Knowledge at Wharton

New Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has a long to-do list -- chart the company’s strategy weigh a potential search partnership with Microsoft boost morale and round out her management team -- and not much time to deliver amid a weak economy that is hurting online advertising say experts at Wharton.

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The worldwide financial crisis has upended the energy industry slashing oil prices by two thirds and bedeviling financing for wind solar and other renewable-energy projects. But it’s not all doom and gloom according to participants in the recent Wharton Energy Conference. From Big Oil to renewable-energy startups energy industry players are scrambling to find a silver lining in today’s trying conditions.

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On the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration as president of the United States Wharton finance professor Richard J. Herring discussed with Knowledge at Wharton some of the advice offered to the new chief executive by the Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee a group of economists former regulators and lawyers of which Herring is a co-chair. Among the recommendations: As quickly as possible unwind federal investments that helped keep U.S. banks afloat. Herring also assessed the deepening woes at Citigroup which this week named board member Richard Parsons as its new chairman a move intended to provide stronger leadership at the troubled bank.

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It began as the ”subprime crisis” in 2007 and then mushroomed into a full-blown global recession in 2008. And still despite mammoth government intervention the bad news keeps getting worse. Are we now teetering on a precipice ready to plunge into another Great Depression? Can the latest proposals pull the economy out of its nosedive? There is plenty to worry about. But while many experts say this crisis is the worst since the Depression that doesn’t mean it will be as bad.

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Having bounced back from its own profound financial crises in 1994 and 2000 Turkey is well prepared to ride out the current global economic storm according to Bahadir Teker CEO of Istanbul Mortgage. In an interview with Knowledge at Wharton Teker noted that the stability of Turkey’s banking system and its dramatic rise in housing demand will help to temper any slowdowns in the country’s real estate industry over the next couple of years.

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From Colin Dyer’s perspective the worldwide real estate market is in pretty bad shape. As president and CEO of global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Dyer has seen firsthand the problems that an absence of liquidity is causing for buyers who need financing for real estate transactions. Yet he is also optimistic that comparatively little competition and some good bargains provide excellent market opportunities for those who know where to look. Dyer expanded on these points during an interview with Knowledge at Wharton.

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While Russia initially may have been insulated from the impact of the global financial crisis -- due to the once-high price of oil -- the country is now feeling the impact of the slowdown. What does this mean for the Russian real estate market? How are real estate companies responding to the crisis? And what should international companies look for when doing business there? Bruce Gardner managing director of MLP Russia and a participant in the recent Knowledge at Wharton Real Estate in Emerging Markets Forum offers some answers.

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China’s unsurpassed demand cash reserves and willingness to invest heavily in new infrastructure make it an attractive option for foreign real estate investors according to Gilles Assouline president of Wuxi Iparks Creative Design & Development. In an interview with Knowledge at Wharton Assouline spoke about why conditions in China are ripe for real estate development and how partnering with the world’s fastest-growing economy may be a requisite for survival in the current economic downturn.

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Those countries that had easy access to debt -- such as the U.S. and Japan -- are taking the biggest hit from the current financial crisis while those countries without access to debt capital -- such as Brazil -- have been somewhat spared according to Gary Garrabrant CEO of Equity International. During the Knowledge at Wharton Real Estate in Emerging Markets Forum Garrabrant spoke about his company’s strategy for weathering the down market how investment decisions are made and what he sees happening in the next 18 to 24 months.

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Founded in 1928 Mangels Industrial is among Brazil’s leading manufacturers. Its products range from cold rolled steel to gas cylinders. In addition the company is Latin America’s largest maker of aluminum wheels for the auto industry. How are manufacturers such as Mangels Industrial coping with the global recession? In an interview with Knowledge at Wharton Bob Mangels company CEO and grandson of the founder shares his insights on managing during the slowdown as well as principles that help family businesses succeed.

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