This volume covers such topics as financial distress and capital structure choice; optimal capital structure and valuation of the firm in multiperiod context; regression tests of the present value model of stock prices; and, intra-industry information transfers and stock repurchases.

This book aims to systematically assess laws and practices, close gaps that currently prevent a full profiling of financial participation, provide a description of individual countries against the background of comparable scores for the EU 27 and to promote a common platform for financial participation within the European Union.

This volume consists of original research articles examining timely issues in financial services, asset pricing, and hedging. The articles in the first part of the volume deal with methods for assessing the safety and soundness of banks, rationales for and economic consequences of bank mergers, valuation effects of lender environmental liability, option-theoretic explanations of the closed-end mutual fund discount, and contingent-claims analysis of price-matching refunds. Articles in the second part of the volume study consumption smoothing and the equity premium puzzle, the yield spread of tax-deductible preferred stock, fitting a jump-diffusion model of currency futures options, duration effects on hedge ratios of currency futures, and dynamics between foreign exchange and stock markets in Southeast Asian economies.

There are ten papers in this volume. They are:

1. An Empirical Examination of The Intraday Return Volatility Process.
This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the distributional and time-series properties of intraday returns. The purpose is to determine whether a GARCH model that allows for time variance in a process can adequately represent intraday return volatility.
2. The Valuation of New Product Introduction Under Uncertain Competition: A Real Option Approach.
This paper investigates how a stochastic competition process in a two-factor real option model could affect the value of future product development opportunities. Our results also indicate that product development opportunities are more valuable: (1) in a more volatile environment; (2) when the window of opportunities is longer; and (3) when the competitive intensity is lower.
3. Earnings, Dividends, and Equity Value of Multinational Firms.
This paper develops and tests a valuation model, whose main prediction is that equity value is a function of earnings, dividends and book value, where the function depends on the relative level of multinationality.
4. Benford's Law and Its Application in Financial Fraud Detection.
This paper has discussed Benford's law, which explains that the leading (first or leftmost) digit in a series of natural numbers is not evenly distributed among the digits 1 to 9. The main purpose of this study actually seeks to explore a new methodological approach to datamining that can be of some real practical value; especially to the auditors and forensic accountants in detecting financial frauds.
5. Estimation of the Degree of Integration in the U.S. MaturityRates Using Semiparametric Techniques.
This paper examines the order of integration of several U.S. Treasury maturity rates by means of using semiparametric techniques. The results show that the order of integration of the one and three year maturity rates is strictly above 1. It oscillates around one in case of the five-year rate, and the values are strictly below 1 (and thus showing mean reversion), for the seven and ten-year rates.
6. On Country-Fund Price Behavior-An Empirical Analysis of Cointegrating Factors.
This paper provides empirical evidence on the price behavior of closed-end country funds. Using the data from 47 closed-end single-country funds, we examine three Cointegrating factors to describe the long-run behavior of country-fund share prices. They are: the net asset value (NAV), foreign stock-market indexes, and the U.S. stock market index.
7. Strategic Capital Budgeting: the Abandonment Option with Political Risk.
This paper investigates the strategic role of political risk and timing in the capital budgeting process that includes both investment and disinvestments. The model developed in the paper highlights the role of the probability of an investment ending political event in the capital budgeting process.
8. Time Series Model Complexity and Firm Valuation: the Case of AR1 Firms Versus Non-AR1 Firms.
This study examines the effect of the complexity of quarterly earnings generating time series models on firm valuation. The examination is limited to the comparison between AR1 firms and non-AR1 firms, and the evaluations are based on the levels approach. Results consistently show that the association between quarterly stock prices andquarterly earnings is higher for AR1 firms than that for non-AR1 firms. The effect of firm size is also investigated.
9. Debt Covenant Violation and the Value Relevance of Accounting Information.
This study documents that investors exercise their liquidation option on firms facing less severe financial distress than bankruptcy filings. This study finds that the valuation shift from earnings to book value of equity in the violation manifestation period is reversed in the post-violation recovery period. This suggests that the valuation distortion in the pre-violation period is temporary rather than permanent.
10. What's Next: Merger in the Lebanese Banking Sector.
This paper studies banking preference and behavior of Lebanese people. If small banks are to survive, the findings of the study reaffirm the importance of vertically merging banks in Lebanon. The reliance on digital technology is increasing every day. To deepen the problem, small Lebanese banks are finding themselves in a digital environment that affects their ability to compete in a fierce environment.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the financial systems of major industrialized countries using the statistical framework of the financial accounts. After a discussion of how economists agreed to create a framework to monitor the financial linkages between surplus and deficit sectors, the book analyzes in detail the composition and the recent evolution of financial assets and liabilities for households (including public pension rights), firms and intermediaries. Next, the volume studies the convergence patterns of financial structures and their influence on the effectiveness of monetary policy within European countries. The final chapter unifies the previous pictures, showing how the effects of financial integration and global imbalances could have been foreseen based on the financial accounts. The analysis and information contained in the book will help the readers to understand many issues and challenges raised by the recent financial crisis.

