Standard and Poor's began publication of Credit Watch in November of 1981 as an early warning list for firms whose debt is under review for a possible rating change. This dissertation is composed of three essays which address various aspects of Credit Watch and the impact on shareholder wealth. The first essay uses a discriminant analysis model to classify the Credit Watch status of firms which engaged in mergers and acquisitions activity in 1991. The model correctly classifies 69.85% of the in-sample firms and 65.83% of the out of sample firms. The second essay examines whether the stock market reacts more strongly to trigger events which cause Credit Watch placements than to the actual placement. Significantly larger negative abnormal return are found around the trigger event than the placement. No evidence is found for the differential reaction evolving over time. The third essay examines firm specific and economy-wide factors which may be related to the strength of the abnormal stock return around the Credit Watch removal date. The removal return is found to be positively related to the number of trading days a firm remains on Credit Watch, negatively related to the number of updates regarding the firm released by Standard and Poor's while on the list, and positively related to the cumulative abnormal return measured between the placement and removal. This evidence suggests that the number of trading days a firm remains on Credit Watch is a proxy for information leakage to the market. The negative relationship between the removal return and the number of updates implies that the market reacts to a string of negative news of which the removal announcement is the final announcement. Finally, the positive relationship with the cumulative abnormal return between placement and removal suggests that much of the information content of the removal has been impounded into the stock price at the time of the removal.

<p>In contrast to effortful cognitive functions, emotional functioning may remain stable or even be enhanced in older adults. It is unclear how affective functions in aging correspond to subjective experiences and physiological changes. In <b>Study I</b>, ratings of emotional intensity and neural activity to facial expressions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were analyzed in younger and older adults. Negative expressions resulted in increased neural activity in the right amygdala and hippocampus in younger adults, and increased activation in the right insular cortex in older adults. There were no age differences in subjective ratings. In <b>Study II</b>, subjective ratings of, and skin conductance response (SCR) to, neutral and negative pictures were studied. The ratings of negative pictures were higher for older adults compared to younger adults. SCRs increased in both age groups for the negative pictures, but magnitude of SCRs was significantly larger in younger adults. Finally, in <b>Study III</b>, emotional memory after a one-year retention interval was tested. The memory performance of both age groups was higher in response to negative pictures compared to neutral ones, although the performance was generally higher for younger adults. SCR at encoding was the better arousal predictor for memory, but only in younger adults. The results indicate age-related changes in affective processing. Age differences may involve a gradual shift from bottom-up processes, to more top-down processes. The results are discussed in a wider lifespan perspective taking into consideration the accumulated life experience of older adults.</p>

In contrast to effortful cognitive functions, emotional functioning may remain stable or even be enhanced in older adults. It is unclear how affective functions in aging correspond to subjective experiences and physiological changes. In Study I, ratings of emotional intensity and neural activity to facial expressions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were analyzed in younger and older adults. Negative expressions resulted in increased neural activity in the right amygdala and hippocampus in younger adults, and increased activation in the right insular cortex in older adults. There were no age differences in subjective ratings. In Study II, subjective ratings of, and skin conductance response (SCR) to, neutral and negative pictures were studied. The ratings of negative pictures were higher for older adults compared to younger adults. SCRs increased in both age groups for the negative pictures, but magnitude of SCRs was significantly larger in younger adults. Finally, in Study III, emotional memory after a one-year retention interval was tested. The memory performance of both age groups was higher in response to negative pictures compared to neutral ones, although the performance was generally higher for younger adults. SCR at encoding was the better arousal predictor for memory, but only in younger adults. The results indicate age-related changes in affective processing. Age differences may involve a gradual shift from bottom-up processes, to more top-down processes. The results are discussed in a wider lifespan perspective taking into consideration the accumulated life experience of older adults.

