Economic uptick may not spell recovery in Brazil

Significance Indicators bottomed out after April. Most economists now expect GDP to contract by 5.5-6.0% this year, a severe blow to an economy that had yet fully to recover the ground lost in the brutal 2015-16 recession, but less than the highly pessimistic forecasts prevailing during the initial months of the pandemic. Impacts Lower rates have reduced fiscal spending on interest payments, a rare bright spot on the fiscal side. Inflation remains low but fiscal deterioration may prevent further rate cuts. The recent fall in sovereign debt maturity could leave Brazil more exposed to sudden changes in market risk aversion.

Significance The government announced its sovereign debt restructuring proposal on April 16, including a three-year moratorium, and an average haircut of 62% on interest payments (equivalent to 37.9 billion dollars) and 5.4% on capital (3.6 billion dollars). The proposal has already been rejected by the main bondholders, but Economy Minister Martin Guzman warns there will be no further offer. Impacts A deal would ease liquidity problems and facilitate access to fresh funds in the medium term, aiding post-COVID-19 economic recovery. A new default would hinder recovery and increase the risk of a new bout of hyperinflation. Global economic weakness will limit prospects for any export-led recovery.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 669-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celia Álvarez-Botas ◽  
Víctor M. González-Méndez

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of economic development on the influence of country-level determinants on corporate debt maturity, bearing in mind firm size and the period of financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach The authors employ panel data estimation with fixed effects to examine the role of economic development in influencing the relationship between country-level determinants on corporate debt maturity. The paper uses a sample of 30,727 listed firms, belonging to 39 countries, over the period 2005–2012. Findings Corporate debt maturity increases with the efficiency of the legal system and bank concentration and decreases with the weight of banks in the economy. However, the importance of these country determinants is greater in developing than in developed countries. The authors also show that firm size in developed and developing countries influences country determinants of corporate debt maturity. Finally, the results reveal that the financial crisis has affected the debt maturity of firms differently in developed and developing countries, with the effect of bank concentration lengthening debt maturity, this effect being more pronounced in developing countries. Practical implications The findings provide useful insights to guide policy decisions providing access to long-term financing, as corporate debt maturity depends on economic development, institutional environment, banking structure and firm size. Originality/value This study incorporates economic development in explaining the relationship between country-level determinants and corporate debt maturity.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade Mansell ◽  
Karen Openshaw

In 2008 the Ecuadorian government received a report on the legitimacy of the country's sovereign debt from an international audit commission appointed by Ecuador's current president, Rafael Correa. This concluded that much of the debt was tainted by illegality and illegitimacy and consequently did not merit repayment. Citing the report's findings as justification, the government stopped making interest payments on certain of the country's bonds, but, rather than repudiating them altogether, engineered a successful buyback at a large discount. Having thus reduced Ecuador's external commercial debt burden by about a third, the government is now planning to address multilateral and bilateral loans also adjudged unlawful by the commission.This article examines the robust approach adopted by the Correa administration to tackling Ecuador's public debts, placing it in the context of the country's troubled economic history and contrasting it with previous defaults and debt workouts which largely worked to Ecuador's disadvantage. In doing so, it considers the use which the government has made of the increasingly prominent concepts of odious and illegitimate debt as a means of combating the indebtedness of the South. The conclusion reached is that, regardless of the final position suggested by international law, the realities of international relations are likely to limit the practicality of legal remedies. Nevertheless, the case of Ecuador provides a new chapter in the continuing academic debate regarding unlawful debt.These, of course, are the legal aspects of Ecuador's endeavours to curtail expenditure desperately needed for other purposes. Underlying the legal implications is the reality of an impoverished nation called upon to continue to service or redeem 'debt' that brought no obvious benefit to the overwhelming majority of its people. Debt repayment has promoted impoverishment and also, if indirectly, facilitated devastating environmental degradation.


Significance This framework laid out two pillars of reform. Pillar One would see large companies liable for tax in the end-market jurisdiction where their goods or services are used or consumed. Pillar Two would set a minimum tax rate of 15%. Impacts Ireland will probably support the reforms by October, and in return it may get some concessions over implementation or sectoral coverage. Reduced corporate tax revenue may result in tighter fiscal spending, which would play into the hands of the opposition Sinn Fein. The corporate tax proposals come at a particularly bad time for the Irish economy, which is already facing the consequences of Brexit.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Unsal

