NEWSLETTER of August 1, 2025

The following content has been added at finexpert:

Strategy& | Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME)
GEAR SHIFT FOR EUROPEAN EQUITY MARKETS – WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO MAKE EUROPE A LEADER?
The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), in collaboration with PwC Strategy&, has today published a comprehensive report analysing the state of European equity markets. Drawing on new quantitative data and insights from over 40 interviews with key market participants across the equity value chain, the report offers a detailed assessment of the current strengths and persistent challenges facing Europe’s equity markets. The research reveals a mixed picture. While recent reforms and steady market performance suggest some cause for optimism, deeper structural issues continue to weigh on Europe’s global competitiveness. The report identifies increasing investor participation as critical to Europe’s growth and competitiveness and recommends targeted interventions to simplify the regulatory framework and reduce the complexity of the ecosystem to support this. >more

Rödl & Partner
DIE DEUTSCHE BETEILIGUNGSBRANCHE 2025
Our study is based on an analysis of the investment criteria of over 350 private equity firms that are active in Germany and most of which have their own branch in the country. In addition, a survey was conducted on current developments in the German private equity market. The focus is on investments in German SMEs, which remain particularly attractive for both national and international investors. The study analyses market developments in 2024 and provides an outlook on expectations for 2025. >more

Instituts der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW)
IW-WOHNINDEX: KAUFPREISE STEIGEN ERNEUT – MIETEN MIT MODERATEREM WACHSTUM
In the second quarter of 2025, prices on the German residential property market rose again after a period of decline. On average, condominiums cost two percent more than a year ago. Compared to the previous quarter, there was an increase of 1.9 percent. The increase was even more pronounced for single-family and two-family homes, with growth of three percent compared to the previous year and 1.2 percent compared to the previous quarter. This development is primarily attributable to more stable construction interest rates and positive market forecasts. >more

KfW Research
EINIGUNG IM ZOLLKONFLIKT EU UND USA: DER KLÜGERE GIBT NACH?
The President of the European Commission and US President Trump agreed on a solution to the trade dispute on Sunday. A number of questions arise directly from the agreement reached, and whether the deal is seen as a success or a defeat for Europe depends on the answers to these questions. >more

CORPORATE ACTIONS AS MORAL ISSUES
Zwetelina Iliewa, Elisabeth Kempf, and Oliver G. Spalt
2025
We examine nonpecuniary preferences across a broad set of corporate actions using a representative sample of the U.S. population. Our core findings, based on large-scale online surveys, are that (i) self-reported nonpecuniary concerns are large both for stock market investors and non-investors; (ii) concerns about the treatment of workers and CEO pay rank highest—higher than concerns about workforce diversity and fossil energy usage; (iii) moral universalism emerges as an important driver of nonpecuniary preferences. Combined, our findings provide new evidence on the importance of moral concerns as a key determinant of nonpecuniary preferences over corporate actions. >more

POISON BONDS
Rex Wang Renjie, and Shuo Xia
2024
This paper documents the rise of “poison bonds”—corporate bonds that allow bondholders to demand immediate repayment in change-of-control events. The share of poison bonds among new issues has grown substantially in recent years, from below 20% in the 1990s to over 60% since the mid-2000s, predominantly driven by investment-grade issues. We show that a key factor behind this rise is shareholders' aversion to poison pills, leading firms to issue poison bonds as an alternative. Moreover, our analysis suggests that this practice can entrench incumbent managers and destroy shareholder value. Holding a portfolio of firms that remove poison pills but promptly issue poison bonds generates negative abnormal returns of -7.3% per year. Our findings have important implications for the agency theory of debt: (i) more debt may not discipline the management; and (ii) even without financial distress, managerial entrenchment can lead to agency conflicts between shareholders and creditors. >more