Musings on Markets

JANUARY 12, 2021

I also start thinking about my passion, which is teaching, the spring semester to come, and the classes that I will be teaching, repeating a process that I have gone through every year since 1984, my first year as a teacher. Face up to uncertainty, rather than avoid or deny it : Uncertainty is a feature of investing/ business, not a bug.

Corporate Finance 52

Corporate Finance Start-ups Finance Marketability 52

Musings on Markets

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Facebook: Filling in the Background It is worth noting that in good times, when earnings are rising and stock prices are upward bound, investors do not seem to have much interest in corporate governance, and it is only when the numbers start to move against them, that they rediscover the importance of the topic.

Start-ups 105

Start-ups Market Capitalization Marketability Dividends 105

Musings on Markets

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

In this post, I will look at corporate profitability, in all its different dimensions, and how companies across the globe, and across industries, measured up in the most recent years.

Start-ups 99

Start-ups Equity Book Value Marketability 99

Brian DeChesare

AUGUST 31, 2022

But before delving into the best candidates for these roles, typical trades, careers, and more, let’s start with the basic definitions: What is a Convertible Arbitrage Hedge Fund? If the stock price goes up or down by 10%, but the volatility stays the same, you might not earn or lose anything on the trade.

Banking 89

Banking Risk-free Rate Equity Start-ups 89

Musings on Markets

MARCH 8, 2023

This is the last of my data update posts for 2023, and in this one, I will focus on dividends and buybacks, perhaps the most most misunderstood and misplayed element of corporate finance. Viewed in that context, dividends as just as integral to a business, as the investing and financing decisions.

Dividends 102

Dividends Start-ups Finance Corporate Finance 102

Brian DeChesare

APRIL 24, 2024

But then recruiting moved up, the MBA process became more structured, and now we have 4-year-olds aiming for “Target Kindergartens” so they can eventually get into investment banking ~15 years in the future. I’ll answer these questions, but, as usual, we need to start with some descriptions: Table Of Contents What is a Pre-MBA Internship?

Start-ups 59

Start-ups Banking Finance Equity 59

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 6, 2023

In my last post, I talked about the ritual that I go through every year ahead of my teaching each spring, and in this one, I will start on the first of a series of posts that I make at the start of each year, where I look at data, both macro and company-level. That is not true!

Risk Premium 52

Risk Premium Dividends Start-ups EBITDA 52

Brian DeChesare

JUNE 1, 2022

Traditionally, the sector was viewed as a defensive play for investors who wanted stable dividends and no drama. But over time, trends like market liberalization, deregulation, the shift to renewables, and the ESG religion “movement” have shaken up a sleepy sector.

Banking 98

Banking Equity Book Value Capital Structure 98

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 31, 2024

In this post, I start by looking at the end game for businesses, and how that choice plays out in investment rules for these businesses, and then examine how much businesses generated in profits in 2023, scaled to both revenues and invested capital. The End Game in Business If you start a business, what is your end game?

Equity 80

Equity Book Value Start-ups Corporate Finance 80

Brian DeChesare

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

But before jumping into the overall advantages and disadvantages, let’s start with the verticals and how banks are set up: Table Of Contents What is Renewable Energy Investment Banking? Dividend yields are frequently cited for these types of companies as well.

Banking 59

Banking Finance Start-ups Equity 59

Brian DeChesare

AUGUST 10, 2022

But before delving into the exit opportunities and the long-term outlook, let’s start with the fundamentals: Oil & Gas Investment Banking Defined. Because the risk of searching for new energy sources and experimentally drilling is so high, many E&P firms set up joint ventures to distribute the risk.

Banking 98

Banking EBITDA Dividends Equity 98

Musings on Markets

MAY 11, 2021

In my last post, I looked at the Biden Administration's proposal to increase corporate taxes, to provide funding for an infrastructure bill, and concluded that while there is room for raising corporate taxes, it would be more efficient and fairer to do so by reducing the tax credits and deductions in the code, than by raising the tax rate.

Dividends 52

Dividends Start-ups Risk Premium Treasury 52

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 9, 2021

The second was that, starting mid-year in 2020, equity markets and the real economy moved in different directions, with the former rising on the expectations a post-virus future, and the latter languishing, as most of the world continued to operate with significant constraints.

Risk Premium 52

Risk Premium Market Capitalization Equity Start-ups 52

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 8, 2022

To start the year, I returned to a ritual that I have practiced for thirty years, and that is to take a look at not just market changes over the last year, but also to get measures of the financial standing and practices of companies around the world. Happy New Year, and I hope that 2022 brings you good tidings! Sometimes, less is more!

Risk Premium 99

Risk Premium Start-ups Market Capitalization Corporate Finance 99

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 5, 2024

I have also developed a practice in the last decade of spending much of January exploring what the data tells us, and does not tell us, about the investing, financing and dividend choices that companies made during the most recent year. Dividends and Potential Dividends (FCFE) 1. Beta & Risk 1. Return on Equity 1.

Dividends 105

Dividends Risk Premium Equity Book Value 105

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 28, 2024

In particular, there are wide variations in how risk is measured, and once measured, across companies and countries, and those variations can lead to differences in expected returns and hurdle rates, central to both corporate finance and investing judgments. Analysts often try to bring company-specific components, i.e,

Risk Premium 121

Risk Premium Beta Start-ups Equity 121

Musings on Markets

MARCH 5, 2025

I start with a framework for thinking about how much cash a business can return to its owners, and then argue that, in the real world, this decision is skewed by inertia and me-tooism. I also look at a clear and discernible shift away from dividends to stock buybacks, especially in the US, and examine both good and bad reasons for this shift.

Dividends 52

Dividends Start-ups Equity Corporate Finance 52

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 10, 2025

It is the end of the first full week in 2025, and my data update for the year is now up and running, and I plan to use this post to describe my data sample, my processes for computing industry statistics and the links to finding them. In the table below, we compare the changes in regional market capitalizations (in $ millions) over time.

Risk Premium 119

Risk Premium Dividends Start-ups Corporate Finance 119

Musings on Markets

FEBRUARY 8, 2025

I spend most of my time in the far less rarefied air of corporate finance and valuation, where businesses try to decide what projects to invest in, and investors attempt to estimate business value.

Risk Premium 72

Risk Premium Beta Start-ups Equity 72