and economic circles. The decision is important experts say not only in debates about the future clout of the dollar and the RMB in global trade and politics but also for correcting global economic imbalances. Yet now many observers are wondering what impact the revaluation will have on jobs and prices for the average person -- whether in Boston Beijing or anywhere in between. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Whether they are artists or executives every worker has the potential to be excellent. The challenge for any leader according to Boston Philharmonic conductor Benjamin Zander is to tap into employees’ strengths and give them the tools they need to shine. In a speech at the 14th Annual Wharton Leadership Conference Zander described how the same techniques he uses in the concert hall can be employed in creating a happier more successful business environment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The recent financial crisis triggered primarily by bad bets in the financial sector has added momentum to the idea that executive compensation should be tied more closely to corporate debt rather than equity. Last month for example American International Group (AIG) announced that it will link incentive pay to the value of the troubled insurer’s bonds. In a new paper Wharton finance professor Alex Edmans and doctoral student Qi Liu argue that these types of incentives protect bondholders’ interests and the value of the firm particularly when a company’s solvency is in question. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With the financial crisis in the United States seemingly under control Europe went into a panic of its own this spring substituting the specter of defaults on sovereign debt for the American penchant for defaults on home-mortgage debt. A stabilization package valued at nearly $1 trillion was put into place in Europe calming markets at least for the moment. But where does the euro wind up amid all this tumult? One view is that the euro is safe bolstered by a sense that it is too important to fail. But others say it is heading for a fall. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

American companies will continue to fall behind their counterparts in emerging markets such as China or India unless they move toward what Deloitte’s John Hagel III calls ”the edge ” which is where passionate change-driven employees collaborate with others on the kind of innovations that prevent a company from seeing its core business model slowly erode. During a talk at the recent Wharton Leadership Conference Hagel discussed how CEOs can look to sources such as the online game World of Warcraft for inspiration in finding a successful path forward. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Embellishing stories about one’s accomplishments or qualifications whether by exaggeration or misstatement is part of human nature experts say and almost everyone is guilty of it at one time or another. Left unchecked however exaggerations that seemed innocuous at first can result in serious potentially career-ending consequences. Thanks to the Internet it’s easier than ever to get caught in an exaggeration Wharton experts and others note. But the temptation to embellish has also never been greater as recession-weary workers feel pressured to justify their worth and a 24-hour news cycle demands that leaders have an immediate sound-bite-ready answer for everything. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

”Cap and trade” systems in which corporations that exceed their allotment of carbon dioxide emissions are allowed to purchase certificates from those with low emissions were designed to combat global climate change by giving polluters a financial incentive to reduce or offset their impact on the environment. But carbon markets in Europe and elsewhere are increasingly falling victim to fraud in the form of phishing bribery and other schemes. Wharton experts and others say combating these crimes is a complicated problem which thus far has no clear solution. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The call for a boycott of BP in the wake of its ongoing disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is hardly surprising. The boycott which in BP’s case was proposed by consumer group Public Citizen is a tactic that has been used for centuries by consumers as a way to express outrage. While research shows many boycotts come up short in forcing their targets to give in to the demands of protest organizers they can have real impact in terms of lost sales and a damaged reputation. In the case of BP however experts say a boycott is likely to be only a nuisance when compared to the outsized legal liability the company is facing from the Gulf spill. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What spending in the mobile advertising industry lacks in heft it more than makes up for in buzz. Witness Google’s recent purchase of AdMob which brings together the two largest mobile ad networks and Apple’s recent efforts to gain a stronger foothold in the market. The battle between the two major players could represent a tipping point for mobile advertising Wharton experts and others say and suggests that the sector could become a significant money-maker in the future. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.