Portuguese investor profile in Poland, a managerial approach

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Earnings overseas and cash holdings

I investigate the impact of foreign pre-tax income on the total amount of cash held by companies and on the amount of cash that is held in companies’ foreign subsidiaries. I also investigate the impact of the existence and amount of cash held on companies’ foreign subsidiaries in the composition of cash holdings in terms of risk and liquidity. Using a sample of 100 largest U.S. non-financial and non-utilities companies I find that companies with higher earnings overseas present higher cash reserves and invest a higher fraction of their cash in risky assets. My evidence suggests that companies have a different optimization strategy for cash overseas, in which precautionary motives are not the main driver for holding cash.

Should my company use Bitcoin?

This work project analyses the possibility for a company to trade their goods and services for bitcoins, by joining the Bitcoin network. It analyses the technological and business requirements to join the Bitcoin Network by looking at Bitcoin’s potential to act as a mean of exchange for trade, unit of account and store of value. The analysis points to the motives, benefits and risks for investors to use the Bitcoin as a traditional currency and recommends on strategies for addressing those risks and maximizing benefits. Other than companies this report, to a lesser extent, will also analyse the Bitcoin from an investor’s point of view, this is, should an investor buy bitcoins for trade and make savings on a regular and everyday basis? A major finding in this work project is that companies could start using the Bitcoin system as a legit form of payment since the benefits of using this technology outweigh the costs and risks, given the right approach. This form of payment will contribute for the upgrade of a company’s business’ image, attract a new pool of consumers and businesses that already trade in bitcoins and pressure existing financial institutions and electronic payment vendors to upgrade their service levels.