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The paper explores the evolution of greenium in European corporate primary green bond markets from 2013 to 2023. It introduces a new perspective by studying the phases of the life cycle of this market. The sample included 22,259 bond issues from 23 European countries, with 1,040 being green bonds. During this period the green bond yield discount was around 15 bps for banks and 40 bps for non-financial companies. Our findings revealed significant dependence on the size of the greenium on the phases of the lifecycle of the market. The most significant shift was observed after 2022 when the yield discount for green bonds changed by the premium to conventional bond yields of 36 bps. For non-financial corporates the previous 70 bps discount has been replaced by a premium of up to 27 bps compared to conventional bonds. Issuers in “clean” industries saw their yields increase by 43 basis points compared to conventional bonds. The result reflected energy crisis in Europe which is accompanies by tighter monetary policy, and reduction of corporate profits. The findings are crucial for researchers, central banks, and authorities responsible for financial stability and sustainable development.

In this study the authors analyzed the problems associated with organizing private business and startup project appraisal for public and private funding. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to search for new forms of interaction between the state and private business under the conditions of the digitalization of the economy, market transformation and other changes, including adaptation to work in a pandemic. The aim of the study is to eliminate a shortage of effective algorithms for making decisions to start a business, taking into account the current stage of entrepreneurship development, as well as a lack of precise practical recommendations in using the methods of express assessment for small and medium-sized business projects. The authors performed a brief overview of the existing methods of making investment decisions, including the UNIDO methodology, revealed the necessity of adaptation of existing methods to the small business peculiarities and proposed methods of such adaptation. The authors analyzed the results of the competitive selection of the best business projects carried out by a group of experts in the Kaliningrad region. The authors considered the other example of approbation of the proposed methods: in the field of development and testing of express analysis methods adapted for programs to promote self-employment of the population in St. Petersburg. The research results contain novelty and practical value and include: the precise decision-making algorithm to create a business, taking into account the specifics of the current stage of entrepreneurship development; the author’s method of express assessment of small and medium-sized businesses creation projects, some aspects of which were worked out in two different directions. Further research should be about the development of methodological solutions in the express assessment of projects for organizing a business and their testing on real projects. The studies will be aimed at undeveloped areas of the economy and various ways of starting a business: from creating an enterprise from scratch to buying a ready-made business and acquiring a franchise.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the conceptual apparatus of the category of high-tech industrial enterprises (HTIE) and identification of their functioning features. The high-tech industrial complex is the backbone of the industrial complex in the era of the “fourth industrial revolution”. In this regard, high-tech industrial enterprises determine the development of the national economy of any state, so the problem of identifying this type of enterprise from the industrial one is relevant. The purposes of this study are to form the definition of high-tech enterprises, to determine their characteristics and criteria to classify enterprises in this type. On the base of the analysis of existing research the authors propose the classification of high-tech industrial enterprises according to key criteria: in accordance with the level of intensity of innovative and scientific activities of enterprises. Each group of high-tech enterprises has unique features so each of them can be considered separately. The authors used the methods of categorical-system methodology: 1) the method of formal logic and 2) the method of two-level triadic decoding of the basic concept to form the definition of modern high-tech industrial enterprise. The authors identified criteria by which an enterprise have been determined as high-tech. In conclusion of this study, the authors developed a reference model of a high-tech enterprise, where the main differences are highlighted 1) the management system in terms of management objects and 2) the principles of functioning of this type of enterprise. The results of the study supplement and clarify the conceptual apparatus of the HTIE and can be used to further study the essence and features of the functioning of this type of enterprises, that will improve their efficiency and competitiveness.

