In this study, we examine the efficiency of the US stock markets during the COVID-19 outbreak using a fundamental financial analysis approach, the constant growth model and a behavioral model including a Google-based Index. We juxtapose the released news and the performance of the US stock market during the COVID-19 outbreak and we show that during some periods the health risk was significantly underestimated and/or ignored. The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) suggests that prices incorporate all the available information at any point in time, yet as we show a systemic factor, the health risk, was not always rationally incorporated in stock prices. The Runs-tests confirm our assumption that the market was not efficient during the examined period. The reason for this inefficiency could be that something is missing from traditional finance models, such as the impact of fear of COVID-19. For this reason we employ a Coronavirus Fear Index (CFI) based on Google searches and using Granger causality we provide empirical evidence that the fear drives the S&P500 performance, and using a GARCH model we show that the fear negatively influences the performance of the US stock market.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that determine entrepreneurial intention and examine the effects of age and prior working experience on the formation of entrepreneurial intention. A questionnaire-based survey was employed for the data collection. A total of 171 university students from a Business School in Greece participated in the survey. The findings of our research showed that perceived behavioral control and attitude are significantly influencing entrepreneurial intention. Additionally, our analysis indicates that age and prior working experience affect entrepreneurial intention. The contribution of this study concerns the illumination of the scarcely addressed in the literature relationship between age and work experience with entrepreneurial intention

In this note, we show that the stock markets do not always incorporate all the available information because in many cases they slowly evaluate the news. Using simple statistical analysis, we show that the response of the markets to the available information in certain time periods is irrational and inefficient. The COVID-19 outbreak gives financial economists an example of health risk underestimation, and of an unexpectedly slow response during a stress period; issues that should be examined in the future under a behavioral view.

Summary: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the pandemic on the performance of stock markets, focusing on the behavioral influence of the fear due to COVID‐19. Using a data set of 10 developed countries during the period December 31, 2019, to September 30, 2020, we examine the impact of COVID‐19 on the performance of the stock markets. We incorporate the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic using the following variables: (a) the number of new COVID‐19 cases, which was widely used as the main explanatory variable for market performance in early financial studies, and (b) a Google Search index, which collects the number of Google searches related to COVID‐19 and incorporates the health risk and the fear of COVID‐19 (the higher the number of searches for Covid terms, the higher the index value, and the higher the fear index). We employ our input into an EGARCH(1,1,1) model, and the findings show that the Google Search index enables us to draw statistically significant information regarding the impact of the COVID‐19 fear on the performance of the stock markets. On the other hand, the variable of the number of new COVID‐19 cases does not have any statistically significant influence on the performance of the stock markets. Google searches could be a useful tool for supporters of behavioral finance, scholars, and practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention, the personality traits that can affect entrepreneurial intention, and the traits that cause positive changes in entrepreneurial intention after the intervention of an entrepreneurship program. In order to measure the changes in entrepreneurial intention levels, two questionnaires (pretest-posttest group design) were used. Both questionnaires were completed by 202 business students, studying at a public university based in Athens, Greece. Our analysis indicates that the personality traits that affect entrepreneurial intention levels are openness, extraversion, and risk aversion. Using paired samples test we found an increase in entrepreneurial intention following the course attendance. Cluster analysis indicated that students with higher levels of extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and lower levels of risk aversion and neuroticism demonstrated statistically significant and higher means change in entrepreneurial intention levels (at the end of the entrepreneurship program). The literature examining the personality traits of individuals who benefit most from entrepreneurship education has been developing in recent years. However, the studies that refer to this topic are scant (Burch, Murphy, & Tocher, 2019; Israr, 2017). The findings of this paper emphasize the need for further investigation of the results in different contexts in order to validate them.

Purpose: This study examines the impact of the Russo-Ukrainian War on the commodity markets of oil, wheat, and natural gas, in which these two countries play/have a dominant role. The author examines if during these extreme events an anti-leverage effect emerges and indicates the abnormal conditions of the markets.Design/methodology/approach: The author uses daily returns from the future prices of brent oil, wheat, and natural gas for the period 31.3.2020–31.3.2022 and applies the exponential and the threshold asymmetry GARCH models.Findings: The empirical findings confirm the existence of anti-leverage effect in the wheat and natural gas commodity markets and point to the existence of the leverage effect in the Brent market.Practical implications: The existence of the anti-leverage effect means that stock prices and volatility present a positive relationship which is in contrast to the normal/conventional stylized facts which suggest the opposite. These findings could be useful for scholars and practitioners because they enable them to examine market abnormalities using the anti-leverage effect as a criterion and explore its relationship with extreme conditions and strategies that lead to skyrocketing increases in prices.Originality/value: This study investigates the anti-leverage effect in commodity markets under extreme conditions, which has received little attention in the literature. Moreover, this paper links the existence of the anti-leverage effect with abnormal growth in asset prices, which shows a new direction for the behavior of assets when extreme conditions emerge.