Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Trading Issues, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

This is an excellent read on the mechanics of market microstructure, particularly as it relates to "mini-crashes" in individual stocks: Erroneous Combustion, CFA Institute.

This article discusses the efficacy (or lack thereof) of the new limit up / limit down circuit breakers on individual stocks: The Trade.

Two Essays In Financial Economics, Eric J. Osmer

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays: the first investigates informed trading in the Chinese stock exchanges, and the second examines the persistency of correlation of currency future prices.

For the first essay, using a sample of Chinese firms dual-listed in both the China mainland stock exchange and the Hong Kong stock exchange, I investigate the two types of informed trading - insider trading and trading derived from better analysis in the A-and H-share markets. The results suggest that H-shares have relatively more informed trading based on better analysis. In addition, the results from the firm size regression can also be …

Examining Exchange Rate Exposure, Hedging And Executive Compensation In Us Manufacturing Industry, Mohammad N. Rahman

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In essay one, my primary objective is to see the sensitivity of foreign exchange rate risk on firm performance in US manufacturing industry and examine if the hedging help reduce the foreign exchange rate risk. I am particularly interested in manufacturing industry because of the nature of business operation of manufacturing firms. Manufacturing firms in US are not only exposed to foreign exchange fluctuation from sales and revenue but also are exposed to foreign exchange rate risk for procurement, placement and investment. I find that the firms with extreme foreign exchange rate risk exposure exhibit lower daily return and firms …

Empirical Examination Of Quantitative Easing In Monetary Policy And Earning Management Of Financial Markets And Institutions, Ali Ashraf

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the first chapter, I analyze the impact of changes in aggregate holding in special asset purchase programs by Federal Reserve Systems (FED) as an alternate monetary policy at aggregate level. Later, to complement the analysis of monetary impact at aggregate level, I also analyze the impact of monetary actions at bank stock level with a set of 186 banks. First, for the overall sample period, expected monetary shock has positive effect on bank stock return; however, unexpected shock component has otherwise negative impact. Second, during both conventional and QE regime, monetary shocks are not significant in explaining weekly stock …

Hot Market?, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have increased in size and number during the recent bull market. IPOs tend to follow market cycles, particularly in environments where volatility is less pronounced. This gives firms more pricing stability, combined with increased investor appetite -- obviously the right mix for IPOs. ()

Man Vs. Machine, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

It has always been difficult (if not impossible) to consistently beat the market -- so called "market efficiency." However, it may be even more difficult with the advent of quantitative systems trading -- i.e., algorithmic trading. (See article here, WSJ.)

Margin Debt, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Margin debt hit its highest level ($379.5 billion) since July 2007. The increase is being driven by low rates and a rising market. As history shows, however, this level of debt could accelerate a small downturn in the market. (See article here, WSJ.)

Target Date Funds, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Target Date (or "lifecycle") Funds are investments on "auto pilot." Fund managers allocate assets across funds based on the set (target) retirement date and manage the allocation accordingly as time passes. These funds are best suited as "all or nothing" investments, meaning investors should put all their money in a target date fund or else manage their assets on their own. Unfortunately, many investors allocate funds to lifecycle investments as if it were its own investment category. This is particularly true in retirement plans where participants often exhibit the "1/n" phenomenon, allocating there money equally across the "n" investments in …

A Feasibility Study Of Agricultural Production Of Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, And Kale For San Ysidro Farms, Roy Orion Killgore

Agribusiness

The purpose of this study was to determine whether it is more profitable for San Ysidro Farms to establish a new commodity mix and grow brussel sprouts, cabbage, and kale in replace of broccoli and cauliflower or continue its current commodity mix for production. The goal is to determine whether the new commodity mix will bring greater profits during the months of January, February, and March.

The project represents a basic comparison technique of the different commodities grown for San Ysidro. Using the current 2013 cash flow statement and others from the previous production years, a comparison amongst the different …

The Effect Of Compliance With Section 404 Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act On Small Cap Technology Company's Stock Prices, Joshua Weaver

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the effect of compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also referred to as SOX, on small market cap technology firms using a comparable company analysis model. The comparable company analysis model is used to calculate and compare the average intrinsic values of 45 small and 45 large cap technology companies from the periods of January 1, 1999 to January 1, 2001 (Pre SOX era) and January 1, 2007 to January 1, 2009 (Post SOX era). The purpose of looking at large cap technology firms as a benchmark is to compare how different sized firms within …

Foreign Investment And Equity Valuation Differences In Emerging Markets, Daniel N. Beardsley

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper will focus on emerging markets, with an emphasis on Brazil, Russia, India, and China (i.e, the BRIC countries). Specifically, I will explore foreign investment trends related to these economies.

I will also explore valuation trends for emerging market-based equities. For instance, are valuation differences between emerging market-based and developed market-based equities statistically significant? What role does country risk play in the valuation of equities based in certain emerging markets? The discussion of these topics will include the use of relevant examples and effective statistical testing.

