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We confirm prior evidence that bonds on average are offered at prices below their immediate post-offer secondary market prices. However, in cases where banks lead–manage their own bond offerings the underpricing is significantly less as compared with other non-self-marketed offerings. These findings are robust across various matched samples and selection models. Our results suggest that the bond offering process is characterized by substantive agency conflicts between shareholders of corporations (issuers) and underwriters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction is presented to the article "The Macroeconomic Uncertainty Premium in the Corporate Bond Market" which appeared in the August 2021 issue.

This article empirically analyzes the effect of foreign block acquisitions on U.S. target firms' credit risk as measured by their credit default swap (CDS) spreads. Foreign block purchases lead to a greater increase in the target firms' CDS premia post-acquisition compared to domestic block purchases. This effect is stronger when foreign owners are geographically and culturally more distant, and when they obtain majority control. The findings are consistent with an asymmetric information hypothesis, in which foreign owners are less effective monitors due to information barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The average maturity of newly issued corporate bonds has declined substantially over the past 40 years, and the traditional determinants of debt maturity fail to explain this decline fully. We show that the changing composition of investors in the corporate bond market influences bond maturities. The results of a Granger causality test, an instrumental variable approach, and a natural experiment suggest that a decline in the insurance companies' – which prefer long-term bonds – ownership share in the corporate bond market explains a significant part of the unexplained maturity decline. These findings illustrate how investor preferences can have real effects on corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We synthetically create option contracts on a corporate bond index using CDX swaptions, overcoming the limitations that stem from the lack of traded corporate bond options. Our approach allows us to estimate forward-looking moments concerning the corporate bond market in a model-free manner. By constructing an aggregate volatility measure and the associated variance risk premium, we examine the role of volatility risk in the corporate bond market. We highlight that the ex ante conditional second and higher moments we estimate from synthetic corporate bond options carry important implications for credit risk models, providing an extra basis for testing their validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the relationship between credit rating levels and rating agency fees in a public finance market in which rating agencies earn lower fees and face higher disclosure requirements relative to corporate bond and structured finance markets. Controlling for variation in the complexity of credit analysis at the issue level, we find evidence that rating agency conflicts of interest distort credit ratings in the municipal bond market. Unexpectedly expensive ratings are more likely downgraded, and inexpensive ratings are more likely upgraded. The relationship between credit ratings and rating agency fees is driven by issuers who lose access to AAA insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed a hypothetical fixed-index annuity (FIA) contract linked to a 5 percent volatility-controlled index (VCI) and compared its performance with a traditional FIA linked to the S&P 500 Index, the stock benchmark itself, and a corporate bond benchmark. The simulation results showed that the FIA linked to the 5 percent VCI outperformed the traditional FIA, the bond benchmark, and enjoyed a higher sharp ratio than the stock benchmark. Risk parity, VCI, and the other factors contributing to the outperformance were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of artificial intelligence technology, the assessment method based on machine learning, especially the ensemble learning method, has attracted more and more attention in the field of credit assessment. However, most of the ensemble assessment models are complex in structure and costly in time for parameter tuning, few of them break through the limitations of lightweight, universal and efficient. This paper present a new ensemble model for personal credit assessment. First, considering the conflicts and differences among multiple sources of information, a new method is proposed to correct the category prior information by using the difference measure. Then, the revised prior information is fused with the current sample information with the help of Bayesian data fusion theory. The model can integrate the advantages of multiple benchmark classifiers to reduce the interference of uncertain information. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed model, several typical ensemble classification models are selected and empirically studied using real customer credit data from a commercial bank in China, and the results show that among various assessment criteria: the proposed model not only effectively improves the multi-class classification performance, but also outperforms other advanced multi-class classification credit assessment models in terms of parameter tuning and generalizability. This paper supports commercial banks and other financial institutions examination and approval work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing interest in the financial materiality of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings has prompted recent investigations into their risk pricing impact in the corporate bond market. The specific implications for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry have not been explored, as prior work has primarily focused on broad-based ESG integration. To fill this gap, our study employed an interpretable machine learning