Business Commons^™

Economic Integration, Political Integration Or Both?, Daniel Brou, Michele Ruta

Daniel Brou

We study the effects of economic and political integration by presenting a model in which firms compete with each other in both an economic market—where they produce a good and compete for market share—and in a political (rent seeking) market—where they compete for transfers from the government. Growth is driven by firms’ cost-reducing innovation activity and economic and political integration affect firms’ incentive to innovate differently. In this setting, economic and political integration can be seen as complementary. Economic integration, when not accompanied by political integration, can lead to less innovation and slower growth as firms respond to increased competition …

Patterns Of Capital Structure And Dividend Policy In Pakistani Corporate Sector And Their Impact On Organization Performance, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Muhammad Bilal, Haroon Shafi, Ikram Ullah, Kashif Ur Rehman

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

The purpose of this study is to determine the patterns of capital structure decisions and dividend policy as well as their level of application in Pakistani corporate sector and also to check the impact of capital structure and dividend policy on organization performance. A total of ninety one questionnaires were distributed in different companies but seventy three filled were received and sixty one were processed for analysis. The potential respondents were finance executives and financial analysts of the companies. The study concludes that capital structure decisions are being properly practiced while dividend policy is a major concern in most of …

Determinants Of Business Success Of Small And Medium Enterprises, Javed Mahmood Jasra, Muhammad Asif Khan, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Rana Aziz Ur Rehman, Rauf I. Azam

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play critical role in the development of the country. The success of SMEs depends on number of factors. This study examines the role of key factors in the success of SMEs in Pakistan. The study also investigates the relationship between SMEs success and its determinants. Target population of the study was SMEs operating in different lines of business from service to manufacturing. Sample size of this study was 520 small and medium lines of businesses. Responses of the subjects were collected through questionnaires. SPSS software is used for analysis. This study concludes that there …

Determinants Of Short Term Investment Decision Making, Muhammad Naeem Akhtar, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Kashif Ur Rehman

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

This study examines the impact of financial literacy, accounting information, openness to experience and information asymmetry on the short-term investment decision making of the stock market investors. For this purpose 23 item questionnaire was developed and distributed among 185 stock market investors through non-probability sampling. The results indicate that all these factors have a significant effect on the short-term investment decision making. Results also indicate that individual investors with higher educational qualifications have more intentions for short-term investments as compared to the investors with other qualifications.

Financial Crises And Economic Growth In Pakistan: A Time Series Analysis, Rauf I. Azam, Iram Batool, Rabia Imran, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Muhammad Irfan Chani

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

The purpose of this research is to investigate causal relationship between economic growth and major indicators of financial crisis -- inflation rate, interest rate and the volume of foreign debt-- in Pakistan. This study also highlights the stability of the relationship between indicators of financial crisis and economic growth. The annual time series data ranging from 1972 to 2010 is used for the analysis. Johansen’s co-integration test is used to check the stability of long run equilibrium relationship between the variables used in the study. The results indicate that is long run stable equilibrium relationship between economic growth and the …

Gfc: Origin, Consequence And Cost, Mohamed Ariff, Ahmed Khalid

Ahmed Khalid

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Political Events On Financial Market Volatility: Evidence Using A Markov Switching Process, Ahmed M. Khalid, Gulasekaran Rajaguru

Ahmed Khalid

This paper investigates the impact of political shocks (positive and negative) on financial markets. Using data from Pakistan for the period January 1999 to September 2006, we link ‘a’ political event to the financial market volatility. We use high frequency data from three indicators (currency, stock and money market) of the financial market for empirical estimation. We employ a Markov Switching process to identify the low and high volatility regimes in Pakistan’s financial market and then link these regimes to certain political events. We use data on daily observations of exchange rates, stock prices and interest rates to perform empirical …

Market Development For Fixed Income Securities: The Role Of Socio-Economic And Institutional Factors, Ahmed M. Khalid, Gulasekaran Rajaguru

