Smeal Faculty In The News On The Financial Crisis

Smeal College of Business faculty members are being called on by the local and national media to offer their expertise on the current financial crisis. The following is a summary of their comments in the media:

Dow Jones Newswires, 10/30/2008—Fariborz Ghadar, director of the Center for Global Business Studies, comments on the impact of the financial crisis on China's demand for grain. "As China becomes more affluent, consumption continues to go up, so in short I believe the impact on China's appetite for our agricultural goods and soybeans will probably not be impacted in any significant level by global recession threats," Ghadar said. (Economics Not Altering Grain Export Demand). This article also appeared in The Wall Street Journal Europe and on several news Web sites.

Knowledge@Wharton, 10/29/2008—Gary Lilien, Distinguished Research Professor of Management Science, participates in a podcast on business-to-business in a down economy. (Opportunities—And Obstacles—For The B2B Market In Tough Economic Times).

Dow Jones Newswires, 10/28/2008—Fariborz Ghadar, director of the Center for Global Business Studies, comments on the Federal Reserve's reaction to the financial crisis. "The fundamentals of our economy are such that I do not believe the free market could have addressed them on its own. The shock was too large," Ghadar said. (Fed Refuge For Assets Yearning To Be Liquid).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/26/2008—Anthony Kwasnica, associate professor of business economics, comments on the role of pessimism in the economy. "It's self-fulfilling expectations," Kwasnica said. "If I'm pessimistic and I think some of the firms around me won't be hiring a lot of people, I decide to be more conservative." (Herd Mentality Causes Crashes).

Altoona Mirror, 10/24/2008—Terrence Guay, clinical associate professor of international business, comments on the financial crisis. "The U.S. economy is connected with so many other countries around the world," Guay said. "We can't solve this in isolation. Our current financial crisis will require international cooperation."(What's A Recession?).

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10/19/2008—Wayne DeSarbo, executive director of the Center for Sports Business & Research, comments on the effect of the financial crisis on the sports industry. "Teams and events that depend most heavily on sponsorships, naming rights and luxury suites will probably be first to feel the economic tremors. But the downturn could influence merchandising, concessions and marketing, and eventually, DeSarbo said, if it persists, the effects could touch ticket sales and player salaries." (Even Sports Teams Aren't Immune To The Economic Crisis). This article also appeared on several news Web sites.

Reading Eagle, 10/19/2008—Gary Gray, visiting professor of finance, comments on the effect of the financial crisis on local government. "We're all focused so much on the financial crisis now that people aren't looking at budgets yet," said Gray. (Municipal Governments In Berks County Face Economic Challenges).

The Daily Collegian, 10/16/2008—J. Randall Woolridge, professor of finance, comments on the volatility in the financial markets. "Every day something else comes out; today it's the retail sales figures," Woolridge said. "The market is just trying to figure out where the bottom is."(Dow Jones Drops Again, Continues To Concern Students).

The Daily Collegian, 10/14/2008—J. Randall Woolridge, professor of finance, comments on the government's reaction to the financial crisis. "We've never seen government involvement like this in the market," Woolridge said. (Caution Remains As Dow Soars).

Radio PA, 10/13/2008—James Miles, professor of finance, was interviewed regarding the impact of the financial crisis on retirement accounts. This story aired on radio stations throughout Pennsylvania.

Centre Daily Times, 10/12/2008—Patrick Cataldo, associate dean for executive education, writes in his column about the financial crisis. "In the midst of the current situation, keep focused on the eventuality of a recovery," Cataldo writes. "Evaluate where you are with your investments, seek professional help from a financial adviser if necessary, and focus on keeping more of your assets. Doing so will help you sleep better at night." (Keeping Perspective In Dire Economic Times).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/10/2008—J.Randall Woolridge, professor of finance, comments on the financial crisis. "[Woolridge] said bear markets typically have four things in common: there is usually a bubble in some asset class (it's housing this time); there's usually easy money involved; and there's usually a government bailout. 'The fourth common component is it's going to happen again in four or five years.'" (Small Investors Dazed, Confused By Fluctuations).

The Washington Post, 10/09/2008—Abdullah Yavas, Elliott Professor of Business Administration, comments on John McCain's proposal for the federal government buy and refinance troubled mortgages. "The losses will grow if home values continue to drop, said Abdullah Yavas, a real estate professor at Penn State University. 'The more the property value goes down, the bigger that loss will be,' said Yavas." (McCain Plan Draws Doubts From Experts On Mortgages).

The Daily Collegian, 10/07/2008—Jean Helwege, associate professor of finance, and Smeal student Ryan Limor, president of the Nittany Lion Fund, comment on the market's response to the federal bailout. "I think that part of the issue is that in order to get that bill passed the administration said a bunch of really, really negative things," Helwege said. "Then, when the bill finally did pass, there wasn't a whole lot of evidence that the world wasn't going to end." (Market Still Low, Causes Debated).

The Daily Collegian, 10/06/2008—Jean Helwege, associate professor of finance, comments on the federal bailout. "Lawmakers might have saved Americans from another Great Depression but at a cost to the financial system and capital market economy, Helwege said. 'That's not capitalism,' she said." (Local Politicians Assist With Bill's Passage).

