WHERE'S THE CAT GOING? SOME OBSERVATIONS ON CATASTROPHE BONDS

This article provides an assessment of the current state of the market for catastrophe (or "Cat") bonds. Given the changes in insurance markets since September 11th, the demand for Cat bonds is likely to increase. For issuers, Cat bonds have the effect of transferring risks to the capital markets that would normally be underwritten by insurance or reinsurance companies. And as a substitute for insurance, Cat bonds have the potential to help issuers address problems such as lack of capacity and real risk transfer, cyclicality, and credit risk that are commonly associated with insurance and reinsurance markets. Investors value Cat bonds in part because of their low correlations with stocks and conventional bonds. Notable trends in the structuring of the products involve higher levels of risk transfer, longer-term contracts, and linkage to a portfolio of catastrophic risks.     

THE NATURE AND MEASUREMENT OF COST SAVINGS IN CURRENT VALUE ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS*

The paper considers the nature and measurement of cost savings in current value (cost) accounting systems. In general, current cost accounting proposals have interpreted cost savings in an unnecessarily restrictive way. For example, current cost accounting does not allow for the possibility that a company which borrows at a fixed rate of interest may derive significant cost savings if interest rates increase during the term of the loan. The measurement of cost savings on debt is considered in this paper. In addition, it draws attention to the concentration of current cost accounting proposals on cost savings at the expense of the analogous losses which may arise in relation to revenue.     

AUDITOR LIABILITY: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DEBATE

The auditing industry claims to be an unfair victim of lawsuits and has deployed its considerable economic and political muscle in a campaign to secure further liability concessions. Amongst other things, it seeks to replace “joint and several liability” of partnerships with “full proportional liability”, a “cap” on auditor liability and a statutory right to negotiate liability limits with company directors. This paper challenges the evidence and the arguments advanced by the UK auditing industry. It argues that there is little convincing argument to support that industry's claims. On the contrary, ordinary stakeholders are relatively powerless to take action against negligent auditors. It is noted that most of the major lawsuits are by one accountancy firm against another. The UK auditing industry already enjoys considerable privileges, such as incorporation and “contributory negligence”, a form of modified proportional liability. Despite these privileges, the industry has shunned public accountability. It is holding the UK public to ransom by threats of locating its operations in offshore islands. Scholars are urged to develop alternative public policy options and analysis.     

THE INFORMATIONAL VALUE OF LISTING ON THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

In this paper, the authors test market reaction to the listing of a stock on the New York Stock Exchange independently from other attendant news and test the hypothesis that listing has different informational value for stocks that have performed differently in the prelisting period. Their findings support the argument that listing conveys positive information. Listing is observed to be of most value for firms with ambiguous earnings performance.     

当前牡丹卡业务存在风险的法律分析与建议

牡丹卡业务既是银行金融服务的一项市场工程 ,也是国家货币使用、流通、交换、储备等经济运行的一项系统工程。去年以来 ,工商银行牡丹卡业务在体制改革和服务创新的同时 ,也显露出多种风险 ,并且正形成一场牡丹卡信任危机 ,为此应引起决策者的高度重视。本文从多学科的角度 ,揭示了当前牡丹卡安全信任危机产生的主要原因 ,指出了牡丹卡业务改革创新中存在的四大责任风险 ;分析警示了“信任危机”和“责任风险”形成的负面影响 ;从法学理论上对牡丹卡的责任风险进行了深入的剖析 ,明晰了银行的法律责任 ;并从建筑有效安全防火墙的角度 ,提出了若干风险防范措施 ,以保障牡丹卡各项业务有序健康发展。     

我国商业银行的机构布局及其改革构想

商业银行机构网点布局是银行发展的重要内容,其设置合理与否直接关系到银行的绩效.在中国即将加入WTO的背景下,如何更好地发挥我国商业银行机构相对于外资银行的网点比较优势从而在新一轮竞争中取得主动,已成为亟待解决的重要现实问题.笔者试图通过对国外银行布局的研究达到服务国内银行的目的.本文首先对美、英、日、新四国金融体系及银行布局进行介绍,接着就国有商业银行、股份制商业银行及城市商业银行三个层面对我国商业银行机构布局现状进行了实证分析,然后指出了其布局的科学成分及不合理之处,最后针对存在的问题,借鉴国外经验提出相应的改革思路.