How Short-Term Activists Create Long-Term Value
Activist hedge funds are often seen as the epitome of all that’s wrong with capitalism. They cut investment, fire employees, and break contracts to boost the short-term stock price, and cash out before...
View ArticleAre US Industries Becoming More Concentrated?
(This post was originally featured in the Review of Finance Managing Editor’s blog, which summarizes the lead article of each issue in a non-technical manner.) A paper by Gustavo Grullon, Yelena...
View ArticleHow Macroeconomic Conditions Affect Stock Prices
(This post was originally featured in the Review of Finance Managing Editor’s blog, which summarizes the lead article of each issue in a non-technical manner.) John Cochrane of Stanford has written an...
View ArticleCorporate Finance in China
China will soon become the largest economy in the world, but many Westerners (myself included) know very little about it. I’ve thus tried to educate myself about the Chinese economy, and earlier posted...
View ArticleCapital Markets in China
China will soon become the largest economy in the world, but many Westerners (myself included) know very little about it. I’ve thus tried to educate myself about the Chinese economy, and earlier posted...
View ArticleThe Inconsistency of ESG Ratings: Implications for Investors
(This article was initially featured on the blog for my book, “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit”) Investors are increasingly scrutinizing the ESG performance of...
View Article“Grow the Pie” in 28 Tweets
On 6 April, I did a Twitter discussion on my book, hosted by Blackwell’s Bookshop. They asked me to start by providing 25-30 Tweets summarising the book, before opening it up to questions. I reproduce...
View ArticleSpillover Effects of Hedge Fund Activism
Hedge fund activism is a controversial topic. Prominent lawyer Marty Lipton argues that the long-term future of corporate America is being undermined “by a gaggle of activist hedge funds who troll...
View ArticleDo Workers on Boards Protect Jobs in a Downturn?
A hot topic is whether companies should have workers on their boards, to ensure they act in the interest of stakeholders, not just shareholders. This debate was ongoing even before COVID-19 – for...
View ArticleThe Effect of the ECB’s Bond Buying Program
The European Central Bank is launching a €750 billion bond buying program to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Will this work? We obviously can’t predict the future. But we can analyse the past and study...
View ArticleWhat Drives the Cost of Default Insurance?
One of the many negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is that companies may default. Companies going bankrupt are indeed less important than deaths, but they still have human consequences....
View ArticleHow Political Connections Can Hurt, Rather Then Help, Firm Value
We often think of political connections as clearly favoring a company. Perhaps the most extreme example is Donald Trump owning around 500 businesses (collectively known as the Trump Organization),...
View ArticleDo Banks Offer Complex Mortgages to Mislead Customers?
Banks are often accused of making money off complex products that consumers don’t understand. In my book, I discuss how 2 million UK households were sold payment protection insurance policies that...
View ArticleEvidence-Based Practice
What to Trust in a Post-Truth World. TED talk.Evaluating Research. A user’s guide to knowing what research we can trust.The Danger of Taking Evidence at Face Value. Economia column.The Dangers of...
View ArticleCapital Markets in China
China will soon become the largest economy in the world, but many Westerners (myself included) know very little about it. I’ve thus tried to educate myself about the Chinese economy, and earlier posted...
View ArticleThe Inconsistency of ESG Ratings: Implications for Investors
(This article was initially featured on the blog for my book, “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit”) Investors are increasingly scrutinizing the ESG performance of...
View Article“Grow the Pie” in 28 Tweets
On 6 April, I did a Twitter discussion on my book, hosted by Blackwell’s Bookshop. They asked me to start by providing 25-30 Tweets summarising the book, before opening it up to questions. I reproduce...
View ArticleSpillover Effects of Hedge Fund Activism
Hedge fund activism is a controversial topic. Prominent lawyer Marty Lipton argues that the long-term future of corporate America is being undermined “by a gaggle of activist hedge funds who troll...
View ArticleDo Workers on Boards Protect Jobs in a Downturn?
A hot topic is whether companies should have workers on their boards, to ensure they act in the interest of stakeholders, not just shareholders. This debate was ongoing even before COVID-19 – for...
View ArticleThe Effect of the ECB’s Bond Buying Program
The European Central Bank is launching a €750 billion bond buying program to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Will this work? We obviously can’t predict the future. But we can analyse the past and study...
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