This dissertation consists of three different studies. 

The first study titled asks whether hedge funds and investment banks have contributed to the increase in commodity prices witnessed between the years 2003 and 2011. Our findings indicate that – in some markets (crude oil, copper and gold) they do, but to a limited extent. They are not to be blamed for the full magnitude of the price increase.

The second study tackles an anomaly of abnormally low number of companies choosing to trade their stocks on stock exchanges. Here we find that as companies become less profitable in the face of increased Chinese competition, they cut their growth plans and accordingly have less of an incentive to tap equity markets for long-term capital.  

The dissertation’s final study asks whether a foreign bank expanding into a country, opens its home market to exporters of the destination country. The evidence we provide supports this notion and points towards an informational role that foreign banks play.