The primary aim was to investigate the distress perceived by adolescents with cancer treated in paediatric oncology. In Study I, especially distressing events for children/adolescents with cancer were identified by interviews with children/adolescents/parents and nurses. Data were analysed with content analysis. A range of physical and emotional concerns was identified. Physical concerns are of a rather similar nature across age groups. Emotional concerns vary more between age groups. For children 8-12 years, emotional concerns are rather frequent. In Study II distressing and positive aspects related to some care situations for adolescents with cancer were identified by interviews with adolescents and nurses. Data were analysed with content analysis. A range of negative aspects, e.g. fear of alienation, fear of dying, altered appearance and physical concerns, as well as positive aspects, e.g. positive relations to staff and being well cared for were identified. The aspects of distress identified in Studies I and II formed the basis for a structured interview-guide, used in Studies III and IV. Adolescents, recently diagnosed with cancer, physicians and nurses were interviewed by telephone about distress, anxiety, depression and well-being experienced by the adolescents. Adolescent ratings of prevalence, levels and worst aspects of distress do not necessarily agree, however, worry missing school and mucositis are among those rated with the highest prevalence, levels and those perceived as the overall worst. The findings from Study IV demonstrate that physicians and nurses underestimate the distress caused by worry missing school and mucositis. The accuracy of physician and nurse ratings of physical distress is acceptable, however, this is not the case for psychosocial distress. It can be concluded that it is crucial to consider how questions are asked when interpreting the significance of the answers, and that action on adolescent problems in relation to cancer diagnosis and treatment need to rely on direct communication.

As a result from the latest financial crisis, the banking industry has undergone major modifications during the last years in order to limit banks’ risks. A vast majority of existing literature tends to focus upon credit risk evaluation methods and techniques mainly concerning quantitative measures and large companies. Thus, the lack of research regarding credit risk evaluation of SMEs is profound, especially considering Sweden. With the dominant market share of SMEs compared to large corporations the authors found it interesting to further explore this area of the credit assessment process as SMEs largely impact the Swedish business sector.   The purpose of the thesis at hand is to explore and provide empirical evidence of which criteria banks assess when evaluating credit risk of SMEs in Sweden. In regards to the purpose the authors have chosen to adapt the perspective of the banking industry throughout the thesis. In order to bridge the research gap the following question was established, “How do banks evaluate credit risk of SMEs in Sweden?” In light of the lack of research regarding qualitative assessment of credit risk, the authors found it interesting in terms of developing new theoretical and practical knowledge to establish the following sub-question, “What are the qualitative criteria used by banks when evaluating credit risk of SMEs in Sweden?” Further, as existing literature mainly focus on large companies the authors found it interesting to compare the findings regarding credit risk evaluation on SMEs to the evaluation process of one of the largest credit rating agencies. As a result the second sub-question was established as following, “Are these criteria similar to the criteria used by Standard &amp; Poor’s in their rating model?” These questions were conducted in order to provide the authors and the reader with further insight regarding the criteria used by banks in their evaluation process.   An inductive approach was adopted, in line with the epistemological stance of interpretivism and the ontological belief of constructivism. With this in mind, the authors of the thesis conducted a qualitative exploratory research employing narrative interviews in order to collect the data needed, as of the lack of existing research to address the research questions.   The results of the research were that the criteria used in the assessment of credit risk tend to alter from advisor to advisor. The most commonly used criteria by the advisors are budget, business plan, customer’s customers, internal and external discipline, financial statements, industry specifics, historical accounts, key individuals, relationship, repayment capacity and the owner/individual. It was discovered that the qualitative criterion of assessing the individual majorly impacts the credit risk evaluation. However, what matters in the end is the overall impression of both qualitative and quantitative measures of the firm.   In regards to sub-question one, the authors established a list of qualitative criteria used by advisors in their credit risk evaluation of SMEs, the most widely used criteria among the advisors are the owner/individual, key individuals, internal discipline, industry specifics, external discipline, customer’s customers, relationship and business plan. In comparison with the criteria used by Standard and Poor’s and the banks, it was evident that the criteria used in the evaluation differed a lot between the two.