Ahmed Khalid

It is well understood that bond markets play an important role in the development of the overall financial sector. Bond markets also help to make efficient investment and financing decisions, to improve efficiency in the design and implementation of monetary policy, provide financial stability by mitigating rollover risk and interest rate risk for the borrowers, provide an alternative source of finance to firms and thus reduce the monopoly of the banking sector. Given the importance of this market, this paper aims to investigate the factors that may be important for developing a market for domestic bonds. First, we discuss the …

The Hedge Fund Explosion: Is The Bang Worth The Buck?, Arindam Bandopadhyaya, James L. Grant

James L. Grant

Any casual following of the financial news would reveal that hedge funds have experienced phenomenal growth, especially over the last fifteen years. In terms of numbers, there were an estimated 8000 hedge funds in 2005, up from only 500 in 1990. During this fifteen-year period assets under management have grown from an estimated $50 billion to $1.5 trillion. Moreover, the hedgefund industry has spawned a “fund of funds” business, which has slowly become the preferred way of investing in hedge funds, especially for institutional investors. Today, the number of these combination funds is estimated at about 4000. Until recently, hedge …

A Survey Of Demographics And Performance In The Hedge Fund Industry, Arindam Bandopadhyaya, James L. Grant

James L. Grant

We investigate hedge fund demographics using data from the Alternative Asset Center (AAC) and then hedge fund performance over the twelve years since inception of the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Indices (HFI, 1994-2005). We find that hedge funds are largely domiciled “offshore” while hedge-fund managers are located primarily in the United States, particularly New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut and Florida. We find that the annualized performance of hedge funds as an “asset class” is about the same as that of U.S. equities (S&P 500). That being said, the real benefit of hedge funds lies in risk management as the volatility …

Estimating The Required Return In A World Of Heightened Uncertainty: Emphasizing The Equity Risk Premium, James L. Grant, James A. Albate, Chris Rowberry

James L. Grant

Heightened uncertainty over the past five years--due to the bursting of the NASDAQ bubble, the recession of 2001, the September 11th attacks, accounting scandals, and the oil shocks of 2005--has brought new challenges for securities analysts and portfolio managers. This observation is particularly relevant for fundamental equity managers using price relative and/or discounted cash flow (DCF) models. While correctly worrying about values of cash flow input (dividends, free cash flow, economic earnings) to DCF models, portfolio managers must be especially aware of risk factors that impact the required return or discount rate, and relatedly, market valuation multiples. This discount rate …

A Survey Of Demographics And Performance In The Hedge Fund Industry, Arindam Bandopadhyaya, James L. Grant

Arindam Bandopadhyaya

We investigate hedge fund demographics using data from the Alternative Asset Center (AAC) and then hedge fund performance over the twelve years since inception of the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Indices (HFI, 1994-2005). We find that hedge funds are largely domiciled “offshore” while hedge-fund managers are located primarily in the United States, particularly New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut and Florida. We find that the annualized performance of hedge funds as an “asset class” is about the same as that of U.S. equities (S&P 500). That being said, the real benefit of hedge funds lies in risk management as the volatility …

Measuring Investor Sentiment In Equity Markets, Arindam Bandopadhyaya, Anne Leah Jones

Arindam Bandopadhyaya

Recently, investor sentiment has become the focus of many studies on asset pricing. Research has demonstrated that changes in investor sentiment may trigger changes in asset prices, and that investor sentiment may be an important component of the market pricing process. Some authors suggest that shifts in investor sentiment may in some instances better explain short-term movement in asset prices than any other set of fundamental factors. In this paper we develop an Equity Market Sentiment Index from publicly available data, and we then demonstrate how this measure can be used in a stock market setting by studying the price …

Managing Exchange Rates, Arindam Bandopadhyaya, Giorgio Gotti, Qian Lu

Arindam Bandopadhyaya

The collapse of the fixed exchange rate system established under the Bretton Woods Agreement ushered in fluctuating exchange rate regimes. Although extreme volatility is managed by monetary authorities, fluctuations in exchange rates present unique challenges to the manager of a multinational corporation (MNC). This chapter reviews various types of exchange rate regimes and discusses the types of risk an MNC faces due to exchange rate fluctuations. Special attention is paid to how these risks are measured and ways in which they are hedged using available financial market instruments. The chapter also discusses exchange rate forecasting models that are frequently used.

