Commentary by faculty and affiliates of the Duke Law Global Financial Markets Center
With the global push toward sustainable investment, investors are concerned about whether the cost of investing green will result in lower portfolio returns in the long term. Are there win-win strategies where green investments can generate high returns alongside positive environmental impact? Our new paper, funded by the National Pension Hub at the Global Risk Institute, […]
“It was the ‘Wizard of Oz’ in digital format as the four titans of Big Tech testified via video before the House Antitrust Subcommittee. Just like in the movie, what the subcommittee saw was controlled by a force hidden from view. The wizard in this case – the reason these four companies are so powerful […]
Banks develop expertise from their prior lending experience in monitoring borrowers’ financial activities in order to mitigate conflicts of interests between managers and creditors arising from asymmetric information. In loan contracts, covenants have classically been viewed as a method of controlling agency problems by restricting managerial behavior.[1] Covenants can align the interests of the contracting […]
Last month, I published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that argued for a ban on cryptocurrency in order to combat the ransomware plague that is devastating our economy and businesses across the country. My premise is simple. Cryptocurrency has been around for over a decade; that is more than enough time for us to take […]
Seeking “strategic alternatives” is industry jargon for considering a potential sale or merger. During this process, the company gauges interest from potential acquirers. From 1990 to 2018, there were more than 1,200 announcements made by public companies revealing that they were reviewing strategic alternatives (examples here and here). Before deciding whether to disclose this information voluntarily, via a […]
Accounting is conservative. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), a firm should recognize losses before the losses are realized but postpone the recognition of gains until the gains are realized. In other words, the conservative accounting principle promotes timely loss recognition at the expense of timely gain recognition. However, in debt contracting, where lenders and […]
Since 2004, when the term “ESG” was first used in a report published by the United Nations Global Compact, there has been an explosion of interest in the concept, including in corporate boardrooms. The Global Compact, in a follow-up report the next year, described the emergence of ESG corporate policies as a “powerful and historic convergence … between the objectives […]
Since the 1970s, the underpricing of IPOs has been a well-observed phenomenon and many issuers see their stock price rising sharply on the first day of trading, which means that the IPO firm could have realized higher proceeds from the offering (“money left on the table”). As a result, venture capitalists and Silicon Valley companies recently expressed their […]
The audit committee chair is considered the cornerstone of the audit committee. Charged with directing the committee’s activities, the chair sets the agenda and presides over its meetings. The chair must ensure that committee members focus on key issues and fulfill their roles as part of the group. The chair also acts as the liaison between the […]
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) means that a company commits to carry out its business in an ethical way to ensure that there is a positive impact not only on its shareholders but also on its stakeholders, including employees, customers and suppliers, local communities, the environment, and the society at large. In today’s socially conscious environment, […]