technique using a sample universe of U.S. corporate bonds spanning from 2010 to 2021 to estimate the impact of ESG ratings on corporate bond issuance spreads. The results revealed an average ESG benefit of 10 basis points across all sectors. However, it is important to note that the effects of ESG ratings on bond pricing demonstrate variation across sectors and individual ESG constituent ratings. Significantly, our findings show that social and governance ratings emerge as the primary drivers influencing bond issuance costs, whereas the impact of environmental scores is comparatively less significant. Within AEC-related industries, empirical data on the influence of ESG ratings indicate discounted pricing by the market is particularly channeled through environmental and governance scores. These findings emphasize the value-added impact of enhanced ESG performance on the cost of debt financing, presenting a financially material opportunity for operational and management decision-making. By adopting sustainable strategies to improve ESG performance, organizations in the AEC industry can potentially achieve lower costs of debt when issuing bonds to secure financing for construction projects. The managerial implications extend to policymakers, corporate managers, and creditors, as they all stand to benefit from the financial implications of ESG performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate an alternative evaporative cooling pad material made from mangosteen peel (MP) waste. Mangosteen peels were used to fill a 150 mm thick mesh container with a packing density of 180 kg/m3. A wind tunnel was constructed and utilized to experimentally evaluate the cooling performance of this organic-waste-based pad under hot and humid conditions (31–34 °C and 55–70% RH). The performance parameters assessed included pressure drop, temperature drop, saturation effectiveness, cooling capacity, and coefficient of performance (COP). The influence of air velocity (0.7, 1.0, 1.4, and 1.8 m/s) on these parameters was also examined. The results revealed that the saturation effectiveness of the MP pad ranged from 53% to 77% within the considered air velocity range. The maximum temperature drop (4.6 °C), saturation effectiveness (77%), cooling capacity (0.6 kW), and COP (3.5) were achieved when the system operated at 1.4 m/s. A comparative study showed that, at this velocity, the MP pad provided performance nearly equivalent to that of the commercial cellulose paper pad, except for the pressure drop. This result affirms the potential of mangosteen peels as a suitable wet medium for evaporative cooling applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper selects the data of corporate bond from 2005 to 2019, then divides them into long term bond and short term bond according to maturity of bond. Climate risk is found have significant impact on long term bond yield. Climate risk has no significant impact on short term bond yield. Callability has significant effect on both long term and short term bond yield, while callability has large effect on short term bond and relatively small effect on long term bond. The resale has significant effect on both long term and short term bond yield. The significant effect of the resale on short term bond yield explains large part of the short term bond yield. Issuance has significant impact on both long term and short term bond, with larger impact on short term bond yield. Maturity has significant effect on the yield of both long term and short term bond, and the effect is larger for short term bond. Bearish sentiment is negatively and significantly related to long term bond yield, but has no significant effect on short term bond yield. Credit ratings have large impact on long term bond yield and explain large part of this. However, credit ratings have no significant effect on short term bond yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the performance of worldwide corporate sustainability bonds issued from 2014 to 2020. Unlike traditional bonds, the proceeds of sustainability bonds are utilised for financing projects to bring about environmental and socio‐economic benefits. We analyse the short‐term market reaction to announcements of sustainability and traditional bond issuance and document that the stock market reaction to an announcement of sustainability bonds is stronger than that for traditional bonds. We also find that multiple issuers of sustainability bonds achieve a more favourable market reaction than single issuers. Finally, we examine if environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores can positively and significantly impact the corporate performance of firms through the lens of sustainability bond issuances. We find that ESG scores are the primary performance drivers for firms, and the effect is more pronounced for firms that issue sustainability bonds. Overall, the results suggest that issuers of sustainability bonds show their commitment towards environmental and societal goals and thus benefit from favourable stock market reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We document significant increases in bond market liquidity around earnings announcements. These increases are attributed to decreased search and bargaining costs, which arise from the over‐the‐counter (OTC) nature of bond markets and outweigh increases in information asymmetry during these periods. Our evidence traces reductions in search and bargaining costs to two sources around earnings announcements: (1) improved access to dealers and (2) increased participation from institutional investors, who can more easily transact with multiple dealers. Overall, our findings highlight a novel channel through which firm‐specific information affects asset prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the financing and performance of international entrepreneurship in an environment that was characterized by severe information problems and very weak investor protection. Despite these problems, new ventures could raise large amounts of equity and debt on the Belgian capital market between 