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how firms’ relationships with employees define their debt maturity. The authors empirically test the role of employee litigations in influencing firms’ choice of short-term versus long-term debt. The authors study employee relations by analyzing the importance of the workplace environment on capital structure. Design/methodology/approach The author’s test hypotheses using a sample of US publicly traded firms between 2000 and 2017, including 3,056 unique firms with 4,256 unique chief executive officer, adopting the fixed effect panel model. Findings The authors document that employee litigations have a significant negative effect on the use of short-term debt and a significant positive affect on long-term debt. Employee litigations, along with legal fees, outcomes and charging parties, matter the most in explaining debt maturity. In addition, frequently sued firms abandon the short-term debt market and use less shareholders’ equity to finance their operations while relying more on the longer debt market. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the role of employee mistreatment in debt maturity choice. The study extends the lawsuit and finance literature by examining unique, hand-collected data sets of employee lawsuits, allegations, violations, settlements, charging parties, case outcomes and case durations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Gaillard

Purpose – This paper aims to shed new light on the inability of credit rating agencies (CRAs) to forecast the recent defaults and so-called quasi-defaults of rich countries. It also describes how Moody’s sovereign rating methodology has been modified – and could be further improved – to solve this problem. Design/methodology/approach – After converting bond yields into yield-implied ratings, accuracy ratios are computed to compare the respective performances of CRAs and market participants. Then Iceland’s and Greece’s ratings at the beginning of the Great Recession are estimated while accounting for the parameters included in the new methodology implemented by Moody’s in 2013. Findings – Market participants outperformed Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s in terms of anticipating the sovereign debt crisis that hit several European countries starting in 2008. However, the new methodology implemented by Moody’s should lead to more conservative and accurate sovereign ratings. Originality/value – The chronic inability of CRAs to anticipate public debt crises in rich countries is dangerous because the countries affected – which are generally rated in the investment-grade category – are substantially downgraded, amplifying the sovereign debt crisis. This study is the first to demonstrate that Moody’s has learned from its recent failures. In addition, it recommends ways to detect serious threats to the creditworthiness of high-income countries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Oehler ◽  
Matthias Horn ◽  
Florian Wedlich

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to derive the determinants of young adults’ subjective and objective risk attitude in theoretical and real-world financial decisions. Furthermore, a comparison of the factors that influence young adults’ and older adults’ risk attitude is provided. Design/methodology/approach The paper relies on an experimental setting and a cross-sectional field study using data of the German central bank’s (Deutsche Bundesbank) PHF-Survey. Findings Young adults’ objective risk aversion is not constant but increases with stake sizes. Furthermore, young adults’ subjective risk attitude is a better predictor for their objective risk attitude than a set of commonly employed socio-demographics and economics like age or income. Moreover, young adults’ subjective risk attitude works as a mediator for the influence of their investable financial wealth on their objective risk attitude. Although young adults’ subjective risk attitude shows a gender effect, the influence of young adults’ gender on their objective risk attitude decreases with higher stake sizes. Compared to older adults, young adults generally show a similar degree of subjective risk aversion. However, due to stronger financial restrictions, young adults show a higher degree of objective risk aversion. Originality/value Although individuals’ financial outcomes depend on the financial behavior established in young adulthood, there is no study that simultaneously analyzes the determinants of young adults’ subjective and objective risk attitude in real-world financial decisions with a focus on young adults as a separate age group. The paper closes this gap in literature and additionally provides a comparison of the subsamples of young adults and older adults. The analysis in this paper reveals that young adults’ lower engagement in financial markets is primarily driven by their tight budget and not by a fundamental different subjective risk attitude.


Significance Market sectors under scrutiny include buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallets. All have seen a recent leap in popularity, driven in part by COVID-related concerns but mostly by the mainstream interest in alternative payment methods, leaving regulators concerned. Impacts The Treasurer is likely to gain extended powers to plug gaps in regulatory policy and address convergence issues. Liquidity concerns over cryptocurrency trading could be overcome through a central bank digital currency. Concerns over lost tax revenue and consumer protection, as well as the need to contain market risk, are driving reform efforts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 227-238

227State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Exceptions — Acta jure gestionis — Acta jure imperii — Once a trader always a trader — State of emergency — Law-making — Legislature regulating legal relations initially established by acta jure gestionis qualifying as acta jure imperiiEconomics, trade and finance — European Monetary Union — Hellenic Republic — Public debt — Bonds — Greek sovereign debt crisis — Sovereign debt restructuring — Collective Action Clauses — Secondary market — Bond exchange — Financial stabilityRelationship of international law and municipal law — Compatibility with Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany — General principle of international law — Article 25 of German Basic Law — Right to a lawful judge — The law of Germany


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