In the run up to the financial crisis, the essential functions financial intermediaries played seemed to become less important. Commercial and industrial loans, as well as residential mortgages, the quintessential banking products, were securitized and sold.
We analyze the contribution of returns around earnings announcements to typical estimates of the “prices lead earnings” relation. We find that prior returns' ability to explain earnings is concentrated disproportionally in returns on earnings announcement dates, suggesting that a substantial portion of the estimated timeliness of returns in previous studies is empirically indistinguishable from the information content of earnings.
Private labels (PLs) represent a major opportunity for retailers, and a severe threat to brand manufacturers. However, considerable heterogeneity can be observed in PL growth rates across markets, creating ambiguity about their future growth potential. This poses a formidable challenge to both brands and retailers on how to allocate resources across different markets to prepare for the future.
On average, competing retailers near Lidl stores set their prices approximately 9.3% lower than in markets where Lidl is not present, which is more than three times as much as was typically reported in other academic work on Walmart’s entry in a new market. This price reaction results, on average, in substantial dollar savings for customers.
Much has been said (and rightly so) about the catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But there is another side to the crisis. It’s a story of hope, based on collaboration and innovation. As healthcare needs and economic hardships intensify, entrepreneurs around the globe are stepping up to create solutions that will not only address immediate needs, but also effect long-lasting change. A panel of Kenan Institute-convened experts discussed this surge of innovation in response to COVID-19 on April 7, 2020. The full recording of this press briefing–-along with a deeper-dive analysis on the drivers of innovation amid the crisis by UNC Kenan-Flagler Professors Mahka Moeen and Chris Bingham-–is available in this week’s Kenan Insight.
Chris Peronto is the Vice President and Head of Enterprise Strategy & Innovation at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. The MBA Healthcare Club sat down with the UNC ’91 Alum to discuss all things COVID-19.
The MBA Healthcare Club sat down with the KFBS ’98 Alum to talk about the impact of COVID-19 and the current uncertain economic climate, as well as how the investment banking industry continues to respond.
Governors across the United States have reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing state-level executive actions to address a range of issues provoked by the crisis. Although it is too early to gauge the long-term effects of the pandemic and states’ responses to it, this Kenan Insight provides a preliminary analysis of actions governors have taken thus far, to help inform policymaking going forward.
Still in its infancy, the Hospital Compare overall hospital quality star rating program introduced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has generated intense industry debate.
The arrival of two approved COVID-19 vaccines provides a clear path to the end of the pandemic that held most of 2020 hostage. But a recent resurgence of the virus and skyrocketing rates of infection indicate that a full return to normalcy—including the pre-pandemic work environment— is still months in the future. In this Kenan Insight, we examine the relevant factors that will determine when and how we go back to the office.
For more than a year, researchers across the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC) Kenan-Flagler Business School (KFBS) and School of Medicine (SOM) worked with Sharecare, Inc. (Sharecare) to establish a framework for measuring the true value of corporate well-being interventions and develop a measurement tool to quantify their impact over time. The goal of the research was to assess the value of implementing corporate well-being interventions to improve employee health and lower direct medical costs to employers.
The North Carolina Community Action Association (NCCAA) commissioned a study to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its efforts to combat poverty and facilitate self-sufficiency in low-income communities throughout the state. We conducted focus groups with individuals served by Community Action Agencies (CAAs) and conducted a corresponding set of key informant interviews with identified leaders in five communities across the state. The research focused on five themes. We generated eight key takeaways from our content analysis of the focus group transcripts and nine key takeaways from our content analysis of the transcripts emanating from our Zoom sessions with community key informants.
Theoretically, wealthier people should buy less insurance, and should self-insure through saving instead, as insurance entails monitoring costs. Here, we use administrative data for 63,000 individuals and, contrary to theory, find that the wealthier have better life and property insurance coverage.
We study the interaction of flexible capital utilization and depreciation for expected returns and investment of firms. Empirically, an investment strategy that buys (sells) equities with low (high) utilization rates earns 5% p.a.
Virginia’s rapid population growth over the past three decades has been uneven, creating demographic winners and losers, and masks several demographic headwinds that will constrain future growth and competitiveness if left unaddressed, including slowing rates of total and foreign-born population growth, white population decline, deaths of despair, and declining labor force participation among prime working age males and females in the state.
In May 2023 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) issued proposed emission standards (the Rules) for existing and new Fossil Fuel-Fired Electricity Generating units. Issued under EPA’s Section 111 authority wherein the Agency asserts the right under the Clean Air Act and subsequent court rulings to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, the new standards, if sustained, would accelerate retirements of coal plants. The Rules also impact utility plans to operate existing and to build new natural gas plants.
On Thursday, January 30, we’ll be livestreaming the opening session of our fourth annual Frontiers of Entrepreneurship conference, featuring the release of the first-ever Trends in Entrepreneurship Report and a series of interviews with experts speaking to the findings and themes highlighted. The full report will be available for download at frontiers.unc.edu. 9:30 a.m. EST: Opening Frontiers of Entrepreneurship conference plenary + 2020 Trends in Entrepreneurship Launch 12:00 p.m. EST: Interview with Kenan Institute Executive Director Greg Brown 12:20 p.m. EST: Interview with JPMorgan Chase Institute Director of Business Research Chris Wheat 12:40 p.m. EST: Interview with University of Chicago Polsky Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Executive Director Starr Marcello 1:00 p.m. EST: Interview with Union Square Ventures Partner Brad Burnham 1:20 p.m. EST: Interview with UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Phillip Hettleman Distinguished Scholar, Professor and Area Chair of Strategy & Entrepreneurship Chris Bingham 1:40 p.m. EST: Interview with Backstage Capital Founder and Managing Partner Arlan Hamilton
On Jan. 30, 2020, the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and UNC Entrepreneurship Center released the inaugural Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Trends Report. The report features timely insights into topics that affect founders, funders and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem. Combining expert analysis, this report translates rigorous academic research to ensure findings are actionable for the broader entrepreneurial community, aiming to inform practitioners’ decisions and encourage further exploration of research topics by scholars. Download the full report at https://frontiers.unc.edu/.
When high-tech companies plan to expand, U.S. cities often compete to attract their investment. While living near a new corporate neighbor can bring job creation and an economic boost, these benefits aren’t experienced equally by local inhabitants. This week's insight explores this and other key findings in new research by UNC Kenan-Flagler Professor Franklin Qian and economist Rose Tan.