1890 and 1914. Many of these firms were international new ventures (INVs) with their main operations abroad, often far away from Belgium. We find that INVs raised much more capital but were less likely to pay a dividend than domestic new ventures (DNVs). They were less likely to issue a bond and had a higher cost of debt when operating further away from Belgium. Performance after listing was generally bad for new ventures throughout the period, but it was much worse for INVs than for DNVs. Our findings confirm contemporary arguments that unprotected, financially illiterate investors were expropriated by INV founders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proponents of quantitative easing (QE) unconventional policy have rather overstated some evidence that structural time series models do not predict long‐term asset prices and yields as well as naive random walk forecasts, implying that predictions of price reversals cannot be profitable and, therefore, that QE effects are not transitory. Indeed, in this work we present evidence that naive models do not outperform structural vector autoregressive and Markov switching models in out‐of‐sample forecasting of corporate bond yields purchased by the European Central Bank, when the information set includes base money growth. It turns out that structural time series models provide additional information regarding the likelihood of price reversals, thus motivating investors to offset the effects of QE interventions if they perceive unconventional monetary policy regimes as temporary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between ESG performance and equity returns has become a popular area of research, but the same is not yet the case for bond returns. In this paper, we explore whether incorporating ESG factors, beyond emissions into the bond portfolio investment process leads to under or out performance. We find that ESG investing in bond portfolios does not lead to over or under performance. In other words, you do not have to 'pay to do good'. Further, in the period since the Paris agreement, Energy sector bond portfolio returns are positively related to ESG factors. This finding aligns with the theoretical prediction of Pedersen, Fitzgibbons, and Pomorski (2020), namely, that the ESG-return relationship should become positive as investors become more aware of ESG risks and opportunities. Overall, we show that Bond investors can 'do well while doing good'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the determinants of and investor responses to corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) bond issuance in Korea. We find that ESG bond issuance is positively associated with firm size and foreign ownership stakes. We also find that firms that establish ESG committees at the board level and those that are subject to carbon emission trading system are more likely to issue ESG bonds. Unlike prior studies that analyze green bond issuance in developed markets and China, we find no significant stock market reaction to ESG bond issuance in Korea, suggesting that the signaling effect of ESG bonds-in which companies credibly signal their commitment to ESG by issuing ESG bonds-does not exist. This paper suggests that enhanced ESG bond standards, post-issuance reporting, and verification procedures are needed in the Korean ESG bond market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public sector corruption affects economic and financial outcomes, such as GDP growth, foreign direct investment, and government funding costs. Less is known about the spillovers from perceptions of public sector corruption on the private sector corporate bond market. In this paper, we assess the role of public sector corruption perception on corporate bond market variables in Europe using data of both country-level corporate bond indexes and firm-level corporate bond market issuances. At the aggregate country level, we find some evidence that country indices of corporate bonds' yields and coupons are higher in countries with more corruption. While we do not find effects of corruption on coupon rates at the individual firm level, we show that higher government corruption perception increases their yield to maturity and reduces the amounts raised by corporations through their bond issuances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International financial integration exposes countries to external shocks. This paper identifies the impact and transmission of global financial risk (GFR) shocks to emerging market economies (EMEs). Heightened GFR significantly raises EME borrowing costs and lowers equity returns, reducing domestic economic activity. We document a novel transmission channel of GFR shocks to EMEs via international capital flows. Countries experiencing larger capital inflows are more affected by GFR fluctuations. Exploring the transmission through capital flows, GFR shocks affect EMEs mainly through their effect on equity returns, instead of country spreads. We show that equity returns contain more information about EME macroeconomic fluctuations than sovereign and corporate bond spreads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the issues related to the economic development of the Lower Angara region located in Krasnoyarsk Territory, analyzes the state programs for the development of the Soviet and post-Soviet era territory, and makes an attempt to determine the reasons for the unsuccessful implementation of it. Based on the conclusions made, a new approach to the socio-economic development of the area has been proposed. It consists in the application of a number of specialized industrial clusters on the territory. It is proposed to use bond financing for the financial basis of its formation. To substantiate it, the analysis of the current state of the national bond market in terms of volumes of issuance, maturity has been made and segments of the corporate bond market in the country have been considered. It is suggested that the use of an appropriate financial infrastructure would make the bond financing mechanism operation more effective.