This book proposes a new capital asset pricing model dubbed the ZCAPM that outperforms other popular models in empirical tests using US stock returns. The ZCAPM is derived from Fischer Black's well-known zero-beta CAPM, itself a more general form of the famous capital asset pricing model (CAPM) by 1990 Nobel Laureate William Sharpe and others. It is widely accepted that the CAPM has failed in its theoretical relation between market beta risk and average stock returns, as numerous studies have shown that it does not work in the real world with empirical stock return data. The upshot of the CAPM's failure is that many new factors have been proposed by researchers. However, the number of factors proposed by authors has steadily increased into the hundreds over the past three decades. This new ZCAPM is a path-breaking asset pricing model that is shown to outperform popular models currently in practice in finance across different test assets and time periods. Since asset pricing is central to the field of finance, it can be broadly employed across many areas, including investment analysis, cost of equity analyses, valuation, corporate decision making, pension portfolio management, etc. The ZCAPM represents a revolution in finance that proves the CAPM as conceived by Sharpe and others is alive and well in a new form, and will certainly be of interest to academics, researchers, students, and professionals of finance, investing, and economics.

This open access book provides a readable narrative of the bubbles and the banking crisis Japan experienced during the two decades between the late 1980s and the early 2000s. Japan, which was a leading competitor in the world's manufacturing sector, tried to transform itself into an economy with domestic demand-led mature growth, but the ensuing bubbles and crisis instead made the country suffer from chronicle deflation and stagnation. The book analyses why the Japanese authorities could not avoid making choices that led to this outcome. The chapters are based on the lectures to regulators from emerging economies delivered at the Global Financial Partnership Center of the Financial Services Agency of Japan.

This book considers the extent to which innovation and entrepreneurship are engines of economic prosperity. It brings together theorists and empiricists from diverse backgrounds to provides a comprehensive overview of the field of entrepreneurship, focusing specifically on entrepreneurial developments within Turkey and the surrounding regions and Europe. It looks at innovation, creativity, economic development and women's empowerment. This book considers the for-profit and the not-for-profit sectors, and examines outcome metrics such as change, sustainability and employment, in addition to economic value. This book will inspire academics and students to better understand the origins, evolution and impact of new ideas, new organizations, and new industries, and the impact on the economy. This book offers an excellent foundation for investigating and questioning current entrepreneurial practices across developed economies. It will also provide the foundations for researching and evaluating new and existing approaches to emerging technologies. Additionally, the book will offer useful insights into the real world, and will appeal to academics in economics and business as well as those studying entrepreneurship on the international scene.

This book constitutes a selection of the best papers from the 15th International Conference on Business Excellence, Digital Economy and New Value Creation, ICBE 2021, held in Bucharest, Romania, in March 2021. This book is a collection of research findings and perspectives related to the digital economy and new value creation, led by the set of improvements and changes in the economic, societal and technological structures and processes towards the effort of reaching the sustainability goals.

This 12th volume in the series discusses a variety of topics in the field of research in international business and finance.

The business of credit ratings began in the United States in the early 1900s. Over time, credit ratings have gradually taken on an expanding role, both in the United States and abroad and in official financial market regulation as well as in private capital market decisions. However, in 1999 the Bank for International Settlements (through its Committee on Banking Supervision) proposed rule changes that would provide an explicit role for credit ratings in determining a bank's required regulatory risk capital. Once implemented, this BIS proposal (often referred to as Basel 2) would vastly elevate the importance of credit ratings by linking the required measure of bank capital to the credit rating of the bank's obligors. With these regulatory changes under active discussion, research into the role for ratings and rating agencies in the global financial system is particularly apropos.
Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System brings together the research of economists at New York University and the University of Maryland, along with those from the private sector, government bodies, and other universities. The first section of the volume focuses on the historical origins of the credit rating business and its present day industrial organization structure. The second section presents several empirical studies crafted largely around individual firm-level or bank-level data. These studies examine (a) the relationship between ratings and the default and recovery experience of corporate borrowers, (b) the comparability of credit ratings made by domestic and foreign rating agencies, and (c) the usefulness of financial market indicators for rating banks, among other topics. In thethird section, the record of sovereign credit ratings in predicting financial crises and the reaction of financial markets to changes in credit ratings is examined. The final section of the volume emphasizes policy issues now facing regulators and credit rating agencies.