Darbo tema yra aktuali tuo, kad tarptautinės reitingų agentūros, įvertindamos skolų krizę Europoje, pastaruoju metu daugeliui šalių mažino valstybės kredito reitingus ar blogino jų perspektyvas. Nors po prieš trejus metus patirto nuosmukio Baltijos šalių reitingai ir stabilizavosi, jų aukštesnių reikšmių išlaikymas Baltijos valstybėms yra svarbus užsienio investicijų pritraukimo ir šių šalių finansų sektoriaus vystymosi veiksnys. Vis dėlto, reitingų gerėjimas gali turėti ir priešingą poveikį.Todėl svarbu išsiaiškinti situaciją Baltijos šalyse. Tiriamojo darbo objektas yra Baltijos šalių ilgalaikio ir trumpalaikio skolinimosi užsienio valiuta reitingai bei ilgalaikio ir trumpalaikio skolinimosi nacionaline valiuta reitingai. Šio darbo tikslas - atlikus teorinę valstybės kredito reitingų ir jų įtakos šalies finansų sektoriaus vystymuisi ir užsienio investicijų srautams analizę, nustatyti valstybės kredito reitingų įtaką finansų sektoriaus vystymuisi ir užsienio investicijų srautams Baltijos šalyse. Darbo tikslui pasiekti buvo suformuluoti uždaviniai: atlikti teorinę valstybės kredito reitingų ir jų įtakos šalies finansų sektoriaus vystymuisi ir užsienio investicijų srautams analizę, išanalizuoti Baltijos šalių finansų sektoriaus išsivystymo lygį bei užsienio investicijų srautų ir kredito reitingų šiose šalyse pokyčių tendencijas, reitingus įtakojusius veiksnius, nustatyti valstybės kredito reitingų įtaką finansų sektoriaus vystymuisi ir užsienio investicijų srautams Baltijos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The topic of the work is relevant due to the fact, that international credit rating agencies, assessing the debt crisis in Europe, recently downgraded credit ratings or their outlook for many countries. Despite the fact that sovereign credit ratings of Baltic states have stabilized after the decline occured three years ago, higher ratings are the essential factor for Baltic states, seeking to attract foreign investment and promote their financial sector development. Though, the improvements of ratings may have the opposite effect. Therefore, it is important to clarify the situation in Baltic states. The object of the research work – the Baltic states‘ short and long term in foreign and local currency ratings. The purpose of this paper is to establish the impact of sovereign credit ratings on the financial sector development and international capital flows in the Baltic states, doing theoretical analysis on sovereign credit ratings and their impact on the financial sector development and international capital flows in a country. In order to achieve an objective, the following tasks have been fomulated: to accomplish above-mentioned theoretical analysis, to analyse the level of financial sector development, changes in trends of international capital flows and sovereign credit ratings in the Baltic states, reveal the main factors, which affected ratings in these countries and ascertain the influence of these ratings on the financial sector development and international capital... [to full text]

Since a deficit in empathy is not only characteristic among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but categorically used in defining ASD, it is of utmost importance to explore educational avenues to build prosocial skills among this group. This study sought to explore the primary research question: What impact does the implementation of an empathy-focused video modeling intervention have on frequency of empathic behaviour among adolescents with ASD? The secondary research questions examined were: In what ways does employing a video modeling simulation intervention using the Model Me Kids Friendship program impact the ability of adolescents with ASD to demonstrate empathic behaviour? How do adolescents with ASD express or speak about their empathic behaviour following participation in a simulation intervention using Model Me Kids Friendship? How do the Educational Resource Facilitators (teaching assistants) perceive the same individuals’ empathic behaviour following participation in a simulation intervention using Model Me Kids Friendship (MMF)? This mixed methods study explores 1 particular video modeling simulation program as a focused approach to building empathic behaviour among adolescents with ASD. The theoretical framework presented blends theory of mind, simulation theory, and psychological theories of empathic behaviour including the inherent motor, cognitive, and emotional components. Individuals with ASD may not learn empathic behaviours solely through observation as typically developing children do, but findings suggest that through video simulation, practice may, in fact, lead to increased empathic behaviour. The quantitative findings were not significant but did show increase in motor empathy behaviour ratings among intervention group participants. Support for video modeling as a vehicle to teach empathic behaviour was provided by qualitative data collected over the course of 4 months contextualizing specific examples of empathic behaviour exhibited by participating teens with ASD. There is a link made between high levels of systematizing among teens on the spectrum (the drive to analyze and build a system) and video modeling as a means to foster empathic behaviour, thereby supporting an increased use of video simulation strategies to teach social skills among this group.