Down But Not Out: The Future Of The Financial Services Industry, Arindam Bandopadhyaya, Miranda Detzler, Mohsin Habib

Arindam Bandopadhyaya

The financial services industry is a key sector of the U.S. economy. It is a noteworthy contributor to the overall gross domestic product and is an important component of the gross state product for many states. With the downturn in the economy at the beginning of this decade and the accompanying declines in stock market values, the industry has been hit hard. Asset management firms have experienced sharp decreases in their assets under management; banks and insurance companies have had to refocus their operations and have become increasingly vulnerable to acquisition. As evidence grows stronger that it is unlikely that …

Technology Based Employee Training And Organizational Performnace, Asad Afzal Humayoun, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Kashif Ur Rehman

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

The ever growing complexity and variability in the business environment followed by a sharp change in the technology, the organizations as well as the aggressive competition needs use all of their resources to achieve the competitive advantage in the industry and the most consistent and important source of competitive advantage is the skilled workers. The success in the business depends solely on the faithful and loyal workers and it is undesirable fact that the HR practice is an important source of the work relations. In the light of current situation the focus of this study is to use the relevant …

Curriculum Vitae, Karen Ahmed

Karen Hunt Ahmed

No abstract provided.

Kālidāsa’S Shakuntala And Shakespeare’S The Winter’S Tale: The Child As Redeemer, Mohan Limaye

Mohan Limaye

This paper attempts to demonstrate that, though the three-member family (father, mother and child) is celebrated in Shakuntala and The Winter’s Tale, the child is the most important of the three members in the two plays in terms of plot and theme. The quest of Dushyanta and Shakuntala, the hero and the heroine, is on a deeper level for a child. The king needs an heir to the throne, and so do his subjects for a stable order. Similarly, in The Winter’s Tale, the stability of Leontes’ kingdom rests on Perdita, his daughter, after Prince Mamillius dies. In …

Planned Behavior Entrepreneurship And Intention To Create A New Venture Among Young Graduates, H. Mushtaq Ahmad, G. S K. Niazi, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Kashif Ur Rehman, Rauf I. Azam

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

Application Of Finance Techniques: An Empirical Analysis Of Pakistani Corporate Sector, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Ghulam Shabbir Khan Niazi, Syed Waqar Akbar, Kashif Ur Rehman

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

The study reviews the core areas of the finance functions and their level of applications in Pakistani corporate sector. A total of 70 questionnaires were distributed in different companies, 53 were received and 49 were processed, the respondents were finance executives and financial analysts of the companies. The study concludes that respondents are well aware of finance functions; out of these functions applications of capital structure decisions are being properly practiced while dividend policy is a major concern in most of the organizations. Investment appraisal techniques are not followed systematically due to constraints on capital investment and availability of resources. …

Critical Success Factors Of Projects, Fida Hussain Hussain, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Majed Rashid

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

Accounting Fraud At Cit Computer Leasing Group, Inc., Jeffrey Michelman

Jeffrey E Michelman

The case chronicles a newly promoted manager's search to uncover an inventory fraud that had been perpetrated by her supervisor at CIT, a publicly held company. During the ensuing investigation, CIT and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement identified 36 different transactions involving the diversion of nearly 2,500 computers, with a conservative estimated total loss to the company of $637,000. Students are also exposed to the importance of internal controls, red flags, the fraud triangle, and forensic accounting techniques. The case also lets the reader see what occurs when, due to management override of internal control, a subordinate no longer …

Cause Related Marketing And Its Impact On Sales, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Ghulam Shabbir Khan Niazi

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

This study examines the impact of cause related marketing (CRM) campaigns on brand loyalty, consumer purchase intention and on sales. The significance of this research involves the careful study to find the importance of CRM. This new form of marketing, practiced extensively from last two decades across the globe, focuses on CRM practices and its impacts on the companies’ sales. It will help in: a) devising better strategies for the future, b) guide organization that CRM influence the choice of consumers, c) prove to be a very important tool and instrument in creating brand awareness & loyalty and d) boosting …

