Efforts to lower carbon emissions will affect different industries differently, depending on the level of carbon reduction required, industry responses to emerging technologies, changing customer behaviors, and regulation, and individual company current positioning and ability to respond. Executives should take steps immediately in order to be competitive in a low-carbon future.

In our April 2007 podcast, Preparing for the next downturn, the authors looked at what capabilities and strategies enabled companies to endure?and even thrive?in past downturns.The text of this recording can be found at www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

In our April 2008 podcast, Preparing for a slump in earnings, the authors observed that historic trends suggest earnings may fall more than most executives expect. Companies should prepare for steeper declines and take steps to strengthen their positions when times improve. The text of this recording can be found at www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

Traditional methods of analyzing TRS are flawed. There?s a better way.

Some Asian companies are better at executing capital projects than are rivals elsewhere. What lessons can others learn from them?

The division structure can mask big differences in the performance of smaller units. A finer-grained approach can better show where value comes from.

China?s companies are expanding the focus of their outbound M&A, but so far they have struggled to create value.

Communicating with investors can take up a lot of an executive?s time. In our May 2008 podcast, the authors observe that executives spend too much time talking with those who don?t matter?and offer a prescription for identifying those who do. The text of this recording can be found at www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

In our April 2008 podcast, Preparing for a slump in earnings, the authors observe that historic trends suggest earnings may fall more than most executives expect. Companies should prepare for steeper declines and take steps to strengthen their positions when times improve. The text of this recording can be found at www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

The authors argue that picking up the pace of M&A requires big changes in a company?s processes and organization?even if the deals are smaller. The text of this recording can be found at www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

This article is adapted from a speech given by the author in the summer of 2007 at a conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The text of this recording can be found at www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

Our data finds that reports of the demise of the M&A boom may be greatly exaggerated. But to keep it going, companies must work even harder to ensure that deals create value.

Regulators may worry when Arab investors acquire stakes in western companies, yet vast reserves of petrodollars have kept down interest rates and buoyed financial assets. What's the broader effect of the surge in petrodollars?

It can be a frustrating exercise, but there are ways to increase its value.

When the S&P 500 stretched above 1,500 in May 2007, it returned to levels not seen since the tech bubble in 2000. While it has since subsided, at this writing it is still quite strong.

Investors reward high-performing companies that shift their strategic focus prudently ? even if that means lower returns or slower growth.

A fine-grained approach to growth is essential for making the right choices about where to compete.

Corporate directors want more information about their companies and industries, and they say that investments by private-equity firms improve governance.

Companies that stick to valuation basics can preemptively capture any value that would make them attractive for takeover bids.

Reforms that attracted little attention in the Western world mark a major step forward in the modernization of China?s capital markets.