EU infrastructure plan could reinforce ECB policy

Subject Outlook for infrastructure spending. Significance European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed a 315 billion euro (340 billion dollar) infrastructure initiative to revive the EU economy, expected to reinforce ongoing monetary policy efforts to boost growth. Fund raising is progressing through the European Investment Bank (EIB). The programme can benefit both short-term and long-term growth prospects, while its actual impact will depend on the projects implemented, as politically motivated choices can delay, distort and depress the benefits. This plan comes late, six years after the global financial crisis; one of its priorities is generating rapid results to boost the economic recovery. Impacts To have a net positive impact, any infrastructure proposal would have to avoid drawing funds away from existing investment plans. The plan could help reducing disparities between labour markets in different euro-area countries. Persistently high euro-area unemployment will need a domestic demand revival to boost sentiment, growth and job creation.

Subject Fears of a period of imminent 'deglobalisation' involving more protectionism and less integration. Significance The WTO forecast for world trade growth has fallen below GDP growth for the first time since the global financial crisis. Historical evidence suggests a clear link between trade liberalisation and higher GDP growth, raising fears that increased protectionism, sharpened by Brexit and the US presidential election campaign, will dampen global growth. Impacts The EU is likely to scale back the provisions of both CETA and TTIP, particularly on investment protection. Beyond the attention on Trump, the US landscape appears to have shifted more broadly towards deglobalisation. An increase in protectionist policies is likely to lead to more court challenges or legislative action to reverse them. Retaliation between countries may increase, particularly in countries that are likely to be most affected such as China and Mexico. Historically, protectionism has had a bigger impact than competitive devaluations; the trend poses a risk to world growth prospects.


Subject Investment financing and behaviour. Significance In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, companies used the bond market as a substitute for bank financing as banks' lending standards tightened. Banks now finance less investment; insurance companies and pension funds finance more. This leaves countries less reliant on banking but also transfers the risks to other financial institutions. Research into the German market shows that insurance firms and pension funds invest countercyclically, selling when prices rise, but that banks and investment funds are procyclical investors, amplifying price dynamics. Impacts Micro-prudential regulation such as rules inducing investors to sell downgraded assets can prompt procyclical behaviour. Time-varying capital buffers that move with economic conditions can curb procyclical investment, limiting institutions more in good times. Regulators need to consider the interactions between institutions within and across sectors, and between solvency and stability.


Author(s):  
Ashoka Mody

This chapter addresses the troubling legacies left by the global financial crisis: rising government debt burdens and slower economic growth prospects. In October 2009, debt burdens were surging at about an equal pace in the United States and in the euro area. However, growth prospects looked better in the U.S. than in the euro area because the U.S. Federal Reserve had proactively stimulated its economy while the European Central Bank (ECB) had kept monetary policy tight. Policymakers faced a dilemma. Solving the debt problem required governments to undertake austerity measures—raise taxes and reduce spending; but austerity would lower the demand for goods and services, which would cause incomes to fall and further set back growth prospects. Hence, some, including the International Monetary Fund's Research Department, believed it was important to jump-start economic growth.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 270
Author(s):  
Paolo Agnese ◽  
Paolo Capuano ◽  
Luca Secondi

Due to the severity and persistence of the global financial crisis started in 2007, central banks all over the world have adopted Unconventional Monetary Policies (UMPs), including negative policy rates, longer-term refinancing operations and large-scale purchases of financial assets. In this study, by referring to a time-series regression analysis with Newey-West correction, we evaluate the impact of UMPs implemented by the Eurosystem over the period 2008-2019 on the stocks of euro area banks’ deposit from households and non-financial corporations. The analysis of the effects of UMPs on the stocks of banks’ deposit represents a particularly innovative aspect of this research, where most of the scientific literature focuses on deposit interest rates. Our results suggest that the UMPs conducted by the Eurosystem have had a significant positive impact on euro area bank deposits, with particular reference to the relationship between Longer-term refinancing operations and Household overnight deposits, as well as between Securities held for monetary policy purposes and deposits from Households (total deposits) and from Corporates (overnight deposits).


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darush Yazdanfar ◽  
Peter Öhman

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically investigate determinants of financial distress among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the global financial crisis and post-crisis periods.Design/methodology/approachSeveral statistical methods, including multiple binary logistic regression, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel data set of 3,865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industries over the 2008–2015 period.FindingsThe results suggest that financial distress is influenced by macroeconomic conditions (i.e. the global financial crisis) and, in particular, by various firm-specific characteristics (i.e. performance, financial leverage and financial distress in previous year). However, firm size and industry affiliation have no significant relationship with financial distress.Research limitationsDue to data availability, this study is limited to a sample of Swedish SMEs in five industries covering eight years. Further research could examine the generalizability of these findings by investigating other firms operating in other industries and other countries.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine determinants of financial distress among SMEs operating in Sweden using data from a large-scale longitudinal cross-sectional database.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Salman Saleh ◽  
Enver Halili ◽  
Rami Zeitun ◽  
Ruhul Salim

