This thesis used the events of the 2007 financial crisis as a means of being able to add to the research already done on South African unit trusts. The objective was to study the risk-adjusted performance of South African general equity unit trusts against the market during the period between 2005 and 2014. This period took into account the bull market preceding the financial crisis, the market crash of 2007 and the subsequent market recovery that followed. Data was obtained online through the I-Net BFA data base and included 161 general equity unit trusts that contained a full data set. In addition to the general equity unit trusts, the Satrix40 was studied to compare a passive unit trust against those that are actively managed. The 10 year Government bond was also used as a risk-free rate to add to the comparisons of performance results. The Sharpe, Treynor and Jensen measures were applied to the data with the results adding more support to the opinions that markets are fairly efficient and active investment strategies are being challenged by consistently well performing passive investments. Throughout the duration of the study, taking into account the varying economic cycles, the Satrix40 passive investment showed the best average overall return on simple return calculations as well as during the risk-adjusted measurements. In support of active investment management, unit trusts showed their best relative performance figures during the period of the financial crisis. This suggested that active financial managers were able to make the active calls necessary to weather the storm of the financial crisis. While the study did have its limitations, the results it produced are intended to offer investors further knowledge in enabling them to make more educated investment decisions in the future.

Recent increases in stock repurchases among U.S. corporations coupled with a historically low cost of debt since the Global Financial Crisis has created media speculation that firms in recent years are paying for their expanding share buyback programs with debt. Repurchasing stock by increasing leverage, instead of using internal funds, implies that managers may speculate on current low interest rate environments at the expense of shareholders. Recent studies find that stock repurchases are associated with reductions in future firm employment and investments such as capital expenditures and research and development expenses. This study expands on prior studies by evaluating how debt-financed stock repurchases affect firm investment, investigating the likelihood of these repurchases in low interest rate environments and assessing the effects on firm value. Results confirm that, in recent years, debt-financed repurchases have increased substantially and the probability of debt-financed repurchases increases in the presence of low interest rates. This relationship is especially pronounced in the years following the Global Financial Crisis. Debt-financed repurchases are associated with small reductions in firm investment; however, these reductions are significantly less after adjusting for industry conditions. Finally, there is little evidence that the method of financing repurchases affects firm value nor does it increase a firm's operating performance.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite their lack of merits and demands, Occupy Wall Street (OWS) did become a defining feature in the short aftermath of the Financial Crisis and a part of the global occupy-movements during the protest year of 2011. As the founders and organisers behind the first encampments in Zuccotti Park called out for a "Tahrir moment" in the United States of America (US), few scholars or pundits had seen the leaderless movement coming. OWS spread across the US in the matter of months, hitting the media headlines gradually and more rapidly than any previous protest movement. Scholarly responses to OWS have been plentiful, and their categorisations of the OWS’ structure, demands and impact have been going in many different directions. This study attempts to debate and analyse the main research question; is OWS a new kind of a social movement? Even though there are several ways in which one may approach this question, the following will focus on the organisational structures, the political opportunity structures and the global linkages of OWS. The organisational structures has been debated by most, as the movement has a leaderless structure, it is ruled by consensus and supported by protesters from all social spheres, who came, protested and left as they pleased. The political and economic deficits, which gives way to the political opportunity structures of the movement, has not been this dramatic since the Great Depression. The Financial Crisis of 2008 has not only been defined as an economic crisis, but also a crisis of representative democracy. Furthermore, the global protest movements of 2011 have been similar in several ways. Even as all of them, be it Tahrir, 15M, in Greece or OWS, has been unique in matters of context, time and space, they share similarities in tactics, methods and fundamental demands - democracy and prosperity. The concluding statement to the research question is not clear-cut. Rather, it revokes former debates, which distinguished between old and new social movements, and implements a globalising civil society. A new kind of a social movement has come and gone, with elements of the earlier movements. It has added new modes of tactics, structures and demands, all formed by the present context. OWS is not an exception. