I examine the role of sell-side debt analyst reports in the corporate bond market for financially distressed firms. Debt analysts are not subject to the same conflict-of-interest regulations as equity analysts, and for this reason it is an open question whether the primary function of debt...

We develop a theoretical model quantifying how firm-level pandemic exposure and sentiment, as informational shocks, affect a firm’s credit spread and default risk. Consistent with model predictions, we find significantly positive impacts on single-name credit default swap (CDS) spreads from...

This study examines the earnings management behaviour of 455 distressed US firms that filed for bankruptcy during the period 1986-2001. We examine (a) possible earnings management during the years prior to bankruptc-filing, (b) whether qualified audit opinions cause conservative earnings...

Within a sample of firms undergoing financial distress, where the incentive to send false positive signals is high, we show that insider trading serves as a credible information channel about potential recovery for outside investors. We employ credit rating downgrades as confirmation of the...

This paper examines whether bond market participants alter their credit risk assessments of firms that appoint the corporate general counsel (GC) to senior management. GCs may place less emphasis on their gatekeeping responsibilities upon appointment to senior management, thus potentially...

Research shows that most ventures fail, yet it has devoted limited attention to the consequences of entrepreneurs' past failure for investors' decisions. Our motivating insight is that failure can be due to bad luck, lack of skill or both. Therefore, failure conveys ambiguous information about...

Research shows that most ventures fail, yet it has devoted limited attention to the consequences of entrepreneurs' past failure for investors' decisions. Our motivating insight is that failure can be due to bad luck, lack of skill or both. Therefore, failure conveys ambiguous information about...

What is a good and effective creditor protection system? Can a creditor protection system, understood as a variety of mechanisms employed jointly or individually to protect the interests of creditors, deliver for all creditors, or are there different systems of creditor protection needed for...