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the financial performance of listed firms on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) over two sample periods (1998-2007 and 2008-2010) before and during the global financial crisis periods. Design/methodology/approach The generalized method of moments (GMM) has been used to examine the relationship between family ownership and a firm’s performance during the financial crisis period, reflecting on the higher risk exposure associated with capital markets. Findings Applying firm-based measures of financial performance (ROA and ROE), the empirical results show that family firms with ownership concentration performed better than nonfamily firms with dispersed ownership structures. The results also show that ownership concentration has a positive and significant impact on family- and nonfamily-owned firms during the crisis period. In addition, financial leverage had a positive and significant effect on the performance of Australian family-owned firms during both periods. However, if the impact of the crisis by sector is taking into account, the financial leverage only becomes significant for the nonmining family firms during the pre-crisis period. The results also reveal that family businesses are risk-averse business organizations. These findings are consistent with the underlying economic theories. Originality/value This paper contributes to the debate whether the ownership structure affects firms’ financial performance such as ROE and ROA during the global financial crisis by investigating family and nonfamily firms listed on the Australian capital market. It also identifies several influential drivers of financial performance in both normal and crisis periods. Given the paucity of studies in the area of family business, the empirical results of this research provide useful information for researchers, practitioners and investors, who are operating in capital markets for family and nonfamily businesses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-169
Author(s):  
Alberto Fuertes ◽  
Jose María Serena

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how firms from emerging economies choose among different international bond markets: global, US144A and Eurobond markets. The authors explore if the ranking in regulatory stringency –global bonds have the most stringent regulations and Eurobonds have the most lenient regulations – leads to a segmentation of borrowers. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a novel data set from emerging economy firms, treating them as consolidated entities. The authors also obtain descriptive evidence and perform univariate non-parametric analyses, conditional and multinomial logit analyses to study firms’ marginal debt choice decisions. Findings The authors show that firms with poorer credit quality, less ability to absorb flotation costs and more informational asymmetries issue debt in US144A and Eurobond markets. On the contrary, firms issuing global bonds – subject to full Securities and Exchange Commission requirements – are financially sounder and larger. This exercise also shows that following the global crisis, firms from emerging economies are more likely to tap less regulated debt markets. Originality/value This is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first study that examines if the ranking in stringency of regulation – global bonds have the most stringent regulations and Eurobonds have the most lenient regulations – is consistent with an ordinal choice by firms. The authors also explore if this ranking is monotonic in all determinants or there are firm-specific features which make firms unlikely to borrow in a given market. Finally, the authors analyze if there are any changes in the debt-choice behavior of firms after the global financial crisis.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taslima Akther ◽  
Fengju Xu

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors that enhance the credibility of and confidence in audit value. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 254 institutional investors through a questionnaire survey and were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings The findings reveal that the two influential predictors of enhanced credibility and confidence are perceived auditor independence and improved auditor communication. Factors related to auditor–client affiliation, such as restrictions on providing non-audit services, mandatory auditor rotation and the presence of effective audit committees, are identified as creating the perceived independence. Improved auditor communication is linked with improving the audit report and ensuring audit education, thus creating more sophisticated users who better understand the scope and purpose of an audit. Furthermore, independent audit oversight acts as a moderator in the relationship between perceived auditor independence, improved auditor communication and enhanced credibility. Enhanced credibility can lead to greater confidence in audit value. Originality/value In the wake of the global financial crisis and loss of confidence in the role of auditors, this study investigates the factors that can enhance the credibility of and confidence in audit value, especially in a non-Anglo-American setting. This study is unique in terms of methodological development, as it uses a higher-order Type II reflective–formative model using PLS-SEM.


Author(s):  
Hasan Tekin

This chapter, first, draws an overview of the theoretical and conceptual framework of corporate decisions in the global financial crisis (GFC) context. Then, it shows the connectedness of corporate finance and international trade. Finally, employing a rich dataset, this chapter assesses the impact of international trade as well as the GFC on corporate financial decisions, particularly cash holdings, debt financing, and dividend payouts over the period 2002-2016. The findings show that international trade significantly affects corporate decisions. Firms with higher trade countries have higher debt level but lower cash and dividends across the globe. During the GFC, the positive impact of trade on debt shifts to negative. Also, trade has a positive effect on both cash and debt in the aftermath of the GFC. Taken together, international trade as an institutional setting influences corporate decisions and its role on cash, debt, and dividend differ during and after the GFC.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Muzzammil Zekri ◽  
Muhammad Najib Razali

Purpose This paper aims to examine the dynamic of volatility of Malaysian listed property companies within pan-Asian public property markets based on different volatility perspective over the past 18 years, especially during the global financial crisis (GFC). Design/methodology/approach This study uses several statistical methods and formulas for analysing the dynamic of volatility of Malaysian listed property companies such as exponential generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) and Markov-switching (MS) EGARCH. The MS-EGARCH model provides new insights on the volatility dynamics of Malaysian listed property companies compared to conventional volatility modelling techniques, particularly EGARCH. Additionally, this paper will analyse the volatility movement based on three different sub-periods such as pre-GFC, GFC and post-GFC. Findings The findings reveal that the markets perform differently under different volatility conditions. Moreover, the application of MS-EGARCH provides a different view on the volatility dynamics compared to the conventional EGARCH model, as MS-EGARCH provides more comprehensive findings, especially during extreme market conditions. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on the dynamics of Malaysian listed property companies within pan-Asian countries, as the approach for assessing the volatility performance based on different volatility conditions is less explored by previous researchers.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document