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ten spyte van hul gebrek aan eise en tasbare sukses, het “Occupy Wall Street (OWS) wel ’n definiërende kenmerk geword tydens kort naloop van die Finansiële Krisies, asook ’n deel van die globale beset-bewegings tydens die 2011 protesjaar. Daar was min akademici en kenners wat, ten tye van die eerste kamperings in Zuccotti Park en die eis deur die stigters en organiseerders van OWS vir ’n “Tahrir oomblik”, die opkoms van hierdie leierlose beweging voorsien het. Binne ’n kwessie van maande het OWS dwarsoor die VSA versprei, eers stadig en daarna vinniger die hoofopskrifte van die media gehaal as enige ander protes-beweging wat dit voorafgegaan het. Daar is heelwat akademiese bydraes (uit verskillende dissiplines) wat daarop gemik is om OWS te verstaan in terme van hoe om dit te kategoriseer, die struktuur daarvan, die eise wat gestel is en die impak daarvan. Die doel van hierdie studie is om die hoofnavorsingsvraag te bespreek en analiseer, naamlik; is OWS ’n nuwe soort sosiale beweging? Die benadering wat gevolg word is om te fokus om organisatoriese strukture, politieke geleentheidstrukture and die globale verbintenisse van OWS. Die organisatoriese strukture het die meeste aandag gekry in die literatuur tot dusver, aangesien die organisasie ’n leierlose struktuur het. Besluite word deur middel van konsensus geneem en ondersteuning word gewerf van protesteerders uit ’n verskeidenheid van sosiale sfere. Hierdie protesteerders het opgedaag, protes aangeteken, en weer vertrek na willekeur. Die politieke en ekonomiese terkortkominge van die kapitalistiese stelsel in die VSA, waarin die politieke geleentheidstrukture van die beweging geanker is, was, sedert die Groot Depressie, nie so skynbaar dramaties nie. Die Finansiële Krisies wat in 2008 sy hoogtepunt bereik het, word gedefinieer nie alleen as ’n ekonomiese krisies nie,maar ook as ’n krisies van verteenwoordigende demokrasie. Daarby is daar bevind dat die globale protesbewegings wat in 2011 gedy het, soortgelyke kenmerke gehad het. Nieteenstaande die feit dat Tahrir in Egipte, 15M, die Griekse protes-aksies en OWS wel as uniek gesien kan word in terme van konteks, tyd en ruimte, is daar ooreenkomste in taktiek, metodes en fundamentele eise: deelnemende demokrasie en welvaart vir almal. Die slotsom waartoe die tesis kom is nie definitief nie. Eerder, is die gevolgtrekking dat daar teruggegaan moet word na vorige debatte wat onderskeid getref het tussen ou en nuwe sosiale bewegings, en ook na die literatuur oor die moontlikheid van ’n globale burgerlike samelewing. Wat wel vasstaan is dat ’n nuwe soort sosiale beweging verskyn het en weer gekwyn het, wat aspekte van vorige bewegings omvat maar ook in duidelike terme van hulle verskil. In die opsig is OWS nie ’n uitsondering nie, met nuwe taktiek, strukture en eise wat almal gevorm is binne die huidige konteks.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study attempts to analyse the global economic system in light of the ongoing financial crisis, which is seen as a symptom of a larger crisis of the legitimacy of the capitalist system. It takes a critical approach based, first and foremost, on the theories of Karl Marx. To broaden this application, it also adopts the perspective of the World Systems and neo-Gramscian schools of thought. The study analyses, and synthesises, the theoretical contributions of these approaches, allowing for the conceptualisation of a World System, based upon the tenets of capitalism, with a hegemon, the United States of America, at its apex. Using the historical materialist method, it traces the genesis and progress of the capitalist model. It analyses the particular style of accumulation which precipitated the current crisis. From there it examines the situation in the semi-periphery, the locus of past socialist revolutions. To this end, it regards the case of South Africa, an intermediary, between the industrialised core and the underdeveloped periphery. It uses Robert Cox‟s assessment of the importance of social forces in maintaining or supplanting a hegemonic project. Although the study finds South African society fraught with contradictions, alternative social movements currently remain unable to produce a coherent emancipatory programme. While the crisis, and other recent events, have illuminated the contradictions inherent to capitalism, despite widespread popular mobilisation, coherent responses from the Left remain deficient. The hegemonic structures and institutions are bereft of the necessary prescriptions for a resolution to the situation, yet in this moment of opportunity, the Left appears unable to articulate and mobilise sufficiently to bring about an emancipatory, counter-hegemonic, movement. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie probeer om die globale ekonomiese stelsel binne die konteks van die voortslepende finansiële krisis Hierdie krisies word beskou as 'n simptoom van 'n meer omvattende krisies onderliggend aan die legitimiteit van die kapitalistiese stelsel. Dit volg in die eerste plek ʼn kritiese benadering gebaseer op die teorieë van Karl Marx. Om hierdie toepassing te verbreed, word daar ook gebruik gemaak van die Wêreldstelsel- en neo-Gramscian denkskole. Die studie analiseer en sintetiseer, die teoretiese bydraes van hierdie benaderings, met inagneming van die konseptualisering van ʼn Wêreldstelsel, gebaseer op die beginsels van kapitalisme, met ʼn hegemoon, die Verenigde State van Amerika, aan sy spits. Met behulp van die historiese materialistiese metode gaan dit die wordingsgeskiedenis en verloop van die kapitalistiese model na. Dit analiseer die besondere vorm van akkumulasie wat grondliggend is aan die huidige krisis. Daarna ondersoek dit die situasie in die semi-periferie, die lokus van vorige sosialistiese revolusies. Met daardie doel voor oë fokus die tesis op die geval van Suid-Afrika, ʼn tussenganger, tussen die geïndustrialiseerde kern en die onderontwikkelde periferie. Daar word bevind dat die die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing vol teenstrydighede is, maar, nietemin, alternatiewe sosiale bewegings tans nie daartoe in staat is om ʼn koherente emansipatoriese program tot stand te bring nie. Terwyl die krisies en ander gebeure, lig gewerp het op die teenstrydighede inherent aan kapitalisme, ontbreek, desondanks wydverspreide algemene mobilisering, koherente reaksies vanuit die Linksgesinde kamp. Die hegemoniese strukture en instellings ly gebrek aan lewensvatbare voorskrifte vir 'n oplossing en Linksgesindes, nieteenstaande die opportunistiese oomblik, is nie daartoe in staat is om te ʼn emansipatoriese, teen-hegemoniese beweging te artikuleer en te mobiliseer nie.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2010. / This futures studies research report uses the Six Pillars of Transformation by Inayatullah (2004) as the methodology to explore the future perspective corporate governance may take in light of the 2008/9 global economic meltdown. The problem here being to understand the corporate governance failures that led to the global economic crises and the influences these failures may have in the future of corporate governance. This research report was compiled through secondary research material. The focus of this research report is on corporate governance, in relation to business related activities in particular, as opposed to general governance and not necessarily from a South African perspective only. This is because the South African corporate governance framework, from a legal and principles point of view, is very linked to Anglo Saxon countries’ frameworks and also that the South African economy is globalised (Naidoo, 2009). The description of corporate governance, by Sir Adrian Cadbury of the UK Cadbury Report (1992), as “the balance between economic and social goals, and between individual and communal goals . . . the aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society” comprehensively describes corporate governance for the purposes of this research report. Of particular note to this description is the multiple stakeholder balance approach, which the South African King Reports subscribe to, for sustainability purposes among other reasons. The anticipation of the future of corporate governance, as the second pillar of futures transformation, is discussed by describing the related emerging issue analysis thereof. These issues include corporate governance convergence and diversity. However, there are significant signs in various parts of the world, including South Africa, and as Keasy, Thompson and Wright (2005) mentioned that show corporate governance convergence more than the increase of corporate governance diversity. The history of corporate governance change patterns, as the third pillar of futures transformation, are explored to bring into perspective the likely changes for exploration on establishing the future alternatives corporate governance systems may take in future. This is in light of the latest major event of the 2008/9 global economic crises. These patterns of history date back from the end of the 19th century through the great depression, the World War II period until the recent major corporate failures that happened worldwide. The future and nature of corporate governance is further deepened, as the fourth pillar of futures transformation, by applying the Causal Layered Analysis and the Four-Quadrant Map in the causes of the 2008/9 global economic meltdown by corporate governance failures. The creation of corporate governance future alternatives, as the fifth pillar of futures transformation, are explored by outlining the possible, probable, plausible and preferred futures of corporate governance from information provided by the referenced writers of this research report. The preferred and ideal corporate governance approach would be a balanced corporate governance approach that has optimally converged due to the impact by the 2008/9 global economic meltdown, globalized and market based. In the last pillar of futures transformation, transforming the future of corporate governance, the policy implications of the preferred and desired future of corporate governance, according to this research report will be outlined, notwithstanding the challenges to achieve this desired future. These policy changes are likely to be both from a self-regulatory and regulatory perspective.

