This thesis aims to through certain parts of the brand equity investigate the trust of consumers for a brand that recently experienced a product-harm crisis. It also wants to investigate why this trust exist, if it does. Structured interviews were carried out at 60 respondents in Uppsala. The results show that the respondents have positive associations with ICA, they think that ICA maintains a high quality on their products and services and that 50% more often choose to do their grocery shopping at ICA. The conclusion of the study is that ICA has a strong brand equity resulting in brand trust from consumers, which is founded in the brand reliability and brand intentions of the company. .

Bankruptcy is a problem for the society in form of high costs for including suppliers, customers, employees, investors, banks, insurance companies etc. The purpose of this study is to confirm or dismiss a bankruptcy prediction model that has been developed in a previous Swedish study, in order to predict bankruptcy with help of specific key figures. The model has only been tested in a larger perspective where the population consisted of all small firms in Sweden, in this study the model´s reliability is tested by that it instead been applied to a minor perspective, where the population only includes Stockholm. With a quantitative approach of 12 different key figures from a total of 60 Swedish smaller registered companies in Stockholm between the years 2005-2007, has been studied. The companies are divided into two groups, companies with good financial health and companies that have ended up in bankruptcy.The results shows that the model is applicable in a smaller population, but some of the key figures do not generate essential or any type of information about bankruptcy, but the majority of the key figures in the model did.

High brand equity is a great asset for companies that operate their business in a free and competitive market. Brand equity can arise from both product-related and non-product related attributes and may be viewed from many different perspectives. This study examines which different attributes that contribute to enhance brand equity from customers point of view at the Swedish market for agricultural machinery. The study have been developed using a comprehensive literature search in order to investigate the field regarding brand equity and brand image. The literature review results in one product specific and one non-product specific approach in order to examine factors that contribute to enhanced brand equity. This takes the form as one survey-based approach regarding the non-product related attributes which is examined by interpreting the extra value added by different attributes.

Through certain exceptions in the Swedish regulation on credit agreements for consumers, a new form of instrument for credits has arisen on the national market. The instrument, which is most commonly known as easy credits and was first seen on the Swedish market for consumer credits in 2006, has developed to become part of a vast problem with excessive debt incursion. In order to counteract this development and to harmonise the internal market within the EU, directive 2008/48 EC on credit agreements for consumers was introduced in 2008. In Sweden, the implementation of the directive has led to a proposition for a new regulation on credit agreements for consumers (SFS 2009/10:242 Ny konsumentkreditlag) coming into effect on the 1 January 2011. The proposition puts up stricter rules on creditors granting consumer credits in their course of business, and revokes the former exemption on information and practices preliminary to the conclusion of the credit agreement for minor credits.

Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) within the European Union are currently facing many challenges one being access to financing due to high risk and probability of default, another being cross-border taxation issues with double taxation and information asymmetry. Since the aim within the EU is to be the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world with sustainable economic growth and social cohesion it is essential that the EU operates as a single market. Despite this need, harmonization continues to be far from achieved in the area of direct taxation which also affects the integration and growth opportunities for SMEs. In the Agenda for Entrepreneurship, the Home State Taxation regime, which is based on formula apportionment, has been proposed by the Commission as one option in order to mutually recognize the different Member States? taxation systems to facilitate cross-border activities and reduce ?red-tape?.

 This thesis aims to through certain parts of the brand equity investigate the trust of consumers for a brand that recently experienced a product-harm crisis. It also wants to investigate why this trust exist, if it does. Structured interviews were carried out at 60 respondents in Uppsala. The results show that the respondents have positive associations with ICA, they think that ICA maintains a high quality on their products and services and that 50% more often choose to do their grocery shopping at ICA. The conclusion of the study is that ICA has a strong brand equity resulting in brand trust from consumers, which is founded in the brand reliability and brand intentions of the company. .

 This thesis aims to through certain parts of the brand equity investigate the trust of consumers for a brand that recently experienced a product-harm crisis. It also wants to investigate why this trust exist, if it does. Structured interviews were carried out at 60 respondents in Uppsala. The results show that the respondents have positive associations with ICA, they think that ICA maintains a high quality on their products and services and that 50% more often choose to do their grocery shopping at ICA. The conclusion of the study is that ICA has a strong brand equity resulting in brand trust from consumers, which is founded in the brand reliability and brand intentions of the company. .

