External debt accrues as a result of borrowing by Australian residents from residents of other countries. It includes the borrowings of both the private and government sectors. Net external debt represents gross debt less lending by Australian residents to non-residents. Debt, however, is not the only form of external liability. Foreigners can also hold equity claims in the form of share portfo...

Financial intermediaries, such as banks, perform many roles: they screen risks, evaluate and fund worthy entrepreneurs, pool risks, monitor borrowers, refinance projects, and—when confronted with the default in their loans—they perform a valuable role in loss discovery and assessing whether the bankrupt concern is economically viable or not. All these activities, which constitute the actions of...

Long-term bonds are exposed to higher interest-rate risk, or duration, than short-term bonds. Conventional interest-rate risk management prescribes that a firm structure the maturity of its liabilities in order to hedge the duration of its long-term assets (?). By doing so, the firm’s assets and liabilities move in lockstep, and its net equity is shielded from (at least small) movements in inte...