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The current study aims to examine the impact of two black swan events on the performance of six stock markets in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies (Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia). The two selected black swan events are the US Mortgage and credit crisis (Global Financial Crisis of 2008) and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The performance of all the six stock markets are represented by their return and price volatility behavior, which has been measured by applying ARCH/GARCH model. The comparative analysis is done by employing mean difference models. The data is collected from Bloomberg on a daily frequency.

The response of two black swan events on the GCC stock markets has been heterogenous in nature. During the financial crisis, the impact was heavily felt on most of the stock markets in the GCC countries. It is revealed that the financial crisis had a negative significant impact on four of the six countries. Whereas during the COVID-19 crisis, it is revealed that there is no significant impact on four of the six selected stock markets. The positive significant impact is felt on two stock markets, namely, the Abu Dhabi stock market and the Saudi stock market.

The present investigation attempts to fill the gap in the literature on the intended topic because it is evident from the literature on the chosen subject that no study has been undertaken to evaluate and contrast the impact of the GFC crisis and COVID-19 on the GCC stock markets.

The paper investigates if the process that led to the birth of the Euro Area had a significant impact in homogenizing the capital structure decisions of European firms since the first introduction of the common currency.

A large sample of firms was constructed, and a Tobit-censored regression model was utilized to investigate the determinants of firms' observed capital structures. The Black–Scholes–Merton model was used to infer market values of assets, as well as the volatility of those values, from the observed market values of equity and the corresponding volatility. The existing differences in national tax rules were considered for estimating firm-specific marginal tax rates.

It was found that, despite the currency union and the institutional harmonization process, certain factors still play a different role. In particular, the impact of profitability is consistent with the pecking order view in some countries, and with the trade-off theory in others. Assets risk, measured as the annualized volatility of the market enterprise value, is the best predictor of observed leverage ratios. The sector of activity is significant in determining leverage decisions even when assets' risk is taken into account. Despite the monetary union and the increased financial and institutional integration in the Euro Area, the country of origin still plays a significant role in capital structure decisions, suggesting that other country-level factors may affect firms' financing behaviour.

The paper indicates that, despite the long harmonization process of institutions, regulations and public budget required to join the Euro, firms' financing decisions are still affected by country-specific factors once the common currency is introduced. Therefore, new entrant countries in the Euro area should not expect their companies to immediately conform with those located in other countries within the common currency area.

This article investigated the impact of the currency change from national currencies to the Euro on the determinants of capital structure choices. It was shown that, despite the long harmonization process that led to the birth of the Euro Area, national factors still affect firms' financing decisions. This provides guidance for policymakers in countries that are planning to join the Euro about the impact this will have on firms' financing decisions in the entrant country.

A stylized fact in finance literature is the belief in positive relationship between ex ante return and risk. Hence, a rational investor, by utility preference axiom can only consider committing fund in asset which promises commensurate higher return for higher risk. Questions have been asked as to whether this holds true across securities, sectors and markets. Empirical evidence appears less convincing, especially in developing markets. Accordingly, the author investigates the nature of reward for taking risk in the Nigerian Capital Market within the context of individual assets and markets.

The author employed ex post design to collect weekly stock prices of firms listed on the Premium Board of Nigerian Stock Exchange for period 2014–2022 to attempt to answer research questions. Data were analyzed using a unique M Vec TGarch-in-Mean model considered to be robust in handling many assets, and hence portfolio management.

The study found that idea of risk-expected return trade-off is perhaps more general than as depicted by traditional finance literature. The regression revealed that conditional variance and covariance risks reveal minimal or no differences in sign and sizes of coefficients. However, standard errors were also found to be large suggesting somewhat inconclusive evidence of existence of defined incentive structure for taking additional risk in the market.

In terms of choice of methodology and outcomes, this research adds substantial value to body of knowledge. The adapted multivariate model used in this paper is a rare approach especially for management of portfolios in developing markets. Remarkably, the research found empirical evidence that positive risk-expected return trade-off, as known in mainstream literature, is not supported especially using a typical developing country data.

As financial markets for environmentally friendly investment grow in both scope and size, analyzing the relationship between green financial markets and African stocks becomes an important issue. Therefore, this paper examines the role of infectious disease-based uncertainty on the dynamic spillovers between African stock markets and clean energy stocks.

