About the Crux of Capitalism project

Why is this project called the CoC?
Which time interval does the data available cover?
Which countries are covered and why?
Which sectors are included / which sectors are missing and why?
What is the “big idea” behind the Crux of Capitalism (CoC) project?
What is the methodology behind CoC?
Who worked on the CoC project?
Which firms are included and why?
Is the coverage expected to change?
What is new about CoC?
What important questions can the CoC provide answers for?

Key terms and concepts defined

How are “zombie firms” defined?
How is accounting profit defined?
How is the interest coverage ratio (ICR) defined?
How is the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) defined?
How is Altman’s Z’’-score defined and what is the difference to Altman’s Z-Score?
How is the Effective Tax Rate defined?
How is economic profit defined?

Interpreting the data

Do we provide investment advice?
What is the relationship between market value and book value of firms?
Why are the Z’’-score and the ICR used as indicators of corporate distress?
Why do we not identify or label specific firms as zombie firms?
What is the difference between accounting profit and economic profit?
Are the economic profit values provided on our website adjusted for inflation?
What are the causes and consequences of zombie firms?
What is the connection between corporate distress and value creation?

Sourcing and accessing the data

Are there any limitations to the data that users should be aware of?
What checks were performed before the CoC website went public?
What data sources were used to compute the statistics on this website?
What data is not available on this website?
May I use the data on our website?
Which levels of aggregation are available?
How frequently is the data updated on CoC?
How can I download data from the CoC website?

Navigate our Website

What content is available under “Our Insights”?
Can I compare different sectors/countries/firms in terms of corporate distress and economic profit? (3 each, only the aggregate etc.)
Who should I contact for further questions?
What is the purpose of the “Library”? Who should I contact if I want my work to be featured?
Which companies are covered under “Corporate Spotlight”?
Why is the data in the “Corporate Spotlight” section only available from 2013 onwards?

If you have any questions, please contact us by email: cruxofcapitalism@outlook.com

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