La recherche menée propose une contribution à l’analyse de la performance des hedge funds dansun contexte d’instabilité des marchés financiers. Ce travail de thèse tourne autour de deux axes deréflexions. Le premier axe se propose d’examiner la structure de dépendance entre les mesures alternativesde performance absolue, en mettant en évidence l’impact du changement de base de donnéeset de période d’analyse sur le classement des indices. Dans ce cadre, nous proposons de comparer laperformance de cinq indices de stratégies issus de trois différentes bases de données. L’analyse esteffectuée sur trois périodes : une période avant crise, une période de crise et une période globale.Nous avons pu montrer que l’évaluation de la performance et la dépendance entre les indicateurssont des éléments fortement sensibles à la période d’analyse. De plus, cette analyse confirme qu’iln’existe pas d’indice "universel" pouvant représenter l’univers des hedge funds. Le deuxième axede réflexion est lié à l’analyse de la stabilité des performances des hedge funds sur trois horizons :le court terme, le moyen terme et le long terme. Il ressort de notre étude que la persistance desperformances des hedge funds n’est pas un phénomène de long terme et que le niveau de persistanceest fortement dépendant de la stratégie d’investissement et de l’indicateur de performance utilisé. / This dissertation provides a contribution to hedge funds performance analysis in a financialmarket instability context. The objective of this thesis is twofold. The first aim is to examine thedependence structure between alternative measures of absolute performance, highlighting the impactof the database switch and analysis period changing on the leaderboard of hedge funds indexes.In this framework, we propose to compare the performance of five hedge funds indexes extractedfrom three different databases. The analysis is conducted over three periods : a pre-crisis period, acrisis period and an overall period. Our findings show that the performance evaluation and dependancebetween performance indicators are highly sensitive to the analysis period. In addition, wefind that there is no "universal" index that can represent hedge funds universe. The second thesis’spurpose is related to the hedge funds performance stability over three horizons : the short term,the medium term and the long term. Firstly, it appears that hedge funds performance persistence isnot a long term phenomenon. Secondly, the persistence level is highly dependent to the investmentstrategy and to the performance indicator used.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:35:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rossana_Ribeiro_Prado_Raffaelli.pdf: 2859921 bytes, checksum: 1a23025993958ccd3dd7a95672bcf94a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-30 / To test the market efficiency in its weak form allows demonstrating the predictability of the assets price, giving the possibility of extraordinary profits without risk, simply by analyzing the time series of the asset. In a situation of financial crisis the behavior of asset prices can be changed, since they are susceptible to human emotions. In 2008, there was a global crisis due to the U.S. financial market decline. This research test whether the crisis has changed the market efficiency, stock indices by some developed and developing countries, belonging to the continents: American, Asian and European in the period of January 1st 2007 to June 30th 2010. The objective is to test the market efficiency in pre and post-crisis. Being able to define the start of a financial crisis at any time when a situation is abnormal, dangerous and present marked impairment. Historically, the global crisis commencement was stipulated on September 15th 2008, for all indices showed a decline, but by analyzing the time series of indices, it was noted that this is not the date that the indices showed the biggest drop. This research finds three possible dates that could be considered the beginning of this crisis and tests the market efficiency for each. To this end, it was still necessary to treat the sub-period analysis for the third time found a way completely different from the previous two. The test used was the ratio of the variance described by Lo and MacKinlay (1988). The search result showed inefficiency of the market, demonstrating the predictability for most indexes. / Testar a efici??ncia de mercado na forma fraca possibilita evidenciar a previsibilidade dos pre??os dos ativos, proporcionando lucros extraordin??rios sem correr riscos, simplesmente analisando a s??rie temporal do ativo. Em uma situa????o de crise financeira o comportamento dos pre??os dos ativos pode ser alterado, j?? que estes s??o suscet??veis ??s emo????es humanas. Em2008, ocorreu a crise mundial em fun????o do decl??nio do mercado financeiro dos Estados Unidos. Esta pesquisa questiona se a crise alterou a efici??ncia de mercado dos ??ndices acion??rios de alguns pa??ses desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento, pertencentes aos continentes: americano, asi??tico e europeu no per??odo de 01/01/2007 a 30/06/2010. O objetivo ?? testar a efici??ncia de mercado nos per??odos de pr?? e p??s-crise. Sendo poss??vel definir o in??cio de uma crise financeira a qualquer momento, quando uma situa????o demonstra ser anormal, perigosa e com acentuado preju??zo. Inicialmente, estipulou-se a data de in??cio de crise mundial em 15 de setembro de 2008, pois todos os ??ndices apresentaram queda; por??m ao analisar a s??rie hist??rica dos ??ndices, notou-se que esta n??o foi a data quando os ??ndices demonstraram a maior queda. Tr??s poss??veis datas foram encontradas, as quais podem ser consideradas de in??cio dessa crise e para cada uma delas, testou-se a efici??ncia de mercado. Para tanto, ainda foi necess??rio tratar os sub-per??odos de an??lise desta terceira data de forma completamente diferente das anteriores. O teste utilizado foi o de raz??o da vari??ncia descrito por Lo e MacKinlay (1988). O resultado da pesquisa apresentou inefici??ncia de mercado, evidenciando a previsibilidade para a maioria dos ??ndices.