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur moderbolagets aktiekurs reagerar, därmed påvisa eventuell onormal avkastning när ett moderbolag beslutar sig för och sedan avyttrar en del av ett dotterbolag till börsen (Equity Carve?Out). Delsyftet är att undersöka sambandet mellan onormalavkastning i storleken på avyttrade andelar samt beskriva de motiv som anges och analysera detta mot storleken på avknoppad andel.Metod: Undersökningen är en eventstudie med en kvantitativ ansats. Empirin består av sekundärdata i form av börskurser och index.Teori: Eventstudien bygger på hypotesen om effektiva marknader, teorin om asymmetrisk information, agent teori samt teorin om avknoppningsfördelar.Empiri: Eventstudien bygger på 25 Equity Carve?Outs genomförda mellan åren 1991?2007 och behandlar aktieutvecklingen dels vid beslut och dels vid genomförandet av en avknoppning, detta relateras sedan till tidigare forskning.Resultat ECO mellan åren 1991 och 2007 har generellt medfört svagt positiva priseffekter vid beslutet om avknoppning och positiva priseffekter vid avyttringen.

In order for companies to be competetive on the market, there?s a need of capital. If a company is in a need of capital to make major investments and isn?t able to prioritize internal funding, the priority will be external financing with safe securities; loans. How companies should prioritize the allocation between equity and debt, which together form value, leads us to the subject of capital structure.

At several occasions, an important question has been brought forward within the world of advertising and media. This is the question of whether or not ?good? advertising should be encouraged by the media. The question has an origin in a belief that such advertising can create values not only for the advertiser, but also for the medium. Although this question has arisen in business media, and although many managers work from the assumption that such relationship exists, there are none or little proof that it actually does.

Background: 2009 it has occurred a crisis in some of the member states of the European Union: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece. Despite, some major banks in the world had begun to recover from the financial crisis that occurred from 2007 until 2009, there were still banks who found it difficult to survive. Greece is one of the countries that suffered from the financial crisis. The high budget deficit and the unsustainable debt are underlying the crisis.Banks as financial intermediaries have important function in a nation?s economy.

The translation of financial records of foreign subsidiaries gives rise to currency translation adjustments that affect total group equity. If unwanted, fluctuations in translation adjustments can be avoided using net investment hedges. This study aims to find the extent of net investment hedging in Sweden today and in a short historical perspective, and find explanations to varying levels of hedging and firms' decisions to hedge. Based on annual reports, we determine Swedish firms' net investment hedging policies and their level of hedging. The 32 largest companies listed on the Stockholm stock exchange in the years 1993, 2004, 2006, and 2009 are studied.

Earth?s resources have been exploited unsustainably. If an entire conception of exploitationof natural resources does not change now, this will entail enormous costs in the future.This insight has lead to a recently increased interest in clean technologies among privateequity capitalists. In the fourth quarter of 2006 about 10 percent of all private equityinvestments made in the US market were placed in the cleantech industry. Despite a goodinvesting climate in Sweden, Swedish capitalists have shown little interest in cleantechinvestments.

This study finds that the Swedish Government has a process for purchasing financial advisory services that is more transaction-oriented than the corresponding process at a Swedish private equity firm. The conclusion is supported by previous research comparing public and private sector purchasing processes. However, the differences between the two purchasing processes are not as significant as one might believe given the fact that the Government, unlike the private equity firm, has to operate under the Public Procurement Act (LOU). The tendency of the Swedish Government to apply a more relationoriented purchasing approach than expected is most likely driven by the fact that this represents the established professional norm for purchasing of professional services in the private sector. As LOU and the professional norm impose contradictory influences on the Swedish Government?s purchasing of financial advisory services, the final outcome depends on which of the two forces that dominate..

Social networks have become an important factor in today?s society. Companies as well as individuals are using these platforms to interact with one another on a daily basis. This phenomenon has mostly been acknowledged by companies on B2C markets where these social network sites are being used to communicate their brand. On B2B markets however, the usage of these platforms have not been as optimistically implemented.