Because the nature of municipalities differs from that of commercial institutions, norms and standards for the determination of creditworthiness are also different. Although various documented models and studies addressing credit rating related issues in the commercial sector are available, no objective model for determining the creditworthiness of municipalities has been published in South Africa. This model has been developed specifically for the determination of the creditworthiness of municipalities and is based on objective standards. All the indicators applied in the model are calculated objectively. The net product of the model is therefore a numerical figure indicating creditworthiness at a specific time. The model shows the numerical composition of the figure, and specific indicators or norms of interest can be studied in greater detail. The model has the following unique features: • It calculates a numerical value, representing the creditworthiness of a municipality. • The determination of the creditworthiness figure is objective. • Trends are calculated and form part of the calculation of the creditworthiness figure. • The model is parameter-driven - by merely changing the values in the parameter file, all the calculations are changed accordingly. • The creditworthiness figure from the model does not claim to be an absolutely accurate representation of the creditworthiness of a municipality, but claims to be accurate enough (80/20 principle) to form a basis for reliable and effective management decisions. This model is the first in South Africa. to offer a means of determining the creditworthiness of municipalities objectively. It is a simple model which is based on the elements representing creditworthiness. / Accounting / D. Comm. (Accounting)

The thesis is focused on creating an advertising campaign for a figure skating club Plzeň. The work is divided into two parts - theoretical part and a practical part. The theoretical part of the thesis defines the basic terms and defines the building of advertising campaigns. The practical part on the knowledge gained from the theoretical part describes in detail the process of planning an advertising campaign. On this basis, the campaign is implemented and the results are then evaluated. The last part of the thesis gives suggestions for improvement campaign in the future.

In the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, the way credit risk is affected by and affects the macroeconomic environment has been the focus of academics, risk practitioners and central bankers alike. In this thesis I approach three distinct questions that aim to provide valuable insight into how corporate defaults, recoveries and credit ratings interact with the conditions in the wider economy. The first question focuses on how well the macroeconomic environment forecasts corporate bond defaults. I approach the question from a macroeconomic perspective and I make full use of the multitude of lengthy macroeconomic time series available. Following the recent literature on data-rich environment modelling, I summarise a large panel of 103 macroeconomic time series into a small set of 6 dynamic factors; the factors capture business cycle, yield curve, credit premia and equity market conditions. Prior studies on dynamic factors use identification schemes based on principal components or recursive short-run restrictions. The main contribution to the body of existing literature is that I provide a novel and more robust identification scheme for the 6 macro-financial stochastic factors, based on a set of over-identifying restrictions. This allows for a more straightforward interpretation of the extracted factors and a more meaningful decomposition of the corporate default dynamics. Furthermore, I use a novel Bayesian estimation scheme based on a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm that has not been used before in a credit risk context. I argue that the proposed algorithm provides an effcient and flexible alternative to the simulation based estimation approaches used in the existing literature. The sampling scheme is used to estimate a state-of-the-art dynamic econometric specification that is able to separate macro-economic fluctuations from unobserved default clustering. Finally, I provide evidence that the macroeconomic factors can lead to significant improvements in default probability forecasting performance. The forecasting performance gains become less pronounced the longer the default forecasting horizon. The second question explores the sensitivity of corporate bond defaults and recoveries on monetary policy and macro-financial shocks. To address the question, I follow a more structural approach to extract theory-based economic shocks and quantify the magnitude of the impact on the two main credit risk drivers. This is the first study that approaches the decomposition of the movements in credit risk metrics from a structural perspective. I introduce a VAR model with a novel semi-structural identification scheme to isolate the various shocks at the macro level. The dynamic econometric specification for defaults and recoveries is similar to the one used to address the first question. The specification is flexible enough to allow for the separation of the macroeconomic movements from the credit risk specific unobserved correlation and, therefore, isolate the different shock transmission mechanisms. I report that the corporate default likelihood is strongly affected by balance sheet and real economy shocks for the cyclical industry sectors, while the effects of monetary policy shocks typically take up to one year to materialise. In contrast, recovery rates tend to be more sensitive to asset price shocks, while real economy shocks mainly affect secured debt recovery values. The third question shifts the focus to credit ratings and addresses the Through-the- Cycle dynamics of the serial dependence in rating migrations. The existing literature treats the so-called rating momentum as constant through time. I show that the rating momentum is far from constant, it changes with the business cycle and its magnitude exhibits a non-linear dependence on time spent in a given rating grade. Furthermore, I provide robust evidence that the time-varying rating momentum substantially increases actual and Marked-to-Market losses in periods of stress. The impact on regulatory capital for financial institutions is less clear; nevertheless, capital requirements for high credit quality portfolios can be significantly underestimated during economic downturns.