The authors conduct the first systematic analysis of the determinants and impact of the
sovereign credit ratings assigned by the two leading US agencies, Moody's Investor …

This paper explores the effect of equity volatility on corporate bond yields. Panel data for the
late 1990s show that idiosyncratic firm‐level volatility can explain as much cross‐sectional …

We show that higher cash flow volatility is associated with lower average levels of
investment in capital expenditures, R&D, and advertising. This association suggests that …

This paper examines to what extent credit ratings directly affect capital structure decisions.
The paper outlines discrete costs (benefits) associated with firm credit rating level …

We examine the relation between auditor characteristics (quality and tenure) and the cost of
debt financing. Consistent with the hypothesis that audit characteristics are important to the …

Up-to-date information on using financial statement analysis to successfully assess
company performance, from the seasoned experts at the CFA Institute Designed to help …

Law Quarterly Page 1 Washington University Law Quarterly VOLUME 77 NUMBER 3 1999
ARTICLES THE SISKEL AND EBERT OF FINANCIAL MARKETS?: TWO THUMBS DOWN …

In this article, we provide a novel rationale for credit ratings. The rationale that we propose is
that credit ratings serve as a coordinating mechanism in situations where multiple equilibria …

We test whether bond ratings contain pricing‐relevant information by examining security
price reactions to Moody's refinement of its rating system, which was not accompanied by …

Firms reduce leverage following credit rating downgrades. In the year following a
downgrade, downgraded firms issue approximately 1.5%–2.0% less net debt relative to net …