The authors employ the dynamic spillover in time and frequency domains and the nonparametric causality-in-quantiles approach over the period of November 30, 2010, to August 18, 2021.

These findings are discernible in this study's analysis. First, the authors find evidence of strong connectedness between the African stock markets and the clean energy market, and long-lived but weak in the short and medium investment horizons. Second, the BDS test shows that nonlinearity is crucial when examining the role of infectious disease-based equity market volatility in affecting the interactions between clean energy stocks and African stock markets. Third, the causal analysis provides evidence in support of a nonlinear causal relationship between uncertainties due to infectious diseases and the connection between both markets, mostly at lower and median quantiles.

Considering the global and recent use of clean energy equities and the stock markets for hedging and speculative purposes, one may argue that rising uncertainties may significantly influence risk transmissions across these markets. This study, therefore, is the first to examine the role of pandemic uncertainty on the connection between clean stocks and the African stock markets.

This study investigates information flow of market constituents and global indices at multi-frequencies.

The study’s findings were obtained using the Improved Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (I-CEEMDAN)-based cluster analysis executed for Rényi effective transfer entropy (RETE).

The authors find that significant negative information flows among sustainability equities (SEs) and conventional equities (CEs) at most multi-frequencies, which exacerbates diversification benefits. The information flows are mostly bi-directional, highlighting the importance of stock markets' constituents and their global indices in portfolio construction.

The authors advocate that both SE and CE markets are mostly heterogeneous, revealing some levels of markets inefficiencies.

The empirical literature on CEs is replete with several dynamics, revealing their returns behaviour for diversification purposes, leaving very little to know about the returns behaviour of SE. Wherein, an avalanche of several initiatives on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) enjoin firms to operate socially responsible, but investors need to have a clear reason to remain sustainable into the foreseeable future period. Accordingly, the humble desire of investors is the formation of a well-diversified portfolio and would highly demand stocks to the extent that they form a reliable portfolio, especially, amid SEs and/or CEs.

本研究擬審查多頻率的及為市場成份的信息流和全球指數。

研究人員使用基於改良完全集合經驗模態分解自適應噪聲(Improved Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise)的聚類分析法,取得Rényi有效轉移熵,藉此得到研究結果。

我們發現、於大部份多頻率,在持續性股票和傳統股票間有顯著的負信息流動,這會增加多樣化的益處。這些信息流大部份是雙向的,這強調了股票市場成份及其全球指數在構建投資組合上的重要性。

我們認為持續性股票市場和傳統股票市場大多為異質市場,這顯示了市場的低效率,而且這低效率的程度頗大。

關於傳統股票的實證性文獻裡是充滿了變革動力的,這顯示了它們以多樣化為目的的回報行為。這使我們對關於持續性股票的回報行為、認識變得實在太少了。於此,大量的企業社會責任的新措施不斷提醒各公司、要本著企業社會責任的理念去營運;但投資者需清晰明白他們為何需在可見的將來保持可持續性。因此,他們卑微的願望是一個較好的多樣化投資組合得以形成,故此他們高度要求股票要有組成可靠投資組合的性質和能力,特別是在持續性股票和/或傳統股票當中。

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential link between Sweden’s high reliance on equity capital financing among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and its recognition as the most innovative economy in Europe according to the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS). This paper examines the idea that the high levels of trust within Swedish society can explain why private equity financing is more prevalent among Swedish SMEs.

To test these ideas, the authors use data from the Survey on Access to Finance for Enterprises to measure the private equity reliance of firms. The authors also use the EIS to measure the innovation capacity of nations and various aspects of SMEs’ innovation activities. Finally, societal levels of trust are measured through the World Value Survey.

First, the authors find that European countries with a higher proportion of SMEs relying on equity financing tend to be ranked as more innovative by the EIS. Second, the authors find that the correlation between a nation’s share of SMEs relying on equity financing and their level of innovation activities is marginally stronger for product innovations than for business process innovations. Third, the authors find that countries with higher levels of trust tend to have higher equity capital reliance among SMEs.

This study builds upon previous research on equity capital and SMEs’ innovation activity while introducing new insights into the relationship between societal trust and equity financing.