[Display omitted] Solar interfacial evaporation is one of the most efficient and environmentally-friendly clean freshwater production technologies. Plasma metal nanoparticles are excellent optical absorption materials, but their high cost and inherent resonance narrow bandwidth absorption limit their application. In this work, commercial cellulose papers are used as substrates to synthesize Ag-Ni/cellulose paper by the seed-mediated method. The Ag-Ni/cellulose paper exhibits high light absorption at the full wavelength (200–2500 nm) resulting from the synergistic effect of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag NPs and the interband transitions (IBTs) of Ni. Under one-sun irradiation (1 kW m−2), the energy utilization efficiency of Ag-Ni/cellulose paper is as high as 93.8%, and the water evaporation rate is 1.87 kg m−2 h−1. Diffusion inhibition experiment results show that the Ag-Ni/cellulose paper exhibits excellent antibacterial performance, and the antibacterial performance is highly related with Ag NPs content. These provide new opportunities for commercial production of competitive cost, green, and portable solar evaporators for different application sceneries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a pricing model for a defaultable corporate bond with credit rating migration risk is established. The model turns out to be a free boundary problem with two free boundaries. The latter are the level sets of the solution but of different kinds. One is from the discontinuous second order term, the other from the obstacle. Existence, uniqueness, and regularity of the solution are obtained. We also prove that two free boundaries are C ∞. The asymptotic behavior of the solution is also considered: we show that it converges to a traveling wave solution when time goes to infinity. Moreover, numerical results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have emerged as a promising functional filler in nanocomposites due to their unique anisotropy and resilience to harsh conditions. We report herein the use of Ti 0.91 O 2 nanosheets as a protective component against γ -irradiation to cellulose paper. The titanate nanosheets were prepared via a sequence of solid-state synthesis of lepidocrocite-type Cs 0.7 Ti 1.825 O 4 , proton exchange to H 0.7 Ti 1.825 O 4 ·H 2 O, and exfoliation with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide. The nanosheets were incorporated into the commercial cellulose filter paper by a simple dip coating up to 0.6 mg cm−2, equivalent to 10 wt% TiO 2. The nanosheets distribution was demonstrated by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) mapping, synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is found that γ -irradiation (up to 50 kGy) destroyed the cellulose I β crystallinity of uncoated paper, but this is less pronounced in the cellulose/titanate nanosheets composite. This was also confirmed by the lack of a 235 nm-absorption characteristics of irradiation-induced decomposition product(s) in nanosheets-containing papers, which also exhibit UVA shielding property. The coated samples remained white while the uncoated ones were darkened with γ -irradiation. In addition, the nanosheets-coated papers showed dielectric permittivity, loss tangent, and AC conductivity which were invariant of the γ -dose, unlike those from the uncoated ones. Our work demonstrates the use of lead-free Ti 0.91 O 2 nanosheets as a γ -shielding component to slow down/prevent structural, optical, and electrical properties damages in cellulose paper, which could extend to other nature-derived materials. [Display omitted] • Simple dip coating of commercial filter paper into titanate nanosheets suspension. • Nanosheets loadings were confirmed by several techniques. • The nanosheets (0.6 mg cm−2, or 10 wt% TiO 2) prevent structural, optical, and electrical properties damages by γ -irradiation (up to 50 kGy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the U.S. unemployment rate's slight increase to 3.80 present in August, despite efforts by the Fed to address inflation, with experts like doctor Ray Perryman and Wells Fargo noting the economy's resilience. It mentions Rajeev Dhawan expresses concern about a 'white-collar recession' due to job compressions in various sectors, affecting upward mobility and leading to reluctance in taking on higher-rate mortgages in certain segments of the workforce.