During the 2000s U.S. mortgage borrowing experienced its most volatile cycle in the postwar record, with mortgage debt more than doubling between 2000 and 2008 before declining by more than 10% over the next five years. The consequences of the boom and bust for both borrowers and the wider macroeconomy were significant, with millions losing their homes to foreclosure or their jobs to the ensuing deleveraging-driven recession. Recent research has focused on variations in credit supply as a primary determinant of both the boom in mortgage borrowing and subsequent collapse, as well as the concurrent rise and fall of residential real estate prices and employment. In the wake of the Great Recession many have called for countercyclical policy intervention in the mortgage market, both to restrain over-leveraging during booms and to provide additional access to refinancing credit during busts. Moreover some analysis has placed the blame for the volatile U.S. credit cycle on the policies of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest government-sponsored enterprises, which have been labeled as excessively risky, actively destabilizing, and regressive. Nevertheless, though many have called for their reform these two agencies appear to be a continuing feature of the U.S. housing finance system and are currently well-positioned to implement countercyclical credit supply policies. In my dissertation I propose a novel countercyclical policy intervention by the government-sponsored enterprises and analyze its impact on mortgage borrowers.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-12-04T11:55:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabrício Silva de Sousa Machado.pdf: 1470089 bytes, checksum: dbe41bf9d295f422d6c1d5b836338992 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-04T11:55:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabrício Silva de Sousa Machado.pdf: 1470089 bytes, checksum: dbe41bf9d295f422d6c1d5b836338992 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-13 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The 2008 crisis allowed Hyman Minsky's theories to be reinserted into the debate on the directions of modern macroeconomics. In a post-Keynesian perspective, this study aims to prove the hypothesis that complex financial innovations, post-Bretton Woods financial market leverage, and deregulation have magnified the fragility and instability of the capitalist economy. Thus, we will treat the causes of the crisis as a problem of theoretical foundation of the capitalist system, because its functioning is based on the deregulation of the financial markets and the dominance of efficient markets hypothesis. Looking at the evidence of the 2008 crisis, it is possible to question the thesis of the new classics that financial liberalization would promote greater efficiency and stability in the system, because with the collapse of US mortgage loans, caused by the proliferation of securitized products, the problem became systemic. This occurs by the amplification of using of off-balance structures such as the shadow bankings, which began in the 1970s, widening the base of the financial capital base outside the control area of the national central bank systems. This situation reinforces the importance of understanding the fundamental dilemma between market deregulation and financial instability, the central object of this work / A crise de 2008 permitiu que as teorias de Hyman Minsky fossem reinseridas no debate sobre os rumos da moderna macroeconomia. Sob a perspectiva pós-keynesiana, esse trabalho visa a comprovar a hipótese de que as complexas inovações financeiras, a alavancagem dos mercados financeiros ocorridos no pós-Bretton Woods e a desregulamentação ampliaram a fragilidade e a instabilidade da economia capitalista. Assim, trataremos das causas da crise como um problema de fundamentação teórica do sistema capitalista, pois seu funcionamento está baseado na desregulamentação dos mercados financeiros e na dominância da hipótese dos mercados eficientes. Ao se observar as evidências da crise de 2008, é possível questionar a tese defendida pelos novos clássicos de que a liberalização financeira promoveria uma maior eficiência e estabilidade no sistema, pois, com o colapso dos empréstimos hipotecários do EUA, originado pela proliferação dos produtos securitizados, o problema tornou-se sistêmico. Isso ocorreu em razão da amplificação de estruturas “off-balance” como os shadow bankings, cuja disseminação iniciou-se nos anos 70, ampliando a base de capitais financeiros fora da área de controle dos sistemas de bancos centrais nacionais. Essa situação reforça a importância de compreender o dilema fundamental entre a desregulamentação dos mercados e a instabilidade financeira, objeto central desse trabalho

The disclosure of information about the policy making process and the release of new databases may add relevant information about the exchange rate to guide the public's expectation, but may also mislead it. Asymmetric information also reinforces the importance of the learning process for policy makers and financial markets. This dissertation focuses on the role of information in the political economics of exchange rates. The two first chapters provide empirical studies of how access to information shapes and constraints the choice of exchange rate policy (official statement and implemented policy). The last chapter considers the question of whether international banks learn from their previous crisis experiences and reduce their lending to developing countries as a result of a financial crisis. It focuses on the experience accumulated with past financial crises. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished