Finding the optimal capital structure has been a relevant subject for many decades. Therehas for a long time been a discrepancy between observed leverage ratio and those proposedby theory, with many different theories suggested and developed throughout time. One ofthose theories is the Contingent Claims Analysis (CCA). Based initially on Black & Scholes’option-pricing theory and formulas, and pioneered by Merton, the CCA-methodology hasthroughout the years been developed further and moved from pricing liabilities todetermining capital structures. The research and development on CCA-models have for thepast years mostly been on a theoretical level and less about its practical applicability. Thosefew applications that have been made were based on the U.S. market and companies.Ju and Ou-Yang developed one of the most recent CCA-methodologies in 2006,abbreviated as the JOY-model in this study. What distinguishes this model is its ability toshow the non-monotone relation of debt maturity and debt face amount through the morecomplex tradeoffs between tax benefits, bankruptcy costs and transactions cost. With a fewchanges made to it, and with almost all data from the Swedish market and companies, theJOY-model yields higher leverage ratios than what the 5 analyzed companies have today.The optimal leverage ratio, defined as debt value/firm value ranges from 10 – 40% and theoptimal debt maturity period is at 4 – 6 years. Out of all the model parameters, the long-runmean of the stochastic risk-free interest rate has the biggest impact on the final results. TheJOY-model and CCA in general are complex and resource intense models that need certainimprovements. Nonetheless, its overall potential is still promising.

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Background Traditional banks monopolized financial services, but the 2008 crisis spurred Fintech's emergence as an alternative. Fintech challenges banks with innovative solutions, while Sweden thrives as a Fintech hub. Profitability is vital due to the recent shift in focus from growth. Modern Fintech research is lacking, thus creating gaps in both knowledge and studies among the Swedish Fintech-sphere.  Purpose  The study analyzes leverage, return on equity, and bank size ratios in Swedish Fintech companies. It examines their impact on profit margin and aims to identify correlations. The results aim to enhance understanding and provide guidance for optimizing key figures to increase profitability among Swedish Fintech-companies.  Methodology The study utilized a quantitative approach with a deductive method and cross-sectional design. Data consisted of secondary data and was collected through the database Retriever Business. A total of 1198 observations were analyzed using correlation matrix, bivariate, and multivariate regression analyses.  Results  The quantitative analysis revealed that both debt to equity ratio and return on equity has a significant relationship, while bank size has only a partially significant relationship with profit margin.  Conclusion  Swedish Fintech-companies reveals a positive relationship between return on equity (ROE) and profitability. Furthermore, the leverage ratio also positively affects profitability. Moreover, Bank size shows a slight negative impact.

This thesis aims to understand the role of facilitated nature experiences for leadersas a step towards sustainability. Qualitative interviews were conducted with facilitators andparticipants of nature-based leadership programs (NBLP) and analyzed regarding 1) Transformative Learning Conditions, 2) Transformative Learning Outcomes, and 3) Professional Changes inspired by NBLP participation. Results show that facilitators foster Transformative Learning through six main conditions and that Transformative Learning ishappening as participants experience an increased understanding of interrelatedness within our socio-ecological system, change in worldviews, as well as realignment with purpose and gained confidence. Our findings indicate some evidence of professional changes after programcompletion that show potential to move society towards sustainability. The reconstruction of worldviews and increased human-nature connectedness depicts the potential for NBLP to address a deep leverage point that is highly effective for systemic change towards sustainability. Our research provides valuable insights for practitioners in the fields of education for sustainable development and sustainability leadership to increase both conscious and subconscious ecological systems understanding. The authors suggest NBLP should be further explored by decision-makers and researchers.

[pt] Considerando a importância da estrutura de capital para as finanças empresariais, e apesar de não ainda existir consenso sobre a existência de uma estrutura ótima de capital, buscamos neste trabalho investigar à luz da Teoria da Hierarquização das Fontes de Financiamento, desenvolvida por Myers (1984), como a estrutura de capital das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto, no período de 1998 a 2002, estaria associada a uma dada hierarquia de preferência por fontes de financiamento, dentro da lógica proposta pelo autor, onde as empresas utilizariam primeiramente o autofinanciamento, em seguida recorreriam ao uso de dívidas, e como última opção optariam por emitir ações. Desta forma, este trabalho não visa discutir a problemática da existência ou não de uma estrutura ótima de capitais, mas sim analisar empiricamente a importância e validade dos diversos fatores apontados na literatura como determinantes da Estrutura de Capital das Empresas: Dimensão ou Tamanho, Oportunidades de Crescimento, Composição do Ativo, Lucratividade, Risco, propondo e verificando, inclusive, a significância de novas variáveis independentes como o Controle Acionário, Impacto Cambial, da Inflação e da Taxa de Juros. / [en] In view of the importance of the capital structure to corporate finance, and inspite of not existing consensus about the existence of the optimal capital structure yet, we seek in this work to research how the Capital Structure of Open Capital Brazilian Companies, from 1998 untill 2002, would be associated to a specific Pecking Order, inside the logical proposed by Myers (1984). In this way, this work does not try to discuss the existence or not of one optimal capital structure, but analyses empirically the importance and the validity of the many factors pointed in the literature as determinants of the Companies Capital Structure: Dimension, Growth Oportunity, Asset Composition, Profitability, Risk, also proposing and verifying the significance of new independent variables like the type of capital control, the impact of currency devaluation, inflation and the interest levels.

A sociological approach is used to analyze incidences of extreme opportunism in financial markets. Through an analysis of arguably the most widely publicized "rogue" trader events in recent history, a determination is made of the validity of explaining these events as aberrations, attributable to the actions of "rogues". The primary focus is the role of structural factors underlying these incidences of extreme opportunism in financial markets. A diverse range of documentary and other sources is used to avoid any form of bias as far as possible. It was found that structural factors act as countervailing forces to inhibit such behavior or as motivators and facilitators acting as catalysts for extreme opportunism. The balance between these factors largely determines the level of opportunistic behavior in a particular environment. Extreme opportunism is therefore not an aberration or "rogue" occurrence but a manageable phenomenon intrinsic to the social structural context within which it occurs. By conceptualizing these factors as countervailing forces one is forced to view structural factors, like compensation structures and formal and informal restraints, relative to one another and no longer in isolation. This realization translates into the conclusion that restraints and oversight systems for example, should be designed relative to the relevant motivators and facilitators in its area of application. In an environment where traders of highly geared financial products are motivated with multimillion USD incentive packages, a low budget oversight system and inexperienced regulatory staff, is clearly not the appropriate tools to control and manage extreme opportunism. / Criminology / D.Phil. (Sociology)

Existing literature and theories related to the separation of ownership and control and its impact on companies' financial performance, including dividend payment have left this subject in state of ambiguity and uncleamess, with various contradictions and inconsistencies being noted. In order to establish whether there is a significant difference in financial performance between owner-controlled and management-controlled companies in South Africa, as a result of the separation of ownership and control, this study has used appropriate mathematical and statistical methods for data processing and analysis. Results obtained from the study have revealed the existence of a significant difference in financial performance between owner-controlled and management-controlled companies in South Africa, as measured in terms of profitability, asset management, liquidity, leverage and dividend payment. The analysis has indicated that management-controlled companies have been more efficient, more mature financially and paying higher dividends, out of earnings available to shareholders, than their owner-controlled counterparts. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)