We investigated the impact of Economic Sustainability (ES) practices of digitally oriented industrial companies in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in various horizons. The relevance is underpinned by numerous controversies in the literature on the topic. The sample included 257 industrial companies from BRICS in 2017-2021. Economic profit in the long-term and short-term was measured by Total Shareholder Return (TSR) and Economic Value Added (EVA), respectively. We found that the improvements in resource use, enhancements in the workforce and responsible product development had a positive and significant influence on the TSR of BRICS companies. Conversely, we discovered the negative impact of social practices on companies' EVA. Firms from Brazil and India with stronger ESG practices provided higher returns for shareholders, while there was a significant and negative linkage between ES and EVA for Chinese firms. Crossindustry analysis showed that ESG practices had an additional positive and significant impact on the TSR of firms in the basic materials and technology sectors. However, there was an additional negative and significant impact of ES practices on EVA in consumer cyclical and energy sectors. The novelty is driven by (1) exploring the impact of ESG practices on companies' value at BRICS; (2) considering previously overlooked metrics of TSR and EVA; and (3) applying granular ES metrics instead of aggregated ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green bond market helps to mobilize financial sources toward sustainable investments. Green bonds are similar to conventional bonds but are specifically designed to raise money to finance environmental projects. The feature of green bonds is the existence of greenium, or the lower yield compared to "conventional" bonds of the same risk. The relevance of the paper is underpinned by the mixed evidence on the existence of 'greenium', especially in corporate green bond markets; there has been limited research on the topic and a narrow focus on global, US, or Chinese green bond markets. Instead, the greenium in European debt markets remains underexplored. The objective of this study is to investigate the existence of greenium and its key determinants in European corporate debt capital markets, including the local markets of the United Kingdom (UK), France, Netherlands, and Germany. The sample included 3851 corporate bonds, both green and conventional ones, between 2007 and 2021 from 33 European countries. Linear regression was applied for the analysis. The results show that the climate corporate bonds in Europe are priced at a discount to the same-risk conventional corporate bonds. The magnitude of greenium is around 3 bps. Determinants of greenium include the presence of an ESG rating and belonging to the utility and financial industry. The remaining drivers of bond yields in the European corporate debt market are the credit quality (expressed by the level of credit rating), the coupon size, the bond tenor, the market liquidity, and macroeconomic variables (growth of gross domestic product and consumer price index). For the local corporate debt markets, our results are controversial. In all markets under consideration except for the UK and the Netherlands, we did not find sustainable evidence of greenium. The results of the research lead to a better understanding of the green bond market for investors, researchers, regulators, and potential issuing companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable growth is the key global priority, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives have become the main point of attention in companies' digital transformation strategies. ESG and digital transformation reinforce each other as they aim to improve efficiency and meet stakeholders inside and outside the company. This is true for telecommunication companies, where disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data or cloud computing are reshaping the industry. Assessment of the impact of sustainability disclosures on companies' value is a task of high interest for academics and practitioners from telecommunication companies. ESG disclosure serves as a key channel to inform investors about the efficiency of ESG risk management and control practices of the firm and thus can impact the firm's financial performance and market value. However, there are numerous controversies in the academic literature on this topic and a lack of research specifically for the telecommunication industry. We closed the research gaps and investigated the impact of ESG disclosure on Tobin-Q of 93 US-listed telecommunication service companies between 2011-2021. We found that aggregated ESG disclosure score positively impacted telecoms' Tobin-Q. Among individual ESG disclosure pillars, only corporate governance positively influenced Tobin-Q, while the impact of environmental and social pillars was statistically insignificant. We also found that CEO duality significantly and negatively impacted Tobin-Q. The presence of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee, greater gender diversity and a higher percentage of independent directors on the board positively affected the value of the telecoms. The result of the study can be applied in developing ESG rating methodologies for telecommunication companies. They can also assist telecom companies' managers