CentreDaily.com, 10/05/2008—Patrick Cataldo, associate dean for executive education, writes in his blog about the financial crisis. "These difficult financial times are always a reminder that you work hard to accumulate savings and the goal is to protect and grow them," Cataldo writes. "One option to consider, if you haven't been there already, is a personal financial adviser or certified financial planner." (Personal Finances).

Altoona Mirror, 10/02/2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, comments on the current financial crisis. "'When I see these things happen, I just shake my head,' said Ketz, adding that the crisis brings to mind the words of baseball great Yogi Berra: 'It's like deja vu all over again.'" (Area Bankers Say Money Safe).

The Daily Collegian, 10/02/2008—Jean Helwege, associate professor of finance, comments on the proposed federal bailout. "I don't actually think it needs to go through,"says Helwege. "What's sort of suspicious about the whole situation is that the president, secretary of treasury and Federal Reserve chairman are all saying how dire our situation is." (Economic Plan Raises Questions).

The Associated Press, 10/01/2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, comments on the role of fair-value accounting in the current financial crisis."When the real estate market was soaring a few years ago and mortgage asset values were spiking, no banks complained about having to use mark-to-market accounting, noted Edward Ketz." (Banks Want To Suspend Accounting Rule In Bailout). This article appeared on more than 100 Web sites.

National Public Radio, 10/01/2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, comments on the role of fair-value accounting in the current financial crisis. (All Things Considered).

SmartPros.com, October 2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, writes in his column about leadership during the financial crisis. "We need real leaders to help us overcome this crisis," Ketz writes. "They need to have courage and a strong moral fortitude. And they need to know how to choose advisers with the right expertise, who are willing to put their own interests aside and have courage to do what's in America's best interest." (Crisis Of Leadership).

The Daily Collegian, 09/30/2008—Jean Helwege, associate professor of finance, comments on the failed bailout vote. "This bill had such a strong sense of urgency in it," Helwege says. "I don't know that it's as bad as [Bernanke and Paulson] were making it sound. There's still a fair amount of strength in this system." (Market Woes Affect Students).

ComRadio, 09/30/2008—Austin Jaffe, chair of the Department of Insurance and Real Estate, did an interview on the financial crisis on Penn State's student radio station.

RCFP.org, 09/29/2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, comments on blame for the current financial crisis being placed on fair-value accounting. "Ketz explained the banks and others are wrong in blaming the crisis on disclosure of new information. What happened, he said, is that there has been an effort in the past year to clean up inconsistencies in accounting rules." (Sizing Up The Role Of Transparency In The Financial Crisis).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 09/28/2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, comments on the role of short selling in the current financial crisis. Short sellers "are among the leaders in discovering and ferreting out accounting fraud," Ketz says. "Blaming short sellers for the problem is really one gigantic ploy to divert attention from the people who caused the problem in the first place." (Short Selling Shouldering Disproportionate Amount Of Blame For Crisis).

Centre Daily Times, 09/27/2008—Jean Helwege, associate professor of finance, comments on the current financial crisis. "You do have to wonder, if you help these people out ... are you going to have a strong financial system," Helwege says. "These people took huge, huge risks."(Residents Air Concerns, Hope Taxpayers Are Protected).

DetNews.com, 09/26/2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, writes on the similarities between the current financial crisis and the Enron and WorldCom scandals. "We need to rein in the hyperinflation of manager salaries," Ketz writes. "We need better accounting. We need regulators to enforce the laws against criminals masquerading as managers. And we need a Congress that is willing to help the middle class in action as well as in election-year rhetoric." (Stop Enronization Of Banking). This article also appeared in the Centre Daily Times and on MBA Channel and SmartPros.com.

WTAJ-TV, 09/24/2008—David Haushalter, clinical associate professor of finance, comments on the current financial crisis.

The Washington Post, 09/23/2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, comments on blame for the current financial crisis being placed on fair-value accounting. Ketz says "he 'doesn't buy' the argument that fair-value accounting is a root cause of the problems. Executives never complained about mark-to-market accounting standards when they helped banks post huge gains on derivative investments during the economic boom, or when fair-value accounting for stock options produced tax benefits, Ketz said." (Wall St. Points To Disclosure As Issue).

The Washington Times, 09/19/2008—Wayne DeSarbo, executive director of the Center for Sports Business and Research, comments on the effect of the current financial crisis on professional sports. "My sense is that it's not going to have much of an effect," DeSarbo says. "Unless we see a full-blown recession or even worse, sports will hold up well." (Leagues Not Yet Hit By Wall Street's Slide).

The Daily Collegian, 09/19/2008—J. Randall Woolridge, professor of finance, comments on the current financial crisis. "The negative news surrounding the economy affects people's sentiments and consumers are about two thirds of the economy, Woolridge said. 'For most people Wall Street is just a game they watch from afar,' he said." (Students Unfazed By Market Turmoil).

Altoona Mirror, 09/18/2008—J. Randall Woolridge, professor of finance, comments on the current financial crisis. ''This is the most historic week on Wall Street, I believe,'' Woolridge said. ''Every four to five years, there's a financial crisis. The question is, is this more severe than in the past?'' (Area Experts Tell Investors: Do Not Panic).

The Daily Collegian, 09/16/2008—Austin Jaffe, chair of the Department of Insurance and Real Estate, comments on the current financial crisis. "For about 15 years, the stock market was rising and financial stocks were leading the way," Jaffe said. "Now, the bubble's burst and it's unraveling. It's painful now." (Market Plunge Worries Some).