Geographic Proximity of Information to Financial Markets and Impact on Stock Prices: Evidence from the Ebola Outbreak

Behavioral finance studies reveal that investors\u27 sentiment affects investment decisions and may therefore affect stock pricing. This paper examines whether the geographic proximity of information disseminated by the 2014 Ebola Outbreak combined with intense media coverage affected asset prices in the United States. The results show that the effect is generally negative on the stock prices, also local media coverage strongly affects local trading, and the effect is more pronounced in small and more volatile stocks and in companies belonging to less stable industries. Furthermore, we find that both retail and institutional investors are more sensitive to the intensity of coverage than to the content of information. Additional tests suggest significant return spillover effects from U.S. markets to other markets one day after the determined event date

Financial innovations, marketability and stability in banking

Abstract A fundamental feature of more recent financial innovations is their focus on augmenting marketability. We point at the potential dark side of marketability. Marketability has possibly led to an excessive proliferation of transaction-oriented banking (trading and financial market activities). The 2007-2009 financial crisis appears to have countered this trend, and possibly reemphasized the importance of relationship banking. In order to focus on these issues in a rigorous way, we will evaluate the key insights from the relationship banking literature, including the potential complementarities and conflicts of interest between intermediated relationship banking activities and financial market (underwriting, securitization, etc.) activities. From here we will point at institutional and regulatory changes that might be needed to improve the stability of the financial sector. One could say that the institutional structure (including regulation) has not kept up with the enhanced marketability and "changeability" of the industry. ______________________

Future directions in international financial integration research. A crowdsourced perspective

This paper is the result of a crowdsourced effort to surface perspectives on the present and future direction of international finance. The authors are researchers in financial economics who attended the INFINITI 2017 conference in the University of Valencia in June 2017 and who participated in the crowdsourcing via the Overleaf platform. This paper highlights the actual state of scientific knowledge in a multitude of fields in finance and proposes different directions for future research

Forthcoming in Panoeconomicus Dimensions of Bank Capital Regulation: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract This paper identifies the main dimensions of capital regulation. We use survey data from 142 countries from the World Bank's (2013) database covering various aspects of bank regulation. Using multiple explorative factor analysis, we identify two main dimensions of capital regulation: complexity of capital regulation and stringency of capital regulation. We show that even countries with a common legal and regulatory framework differ substantially in terms of capital regulation. For example, the level of stringency of capital regulation varies substantially across the EU countries, potentially distorting the level playing field

Corruption and non-performing loans

This article empirically evaluates the impact of corruption on the level of non-performing loans (NPLs) using the international bank-level data, spanning over the period 2000e2016 and across 140 countries. We find a positive and statistically significant relationship between corruption and NPLs. We also analyze the channels through which cor- ruption affects NPLs. We find that the relationship between corruption and NPLs becomes more pronounced during and after the global financial crisis and is more pronounced for smaller banks. The association between corruption and NPLs is stronger in countries characterized by a high level of collectivism. The link between corruption and NPLs is higher where the legal environment is weak and where economies are market-based

Non-performing loans and bank lending behaviour

This article empirically investigates whether the level of non-performing loans (NPLs) affects the bank lending behaviour using the bank-level data across 42 coun- tries, spanning over the period from 2000 to 2017. We find a negative and statisti- cally significant relationship between NPL and bank loan growth. This impact is not geographically restricted and is confirmed for the EU, non-EU, advanced, and emerging countries subsamples. We also examine the channels through which NPLs affect loan growth. Our results show that the association between NPL and loan growth is more pronounced for well-capitalized banks. We find no evidence in support of an effect of asset management companies on the negative association between NPLs and loan growth. In addition, our results are robust with respect to alternative measure of credit risk and different specifications

The Western Balkans and the EU budget

The Western Balkan region needs credible European development prospects to break the cycle of enlargement and accession fatigue and to speed up regional adjustment to the EU. Post-accession EU budget flows can provide the necessary funding for such prospects. This article assesses the expected changes in the size and composition of EU budget flows to the Western Balkan countries after their EU accession. Our results show a sudden and substantial increase in gross and net flows, which gradually intensifies over several years before levelling off. EU budget flows are economically important relative to the size of the Western Balkan economies, and their composition is strongly biased towards development policies. We also find that Western Balkan enlargement comes at a minimal budgetary cost for the remaining EU member states. Our findings can help reduce scepticism behind the Western Balkan countries’ accession fatigue and the EU’s enlargement fatigue

Financial innovation: Economic growth versus instability in bank-based versus financial market driven economies ‡

Abstract A fundamental feature of recent financial innovations is their focus on augmenting marketability. We point at the potential dark side of marketability. The paper casts its analysis of the pros and cons of financial innovation within the financial development and economic growth debate. The innovations are largely spurred by developments in information technology which may have caused excessive 'changeability' in the economy. We also ask the question whether the proliferation of financial innovations might impact bank-based versus financial market driven economies differently. We argue that the enhanced marketability of bank assets has implications for stability

Vpliv nadmorske višine na pojavljanje arbuskularne mikorize pri navadni ajdi (Fagopyrum esculentum)

Želeli smo ugotoviti vpliv nadmorske višine na pojavljanje arbuskularne mikorize pri navadni adji (Fagopyrum esculentum). Spremljali smo pogostost mikorize in mikoriznih struktur. Rastline so bile nabrane na treh različnih lokacijah z različno nadmorsko višino in sicer na Biotehniški fakulteti (295 m n.m) Javorovici (550 m n.m.), in Javorniku (1140 m n.m.). S tripan modrim smo pobarvali korenine, ter z metodo hitrega skeniranja s svetlobno mikroskopijo ocenili stopnjo kolonizacije, prisotnost arbuskulov, veziklov, svitkov in mikrosklerocijev. Frekvenca in intenziteta mikorize sta bili najvišji na Javorovici. V vzorcih so prevladovali mikrosklerociji. Prevladovali so temni septirani endofiti. Na podlagi danih rezultatov ne moremo sklepati na vpliv nadmorske višine na pogostost mikorize. Na to lahko vpliva še več parametrov (osončenost, tip prsti, vlažnost, padavine, temperatura)