This article deals with the possibility of problems in the paper gold market.

It is clear that Covid-19 is creating winners and losers in the world today, although there seem to be more losers than winners.

Even if Covid-19 were to disappear tomorrow miraculously, as I will attempt to demonstrate in this article, it would take years for the already inflicted damage to work its way through the financial system

Imagine the following situation:  you are a financial advisor.  The owner of a large and very attractive hotel asks you to sell his hotel.

Most people would think that it is more difficult to sell a large company than a small company.  While there are exceptions to every rule, I would suggest that it is easier to sell a larger company than a small company

In my book, Business Exit Planning (John Wiley & Sons, 2012)1, I confess to have made a significant error in judgment: I have barely touched on the option of bankruptcy as an option for exit.

On May 25th, the Hungarian Government issued a decree requiring de facto approval of the Hungarian Government with respect to ambiguously defined “strategic” transactions whereby interests in Hungarian companies are acquired by foreign entities

We are in the midst of a global coronavirus pandemic, with worldwide GDP contracting substantially, creating a phenomenon of corporations issuing record amounts of new indebtedness

Forecasts for GDP decrease within the European Union in 2020 run as high as 13%, even after taking into account massive stimulation by Governments1.

M&A activity, both globally and in Central Europe, declined dramatically in Q1 2020

Despite the number of cases and deaths rising to approximately 1.8 million and 110,000 respectively, as at the time of writing of this article , there has been considerable good news on the coronavirus during the past week or two

After several weeks of extreme volatility, the most dramatic crash in the history of financial markets and partial recovery, where can we expect financial markets to go from here?

The number of COVID-19 cases has reached to 170,000 and total deaths rose beyond 6,5001 as at the time of writing of this article (March 16, 2020).

COVID-19 has taken approximately 3,000 lives to date, and infected approximately 90,0001 people in over 60 countries. This article is not about the humanitarian aspects of COVID-19

Factoring is a financing method in which a business owner sells accounts receivable at a discount to a third-party funding source, in order to raise capital

Impact investing, as the word “impact” implies, is all about investing to make a positive impact on the world, not only generating a financial return1.

If you have a company that produces or sells a product or service, the questions often arise as to (a) whether that company should own the premises or real estate which it occupies (e.g. offices, warehouse, plant, etc.)

Many small to mid-sized businesses have no need for a holding company. It may be sufficient for the company owner(s) to personally own shares or quotas directly in the company in question.

Recent irregularities in the US repo market may be early indicators of an upcoming recession, as was the case in 2008-2009 and before the dotcom crash of 2001.

Non-financial corporations can typically use two types of debt funding – bank loans and debt securities (e.g. bonds).

Dividend is usually discussed in the context of public companies. Like share buybacks, it is a way of putting cash back to shareholders.

Running a small business is arguably more difficult than running a large one. I have done both, and that has certainly been my experience.

The majority of corporate acquisitions are acquisitions of majority interests.

Our last article was on control premiums. Minority discount is basically the flipside of control premium

There are many reasons for using debt to finance an acquisition.

Our firm recently performed two valuations on a pharmaceutical company two years apart.

In a typical merger deal, the bidding company acquires the target company and the bidder’s existing shareholders obtain the majority in the combined entity.

This is the sixth and final article in a series on asset classes, which examines luxury goods as an alternative investment asset class.

When investing in equities, investors have two main choices: common stocks or preferred shares.  Whereas the previous article in this series dealt with common shares, this article focuses on preferred shares.

This is the fourth article in a series on asset classes, designed to demonstrate that even in today’s “low interest” environment, one can generate reasonable returns on a diversified portfolio.

We often hear comments about how little interest banks pay, or the low yield on certain treasuries. In our business of Mergers & Acquisitions, we have seen quite a few business owners who want to sell their businesses, but hesitate to do so

In our previous article, we gave an overview of the various asset classes, and typical risk/return relationships. In this article, we compare the liquidity and trading volumes of these asset classes.

This is the first of a series of articles on asset classes. Whether you are an individual managing a portfolio for retirement, or someone who just sold their business and devising a strategy to invest funds, the choice of asset classes will be the most fundamental investment decision you make in designing your portfolio.

Let me start this article with a quote by Ludwig von Mises, famous economist of the Austrian School of Economics, on the subjects of credit expansion and economic cycles.:

Part I of the series tackled the value of gold as a portfolio hedge. This article, Part II of the series, will discuss the very limited stock of gold within the world

The world is a much riskier place than most people realize. A very incomplete list of just some of the possible risks in the global geopolitical system include:

Total global debt levels have reached a whopping $247 trillion as of 2018 – up from $164 trillion in January 2009 1, the time of the last financial crisis. That’s up from 213% to 318% of global GDP 2:

Whether you’re a business person or an ordinary citizen concerned about what’s going on in the world, the yield curve is something you should care about.

Owners and managers of businesses always have the option of financing a business by way of either debt or equity

A condition precedent (CP) prior to closing is a condition that must be satisfied by a party to a transaction, failing which the other party is not bound to close the transaction

“Drag Along” and “Tag Along” rights are used by investors to facilitate their exit from an investment. They are methods particularly favored by private equity firms

Non-core assets may greatly complicate raising equity financing, finding strategic or financial partners, or selling a business.

Business owners often ask themselves whether they need a business valuation, and if so what kind of valuation is required.

When negotiating the purchase or sale of a company, the investor or purchaser will often insist on what is known as a Material Adverse Change (MAC) clause. This article deals with three issues related to the MAC clause

Business owners often ask themselves whether they need a business valuation, and if so what kind of valuation is required.

Everything has its risks, even getting out of bed in the morning. But that is no excuse for not getting out of bed at all…