Using local natural disasters as a quasi-experimental setting, we show that heightened distress risk in shocked firms drives both these firms and their unshocked competitors to cut profit margins by about 0.8 percentage points. These reductions stem from predatory pricing, inventory liquidation,...

Firms tend to compete more aggressively in financial distress; the intensified competition in turn reduces profit margins, pushing themselves further into distress and adversely affecting other firms. To study such feedback and contagion effects, we incorporate strategic competition into a...

In the loan markets for distressed corporate borrowers, a few specialized lenders finance a large fraction of loans. Ultra-high yield spreads prevail even after removing the credit- and liquidity-risk component. Borrowers are in desperate need of financing but face limited funding options, while...