{"title":"Climate change news sensitivity and expected stock returns: Evidence from China","authors":"Hengzhen Lu, Xinran Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107497","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107497","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Investors are increasingly looking to diversify their exposure to climate-related risks as climate change becomes a major concern. In the Chinese A-share market, we use the climate change news index to calculate stock covariance. Empirical results show that stocks with a positive climate news beta yield significantly higher excess returns, indicating advantages in ESG performance and predictive power for companies’ future fundamentals. Institutional investors are increasingly interested in these companies due to their exceptional ability to hedge climate risks. Our work provides important insights into green practices and sustainable investment by highlighting the relationship between investor behavior and climate risk management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107497"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Effect of Chinese Real-time Air Pollution Monitoring on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Spatial Difference-in-difference Analysis","authors":"Liang Ma , Mingjin Xia","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107480","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107480","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the impacts of the Real-time Air Pollution Monitoring (RAPM) policy on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the city level using spatial difference-in-difference (SDID) models. Our findings reveal that while the RAPM policy does not significantly impact the average CSR scores in cities under RAPM, it leads to a significant decline in CSR scores for neighboring untreated cities. This suggests that firms in treated cities may respond to the policy by altering their supply chains or relocating manufacturing to areas without stringent environmental regulations, inadvertently fostering CSR deteriorating practices in cities without RAPM. These results highlight the spatial spillover effects of environmental policies and underscore the importance of considering potential unintended consequences beyond the immediate areas of implementation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107480"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Market responses to ESG amid signs of ESG De-institutionalization: evidence from the 2024 economic shock and Trump’s election victory","authors":"Haitian Wei , Chai-Aun Ooi , Rasidah Mohd-Rashid","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107457","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107457","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amid the recent ESG de-institutionalization by major financial institutions, this study investigates market responses to ESG factors during two major events that shake the U.S. stock market in 2024: (1) an economic shock and (2) a political shock tied to Trump’s election victory. Overall, the market reacts negatively to higher-ESG stocks during both events. However, the economic shock does not trigger a significant effect of ESG on the returns of stocks held by institutional or retail strategic traders, whereas the political shock does, particularly reflecting a shared preference for stocks with stronger governance performance. We also find that ESG performance in fully free-floated stocks has a significantly negative impact on returns only during the political shock, suggesting that informed traders capitalized on Trump’s anti-ESG narrative. Ultimately, our findings imply that the market increasingly values ESG through the lens of regulatory and institutional support, rather than viewing it solely as a stakeholder-driven imperative for sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107457"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143929136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Debt risk spillover and driving mechanism of China’s local government financing platforms","authors":"Hongbing Ouyang, Tianqi Long","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107548","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107548","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study models the daily yield data of urban investment bonds with different maturities in 30 provinces in China based on a complex network model. It analyzes provinces’ debt network characteristics and spillover effects. Moreover, this study explores the transmission path of debt network risk based on economic development level and urban development integration and analyzes the spatial correlation of the debt network. Finally, this study investigates the spillover of debt risks of different maturities across regions and their causes. The findings are of great significance for the central government to regulate the operation of local government financing platforms in various provinces, prevent regional risk contagion, and improve regional debt risk early warning mechanism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107548"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does monetary policy impact bank risk-taking? An empirical study based on the data of 119 commercial banks in China","authors":"Yukun Li , Mujun Deng , Yuqing Cui , Jing Pan","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107547","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107547","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Adopting the GMM estimation method, we examine the impact of monetary policy on bank risk-taking using panel data of 119 commercial banks in China over a complete monetary policy cycle, and explore its existence and asymmetry. The results indicate that a loose monetary policy will increase bank risk-taking, and conversely, a tight monetary policy will decrease it. Furthermore, it clarifies that the incentive effect of loose monetary policy on bank risk-taking is more pronounced than the restrictive impact of tight monetary policy. The conclusion serves as a reminder of the potential financial risks in China that could arise from the resumption of a moderately loose monetary policy by late 2024. Finally, we suggests re-evaluating the credit channel of monetary policy, considering financial stability when assessing its effectiveness, and deepening reform of the financial regulatory system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107547"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143929200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Media sentiment and corporate R&D manipulation","authors":"Qi Luo, Hanqi Li","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107505","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107505","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using samples of Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2023, this study examines the impact of media sentiment on corporate research and development (R&D) manipulation. Findings reveal companies’ tendency to engage in upward (downward) R&D manipulation under positive (negative) media sentiment. Further analysis suggests that upward manipulation is motivated by a desire to cater to investor optimism fostered by positive media sentiment, while downward manipulation is motivated by a desire to alleviate performance pressures owing to negative media sentiment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107505"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143934668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Financial ambiguity and the flow of public information","authors":"Mahmoud Ayoub, Mahmoud Qadan","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107544","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107544","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We compute the daily ambiguity of the S&P 500 using high-frequency (one-minute) data from 1998 to 2022. Ambiguity is defined as the variability in return distributions throughout the trading day. The findings reveal that ambiguity fluctuates across weekdays with a clear tendency to peak on Mondays, drops significantly on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and rises slightly on Fridays, forming a smile-like pattern. We attribute this pattern to the timing of macroeconomic news releases. Specifically, more (less) macroeconomic news is associated with lower (higher) ambiguity. Our results remain robust to a battery of robustness checks and ambiguity measures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107544"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143928114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research on the impact of investor research on SPO sponsoring and underwriting fees","authors":"Xiaohui Zhang , yuanyuan Tan","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107530","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107530","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the impact of investor investigation activities on the refinancing sponsorship and underwriting expenses of listed companies, utilizing data from the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STIB) and Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) spanning the period from 2018 to 2023. Our findings reveal that investor research negatively affects the refinancing sponsorship and underwriting costs of listed companies. Specifically, investor research activities reduce refinancing sponsorship costs by enhancing the governance level of listed companies. Furthermore, compared to buy-side institutions, research conducted by sell-side institutions has a more pronounced effect on lowering the refinancing sponsorship and underwriting costs of listed companies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107530"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Competition policy and corporate governance: A quasi-natural experiment based on the implementation of the Anti-Monopoly Law","authors":"Shuo Wang, Deming Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study utilizes the implementation of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) as a quasi-natural experiment and examines its impact on corporate governance using a sample of A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2022. Using a DID model, the analysis demonstrates that the implementation of the AML significantly improves corporate governance. Mechanism analysis indicates that this effect is primarily achieved through improving the business environment and enhancing audit quality. Further analysis demonstrates heterogeneity in the impact of the AML on corporate governance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107527"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicolás Magner , Pablo A. Henríquez , Aliro Sanhueza
{"title":"Decoding risk sentiment in 10-K filings: Predictability for U.S. stock indices","authors":"Nicolás Magner , Pablo A. Henríquez , Aliro Sanhueza","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107472","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107472","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study demonstrates that the tone of the risk factors section in the 10-K reports of U.S. public companies predicts returns on major U.S. stock indices. We created five tone indicators using text mining, the Loughran-McDonald dictionary, and AI-calibrated alternatives (GPT-3.5-turbo-0125, GPT-4, GPT-4o, and GPT-4o-mini). These indicators showed significant predictive power for weekly returns, with optimism correlated with higher returns. Tone measurements based on GPT-4 outperformed the others in terms of predictive accuracy. We analyzed the Loughran-McDonald dictionary’s utility and highlighted the underexplored risk factors section, offering novel insights into sentiment analysis and financial forecasting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"81 ","pages":"Article 107472"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143916746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}