Do Mutual Fund Managers Outperform By Low-Balling Their Benchmarks?, Matthew James Scala

Financial Analyst

Do mutual fund managers outperform through a bias toward smaller-cap stocks than represented by the benchmark index? This study attempts to explain mutual fund outperformance through testing the average market cap (AMC) of mutual funds relative to their respective benchmark indexes. If outperforming funds show a bias toward smaller average holdings, then outperformance may be attributed to the value premium associated with small-cap stocks. Using Morningstar Direct, excess returns and average market cap of Holdings were collected on a quarterly basis for 1542 actively managed funds citing the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and Russell 2000 as their primary benchmark. …

The Underpricing Of M/A-Com Technology Solutions, Inc. At The Ipo That Leads To Long-Term Underperformance, Joseph Doramus

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The underpricing of initial public offerings leads to long-term underperformance. There are many reasons why this may happen, but for this study, the focus is on the lower offering price investors are granted for taking on the high risk of investing in an initial public offering as well as an investment bank keeping a good reputation. The stock return for M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holding, Inc. on the first day shows the underpricing. Underperformance follows after the initial public offering date for M/A-COM Technology Solutions, Inc. This is shown by the comparison of MTSI to the MTSI Index as well as …

Too Small To Forget: An Analysis Of The Changing Banking Industry And The Continuing Importance Of Smaller Institutions, Michael A. Flaherty

Honors Scholar Theses

Since the early 1980s, the United States banking industry has undergone a variety of structural changes. In 1980, there were over 14,000 banking institutions; now, there are about 6,000 institutions remaining. In addition to the declining number of institutions, industry assets have become more highly concentrated in several very large institutions. For example, the percentage of industry assets held by banks with $10 billion or more in assets (adjusted for inflation) has increased from about 46% in 1992 to 80% in 2012.

Many of the structural changes came in response to a changing regulatory environment. Banking regulations began to shift …

Applications Of Search Theory In Finance, Hongyu Song

Finance - Dissertations

In this dissertation, I apply two types of search based theoretical models to interpret two important issues in finance, respectively. (1)The first essay belongs to the field of corporate finance, in which a random search model is set up to describe the pre-IPO market searching and matching process between private firms with intent to sell equity in an IPO and investment banks (IB) that underwrite the issue. Our model tightly links many IPO-related phenomena such as IPO underpricing and long run underperformance under one unified searching framework. (2) The second essay is related to market microstructure, i.e. bid-ask spread, in …

Studies In Income, Investment, And Stock Returns: The Permanent Income Hypothesis And The Overinvestment Puzzle, Insun Yang

Finance - Dissertations

Increased sales drive earnings; increased earnings drive investment; and increased investment drives higher stock returns. In this dissertation, I studied the relationship of sales income, firm investment increase and stock returns. The first paper, titled "Permanent Income and Investment", investigates the relationship between changes in sales income and levels of investment. When firms experience increases in sales that they consider to be permanent, the present value of expected profits also increase, leading to increases in the firms' investments. Firm's investment behavior is primarily explained by permanent changes in sales incomes and not by transitory change. The second paper, titled "Firm …

A Study On Various Economic Factors Influencing Student Loan Cohort Default Rates, Jessamyn Ratcliff

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

In June 2010, student loan debt rose to over $800 billion, surpassing total credit card debt outstanding for the first time. Along with the increase in the amount borrowed to pay for education, so too, is the percentage of default rates. The analysis presented suggests that cohort default rates increase in number proportionately to annual unemployment rates, while exhibiting an inverse relationship with the average student loan debt upon graduation.

In Search Of Safe Harbor: Suggestions For The New Rule 506(C), Usha Rodrigues

Scholarly Works

I devote most of this essay to exploring how, exactly, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) should go about providing guidelines to implement the statutory requirement that issuers have a reasonable belief that a purchaser is accredited. The SEC has proposed rules, but these rules merely restate what Congress has already required, thus sidestepping Congress’s direction that the agency itself articulate some verification methods. Taking the SEC’s decidedly amorphous proposal to task, I recommend that the SEC offer two nonexclusive safe harbors for issuers to guide them in determining whether a natural person is an accredited investor. The paragraphs below …

Financial Regulation And The Crisis Of 2008, Aniello Franzese

Honors Scholar Theses

The effects of the global financial crisis that began in the United States during the year 2008 are still being felt today, and the full long term impact of the crisis remains unknown. However, causes of the crisis and strategies for reform of the global financial regulatory system have already been analyzed in depth by various scholars and institutions. By studying the existing literature this paper examines the regulatory and economic environment present in the United States at the onset of the crisis, the regulatory response of the United States government presented within the Dodd-Frank Act, and discusses possibilities for …

The Financial Crisis Of 2008: The Greatest Downturn In The U.S. Economy Since The Great Depression, Eric Vaheb

Honors Scholar Theses

An in-depth look into the housing bubble and financial meltdown of the U.S. economy during the years from 2007-2009. This paper deep dives into the historical issues beneath the surface that helped exacerbate the market conditions during the late 2000s.