and stakeholders to identify key value drivers of the ESG agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, many large established companies which perform digital transformation use corporate venturing. It is the practice of directly investing corporate funds into external start-up companies. One of the strategies of such venture companies is the "buy and build" approach or using a platform company that makes sequential add-on acquisitions of smaller companies. However, there is controversial evidence that such a strategy can underperform conventional leveraged buyout (LBO) strategy and even can destroy the value of the company. Unlike LBO, a buy-and-build strategy requires careful execution and deployment of large financial and non-financial resources. There is few research that provides a comparative analysis between the mentioned strategies. Thus, the goal of this paper is to compare the performance of the buy-and-build strategy with that of LBO. Our sample included 2206 venture capital firms from nine countries in 1997-2020. Our findings indicated that the buy-and-build strategy in a cross-industrial setting outperforms LBO in terms of sales but underperforms in return of assets (ROA). Nevertheless, PE firms with an above-average reputation can count on higher sales, return on assets, and return on sales in buy and build rather than in LBO. The results of the study can be used by managers of industrial companies pursuing a corporate venturing approach to predict the performance of buy-and-build compared to that of conventional LBO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The study demonstrates the possibility of using terahertz pulses for measuring third-order nonlinear susceptibility responsible for electric-field-induced second harmonic generation. Third-order nonlinear susceptibilities χ 3 − 2 ω ; ω , ω , 0 and χ 3 − ω ; ω , − ω , ω responsible for electric-field-induced second harmonic generation and the optical Kerr effect were measured and directly compared for tellurite and chalcogenide glasses. The nonlinear coefficients were found by measuring the second harmonic radiation from samples under the action of an external field of terahertz pulses and by the classical z-scan technique, respectively. The influence of ambient air and helium gas on second harmonic generation was analyzed. It was demonstrated that both susceptibilities χ 3 − 2 ω ; ω , ω , 0 and χ 3 − ω ; ω , − ω , ω have close absolute values, which shows the dominant role of nonresonant electronic nonlinearity in the studied glasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies that are performing innovation-focused strategies or experiencing digital transformation are exposed to significant long-term risks. The untimely and inefficient management of these risks leads to the destruction of the company's value and calls into question its survival. This is often underpinned by companies following strategic management with a short-term horizon. Such "strategic myopia" prevents timely identification and treatment of strategic risks and destroys value due to physical and intellectual capital investment restrictions. However, the existing mechanisms of setting up risk management architecture neither addresses the lengths of the horizon and the alignment of the horizon with the strategic objectives, state of the environment and stakeholder expectations nor provides the tools for evaluating the horizon of the firm's strategy. Moreover, existing systems of evaluating short-termism rely only on financial and governance metrics and do not address environmental and social factors. We closed these gaps and developed a strategic risk-controlling mechanisms to set up the risk management architecture that expanded "conventional" risk management analysis and addressed the "strategic myopia". We also worked out the critical tool of the mechanism—the system of key risk metrics (SKRI) aimed at assessing the degree of a company's following of long-term strategic orientation. Finally, we tested it on a sample of Russian non-financial companies. Testing results revealed a strong and positive correlation between the management's decision to follow a long-term strategic focus and the growth of companies' long-term value (measured by economic value added (EVA)). SKRI can be utilized in strategic risk controlling to assess the company's propensity to follow a short-term horizon, evaluate its ability to maintain sustainable value creation, and develop recommendations to stakeholders to expand its strategic focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although telemedicine emerged more than 100 years ago, the recent pandemic underlined the role of remote assessment of different diseases. The diagnoses of cutaneous conditions, especially malignant lesions, have placed significant stress on the fast-track pathway for general practitioners (GPs), dermatologists, and plastic surgeons. The aim of the study was to compare (pre- and during the pandemic) the ability of professionals to face the challenge. Methods: The study was composed of 1943 consecutive patients (mean age 61.9 ± 18.3, 53.8% female) assessed by GPs, face-to-face (988 patients, 50.8%, between October 2019 and March 2020) and by virtual (video/photo) visits (955 patients, 49.2%, between March 2020 and October 2020) for skin lesions, and referred to secondary care via the two-week wait