How Issue Size, Risk, and Complexity are Influencing External Financing Costs: German IPOs Analyzed from an Economies of Scale Perspective

This paper is focused on the cost of raising capital in Germany. A cross-sectional analysis of flotation cost data for 117 IPOs over the years 1993–1998 is presented. We find average flotation costs to be 7.77 percent of gross proceeds, while underwriting fees average 5.01 percent. Our results extend the literature in two important directions. First, contrary to the conventional economies of scale view we find marginal spreads to be rather constant in gross proceeds and to be higher for more risky and more complex offerings. Fixed costs amount to 5 to 9 percent of underwriting fees. Second, by applying a principal component analysis we find issue size, an issuer risk factor, and an offering method complexity factor to have an economicaly meaningful impact on underwriting fees.     

Wage versus efficient bargaining in oligopoly

This paper combines internal bargaining between firms and their employees with a situation of imperfect competition, in particular a Cournot‐oligopoly. Wage bargaining is compared with simultaneous negotiations on wages and employment (efficient bargaining). It turns out that for a large range of parameter values a prisoner's dilemma concerning profits exists. The dominant strategy is efficient bargaining, while the joint profits are maximized with wage negotiations. A simplified example considers economic welfare and utility of the unions. Different welfare measures are considered like the usual IO measure of consumer and producer surplus as well as others. The term ‘efficient bargaining’ is not justified (at least for the present example) if the profits and the rents of the unions are considered, as these are maximized with wage bargaining. However, consumer and producer surplus are highest with efficient bargaining. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Der neue Standard zur bilanziellen Abbildung von Versicherungsverträgen (IFRS 17) – Eine kritische Analyse der Auswirkungen auf die Versicherungsbranche

The new standard for the accounting of insurance contracts (IFRS 17) will entail substantial changes for the insurance industry. In the following article the new standard is critically analyzed. First and foremost the coming valuation model, the so-called building block approach, is presented which will be the basis for all insurance contracts within the scope of IFRS 17. (For certain insurance contracts, especially those with direct participation features, or for less complex or short-term insurance contracts, there are some modifications.) To be more precise, IFRS 17 introduces an enterprise-specific valuation approach that is grounded on the so-called fulfilment value. This fulfilment value is determined by four separate building blocks (fulfilment-cashflow, discount rate, risk margin and contractual service margin), which will be addressed in detail. Finally, major changes in performed accounting practices that insurance enterprises are confronted with and will have to adapt to in their financial statements and accounts are pointed out.     

Analyse der Abwicklung von gesetzlichen Krankenkassen per sozialrechtlicher Schließung oder per Insolvenzverfahren

Private as well as statutory health insurers have various ways of insolvency. Although the Insolvency Act has been applied for statutory health insurance since 2010, these new options were not used up to now. Anyway, the legislators laid the preference out of closure. This article investigates how the priority of closure could be in contradiction to the applicability of the Insolvency Act. It is asked, whether the introduction of the insolvency capability of health insurance funds was rather to assimilate the frame conditions relating to pension promises than creating a real alternative. One reason could be, that the Insolvency Act is not only generally applicable in the liquidation of a health insurance fund, but potentially even the best alternative. The insolvency proceedings for example are advantageous for health insurance funds within the same group because the maximum load is split and lower than it would be by a closure by social law and in addition to that the PSV is obligatory. The results show, that the generally-accepted, not limited standard preference of closure as laid out by the legislators in § 171b (3) S. 2 SGB V, seems inexplicable. The paper draws parallels to private health insurance companies under Solvency II and opens up new perspectives for legislative measures.     

A Global Mining Corporation and Local Communities in the Lake Victoria Zone: The Case of Barrick Gold Multinational in Tanzania

This case explores a Canadian mining corporation, Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick), and the way it engages with the local communities that surround its mining activities in the Lake Victoria Zone, Tanzania. Following recent organized tensions within several local communities and heightened criticism from those communities [examples of recent discontent from local communities and workers at Barrick Gold Corp in Tanzania: http://www.protestbarrick.net/article.php?id=214; http://www.protestbarrick.net/article.php?list=type&type=12; http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1247233520081212; http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15263; http://www.miningwatch.ca/index.php?/Tanzania_en/What_Really_Happened (accessed Feb- ruary 25, 2009)], as well as from local media, social lobbyists, and local not-for-profit organizations (NFOs), the case examines the way Barrick has responded to this situation by implementing global corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies in an attempt to strike a balance between its international business capabilities and its localization strategies. In spite of these efforts, tension between Barrick and the local communities within the company??s zone of operations has not abated. This issue has left Barrick??s senior management wondering what more the company could reasonably do to resolve the situation.     

Customer Centric Company

Literaturhinweise

Customer centric company