This paper shows that studies of announcement effects of bond rating changes should take into account the initial rating. First, we provide theoretical support for different price effects as a non-linear function of the initial credit rating, using a structural, Merton-type model linking the...

This paper analyzes the effect of corporate debt offerings on stock prices. Straight debt offerings have non-positive price effects, while convertible debt offerings have significantly negative effects. Public utility mortgage (non-convertible) bond offerings have marginally negative effects,...

This paper examines the stock market impact of announcements of corporate bond rating revisions for companies in the United Kingdom (UK) and in Australia. Investigating the market reaction to bond rating changes by Moody's and Standard & Poor's, our findings reveal similar results for downgrade...

Covenants in corporate bonds and loan agreements mitigate agency conflicts between borrowers and lenders and may provide a signal of borrower quality to help resolve information asymmetry. Performance pricing covenants in bank loans specify automatic adjustments to loan spreads based on...

Employing an event study approach, we examine 5,574 bond return reactions to unexpected quarterly dividend change announcements in the U.S. corporate bond market over the period 2002–2014. Overall, we report a significant bond price reaction in the same direction as dividend changes, which...

Based on their monthly holdings of corporate bonds, we provide the first empirical analysis of the trades by corporate bond mutual funds around earnings announcements. Funds specializing in high-yield (HY) bonds exhibit the ability to predict earnings surprises and adjust holdings accordingly,...