On Friday (Jan. 13) the Standard & Poor’s Rating Services downgraded the triple-A ratings of nine European countries over concern of the Eurozone’s ability to handle its continuing debt crisis.

But University of Notre Dame Finance Professor doesn’t expect the move will have a big impact on the financial markets.

“The S&P credit downgrades of the nine eurozone countries will have a small, and varied, impact on interest rates among the nine countries," says Bergstrand, one of the world’s top experts in international trade and the international economy. "Many of the anticipated downgrades – such as France, Italy and Spain – will have little net impact this week on interest rates in markets of these countries, because most of this information was anticipated. Some of the lesser anticipated cuts will have larger impacts on their interest rates.

“The varying increases in interest rates among Eurozone members during 2011 implies that some countries will escape recession in 2012, but some will likely have a recession – or are already in one. The prospects for growth in the Eurozone overall in 2012 are quite muted.”

Bergstrand has been a finance professor in the Mendoza College of Business for more than 25 years, as well as a fellow of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, and a research associate of CESifo, an international network of researchers based in Europe. His research on international trade flows, free trade agreements, foreign direct investment, multinational firms, and exchange rates has been published in more than 50 articles in such journals as the American Economic Review and as chapters in books. Bergstrand also served as Co-Editor of the Review of International Economics from 1996-2003 and remains on its editorial board.

He has been a visiting scholar at the European Commission in Brussels, the IFO Institute/University of Munich, ETH University in Zurich, and several other institutions. Bergstrand’s current research focuses on economic determinants of multinational firm behavior and foreign direct investment and on the causes and consequences of the growth of regional economic integration agreements. He has also advised the European Commission on the effects of EU-U.S. nontariff barriers and of EU free trade agreements on their trade flows.

Media Advisory: Bergstrand’s comments may be used in whole or in part. He is available for interviews and can be reached at 574-631-6761 or Bergstrand.1@nd.edu

Six University of Notre Dame MBA students are in Sarajevo, Bosnia, trying to stay warm in sub-zero conditions due to the Russian suspension of gas supplies to that and other countries.

As part of a new course titled"Business on the Frontlines,"the students are examining the impact of local and international business on rebuilding war-torn societies during a field visit Jan. 2 to 11.Another team of six students is in Beirut, Lebanon.For the course, which began in October and concludes in March, the students are studying developmental economies and topics related to peace-through-commerce efforts.

One of the students in Bosnia, Keith Flatley, e-mailed a description of conditions.

“We are staying in an apartment that used to be heated from the natural gas,”he wrote.“Last night it was about 10 degrees below zero, so the place was freezing cold without the gas for heat.All we can really do is get up with the sun and get moving.People can’t go into the forest surrounding the city for firewood because it is filled with landmines.There are lines at stores that sell electric heaters.The price of an electric heater on Monday was under $100.It is now over $200.The Ukrainians and the Russians are not talking, and the people we have spoken with think they are flexing their muscles to the rest of Europe.”

“Business on the Frontlines”is taught by associate professor of management Viva Bartkus, who is spending time with students in both countries.

“After facing man’s inhumanity in our generation, and within the last 10 years in Bosnia’s case, there is a real challenge to figure out how to re-knit these societies deeply divided by religion, ethnic groups and socio-economic class,”she said.“We believe that business has a role in that, both international companies and local ventures.There is nothing to compare with the dignity of work and the ability to be able to look after one’s family after war.”

In March, the students will present a detailed case study of their findings to Catholic Relief Services, which partnered with the MBA program in organizing the course.

Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business MBA, which offers one-year and two-year programs, is noted for its innovative teaching in the area of problem solving and for its emphasis on personal and corporate ethics as well as social responsibility.The program was ranked 20th among U.S. business schools in BusinessWeek magazine’s biennial survey,“The Best B-91��Ƶs,”andNo. 5 on the Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial ranking and survey of top U.S. business schools’ incorporation of social and environmental stewardship into their curricula and research.

_ Contact: Carol Elliott, 574-631-2627,_ " celliott1@nd.edu ":mailto:celliott1@nd.edu

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