pathway for suspected skin malignancy. Results: The two groups had similar primary skin malignancies identification rates (24.3% vs. 22.1%, p = 0.25). The virtual visits identified squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) better than face-to-face consultations (p = 0.04), but identified basal cell carcinoma less-well (BCC, p = 0.02), whereas malignant melanoma (MM) was equally identified in the two groups (p = 0.13). There was no difference in the median breach time (days) of the two-week wait pathway (12, IQR = 6 vs. 12, IQR = 5, p = 0.16) in the two groups. Virtual assessments (by GPs) of skin lesions suspected of malignancy, and referred via the two-week wait pathway, increased the probability of diagnosing SCC by 42.9% (p = 0.03), while for malignant melanomas, face-to-face and virtual consultations were alike (p = 0.12). Conclusions: The equivalent outcomes in the management of skin cancers (SCC, MM) via the two-week pathway through virtual consultations and face-to-face appointments underline the role of telemedicine as a reliable alternative to face-to-face assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in the Russian economy. However, banks and investors are reluctant to provide debt financing to these firms. This is underpinned by SMEs' speculative credit quality and information asymmetry between borrowers and lenders. In this study, we aim to identify the insolvency drivers of Russian SMEs and compare them with those in other markets. The relevance of the study is underpinned by the scarcity of research in this field and the high demand for an accurate rating system for domestic SMEs. Logistic regression was selected as the modeling method. The sample contained 177 non-financial domestic SMEs over the period 2015-2019. The set of explanatory variables consisted of firm-specific financial, categorical, and macroeconomic factors. An accuracy ratio of >80% was achieved. We found that, unlike those in Asian emerging markets, financial factors explained around 70% of domestic SMEs' credit health. Significant financial factors included profitability, debt leverage, and coverage ratios and the term structure of debt. Non-financial drivers included ownership of the firm by large businesses (or group of companies), firm size, and territory of operation within Russia. Among macroeconomic drivers, the unemployment level was the most significant driver of SMEs' credit quality. In addition, we developed a rating system for domestic SMEs and determined the relative benchmarks from Expert RA and Moody's agencies. We found that the existing scales of rating agencies did not provide the granular assessment of SMEs' creditworthiness. This confirmed our hypothesis that distinct rating frameworks and methodologies for domestic SMEs in the Russian market are imperative. As shown in the literature, the greater the rating granularity and transparency, the more enhanced the debt market's appropriate risk-return tradeoff analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to develop a mechanism for the cost management of innovative products in an industrial enterprise given the inherent risks. Under the conditions of the high volatility of the digital economy, risk assessment in cost management, as well as the development of some mechanisms for staying flexible and adaptable with regard to continual changes, is a priority for the further development of cost management systems for an industrial enterprise. The research results include: (1) a mechanism for assessing and considering the changes in the key cost drivers, which continuously controls the target cost level that has been achieved and can be used for taking into account the risk factors in cost management and for increasing the effectiveness of the business processes of industrial enterprises operating in the digital economy; and (2) a description of the methods recommended for implementing each stage of the mechanism suggested. The mechanism is based on the synthesis of the cost driver concept and the risk-controlling concept. The following tools were used to develop the mechanism: target-costing, kaizen-costing, variance analysis for cost planning, accounting and analysis, an Ishikawa diagram, a fault tree for identifying risk factors for key cost drivers, and simulation modeling using the Monte Carlo method. The mechanism: (1) makes it possible to consider the high uncertainty level of the external environment and the effect of risks in the cost management system; (2) can be used to control the level of target costs reached in real time and introduce prompt corrections regarding the planned costs according to external and internal changes; and (3) is based on using modern, high-precision tools for assessing risks and the effect they produce on the costs and profitability of an industrial enterprise. The advantages above help to increase the dynamics and flexibility of the process of the cost management of innovative products and to maintain such products' competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantitative assessment of the credit quality of manufacturing companies is a task of great interest to researchers and practitioners. This is underpinned by the elevated credit risk of these companies stemming from rapid technological changes. However, few studies have addressed this issue specifically for manufacturing companies. This study aimed to