We examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CDS spreads of companies around the world. We find that the pandemic-induced increases in corporate CDS spreads are concentrated in firms with higher leverage, non-investment-grade rating, lower profitability, and higher stock volatility. Further...

Using a cross-country sample of mergers and acquisitions, we examine the role of cultural, institutional, geographic and managerial factors on post-merger default risk. Our results are consistent with the asymmetric hypothesis that managers take advantage of the overvaluation and volatility of...