This book on Applied Operations Research and Financial Modelling in Energy (AORFME) presents several applications of operations research (OR) and financial modelling. The contributions by a group of OR and Finance researchers focus on a variety of energy decisions, presenting a quantitative perspective, and providing policy implications of the proposed or applied methodologies. The content is divided into three main parts: Applied OR I: Optimization Approaches, Applied OR II: Forecasting Approaches and Financial Modelling: Impacts of Energy Policies and Developments in Energy Markets. The book appeals to scholars in economics, finance and operations research, and to practitioners working in the energy sector. This is the eighth volume in a series of books on energy organized by the Centre for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI). For this volume, CEVI collaborated with Hacettepe University's Energy Markets Research and Application Center. The previous volumes in the series are: Financial Aspects in Energy (2011), Energy Economics and Financial Markets (2012), Perspectives on Energy Risk (2014), Energy Technology and Valuation Issues (2015), Energy and Finance (2016), Energy Economy, Finance and Geostrategy (2018), and Financial Implications of Regulations in the Energy Industry (2020).

The global markets continue to be volatile and the overall economy remains uncertain.

In this environment, it's more important than ever to get familiar with risk management principles and seek out alternative investment strategies carefully to maintain and grow your capital.

Written by Raghurami Reddy Etukuru, MBA, CAIA, FRM, PRM, this guidebook introduces you to various alternative investments and risk management concepts in straightforward language. For instance, hedge funds are often seen as risky investments, but they actually provide greater diversification than traditional common stocks. If you engage in the proper hedge fund strategy, you'll also find less volatility.

In addition to hedge funds, you will find information and guidance on various phases of due diligence; risk metrics, quantitative models and exotic options; commodities, managed futures, private equities, and real estate; brokers, auditors, and legal counsel.

Get the information you need to make informed decisions about your own finances. Whether you are a businessperson, student, analyst it's imperative for you to develop a deeper understanding of "Alternative Investment Strategies and Risk Management."

Financial analysis, modellng, simulation and knowledge engineering have become essential to the survival of every enterprise. This thorough and comprehensive book looks at the development and use of financial models for analysis and decision-making, showing the reader how to apply these methods in his or her own work.

This book defines and develops the concept of data capital. Using an interdisciplinary perspective, this book focuses on the key features of the data economy, systematically presenting the economic aspects of data science. The book (1) introduces an alternative interpretation on economists' observation of which capital has changed radically since the twentieth century; (2) elaborates on the composition of data capital and it as a factor of production; (3) describes morphological changes in data capital that influence its accumulation and circulation; (4) explains the rise of data capital as an underappreciated cause of phenomena from data sovereign, economic inequality, to stagnating productivity; (5) discusses hopes and challenges for industrial circles, the government and academia when an intangible wealth brought by data (and information or knowledge as well); (6) proposes the development of criteria for measuring regulating data capital in the twenty-first century for regulatory purposes by looking at the prospects for data capital and possible impact on future society. Providing the first a thorough introduction to the theory of data as capital, this book will be useful for those studying economics, data science, and business, as well as those in the financial industry who own, control, or wish to work with data resources.

BUSINESS / SELF-HELP " Wattles offers techniques for getting in tune with one' s deeper self and thus creating a channel of communication between oneself and universal energy. His is a gentle philosophy that excludes competition, cheating, and lording it over one' s fellows when one has made it, and encourages cooperation." --Publisher' s Weekly In his bestselling book, Wallace D. Wattles explains that " universal mind" underlies and permeates all creation. Through the process of visualization, we can engage the law of attraction--impressing our thoughts upon " formless substance" and bringing the desired object or circumstances into material form. The author emphasizes the critical importance of attitude: only by aligning ourselves with the positive forces of natural law can we gain unlimited access to the creative mind and its abundant rewards.The Science of Getting Rich holds the secret to how economic and emotional security can be achieved in a practical, imaginative, and noncompetitive way, while maintaining a loving and harmonious relationship with all of life. By living in accordance with the positive principles outlined in this book, we can find our rightful place in the cosmic scheme and create for ourselves an environment in which to grow in wealth, wisdom, and happiness.WALLACE DELOIS WATTLES (1860-1911) was the author of numerous books, the best known of which is The Science of Getting Rich. He experienced failure after failure in his early life until after many years of study and experimentation he formulated a set of principles that, with scientific precision, create financial and spiritual wealth. He died a prosperousman in 1911.

