We find that stocks exhibiting high dispersion in analysts’ earnings forecasts do not onlyunderperform in the U.S. but also in many European countries. Testing for the dispersioneffect in many countries calls for adequate multiple testing controls and we show that theU.S. dispersion effect...

In OTC bond markets many investors face high costs of trade, and these costs appear to berelated to the lack of price transparency. We study the consequences this has for efficient pricediscovery. Prices of municipal bonds react sluggishly to macroeconomic news. Yield spreads overtreasuries...

This article examines the recent regulatory developments with regard to shortselling. Short selling regulation is an important factor in firm governancebecause it affects the way in which firms are subject to market discipline. Asthe financial crisis has attracted regulators’ notice to short...

The persistence of financial instability calls into question the adequacy of the current regulatory regime. Acritical review of the three pillars at the core of current financial regulation exposes some structural flaws.[...]

The recent real estate bubble was fuelled by non-risk adjusted lending policies, low interest rates and complex finance vehicles. Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) played a crucial role in the crisis. These vehicles were praised as liquid capital market instruments that allowed mortgage lenders...

Using an options-based approach, we compute the value of the state guaranteefor the liability side of CS and UBS. The insurance premiums forthese two system-relevant banks are calculated in a dynamic setup from2004 until 2009 in quarterly steps for time horizons of one and five years.The model...

We investigate whether bank performance during the credit crisis of 2008 is related to CEOincentives and share ownership before the crisis and whether CEOs reduced their equity stakes intheir banks in anticipation of the crisis. There is no evidence that banks with CEOs whoseincentives were...