Paper with simultaneous fire-resistance and hydrophobicity have greatly potential applications in the fields of packing, storage and delivering information, which attracts increasing attention recently. Different from the traditional cellulose-based paper which is extremely easily damaged by water and fire, a new type of highly flexible, fire-resistant and hydrophobic paper based on Si 3 N 4 nanowires and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is reported. Specially, the Si 3 N 4 @PDMS core-shell nanowires with 3D interlocking structure are designed, in which the Si 3 N 4 nanowires act as the inorganic fire-resistant frameworks and the PDMS shell with low surface energy provides the hydrophobic surface. The Si 3 N 4 @PDMS core-shell nanowires are intertwined and interlaced to form a highly flexible Si 3 N 4 @PDMS paper. The tensile strength of Si 3 N 4 @PDMS paper is 6.19 MPa, indicating the good mechanical property. The obtained Si 3 N 4 @PDMS paper has the characteristics of writability, fire-resistance and hydrophobicity. The high thermal stability of Si 3 N 4 nanowires makes Si 3 N 4 @PDMS paper exhibit excellent fire resistance. No obvious change is observed for the commercial paper with Si 3 N 4 @PDMS paper as the fire-shielding layer after heating for 30 min. In addition, the contact angles of water droplets are all greater than 110° over the surfaces of Si 3 N 4 @PDMS paper after mechanical damages, chemical corrosions and thermal treatments. Si 3 N 4 @PDMS paper can be used in oil/water separation and oil collection. More importantly, Si 3 N 4 @PDMS paper can be used for writing without being damaged by fire or water. The present work may inspire the development and application of functional paper and is expected to become a breakthrough in the traditional paper industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two intermediary-based factors—a corporate bond dealer inventory measure and a broad intermediary distress measure—explain more than 40 |$\%$| of the puzzling common variation in credit spread changes beyond canonical structural factors. A simple intermediary-based model with partial market segmentation accounts for intermediary factors' explanatory power and delivers three further implications with empirical support. First, whereas bond sorts on risk-related variables produce monotonic loading patterns on intermediary factors, non-risk-related sorts produce no pattern. Second, dealer inventory comoves with corporate-credit assets only, whereas intermediary distress comoves with both corporate-credit and non-corporate-credit assets. Third, dealers' inventory responds to (instrumented) bond sales by institutional investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identify fixed-income mutual funds as an important contributor to the unusually high selling pressure in liquid asset markets during the COVID-19 crisis. We show that mutual funds experienced pronounced investor outflows amplified by their liquidity transformation. In meeting redemptions, funds followed a pecking order by first selling their liquid assets, including Treasuries and high-quality corporate bonds, which generated the most concentrated selling pressure in these markets. Overall, the estimated price impact of mutual funds was sizable at a third of the increase in Treasury yields and a quarter of the increase in corporate bond yields during the COVID-19 crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates that rating-based capital requirements, through their impact on insurers' investment demand, affect corporate bond prices. Consistent with insurers' low demand for investment-grade bonds with a rating close to noninvestment-grade, these bonds outperform. Consistent with insurers' high (low) demand for investment-grade bonds with high (low) systematic risk exposure, these bonds underperform (outperform). Insurer demand, measured by insurer holdings, explains most of these pricing effects. We identify rating-based capital requirements as the driver of insurer demand, and thus the pricing effects, by showing that the effects do not exist before these requirements' implementation in 1993. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies generally recognize the critical role played by macro monetary policy, of which the uncertainty will increase corporate bond issuance premiums at a micro level. However, relatively little is known about these relationships from the perspective of non-financial information in the corporation. So this study sets out to do further exploration. We use the database to obtain information, including the bond issuance of A-share listed corporations in China from 2015 to 2020. The findings suggest that high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings from listed corporations significantly weaken the positive correlation between monetary policy uncertainty and bond issuance premiums. Specifically, it has a positive information pricing effect on China's primary debt issuance market, as well as a mitigating impact on macro-financial policy risk. We also find, through further mechanistic studies, that ESG ratings are more helpful in undermining the impact of monetary policy uncertainty on bond issuance premiums in the context of higher financial information quality. Our findings are conducive to enriching the research framework of the economic consequences of ESG ratings, meaningfully influencing the growing literature that exposed the mechanism of bond issuance premiums, and further, verifying the interaction of information at different levels (macro vs micro) in asset pricing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand for flexible energy-storage systems, mulberry paper has emerged as a suitable flexible substrate because its mechanical strength and chemical stability surpass that of A4 commercial printing papers. Mulberry paper can withstand deformation because of its high holocellulose content and low lignin content. Moreover, it is hydrophilic, which is advantageous for a simple dip-coating process. Herein, we propose a hybrid nanocomposite-coated mulberry paper, synthesized by dip-coating, as an electrode for flexible energy-storage devices. The electrode was successively coated with silver nanowires (AgNWs), carbon nanotubes, and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate. The synergetic effect of the electric double-layer and pseudocapacitive materials as well as AgNWs, is to act as a current collector and increases conductivity, resulting in a gravimetric energy density of 14.64 W h kg−1 and gravimetric power density of 2.69 kW kg−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1. This paper focuses on the fabrication of mulberry-paper-based electrodes with hybrid nanocomposite coatings and presents the electrochemical performance of the as-fabricated electrodes. These electrodes can be used in eco-friendly energy-storage devices because of the superiority of mulberry paper over commercial printing paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we presented an asymptotic relationship between the single threshold model and the model with different upgrade and downgrade thresholds for credit migration problems with fixed boundaries. By partial differential equation (PDE) techniques, we proved that the solution of the asymmetric threshold problem converges to that of a single threshold problem uniformly as one of the asymmetric thresholds approaches the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Papermaking and printing industry, usability, i.e., legibility of printed text. Invasive alien plant species (IAPS) may cause threats to native biodiversity in ecosystems. Researchers have been investigating all the possible ways that they can be used effectively for other purposes. Since IAPS are capable of forming cellulose fibre nets, in this research, papers were made from three different types of IAPS (Japanese knotweed, giant goldenrod, and black locust). This research examined these IAPS papers and their effectiveness when used as printing substrates. In comparison to commercial office paper, the differences in basic, surface, optical, and microscopic properties were measured. As a widely used technology, inkjet printing was applied. We tested a commonly used sans-serif typeface (which has been established as being more legible than other typefaces in previous research) in three different type sizes (i.e., 8, 10, and 12 pt). According to the results, paper made from IAPS could offer some usable properties and acceptable legibility, especially when printing typefaces with specific attributes, such as moderate counter size, higher x-height, and minimal differences in the letter stroke width, are used. An appropriate typographic tonal density should be achieved in combination with an adequate letter size, e.g., 10 pt type size when a sans-serif typeface is used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]