Recent work has suggested that strategic underperformance of debt-service obligations by equity holders can resolve the gap between observed yield spreads and those generated by Merton (1974)-style models.(...)

Recent work in corporate finance has suggested that strategic debt-service by equityholders works to lower debt values and raise yield spreads substantially. We show that this is not quite correct. With optimal cash management, defaults occasioned by deliberate underperformance (strategic...

We present a cash-flow based model of corporate debt valuation that incorporates two novel features. First, we allow for the separation and optimal determination of the firm's debt-service and dividend policies; in particular, the firm is allowed to maintain cash reserves to meet future debt...

Recent work has suggested that strategic underperformance of debt-service obligations by equity holders can resolve the gap between observed yield spreads and those generated by Merton (1974)-style models. We show that this is not quite correct. The value of the option to underperform on...

We present a cash flows based model of corporate debt valuation that incorporates two novel features. First, we allow for the separation and optimal determination of the firm's debt-service and dividend policies; in particular, the rm is allowed to maintain cash reserves to meet future debt...