Using 30-minute tick returns, we examine the impact of changes in the number of COVID-19 news on eight different stock markets during the initial two months of the coronavirus crisis 2020. We do not find evidence that stock returns are sensitive to the changes in the number of COVID-19 news. However, there is strong evidence that changes in COVID-19 news increase stock market volatility in European markets. The findings also suggest that a substantial part of market uncertainty can be explained by changes in the number of COVID-19 news. Our results are also robust to changes in the time intervals.
We study the driving forces behind COVID-19 vaccination in German counties using a cross-sectional and a panel approach. We identify several factors that have a significant impact on vaccination rates. Our results are robust to different model specifications.
The famous Big Mac Index (BMI) is a popular example of global price differences for a non-tradable good. We analyze the prices of digital goods worldwide to check whether the Law of One Price (LOP) holds. We construct a Netflix Index, i.e., a price comparison of entertainment subscriptions. This Netflix Index compares the affordability of digital goods around the world. While the deviations between countries are smaller than for the BMI in most countries, there are still substantial price variations across countries. There is an empirical evidence that the LOP does not hold for digital goods.
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