This report summarises the scientific content and results of the European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop on 'Economic Geography and European Finance' held at Jesus College, Oxford University, 16-19 September 2004. The objective of the workshop was to further our understanding of the...

We examine how analysts establish target prices for IPO firms and whether comparable firms used to support target prices are helpful in explaining IPO offer prices. From 1996 to 2000, the average target price is set at a level more than twice the offer price that was established less than a...

This paper analyzes some major developmental issues in the specific areas of the Armenian banking sector (particularly raised by the Armenian authorities) and insurance sector and provides recommendations for addressing those issues. The paper argues that over the past seven years, the Armenian...

Recent high correlations among hedge fund returns could suggest concentrations of risk comparable to those preceding the hedge fund crisis of 1998. A comparison of the current rise in correlations with the elevation before the 1998 event, however, reveals a key difference. The current increase...

Although credit rating agencies have gradually moved away from a policy of never rating a private borrower above the sovereign (the sovereign ceiling) it appears that sovereign ratings remain a significant determinant of the credit rating assigned to corporations. We examine this link using data...

This paper examines empirical evidence pertaining to the hedging and derivatives activities of U.S. commercial banks. Because banks use derivatives for hedging, dealing, or both, the framework for the analysis includes both contemporary theories of banking and of hedging behavior. Although the...

We document that corporate insiders' trading behavior exhibits persistence over time. Classifying insiders as “Persistently Profitable (PP)” based on profits generated from historical trades, we find the current transactions of these insiders better predict firm performance. The relative...

This case is considered to be the connecting thread to the 35 hour Corporate Finance course for postgraduates and executive education in which: 1) the main concepts of financial statements analysis will be reviewed, including those regarding cost structure, break-even point and operating...

This paper argues that blockchains or, more broadly, distributed ledgers provide the first viable avenue toward a common economic and financial ledger where, in an envisioned end-state, all economic actors record all their economic assets/liabilities and economic transactions in one virtual...

Where can one systematically find research ideas? I propose a scheme to classify and broadly generalize the sources of inspiration for research topics, with emphasis on corporate finance. In the process, I propose 100 new research topics awaiting the brave and persistent