fill this research gap by comparing the predictive power of various methods in reproducing manufacturing companies’ public credit ratings from available financial and non-financial data. The sample included 109 manufacturing companies from developed and emerging markets over the period 2005–2016. The analysis included three methods: ordered logistic regression (OLR) and two machine learning techniques, random forest and gradient boosting. The results showed that machine learning techniques outperformed OLR in terms of predictive power. In the best specification model, random forest had an accuracy of 50%, followed by gradient boosting (47%) and OLR (25%). We also tested two types of sampling in the training and test sets: random and time-dependent. The results showed that the models’ predictive power was greater with random sampling. The inclusion of macroeconomic variables did not improve the models’ predictive power due to the rating agencies’ preferred through-the-cycle rating approach. The study’s findings have implications for the development of manufacturing firms’ internal credit ratings. They can also be useful for researchers exploring the accuracy of empirical models in predicting industrial firms’ insolvency and creditworthiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Vitiligo is one of the most common hypomelanoses. Current treatments include ultraviolet, topical corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors. Orally administered vitamins, acting as anti-oxidants and in combination with ultraviolet light have also demonstrated skin re-pigmentation. In our pilot study of seven patients, we injected skin affected with vitiligo intra-dermally with a complex of vitamins and minerals and assessed the outcome. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel treatment modality for vitiligo. Methods: We present a pilot study of seven patients; each having been diagnosed with generalized progressive vitiligo. In all cases, multiple therapies had been previously attempted. All patients were subjected to intradermal injections of biorevitalizant NCTF 135 (3 mls) in the hypo-pigmented areas of skin, once a week for 5 weeks. A 30Gx13 mm needle was used for the 0.025 mls intradermal injections to create micro-papules with a 1 cm distance between the injection sites. The results were assessed at 2 weeks and 5 weeks and were considered successful if partial or complete repigmentation was achieved. Results: Partial or complete skin re-pigmentation post-treatment was observed in vitiligo macules of all patients (100%). No significant side effects, or exacerbation of vitiligo were observed during or after treatment with NCTF 135 in the following 6 months (five patients) and 12 months (two patients). Discussion: Increasing the armamentarium of new treatments of vitiligo is important. Previous studies showed the effectiveness of oral and intramuscularly injected multivitamins in the treatment of vitiligo, explaining the results by the antioxidative qualities of the above. Our study demonstrated that intradermal mesotherapy injections of NCTF135, rich with vitamins and other antioxidants are well tolerated and effective in achieving significant re-pigmentation of de-pigmented skin in all patients studied, including five who had been resistant to previous standard therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key content Pregnancy results in various physiological skin changes. As a consequence, some common dermatoses can present more frequently in pregnant women. In addition, there are a number of skin eruptions unique to pregnancy., The aetiology of physiological skin changes in pregnancy is uncertain but is thought to be due to hormonal and physical changes of pregnancy., The four dermatoses of pregnancy are: atopic eruption of pregnancy, pemphigoid gestationis, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy., Learning objectives To understand the physiological skin changes in pregnancy., To identify the skin conditions that require appropriate referral., To be able to take a history, to diagnose the skin eruptions unique to pregnancy, undertake appropriate investigations and first-line management, and understand the criteria for referral to a dermatologist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of herbal remedies for various medical issues is becoming increasingly commonplace in all fields of medicine, and dermatology is no exception. This review focuses on traditional dermatologic herbal remedies, commonly used in Russia, as the rich array of 11 different plant zones has resulted in a great variety of medicinal plants. Herbal remedies warrant deeper investigation and research, especially due to their active substance content, which may interfere with or reinforce the effect of modern medications, something that medical professionals should be aware of when prescribing treatments. Although there are a great number of traditional herbal treatments in Russia, only the most commonly used and known treatments and applications will be described as an introduction to the field, which has had many books of varying quality written about it. The preparation and application of treatments for vitiligo, pyodermas, parasitic and infectious skin diseases, acne, dermatitides, rosacea, hyperpigmentation, rhytides, psoriasis, and hyperhidrosis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]