Knowledge@Wharton  Newsletterhttp://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu 
October 10-23, 2001
What's  Hot
In Bush's Economic Stimulus Package,  Timing Is Key
As the U.S. economy continues to feel the  aftershocks of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the focus now is on how to  turn around the ensuing recession. The effect of President Bush's recently  proposed economic stimulus package is difficult to gauge given that consumer and  corporate spending remain so unpredictable. Experts agree, however, that the  timing of the stimulus will have a major impact on its success or  failure.http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/whatshot.cfm 
Finance and Investment
Japan's Economic Outlook Remains Gloomy But Opportunities Exist  for Investors
Japan's stock market - and its economy - have  been in a dismal state since the beginning of the 1990s. The Sept. 11 terrorist  attacks in New York and Washington made matters worse, pushing the country into  what analysts say is Japan's fourth recession in a decade. But Wharton faculty  and outside market analysts add that some sectors of the Japanese economy should  be attractive for long-term investors.http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=1&articleid=445 
Strategic Management
What Webvan Could Have Learned from  Tesco
Webvan, the ambitious online grocer, once bragged that  it would set a new standard for Internet retailing. As most people now know, for  all its hubris the company has turned out to be one of the dot-com economy's  most spectacular failures. After burning its way through $1.2 billion in  capital, it declared bankruptcy in July. But does Webvan's collapse mean that  shoppers dislike buying groceries online? For a part of the answer, look across  the Atlantic to a Britain-based supermarket chain called Tesco. Its online arm,  Tesco.com, will probably have revenues of $420 million this year.http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=7&articleid=448 
Finance and Investment
Is Behavioral Finance a Growth Industry?
Can  psychology really help us understand financial markets? Yes, say many academics.  The subdiscipline of behavioral finance - which argues that investors are not as  rational as traditional theory assumes and that their biases can affect asset  prices - has gained ground over the past five years. Although behavioral finance  attracts powerful criticism - and at times is clearly been oversold -- it seems  to be growing up. Experts at Wharton and other business schools provide some  perspectives.http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=1&articleid=444 
Health Economics
Prescription Drug Coverage for Seniors Faces Uncertain  Future
Less than a year ago, in the heat of the presidential  campaign, it seemed almost certain that Medicare would undergo a major  transformation that would provide prescription drug coverage to the program's 40  million seniors. But that was before an economic slowdown and the Sept. 11  terrorist attacks. Now there are new, more urgent priorities and it's unclear  just when the debate over drug coverage will again get underway.http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=6&articleid=442 
Public Policy and Management
Are  Government Bailouts Bad Business?
Even the most cold-hearted  free-marketer would concede the airlines got a tough break in the two-day  grounding after the terrorist attacks. No manager could have been expected to  anticipate events on the scale of Sept. 11, or to set aside enough money to  cover the revenue shortfalls that followed. So a government bailout is a  reasonable response, right? Not necessarily, say those who have studied past  examples of government bailouts.http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=9&articleid=446 
Finance and Investment
The Man Who  Made Wall Street Finally Gets Credit
When a book is entitled  The Man Who Made Wall Street, you just don''t expect the sub-title to read:  Anthony J. Drexel and the Rise of Modern Finance. Yet according to author Dan  Rottenberg, the much more famous J. Pierpont Morgan never made a move without  consulting Drexel, a Philadelphia banker who was as publicity-shy as he was  shrewd. The way Rottenberg sees it, there''s no limit to how much you can  accomplish, if you don''t care who gets the credit.http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=1&articleid=441 
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Links  from Knowledge@Wharton Sponsors
GE Capital:
Sales-Leasebacks: Benefits and Challenges
Today  CFOs must negotiate their way through a weakened economy. But even as they  search for new ways to generate revenue and conserve capital, CFOs from a  variety of industries are discovering the value of one strategy --  sale-leasebacks -- that for many years was primarily focused on real estate  transactions. Sale-leasebacks are generally structured to unlock the equity a  business has in its assets (like machinery and equipment), converting that  equity into cash.http://www.gecfo.com/resources/wharton.html?n=Wharton&c=September&t=email 
GE Capital:
Maximizing Your Trucking Fleet in Tough  Times
Tough times have hit the trucking industry as shippers  evaluate the best way to move goods around the country: Lease or buy? For-hire  truckers or private fleet? The queries arise as a glut of used trucks comes on  the market and some shippers evaluate how long they can stretch existing leases.  Learn how to maximize your trucking fleet in tough times from the experts at  Wharton and GE Capital.http://www.getrucking.com/resources/wharton.html?c=Wharton&n=Sept&t=email 
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