The study empirically examines the response of two major stock indexes- Germany DAX30 and the UK FTSE 100 to the S &P500 of the NYSE, for the period 2007-2023. Several econometric tools were employed to make the study robust, which include trend analysis, summary statistics, correlation matrix and regression analysis. The results show a high degree of co-movement (interconnectedness) between the three global stock markets). Specifically, US stock market, index, indicated by the S&P500 of the NYSE has a positive and significant impact on the German and the UK Stock indexes, with a more pronounced impact on the latter. Invariably there exist contagion or domino effect among the three stock markets, with developments, shocks and fluctuations in the US stock market being directly transmitted to the German and the UK exchanges. Based on the findings, strong economic policy measures to reduce the impact of the US financial markets through greater economic and portfolio diversification, as well as country-specific driving factors in order to minimize the inherent risk and uncertainty associated with such high dependence are important.

Keywords: Financial market, Dependence of stocks, UKFTSE, German DAX30, S& P500
JEL Classification: G10, G14, G15, E4, F36.

India’s energy sector comprises several large public enterprises working with different primary energy forms like coal, crude oil and natural gas as well as involved in thermal and renewable technology development and electricity production. This study looks at the equity market performance of 10 Indian firms with 5 equity market indices as the benchmarks, over the last one decade, using their weekly stock prices or index values as the primary input data set. Depending on choice of market index, the cost of capital for the chosen energy firms is seen to lie between 7.55% to 19.02% p.a. for the studied firms, while the market indices have shown returns between 13.4-15.6% p.a. Using security level data and estimated risk-free rates, portfolio optimization studies are performed to identify the best combinations of these 10 securities to minimize portfolio performance metrics like risk to return ratio and maximize indicators like Sharpe, Treynor ratios and Jensen alpha value. It is seen that 3 to 4 securities make up the largest share of these portfolios while the rest get very small allocations. The optimal portfolios have returns between 24-38% p.a. with risk lying between 15-31% p.a.

Keywords: Cost of equity; energy firms; equity portfolio; optimization; stock prices.
JEL Classification: C4, C8, G1.

This study investigated the effect of international financial inflows on productive capacities in Africa from 2010 -2022. Panel data robust standard error analytical technique and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) were deployed to test for the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI), remittances (REM), and official development assistance (ODA) on productive capacities (PCI) in Africa with special focus on countries from different regions in Africa. Data for the analysis was sourced from the World Bank Development Indicator (WDI) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The result showed that foreign direct investment harms productive capabilities in northern Africa but exerts a positive effect in the eastern and southern African regions. Remittances are statistically significant and have a positive effect on productive capacities only in eastern Africa. Official development assistance is also statically significant and exerts a positive effect on productive capacities in northern and eastern Africa. However, the effect of ODA in southern Africa is negative. The generalized method of moments results for the four regions revealed that foreign direct investment exerts a negative effect on productive capacities while remittance contributes significantly to productive capacities within Africa. Following the findings, the study concluded that international financial inflows play an important role in boosting productive capacities in Africa. The study therefore recommended governments of various countries to create an enabling environment and formulate policies that would stimulate foreign financial inflows especially remittances to strive.

Keywords: Productive capacities, International financial inflows, and Generalized method of moment (GMM).

Driven by the pressing need to tackle the financing hurdles that Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) face in Nigeria, this study delves into the impact of financial innovation and inclusion on SME financing. We adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analyses to gain a deeper understanding. Our analysis drew on secondary data, from the Central Bank of Nigeria's Statistical Bulletin (2022). We examined the relationships between SME financing and various financial innovation variables, including Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales (POS) terminals, Mobile Payments (MP), and Loans from Rural Branches of Commercial Banks (LRBCB). Our findings, based on the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, reveal that ATMs, MP, and LRBCB have a positive and significant impact on SME financing, while POS terminals have a positive but insignificant impact in the short run, becoming significant in the long run. Overall, our study demonstrates that financial innovation and inclusion have a significant impact on SME financing in Nigeria. We recommend that policymakers and financial institutions expand ATM networks and promote POS technology integration in SMEs, while also enhancing digital financial literacy through targeted initiatives.

Keywords: Financial Innovation, Inclusion, SME Financing, ARDL model, and Nigeria.
JEL Classifications: O16; E58; Q42; G32; C22; N17.

The activities and performance of multinational companies (MNCs) are crucial to the host economies; however, the Nigerian economy continues to witness their mass exit from the country. This study investigated the financial factors (taxation, operating expenses, cost of sales, and capital intensity) driving MNCs’ operations and their effects on firm performance among MNCs in Nigeria. The study adopted modified Dickey-Fuller and Philip-Perron tests to ascertain a long-run relationship, and panel autoregressive distributed lag (P-ARDL) to analyse the determinants of MNCs’ profitability in Nigeria. The study revealed that a long-run relationship exists among the variables used. The study showed a positive relationship between corporate tax and firm performance. This suggests that corporate tax increases as revenue and profitability increase, and the impact is significant in the long run. In addition, operating expenses and capital intensity coefficients are significantly negative, suggesting that the variables are detrimental to the MNCs’ performance in Nigeria. The differences in the relationship (positive and negative) and statistical significance of the cost of sales variable suggest differing impacts of the cost of sales on firm performance. The study concluded that tax, operating expenses, costs of sales, and capital intensity are major determinants of MNCs’ profitability.

Keywords: Cost Management, Tax Planning, Capital Investments, Profitability.

This study examines the effect of the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) 41 on debt risk management practices in Nigeria's public sector. The study's population comprised 631 individuals. Primary data were collected from 200 staff members across Nigeria's Debt Management Offices, and an ordinal logistic regression analysis was employed. The study found that fair value classification, subsequent measurement, initial recognition, and fair value hedges significantly improve debt risk monitoring. In contrast, amortised cost, initial measurement, derecognition, cash flow hedges, foreign operation net investment hedges, and all disclosure requirements showed limited impact. The results indicate that the implementation of IPSAS 41 provisions can strengthen Nigeria's debt management capacity. These findings contribute to the discourse on public sector accounting reforms by providing empirical evidence of the standard's effectiveness.

Keywords: Debt risk management practice, IPSAS 41.