This book explores three particular strategies in the extractives sector for creating shared wealth, increased labour opportunities and positive social, environmental and economic outcomes from corporate projects, namely: state wealth funds (SWF), local content policies (LCP) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Collectively, the chapters explore the associated experiences and challenges in different parts of the world with the view to inform equitable and sustainable development for the communities living adjacent to extractives sites and the wider society and environment. Examples of LCPs, SWFs and CSR practices from 12 jurisdictions with diverse experiences offer usefull insights. The book illuminates challenges and opportunities for sustainable development outcomes of the extractives sector. It reflects the need to take on board the lessons of these global experiences in order to improve outcomes for poverty reduction, inequality reduction and sustainable development.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing Great Recession of 2008 to 2013, the economic debate has begun to shift towards 'rebalancing' the UK economy, away from an over-reliance upon consumerism and the financial sector to generate growth, towards more sustainable productive activities. The fallout from the financial crisis exposed the systemic failings of the dominant neo-liberal model to deliver balanced growth and there is now increasing recognition this 'rebalancing' might best be achieved through the state pursuing an active 'industrial policy'. Thus, after a long hiatus, industrial policy is back in vogue at regional, national, and EU levels driven by concerns over competitiveness, globalisation, de-industrialisation, unemployment, and the comparatively slow growth of the British and EU economies especially in this post-recession phase. At the same time, industrial policy has been seen as a catalyst for designing economic recovery strategies at regional, national, and EU levels as well as being a concerted strategy to develop new 'clean-tech' industries to tackle environmental challenges. This book brings together leading European based experts, each with a long standing interest in industrial policy. The chapters offer a broad set of perspectives on the many facets of industrial policy, including reflections upon past experiences of industrial policy (from across the globe) and critical analysis and advice upon contemporary UK industrial policy issues. They aim to critically inform and challenge policy-makers, policy think-tanks, industrialists, trade unions, academics, and other stakeholders in framing the future course for industrial policy in the UK, and indeed more widely.

This book provides a comprehensive review of the Measures for Administration of Takeover of Chinese Listed Companies (the Chinese takeover law), with emphasis on the differences between the Chinese takeover law and takeover legislation in the UK, the US and Hong Kong. The Chinese M&A market has been booming at an unprecedented rate in recent years; not only domestic investors, but also foreign funds and multinational companies are actively participating on the market. For both market participants and researchers, it is crucial to understand the emerging and transitional aspects of the Chinese economy and its M&A market, and the impacts of those aspects on relevant laws. While there are ongoing academic discussions on the convergence between the Chinese takeover law and its counterparts in the UK, Hong Kong and the US, this book offers a comprehensive discussion of the divergence and focuses on key differences in the transplanted Chinese takeover law.

This book focuses on how important massive information is and how sensitive outcomes are to information. In this century humans now are coming up against the massive utilization of information in various contexts. The advent of super intelligence is drastically accelerating the evolution of the socio-economic system. Our traditional analytic approach must therefore be radically reformed in order to adapt to an information-sensitive framework, which means giving up myopic purification and the elimination of all considerations of massive information. In this book, authors who have shared and exchanged their ideas over the last 20 years, offer thorough examinations of the theoretical-ontological basis of complex economic interaction, econophysics, and agent-based modeling during the last several decades. This book thus provides the indispensable philosophical-scientific foundations for this new approach, and then moves on to empirical-epistemological studies concerning changes in sentiments and other movements in financial markets.

Contributing to interdisciplinary debates in cultural economy and the social studies of finance, and grounded in extensive empirical research, Liquidity Lost offers an innovative analysis of how the contemporary global financial crisis was governed. Through an exploration of the interventions made by central banks, treasuries, and regulatory authorities in the Anglo-American heartland of the crisis between 2007 and 2011, experimental and strategic apparatuses of crisis governance are shown to have emerged. These discrete apparatuses established six technical problems to be acted upon - liquidity, toxicity, solvency, risk, regulation, and debt - but also shared certain proclivities and preferences. Crisis governance assembled discourses and devices of economy in relation with sovereign monetary, fiscal, and regulatory techniques, and elicited an affective atmosphere of confidence. It also sought to secure the financialized way of life which turns on the opportunities ostensibly afforded by uncertain financial circulations, and gave rise to post-crisis technical fixes designed to advance the resilience of banking and the macro-prudential regulation of financial stability. Thus, the consensus that prevails across economics, political economy, and beyond - wherein sovereign state institutions are cast as coming to the rescue of the markets, banking, or neo-liberal capitalism - conceals a great deal more than it reveals about the governance of the global financial crisis.

