{"title":"Debt capacity and the ability to service the public debt: A discerning look at the credit quality of Uncle Sam","authors":"Don Chance","doi":"10.1111/jfir.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper is a case study credit analysis of the U.S. government. It finds that the financial condition of the government is not nearly what is typically believed. It first shows that the debt owed to entities that are not also responsible for it is only about a fourth of the stated debt. Furthermore, the cash flows available to service the debt, the assets owned by the government, and the tremendously underappreciated amount of national wealth that backs the debt reveals a much more accurate picture of the federal fiscal condition. This paper also shows why the focus on debt-to-GDP is so misleading.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 3","pages":"896-913"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148943632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David Javakhadze, Anita Pennathur, Brian Silverstein
{"title":"Managerial Opportunism and Corporate Investment Efficiency","authors":"David Javakhadze, Anita Pennathur, Brian Silverstein","doi":"10.1111/jfir.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Our study investigates how managerial opportunism, measured by executives' insider trading, affects corporate investment efficiency and performance. We find that such opportunism undermines investment efficiency, with distortions in financial reporting quality serving as a channel of influence. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that this impact varies depending on the strength of governance structures. We also observe a negative association between managerial opportunism and accounting performance metrics, as well as risk-adjusted stock returns. Our findings are robust across various model specifications and measurements, emphasizing the significance of managerial opportunism as a personality trait in corporate decision-making.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 2","pages":"359-395"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148221945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Daily entry and exit triggers for open market repurchases","authors":"Christine Brown, Sean Pinder","doi":"10.1111/jfir.12470","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.12470","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Using publicly available daily data, we analyse the daily decision repurchasing firms make to enter or exit the market during open market repurchase programs. Firms enter the market to repurchase after a stock price downturn and maintain their presence in the market while stock returns remain negative. The lower the preceding overnight return, the greater the number of stocks repurchased. Firms exit the market when overnight returns become positive. Firms repurchase stocks at an average price below the volume-weighted-average-price with lower overnight stock returns associated with higher repurchase prices, a result which provides direct evidence of price support. In addition, firms predominantly repurchase on successive days, as part of a strategy to support the price in a downward trending market. Nevertheless, firms achieve significant purchase discounts when prices rise or fall significantly, consistent with (short-term) market timing.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 2","pages":"422-451"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfir.12470","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148221804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A closed-form pricing solution for options on assets with pricing errors","authors":"Louis R. Piccotti","doi":"10.1111/jfir.12473","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.12473","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article examines the effects that pricing errors in the underlying asset have on options prices and their Greeks. Pricing errors can be viewed as random proportional transaction costs. When pricing errors are information-unrelated, options prices are unambiguously higher than the Black-Scholes case and increasing in the pricing error variance. Hedging volatility is higher and the optimal exercise price for American put options is decreased. The option implied risk-neutral density and option Greeks are materially affected, which leads to suboptimal risk management and hedging when pricing errors are not accounted for. Simulation and data evidence validate the theoretical results.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 2","pages":"666-702"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148221966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From tension to trust: The role of corporate culture in easing labor relations","authors":"Xu Niu","doi":"10.1111/jfir.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article presents the first extensive empirical exploration into how corporate culture impacts labor relations. The study finds that a strong corporate culture correlates with improved labor relations across multiple dimensions: firms with a strong corporate culture experience a decreased likelihood of employees filing charges of unfair labor practices, achieve higher ratings on employee satisfaction surveys, exhibit a lower likelihood of unionization, and show reduced employee efforts towards unionization through National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections. These findings are robust and appear to be unaffected by endogeneity, but rather indicate a probable causal relationship where a strong corporate culture plays a critical role in enhancing labor relations.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 2","pages":"482-509"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148221970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haiyan Jiang, Carl Hsin-han Shen, Qing (Clara) Zhou
{"title":"Does legal protection of trade secrets reduce the cost of debt? Evidence from the inevitable disclosure doctrine","authors":"Haiyan Jiang, Carl Hsin-han Shen, Qing (Clara) Zhou","doi":"10.1111/jfir.12467","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.12467","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We examine the effect of the inevitable disclosure doctrine (IDD) on cost of debt. Our difference-in-differences analyses reveal that the IDD significantly reduces the loan spread for borrowers in adopting states. To elucidate the mechanisms of such finding, we find that the IDD's effect is weaker in industries with high management turnover but stronger for long-term loans. Moreover, cross-sectional tests reveal that the effect is weaker for firms facing high industry competition, internal control weakness, and information asymmetry. IDD also mitigates loan covenant tightness. These findings elucidate the implications of IDD on corporate borrowing costs.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 2","pages":"452-481"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfir.12467","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148221816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of subordinate executives’ comparative confidence and competence on corporate risk-taking","authors":"Md Raihan Uddin Chowdhury, Abdullah-Al Masum, Feixue Xie","doi":"10.1111/jfir.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Our findings reveal that subordinate executives with higher comparative confidence and competence in overseeing CEO actions drive greater corporate risk-taking, notably through strategic investments and financing activities that enhance firm value. These include capital expenditures, research and development (R&D), intangible assets, advertising, and financing via cash, equity, and leverage, which collectively account for about 46.68% of return on assets volatility and 27.75% of cash flow volatility. The impact is particularly strong in competitive and complex business environments but diminishes with higher executive age and tenure.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 2","pages":"740-781"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148221828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do carbon prices affect stock prices?","authors":"Patrick Bolton, Adrian Lam, Mirabelle Muûls","doi":"10.1111/jfir.12472","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.12472","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We explore how carbon pricing affects corporate financial performance during Phase 3 of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). We find that the relationship between carbon prices and stock prices depends critically on the proportion of verified emissions covered by freely allocated ETS allowances: For firms with a greater shortfall in emissions allowances (a greater permit coverage), an increase in daily carbon prices is associated with a decrease (increase) in contemporaneous stock prices. We provide additional evidence that firms with a significant permit shortfall reduce verified emissions in the EU, with no apparent carbon-leakage.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 2","pages":"631-665"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfir.12472","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148221839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Active ingredients: How actively managed holdings shape target date fund performance and costs","authors":"D. Eli Sherrill, Kate Upton","doi":"10.1111/jfir.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.70005","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper examines the impact of active funds held by target date funds (TDFs). Results indicate holding more funds with active management benefits TDF performance, on average. The benefit is driven by domestic equity holdings for TDFs that are far from the target date and domestic income holdings for TDFs that are near or past the target date. Time to target and market conditions impact TDF choice of activeness. TDFs benefit from embracing their family's core competency of active/passive management, and the largest families' TDFs outperform. Finally, holding more active funds is associated with higher TDF expense ratios.</p>","PeriodicalId":47584,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Research","volume":"49 2","pages":"396-421"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfir.70005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148221917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}