Amid the relentless grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainability has emerged as a paramount concern across global economies. As businesses grapple with unprecedented challenges, the imperative for sustainable practices in corporate finance becomes increasingly evident. Throughout this crisis, companies have faced staggering financial strains, with diminished turnovers and escalating operational costs pushing many to the brink of collapse. In response, governments worldwide have provided vital support, albeit often insufficient, underscoring the necessity for sustainable mechanisms of intervention. Central to this discourse is an examination of how companies have adapted their financing policies amidst the pandemic’s tumult. Government-backed credit facilities have served as a critical lifeline for numerous businesses, emphasizing the need for sustainable financial instruments readily deployable in times of crisis. Concurrently, moratoriums on existing credit obligations have offered temporary relief, albeit with looming concerns regarding heightened corporate indebtedness. Moreover, the pandemic’s aftermath has witnessed a pronounced uptick in corporate borrowing, compounded by surging interest rates. This confluence underscores the exigency for companies to adopt sustainable financial strategies, mindful not only of short-term exigencies but also the enduring ramifications on financial stability. In navigating these challenges, a holistic approach to sustainability is imperative. Governments must ensure robust support mechanisms, while companies must proactively seek sustainable financing solutions. Concurrently, stakeholders must meticulously weigh the long-term repercussions of financial policy adjustments, thereby fortifying corporate resilience against future crises while safeguarding the stability of the global economy. In essence, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical imperative for sustainability in corporate finance. By heeding this call and embracing sustainable practices, businesses can navigate crises with greater resilience, ensuring not only their survival but also the enduring stability of the economic landscape.

The article presents a study of the connectivity and integration of sovereign bond and stock markets in 10 BRICS+ countries in the context of crisis instabilities in 2019−2024. Financial markets are becoming more integrated, and an increasing share of public investments are carried out across borders, which increases not only the opportunities for participants, but also the risks of a new crisis. The work used data on central bank rates of the considered countries, yield indices of 10-year government bonds, gold and Brent oil prices. The methods include the analysis of exchange rate dynamics, connectivity estimates based on the multivariate concordance coefficient and two-factor Friedman rank variance analysis, VAR models, Granger predictability and cointegration. The objective of this study is to analyze the interrelationship and cointegration between the sovereign bond and equity markets of selected BRICS+ countries during crisis periods. Our findings indicate that market interrelationship intensifies during crises, which in turn amplifies volatility. Additionally, we observed that none of the economies within the BRICS+ group can be classified as fully integrated or entirely isolated markets. The disruption of the interrelationship in the sovereign bond markets of the group is primarily reflected in the inconsistency of dynamic changes between Russia, China, and India. During the global shock of 2019–2020, the crisis spread from China, followed by Indonesia, and later to the other countries of the group. The financial and debt markets of the sampled countries were able to quickly cope with the severe shocks of the COVID-2019 period. The 2022–2024 crisis, which lasted significantly longer, began in Russia before spreading to countries across Asia and Africa. By 2024, Russia’s sovereign bond yields showed a marked decline. The increased market volatility following 2022 disrupted the integration and interrelationship of the stock and debt markets within the BRICS+ countries.

Presently, any development initiatives without considering sustainability can barely be imagined. There has been a paradigm shift in the focus of the development partners from the mere development to sustainable development. However, the role of development partners in bringing sustainability in livelihood assets of the rural community has long been questioned. Hence, this study aims to explore the sustainability in the form of changes in livelihood assets of a local community in Bangladesh. This study considers the changes in livelihood assets of the community over the three-time frames - before, during, and after a project implemented by a national NGO called ‘UST’ and subsequently identifies the community’s capacity to sustain the project outcomes after the completion of the project. ‘Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF)’ developed by Department for International Development (DFID) was utilized in this study to analyse the vulnerability and livelihood issues of the community members. Data has been collected through focus group discussions, household survey and key informants’ interviews from three distinct villages of ‘Khutamara’ union in the ‘Nilphamari’ district of Bangladesh. The finding of the study states that all the livelihood assets such as the social capital, human capital, natural capital, financial capital, physical capital have positively changed due to the interference of the development partners. This study further finds that even after the completion of project tenure, such positive trends continue to exist among the community members indicating sustainable development. Moreover, political capital- a new type of livelihood has also emerged because of the project implementation which was not quite evident before the inception of the project. In addition, this study explored the unique phenomenon of the Shabolombee Gram, where the transformation altering farmers’, livelihoods does not come from the government or the private sector but originates from a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Therefore, the government and its development partners may adopt and incorporate the Modified Sustainable Livelihood Framework (MSLF) to ensure the sustainable development.