近年中共在逐漸認知到台灣中南部民眾為擁護民進黨當局獨立訴求之強大力量後，相繼透過與台灣在野政黨合作、牽線，以及「放權讓利」式的大批「惠台措施」，冀求爭取農民好感與向心，進而潛移其政治意向。本論文的目的，乃是嘗試由最基層民意的觀點切入，探討中共此番作為的可操作性。作者以深度訪談 (in-depth interview)方式分析，農業貿易「惠台措施」的過程中，誰是真正的贏家? 再者，讓利措施是否真為解決台灣農產品產銷困境的及時雨？其真正意含為何？最後，農民對「中國」（中共）觀感能否因此變移？又是如何轉變?冀以跳脫一般的思維與視角，看待此一頗為特殊之兩岸經貿議題。 / Relations across the Taiwan Strait are complicated by “a deep political divide, but close socioeconomic integration.” China recently is aware of Taiwan farmers integrate huge power in the DPP’s independence advocacy, thus tries to sway their political tendency by utility of economic leverage in the form of tariff-free in fifteen species of Taiwan-grown fruit. Not knowing the effectiveness, this thesis aims at searching the truth by way of in-depth interviews with people of agricultural professional; and the narration reveals Taiwanese farmers are not the direct beneficiaries, sometimes even sufferers, in the whole process. Is fruit policy a carrot for Taiwanese farmers or a stick for the ruling government? The answer is hard to define. Other maneuvering tactics between the KMT and CCP and interests of fruit agents were hidden behind China’s so-called “good will” behavior.

台新金控購併彰化銀行可以說是台灣金融業擬以融資購併方式進行合併的第一案，本研究希望透過分析此個案，了解台新金控購併的目的、資金來源與後續合併換股可能衍生之議題，為未來公股釋出，以及金融整併提供可行之方法。 本文就融資購併理論架構說明起，以當前台灣金融政策與購併環境現況分析，這包括實際已發生的金融購併案件及金融購併法規探討，它突顯出台灣在金融合併處理上是保守的。 / / The M&A of Taishin Holdings Cooperation (THC) and Chang Hwa Bank (CHB) could be regarded as the first M&A (Merge and Acquisition) by LBO ( Leverage Buy-out) in Taiwan. This study, by analyzing this case, discusses the purpose, the funding source of THC and the issues after shares-exchange, which indicates the feasible methods for the release of the state holdings and the combination of the financial institutes in the future. The beginning of this study discusses the theory and the structure of LBO to analyze the financial policy and M&A environment in Taiwan at present, including practical M&A cases and legal problems etc., which reveals not very aggressive. /

Na tentativa de contornar os problemas ainda existentes para a detecção e identificação de erros grosseiros (EGs) no processo de estimação de estado em sistemas elétricos de potência (EESEP), realiza-se, neste trabalho, uma análise da formulação dos estimadores aplicados a sistemas elétricos de potência, em especial, o de mínimos quadrados ponderados, tendo em vista evidenciar as limitações dos mesmos para o tratamento de EGs. Em razão da dificuldade de detectar EGs em medidas pontos de alavancamento, foram também analisadas as metodologias desenvolvidas para identificação de medidas pontos de alavancamento. Através da formulação do processo de EESEP como um problema de álgebra linear, demonstra-se o porquê da impossibilidade de detectar EGs em determinadas medidas redundantes, sendo proposto, na seqüência, um método para identificação de medidas pontos de alavancamento. Para reduzir os efeitos maléficos dessas medidas no processo de EESEP verifica-se a possibilidade de aplicar outras técnicas estatísticas para o processamento de EGs, bem como técnicas para obtenção de uma matriz de ponderação adequada. / To overcome the problems still existent for gross errors (GEs) detection and identification in the process of power system state estimation (PSSE), the formulations of the estimators applied to power systems are analyzed, specially, the formulation of the weighted squares estimator. These analyses were performed to show the limitations of these estimators for GEs processing. As leverage points (LP) represent a problem for GEs processing, methodologies for LP identification were also verified. By means of the linear formulation of the PSSE process, the reason for the impossibility of GEs detection in some redundant measurements is shown and a method for LP identification is proposed. To minimize the bad effects of the LP to the PSSE process, the possibility of applying other statistic techniques for GEs processing, as well as techniques to estimate an weighting matrix are also analyzed.