Insider Trading in Credit Derivatives

Insider trading in the credit derivatives market has become a significant concern for regulators and participants. This paper attempts to quantify the problem. Using news reflected in the stock market as a benchmark for public information, we report evidence of significant incremental information revelation in the credit default swap (CDS) market, consistent with the occurrence of insider trading. We show that the degree of this activity increases with the number of banks that have lending/monitoring relations with a given firm, and that this effect is robust to controls for noninformational trade. Furthermore, consistent with hedging activity by informed banks with loan exposure, information revelation in the CDS market is asymmetric, consisting exclusively of bad news. We find no evidence, however, that the degree of insider activity adversely affects prices or liquidity in either the equity or credit markets. If anything, with regard to liquidity, the reverse appears to be true

Dynamic capabilities in a sixth generation family firm: entrepreneurship and the Bibby Line

In this paper we draw on the theory of dynamic capabilities to examine development of the only surviving family-owned Liverpool shipping company. The Bibby Line was founded in 1807 to take advantage of the growing sea-trade based in Liverpool. The company remained in shipping until the mid-1960s, when a series of external crises led the owner, Derek Bibby, to begin a process of diversification. In the last 50 years, the Bibby Line has grown into a £1bn business with interests in retail, distribution and financial services as well as a continuing commitment to shipping. Our intention is to demonstrate how multigenerational ownership contributes to the creation of dynamic capabilities in family firms. The distinctive nature of Bibby as a long-standing family business is related to unique assets such as patient capital, flexible governance structures as well as the ability to mobilise social and human capital