Do Nonfinancial Firms Use Financial Assets to Take Risk?
利用手工收集的金融资产组合数据和2014年油价危机作为外生现金流冲击，研究发现陷入困境的企业（尤其是短期负债高的企业）会大幅增加对高风险金融资产的投资，如公司债、股票和抵押贷款支持证券。
Abstract Using hand-collected data on financial asset portfolios and exploiting the 2014 oil price crisis as an exogenous cash flow shock, we investigate financial risk-taking at distressed firms. We find that distressed firms, with high debt rollover risk proxied for by short-term liabilities, substantially increase their investments in risky financial assets, including corporate debt, equity, and mortgage-backed securities. The effects are stronger for unhedged firms with low collateral assets. Overall, we provide new evidence that distressed firms take risk using financial assets camouflaged as cash reserves, which, compared to real assets, are less visible and carry lower transaction costs and accelerated payoffs.