An Examination of Canadian Firms Delisting from U.S. Exchanges Staff Working Paper 2008-11 Jonathan Witmer This paper examines Canadian and other foreign firms that have been involuntarily delisted from major U.S. exchanges. I find that, for most countries, less than 10% of firms get delisted from a U.S. exchange during my sample period. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics JEL Code(s): G, G3, G30, G38
March 17, 2008 Price Discovery Across Geographic Locations in the Foreign Exchange Market Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2008 Chris D'Souza The ongoing process of price discovery in foreign exchange markets provides valuable information to certain market participants. Recent empirical findings suggest that aggregate measures of order flow convey information about the fundamental value of the exchange rate. Using a market microstructure approach, D'Souza reports on a two-year study of completed transactions within the Canadian and Australian exchange rate markets to examine the relationship between exchange rate returns and trades initiated in different locations. Based on the information content of the trades, he finds that geographic location and hours of operation are two of the factors driving informed interdealer trading. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Exchange rates, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing
Default Dependence: The Equity Default Relationship Staff Working Paper 2008-1 Stuart Turnbull, Jun Yang The paper examines three equity-based structural models to study the nonlinear relationship between equity and credit default swap (CDS) prices. These models differ in the specification of the default barrier. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets JEL Code(s): G, G1, G12, G13
Where Does Price Discovery Occur in FX Markets? Staff Working Paper 2007-52 Chris D'Souza Trades in foreign exchange markets are initiated around the world and around the clock. This study illustrates that trades are more informative when initiated in a local country or in major foreign exchange centers like London and New York. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rates, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): F, F3, F31, G, G1, G15
October 15, 2007 The Global Foreign Exchange Market: Growth and Transformation Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2007 William Barker Barker examines changes in the foreign exchange market, which is in a period of transition. Since the mid-1990s, three closely inter-related and mutually reinforcing factors–electronic trading platforms, a changing mix of market participants, and computer-driven algorithmic trading strategies–have been accelerating market growth and are creating a profound structural transformation. As the balance of market participation shifts between bank and non-bank accounts, large and small participants, and domestic and global players, the market is adopting some of the characteristics of an "exchange" model and is arguably becoming more liquid and operationally efficient. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Exchange rates, Financial institutions, Financial markets
October 13, 2007 Estimating the Cost of Equity for Canadian and U.S. Firms Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2007 Lorie Zorn 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. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics
October 12, 2007 Bank of Canada Workshop on Derivatives Markets in Canada and Beyond Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2007 Toni Gravelle 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. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies
Rediscounting Under Aggregate Risk with Moral Hazard Staff Working Paper 2007-51 James Chapman, Antoine Martin 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. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Financial markets, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, G, G2, G20
Do Firms Adjust Toward a Target Leverage Level? Staff Working Paper 2007-50 Zhaoxia Xu This paper studies capital structure adjustment mechanisms of firms that experience substantial changes in leverage. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics JEL Code(s): G, G3, G32
Examining Simple Joint Macroeconomic and Term-Structure Models: A Practitioner's Perspective Staff Working Paper 2007-49 David Bolder, Shudan Liu The primary objective of this paper is to compare a variety of joint models of the term structure of interest rates and the macroeconomy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets, Interest rates JEL Code(s): C, C0, C6, E, E4, G, G1