This study aims to examine the impact of the beginning of the Russia–Ukraine war and the Wagner Group’s attempted military coup against Putin’s regime on the European defense sector, consisting of weapons manufacturers.

The authors use the event study methodology to quantify the impact. That is, the authors assume that markets are efficient, and abnormal stock returns around the event dates capture the magnitudes of the impacts of the two events studied on European defense sector companies. The authors use the capital asset pricing model and two different multifactor models to estimate expected stock returns, which serve as the benchmark necessary to obtain abnormal returns.

The start of the war on February 24, 2022, when the Russian forces invaded Ukraine, was followed by high positive abnormal returns of up to 12% in the next few days. The results are particularly strong if multiple factors are used to control for the risk of the defense stocks. Conversely, the authors find a negative impact of the rebellion initiated by the mercenary Wagner Group’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on June 23, 2023, on the abnormal returns of defense industry stocks on the first trading day after the event.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on the defense sector. Furthermore, this is the first study to measure the financial implications of the military coup initiated by the Wagner Group. The findings contribute to a rapidly growing literature on the financial implications of military conflicts around the world.

South Africa is the leading market for luxury goods in Africa – a fact evident from the statistics on luxury retail and the expanding footprint of international and local luxury brands. In a market that is dominated by prominent international brands, indigenous South African brands are seldom the subject of empirical research. This study addresses this gap by analysing the consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) of South African luxury fashion brands and its outcomes on the purchase/repurchase intention of consumers of South African luxury fashion brands.

The study adopted quantitative research methods and utilized survey questionnaires to acquire data from 130 respondents. Structural equation modelling was used in testing the proposed alternative hypotheses.

The study affirmed the relevance of Aaker's (1991) CBBE model for luxury goods in the emerging economy of South Africa. It established perceived quality and behavioural loyalty as significant predictors of brand equity while affirming the prevalence of hedonism and behavioural loyalty in South Africa's luxury fashion market.

The small sample size and the limited geographic scope of the study had a significant adverse impact on the broad application of the study's outcome. Furthermore, Aaker's (1991) CBBE model, while adequate, may have diminished the probability of a nuanced outcome.

This study advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary research by applying the marketing framework of CBBE to fashion studies in South Africa. The validated measurement scale, which emphasises the relevance of hedonism and behavioural loyalty in South Africa, may be useful for a similar study on luxury fashion brands in other emerging economies.

The study examines the impacts of debt financing on infrastructure development, investment, creation of new business entities, subsidies to private sector and GDP growth.

The methodology is based on five simultaneous equations which have been estimated through panel least square.

The most important conclusion of this study is the significant role of sovereign bonds in determination of subsidies to private sector. The role of domestic credit is important in South Asian context because of its significant role in creation of new businesses.

This study supports the enhancement in credit financing to private sector for creation of new business activities in the economy.

The improvement in liquidity position by enhancing domestic credit facilities may ensure the sustainability and continuity of business activities. Such activities may improve GDP growth in future.

The most important aspect of the study is to identify the role of debt financing in subsidies and creation of new businesses which are important elements of social economics.

Usually the impacts of sovereign bonds and external debts on infrastructure development and GDP growth are examined. But, to relate these debts to creation of business entities and subsidies is a new dimension.

This paper examines the effect of ESG ratings and its dimensions (environmental, social and governance) on the financial performance of JSE-listed firms included in FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index.

The paper employs panel data covering 40 JSE-listed firms included in FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index between 2015 and 2019. The paper employs the two-stage least squares (2SLS) instrumental variable regression technique to estimate the effect of ESG ratings and its dimensions (environmental, social and governance) on both accounting- and market-based performance indicators.

The results of the two-stage least squares instrumental estimation analysis reveal that investment in ESG initiatives improves both accounting- and market-based indicators of financial performance. Of the ESG pillars, the paper finds environmental initiatives improves firms' financial bottom line and market performance, while a firm's social and governance practices are observed to have no effect on a firm's accounting and market performance measures.

The insights from this study proffers policy implications for firms' management, investors and regulatory authorities.

As far as the authors are concerned, this paper presents the first empirical analysis on the contribution of ESG ratings on financial performance in South Africa.