Why Capital Structure Matters
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124027187331937083.html
Comments welcome.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124027187331937083.html
Comments welcome.
Quote from Martinghoul:
Everything stated in the article is self-evident and well-known. Milken's not exactly shocking anyone these days by pointing out that capital structure actually does matter. He doesn't actually attempt to explain why 'leverage bubbles' arise. Neither is he able to provide any ideas/recipes/suggestions for how to deal with the 'leverage cycle', whether it's through regulation or some other methods. Personally, I am not too impressed.

Quote from Martinghoul:
Everything stated in the article is self-evident and well-known. Milken's not exactly shocking anyone these days by pointing out that capital structure actually does matter. He doesn't actually attempt to explain why 'leverage bubbles' arise. Neither is he able to provide any ideas/recipes/suggestions for how to deal with the 'leverage cycle', whether it's through regulation or some other methods. Personally, I am not too impressed.
I would be interested if you could find the article.Quote from orange_trad:
Just what I was about to say when finished reading the article. I remember a much better written discussion years ago about capital structure in the Harvard Business Review or the Journal of Finance, that eerily sounded similar to this one. I felt reading this article that I'm reading the extract of that paper. Let's see if I can find a link to that paper somewhere. I think the date on it was 1968 or 1969. I guess news has a 30-year life cycle...
Why can't the leverage bubbles be explained by loose credit paired with excessive risk taking fueled by greed? Why is it more complicated than that?Quote from Martinghoul:
Everything stated in the article is self-evident and well-known. Milken's not exactly shocking anyone these days by pointing out that capital structure actually does matter. He doesn't actually attempt to explain why 'leverage bubbles' arise. Neither is he able to provide any ideas/recipes/suggestions for how to deal with the 'leverage cycle', whether it's through regulation or some other methods. Personally, I am not too impressed.
Here are my thoughts on the matter. Your question itself illustrates the most important puzzle. Specifically, you're suggesting two factors create bubbles: 1) loose credit (aka excess leverage); 2) fundamental human nature (optimism/risk seeking/greed, whatever you call it).Quote from nitro:
Why can't the leverage bubbles be explained by loose credit paired with excessive risk taking fueled by greed? Why is it more complicated than that?