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In August 2007 the Mainsail II SIV-Lite was frozen by its trustee as a result of the ongoing credit crisis. The state of Maine held $20 million of Mainsail commercial paper in its Cash Pool portfolio, a short-term portfolio that puts temporary, excess state revenues to work. When word of the potential loss became public, the Treasurer came under attack. The case introduces the functions of a state Treasury department, with particular emphasis on the investment objectives and guidelines for the cash pool as well as its composition. The case reviews the events leading up to and including August 2007, the month when the credit markets first began to seize and when the financial crisis effectively began. It examines securitization, structured finance, and the Mainsail SIV-Lite structure in some detail.

In January 2008, in the midst of the subprime-mortgage crisis, Warren Buffett is looking for good investment opportunities for his almost $50 billion in cash. As usual, he has been patient and careful in identifying the right opportunities; however, the amount of cash in his company has grown considerably, and with so much cash sitting idle, returns could suffer. This case can be used to pursue several objectives: (1) to showcase Warren Buffett's leadership in the financial markets; (2) to understand his principles and the principles of value investing more broadly; (3) to understand Warren Buffett as both a thinker and a leader in the world of investing and as an agent of stability in a world of capital markets characterized by continuous change; (4) to discuss Buffett's investment decisions (Swiss Re, Burlington Northern, the funding of his own new bond-insurance business, BHAC) and the timing of those decisions in the midst of the subprime crisis and in an environment of increasing energy demand; (5) to discuss his decision not to invest in banks in the current environment as well as his largest investment, the philanthropic Gates Foundation; and (6) to understand some of the new market forces, such as sovereign funds, as providers of capital.

This case is one of a pair of cases used in a merger negotiation. It is designed to be used with “Amoco Corporation” (UVA-F-1262). One-half of the class prepares only the Amoco case, and one-half uses this case. BP and Amoco are considering a merger, and are in the process of negotiating a merger agreement. Macroeconomic assumptions, particularly forecasting future oil prices in an uncertain environment, and assumptions about Amoco's ability to reduce exploration and production costs make Amoco's future cash flows difficult to predict.

This case is one of a pair of cases used in a merger negotiation. It is designed to be used with “British Petroleum, Ltd.” (UVA-F-1263). One-half of the class prepares only the British Petroleum (BP) case, and one-half uses this case. BP and Amoco are considering a merger, and are in the process of negotiating a merger agreement. Macroeconomic assumptions, particularly forecasting future oil prices in an uncertain environment, and assumptions about Amoco's ability to reduce exploration and production costs make Amoco's future cash flows difficult to predict.