Prior research documents significant negative long-term stock returns following bond-rating downgrades. Some downgraded firms are placed on credit watches before downgrades, and we find that the post-downgrade stock underperformance of such firms is significantly reduced. We explore two explanations for the difference in post-downgrade stock performance that are not mutually exclusive: (a) a cr...

Previous research suggests that credit rating announcements by Moody’s are anticipated by participants in the credit default swap market. In particular, it is argued that downgrades and negative outlook reports do not contain significant information, but there seems to be anticipation of both types of ratings announcements. In this paper, we examine credit default swap spread changes conditiona...

This dissertation studies the issues on information and the bond market. The first essay examines the incentives of certified credit rating agencies to issue credit watches. The second essay studies how quality of private information of investors affects bond yield spreads. The third essay studies whether more accrual-based income smoothing is related with better or worse bond ratings. Essay 1:...

The reaction of EU bond and equity market volatilities to sovereign rating announcements (Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch) is investigated using a panel of daily stock market and sovereign bond returns. The parametric volatilities are defined using EGARCH specifications. The estimation results show that upgrades do not have significant effects on volatility, but downgrades increase stock ...

In response to a wave of structured product downgrades by all three major credit rating agencies1 in late 2007, I examine the causes of this event by incorporating the market reputational mechanism within the current regulatory environment to create a theoretical composite model. My findings suggest that this wave of downgrades stems from misaligned incentives caused by a transfer of reputation...

We examine the empirical relationship between executive compensation and credit risk. For each of the three major components of CEO compensation – salary, bonus, and stock option awards – we derive estimates of “unexplained” compensation as pay that deviates substantially from expected pay based on firm size, past performance, and other variables. We then relate these measures of unexplained co...

Rating agencies are often criticized for being biased in favor of borrowers, for being too slow to downgrade following credit quality deterioration, and for being oligopolists. Based on a model that takes into account the feedback effects of credit ratings, I show that: (i) rating agencies should focus not only on the accuracy of their ratings but also on the effects of their ratings on the pro...

Our study explores the effect of market volatility expectations, captured by the implied volatility index (VIX), aka ‘‘investors’ fear gauge,’’ on investors’ reactions to analyst recommendation revisions. We find that positive (negative) excess returns following recommendation upgrades (downgrades) are stronger when accompanied by daily VIX decreases (increases). A rational explanation for the ...