October 14, 2007
Posts
-
-
October 13, 2007
Estimating the Cost of Equity for Canadian and U.S. Firms
Financing costs are important for both firms and the economy, affecting investment decisions and, ultimately, economic growth. Despite concern among policy-makers that the cost of equity financing may be higher in Canada than in the United States, empirical evidence supporting this view is mixed. Yet Canadian firms may not undertake as many projects that could potentially enhance growth if the cost of equity financing in Canada is relatively high. The article summarizes research by Jonathan Witmer and Lorie Zorn on the influences on the cost of equity in Canada and the United States, using an updated methodology that controls for firm characteristics and aggregate-level factors. In their sample, the cost of equity was 30–50 basis points higher in Canada over 1988 to 2006 but appears to have dropped in the post-1997 period. The results have policy implications related to such factors as firm size, disclosure, and securities regulation and enforcement. -
October 12, 2007
Bank of Canada Workshop on Derivatives Markets in Canada and Beyond
At this 2006 workshop hosted by the Bank of Canada, an international group of market participants, regulators, and policy-makers gathered to assess recent developments in the derivatives market. Among the topics discussed were the recent prodigious growth in risk-transfer instruments, including credit derivatives and inflation-linked derivatives, as well as the accompanying challenges and benefits. Overall, the development of derivatives markets was seen as providing broad economic benefits, including more complete financial markets, improved market liquidity, and increased capacity of the financial system to effectively price and bear risk. Yet concern was also voiced that market participants do not fully understand the risks that arise in trading credit derivatives. -
October 11, 2007
Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Finance
The Prime Minister announced today that Tiff Macklem, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, has been appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Finance, effective 1 November. -
October 10, 2007
The Canadian Journey: An Odyssey into the Complex World of Bank Note Production
For many years, the Bank of Canada successfully responded to occasional eruptions in counterfeiting by improving the security features on bank notes. The surge in counterfeiting that occurred while the Bank prepared to launch the Canadian Journey series, however, reflected increasingly rapid advances in computer technology that were changing the counterfeiting environment. The article describes these and other challenges that affected the new series and describes how the Bank developed a comprehensive new approach to its currency program and incorporated the valuable lessons it learned from these challenges. Designed to combat counterfeiting and meet the needs of the public, the new strategy includes increased research and development on new bank note security features, an intensified focus on retailer and public education, and a focus on law enforcement. -
October 5, 2007
Business Outlook Survey - Autumn 2007
Overall, businesses continue to be positive about the economic outlook, notwithstanding lower expectations for U.S. economic growth and recent financial market turbulence. -
October 4, 2007
Mark Carney Appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada
The Directors of the Bank of Canada appointed under Section 9 of the Bank of Canada Act today announced that they have appointed Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of Canada for a seven-year term, effective 1 February 2008. -
Rediscounting Under Aggregate Risk with Moral Hazard
Freeman (1999) proposes a model in which discount window lending and open market operations have different effects. This is important because in most of the literature, these policies are indistinguishable. -
October 3, 2007
Liquidity, Liquidity, Liquidity
Sound financial investment is important to individuals, to firms, and to society as a whole. By definition, investment is forward looking, and thus our future financial well-being is shaped by the soundness of the investment decisions we make today. -
Do Firms Adjust Toward a Target Leverage Level?
This paper studies capital structure adjustment mechanisms of firms that experience substantial changes in leverage.
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Next »