Equivalence in Financial Services offers a comprehensive and cross-industry examination of the rules and procedures under EU financial legislation dedicated to third-country market actors. The equivalence regime has become particularly topical after Brexit, as the United Kingdom is now a third country from the perspective of the European Union. This book investigates whether the current equivalence system is fit for its purpose, namely facilitating cross-border finance while minimizing as extensively as possible financial risks. After describing how the European Commission adopts equivalence measures, the book examines the implementation of the equivalence regime for the following entities: Credit Rating Agencies, Benchmarks, Trading Venues, Investment Firms, Investment Funds, Central Securities Depositories, Trade Repositories, and Central Counterparties. Addressing the most recent policy and legal developments, Equivalence in Financial Services provides an insightful guide into this complex area of financial regulation for scholars of financial regulation, legal practitioners, and policy makers.

Most countries implement social protection programs to help individuals manage risks such as unemployment, disability, illness, longevity or death. In many middle income countries, these are often based on a 'Bismarckian model' (named after Otto von Bismarck), where benefits are financed by contributions levied on salaried employment. In countries with a large informal sector, however, only a fraction of the population is covered by this system and non-contributory programs have been added or are planned to increase coverage. This can create distortions in the labor market, and the book is about policies to expand the coverage of social insurance programs to all workers, without reducing incentives to job creation and formal work. While few would argue against the need and social merits of social insurance and social assistance programs there are growing concerns about their unintended consequences on labor markets because of poor design. The programs can distort incentives and individual behaviors in ways that either reduce employment levels and/or promote informality, ultimately affecting productivity and economic performance. For instance, high social security contribution rates can reduce formal employment; badly designed unemployment benefits can reduce incentives to keep, search, and take jobs; and fragmented social assistance programs can become a tax on formal labor and encourage informality. The book reviews the evidence regarding the effects of social insurance and social assistance programs on labor market outcomes and discusses options to improve their design and implementation. The book focuses particularly on middle income countries in Latin America and Asia with a large informal sector and suggests ways to reduce these distortions and better manage and finance the subsidies to make coverage universal, while creating good jobs. The book compiles expert papers from the joint conferences of the World Bank (WB), the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on Employment and Development.

Stochastic Simulation and Applications in Finance with MATLAB Programs explains the fundamentals of Monte Carlo simulation techniques, their use in the numerical resolution of stochastic differential equations and their current applications in finance. Building on an integrated approach, it provides a pedagogical treatment of the need-to-know materials in risk management and financial engineering. The book takes readers through the basic concepts, covering the most recent research and problems in the area, including: the quadratic re-sampling technique, the Least Squared Method, the dynamic programming and Stratified State Aggregation technique to price American options, the extreme value simulation technique to price exotic options and the retrieval of volatility method to estimate Greeks. The authors also present modern term structure of interest rate models and pricing swaptions with the BGM market model, and give a full explanation of corporate securities valuation and credit risk based on the structural approach of Merton. Case studies on financial guarantees illustrate how to implement the simulation techniques in pricing and hedging. The book also includes an accompanying CD-ROM which provides MATLAB programs for the practical examples and case studies, which will give the reader confidence in using and adapting specific ways to solve problems involving stochastic processes in finance. "This book provides a very useful set of tools for those who are interested in the simulation method of asset pricing and its implementation with MatLab. It is pitched at just the right level for anyone who seeks to learn about this fascinating area of finance. The collection of specific topics thoughtfully selected by the authors, such as credit risk, loan guarantee and value-at-risk, is an additional nice feature, making it a great source of reference for researchers and practitioners. The book is a valuable contribution to the fast growing area of quantitative finance." -Tan Wang, Sauder School of Business, UBC " This book is a good companion to text books on theory, so if you want to get straight to the meat of implementing the classical quantitative finance models here's the answer. " -Paul Wilmott, wilmott.com " This powerful book is a comprehensive guide for Monte Carlo methods in finance. Every quant knows that one of the biggest issues in finance is to well understand the mathematical framework in order to translate it in programming code. Look at the chapter on Quasi Monte Carlo or the paragraph on variance reduction techniques and you will see that Huu Tue Huynh, Van Son Lai and Issouf Soumare have done a very good job in order to provide a bridge between the complex mathematics used in finance and the programming implementation. Because it adopts both theoretical and practical point of views with a lot of applications, because it treats about some sophisticated financial problems (like Brownian bridges, jump processes, exotic options pricing or Longstaff-Schwartz methods) and because it is easy to understand, this handbook is valuable for academics, students and financial engineers who want to learn the computational aspects of simulations in finance. " -Thierry Roncalli, Head of Investment Products and Strategies, SGAM Alternative Investments & Professor of Finance, University of Evry