The link Between Stock Exchange Sectors and Indices: Implications During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, using the event study approach for the Bucharest Stock Exchange, by which Bucharest Stock Indices and listed firms grouped by sectors were analyzed. The paper uses three important event days, 20 January 2020, 11 March 2020, and 15 March 2020. The findings demonstrate that initially investors were not concerned about the pandemic, showing that they did not realize the extent of globalization and transmission of events on financial markets. Both after 11 March and after 15 March 2020, stock indices have declined, investors becoming worried about the prospects of their dividends and the stock liquidity. The most affected sectors were those related to metallurgical industry, IT&C. After the lockdown, there was a reversal for some sectors like pharmaceutical and biotechnology, electricity production, transportation and distribution, and IT&C. Understanding the intensity and direction of the link between some sectors and indices may influence investment strategies and help in hedging, especially in times of pandemics.

Sustainability of Public Finance through the Lens of Transfer Prices and Their Associated Risks: An Empirical Research

At a time when the world economy is being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are more aware than ever of the importance of the sustainability of public finances. This paper outlines its importance by discussing transfer prices and their fiscal associated risks. In the current economic context, marked by the crisis and by an increasing pressure from the control authorities on companies, no matter how important the theoretical research, it cannot capture very well the pulse of practical activity. Under these conditions, empirical studies are becoming increasingly important, requiring an approach to practical economic reality. In order to analyze the way in which companies that carry out transactions with affiliated parties approach the transfer prices and the risks related to them, we conducted an empirical, quantitative research using the CAWI method (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) and the questionnaire. The research results demonstrate an awareness by the responding companies of the importance of transfer pricing and their risks, the transactions most prone to control in this area being those of financing within the group, followed equally by management services, consulting, assistance and transactions with goods. In the face of legislation that leaves room for interpretation and a high number of controls on transfer pricing, a small number of companies participating in the research have used the Advance Price Agreement as a tool to reduce the tax risk associated with transfer pricing. Companies also face uncertainty about how ongoing global tax reforms will affect them in the coming period.