Adjusting The Inventory Account When Companies Use Lifo: Explanation And Application To Distribution And Chemical Industries, James F. Sander, Susan Hughes

James F. Sander

It is widely understood that a disadvantage of LIFO is that it assigns the oldest inventory costs to the inventory account, which, when prices are changing, can result in an inventory value that is useless as a measure of current value. FIFO, however, avoids this disadvantage by assigning the most current costs to inventory. The purpose of this article is to explain a simple adjustment that restates LIFO inventory to the more current cost based FIFO value and analyze effects of this adjustment. We begin by demonstrating the LIFO adjustment and explaining its effect on one company. This is followed …

Product Development In The Perspective Of Knowledge Management, Abrar Ahmad, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Kashif Ur Rehman

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

The purpose of this study is to discover the role of social knowledge management enabler such as managerial support and empowerment in product development. This research study explores the concept of dynamic capabilities and how it is basically formed by the combination of knowledge generation, knowledge integration, and knowledge configuration. Present research study also focuses on the product organizations. The importance of knowledge management is very well understood by the companies in Pakistan, they know that the knowledge management process, if effectively processed in an organization, helps in the development of products. This study confirms that dynamic capabilities generate product …

La Qualificazione Del C.D. "Titolo Sportivo" Nel Trasferimento D'Azienda Nell'ambito Di Procedure Concorsuali, Claudio Sottoriva

Claudio Sottoriva

Il titolo sportivo è il riconoscimento da parte della FIGC (uno dei compiti di questo organo è quella di organizzare i campionati) delle condizioni tecniche sportive della possibilità di partecipare ad un determinato campionato. Tralasciando i problemi che riguardano le formazioni professionistiche mi soffermerei su quello che è stato specificato dalla giurisprudenza sopratutto nella sentenza del Tar Lazio Sez. ter del 22 settembre 2004, n. 9668 (Napoli/FIGC) in tema di definizione del titolo sportivo. Prima di tutto come si può definire il titolo sportivo: “ il titolo sportivo è una qualità inerente alla posizione di status che questi riveste nei …

A Simulation Approach To The Choice Between Fixed And Adjustable Rate Mortgages, William K. Templeton, Robert S. Main, J. B. Orris

Robert S. Main

Presents a study which offers simulation approach model by which borrowers may more effectively evaluate fixed rate mortgage (FRM) and adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) choice. Identification of pricing variables as an important determinant of choice; Construction of model parameters comparing present value costs of ARM and FRM; Presentation of simulation outputs.

An Investigation Of Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Pricing Features, William K. Templeton, Robert S. Main, J. B. Orris

Robert S. Main

Investigates costs and risks associated with the choice of terms for adjustable rate mortgages. Impact of mortgage-rate changes on the size of payments for adjustable-rate mortgages; Examination of the choice of length of the fixed period before the occurrence of the first interest rate; Assessment of the choice of annual and lifetime caps for a standard one year adjustable rate mortgages.

The Cost Of Treating Addiction From The Client's Perspective: Results From A Multi-Modality Application Of The Client Datcap, Kathryn Mccollister, Michael French, Jeffrey Pyne, Brenda Booth, Richard Rapp, Carey Carr

Michael T. French

There is a considerable disparity between the number of individuals who need substance abuse treatment and the number who actually receive it. This is partly due to the fact that many individuals with substance use disorders do not perceive a need for formal treatment. Another contributing factor, however, is a discrepancy between the real and perceived cost of services. Although many cost evaluations of substance abuse treatment have been conducted from the treatment provider perspective, less is known about the client-specific costs of attending treatment (e.g., lost work and leisure time, transportation, out-of-pocket and in-kind payments). Concerns about financial and …

Institutional, Macro Economic Policy Factors And Foreign Direct Investment: South Asian Countries Case, Muhammad Azam, Hashim Khan, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, H. Mushtaq Ahmad, M. Irfan Chani

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)