Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Essays On Foreign Reverse Mergers And Bond Etf Mispricing, Charles William Duval

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation examines two topics that have attracted significant attention in the financial media, but have received little academic study.

The first essay examines the characteristics and performance of foreign firms that acquire U.S. exchange listings through a reverse merger (RM). Specifically, this study focuses on Chinese companies which have accounted for over 40% of all RMs taking place on U.S. exchanges. Examination of these firms' characteristics and daily returns from 2004-2010 reveals Chinese firms that engage in RMs are private firms not listed in China, motivated by the ability to offer equity-based compensation (which has been illegal in China), …

2011-2012 Operating Budget: Southern University And A & M College, Southern University System. Office Of Finance & Administration.

All Southern University System Budgets

The 2011-2012 Fiscal Year Operating Budget of the Southern University and A & M College Campus.

2011-2012 Revised Operating Budget: Southern University At New Orleans, Southern University System. Office Of Finance & Administration.

All Southern University System Budgets

2011-2012 Revised Operating Budget of the Southern University at New Orleans campus. This and the accompanying forms, statements and explanations comprising of 51 sheets numbered from 1 to 51, each of which has been approved by me, constitute the Operating Budget for the Fiscal Year 2011-2012.

2011-2012 Revised Operating Budget: Southern University And A & M College, Southern University System. Office Of Finance & Administration.

All Southern University System Budgets

The 2011-2012 Revised Operating Budget of the Southern University and A & M College Campus.

Municipal Bond Risk, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

While municipals generally carry lower yields due to their tax benefits, beware that they are more risky than comparable Treasury securities. Municipals can default since, unlike the federal government, they do not have the ability to print money. The most recent (and largest ever) city to declare bankruptcy is Stockton, CA. See the article here, Fox News.

Actively Managed Etfs, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

ETFs were originally designed as alternatives to index funds, but ones that could be actively traded like stocks -- meaning continuous trading and the ability to short and margin. As ETFs have developed, however, they are now moving into active (as opposed) to passive management. This may increase costs, but it provides another avenue for potential investors. See the article here, Index Universe.

Mutual Fund Oversight, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Like corporations, mutual funds have board of directors. However, they often exhibit much less oversight and control. Thus, there is debate whether they actually provide any value or simply serve as figureheads. See article here, Smart Money.

Reputational Capital, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Ratings agencies are supposed to provide an independent view on a firm's (or country's) financial outlook. However, their involvement in the subprime crisis (i.e., their AAA rating on defunct MBS securities) revealed that the rating agencies are often more reactive than proactive. Thus, they seem to have lost much of their respect and influence. See article here, Breakout.

Step On The Gas, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

With the economy hitting a "speed bump," market participants increasingly believe the Fed will "step on the gas" to get it going again. Similar thoughts seem to exist in regards to potential action by the Chinese central bank. As a result, markets around the world were up. See the articles here (xinhuanet) and

It Pays To Be Young, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

The model is changing, as wealth management firms may need to increasingly hire younger advisors.

Is Diversification Dead?, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Diversification (primarily based on asset correlation) is a key component of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). However, the recent financial crisis illustrated an increase in correlation across asset categories. Thus, many debate whether diversification still helps. Even with increasing correlations, diversification still provides benefit (possibly just not as much). However, the more relevant issue is that increasing correlation across the typical asset categories suggests that diversification is now more critical across "non-typical" categories -- such as commodities, hedge funds, and private equity funds. .

"Dumb Money" Pushing Treasuries, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Demand for Treasury bonds pushes prices up and yields lower. Given that Treasury yields are at all-time lows, the implication is that demand for these securities has increased. Many attribute this to buying by the Fed, but this demand is really being driven by retail investors. For contrarian investors, this would be an indicator to sell Treasuries, as retail investors are often referred to as "dumb money." See the article here, CNBC.

Health Or Money?, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

When asked whether they would have health or money, most people would probably choose money. However, a recent study shows that investors actually trust their investment advisors more than their doctors. So, does this imply they care more about their money than their health?????? See the article here, Investment News.

Leading Or Lagging, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Economists and investors often look to the index of leading indicators to predict the economic future. One measure included in this index is unemployment. However, some debate whether this is more of a lagging indicator since high unemployment hinders spending. In either case, recent news related to initial jobless claims has been positive. See the article here, Reuters.

Anderson, Joseph, 1757-1837 (Sc 456), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 456. Original letters (3) of Joseph Anderson, and original and holographic copies of letters, notes, etc. (11) written by William Meredith, Philadelphia, to Anderson, Washington, D.C. Anderson’s correspondence with Meredith pertains to a debt owed by Anderson since 1790. Anderson was a Tennessee Senator and first Comptroller of the Treasury.

The Ecb Is Not The Fed, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Although both the ECB and Federal Reserve are central banks, they are much different in their approach to managing their respective economies. The Fed's mandate includes both promoting growth and controlling inflation, while the ECB is really only designed to mitigate inflation. Thus, the ECB is not equipped to act in a speedy fashion as the Fed did in response to our financial crisis. (See the article here, Wall Street Journal.)

Green Infrastructure Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Green infrastructure is an approach for managing stormwater that uses vegetation and soils to capture and treat rainwater where it falls. Unlike single-purpose gray infrastructure, green infrastructure realizes multiple benefits at once, including flood mitigation, improved water and air quality, community beautification, provision of recreational opportunities, and energy and cost savings. This resource directory is intended to help communities design, implement, fund, and monitor green infrastructure practices and programs. It was compiled by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. …

Asian Hedge Fund Report, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre

We survey the Asian hedge fund landscape and shed light on the size, investment region, strategy, and performance metrics of funds operating in Asia. Our findings indicate that hedge funds in the region typically maintain close physical proximity to their investment markets. Institutional quality hedge funds with assets under management greater than US$100m tend to focus on Greater China and Japan. Relative to Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia, Singapore harbors the most diverse group of hedge funds in terms of investment strategy. Between January 2000 and December 2011, Greater China focused funds have on average outperformed hedge funds investing in …

2012 Q2 Market Pulse Report, John K. Paglia

Pepperdine Market Pulse Report

The quarterly IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Survey was created to gain an accurate understanding of the market conditions for businesses being sold in Main Street (values $0-$2MM) and the lower middle market (values $2MM -$50MM). The national survey was conducted with the intent of providing a valuable resource to business owners and their advisors. The IBBA and M&A Source present the Market Pulse Survey with the support of the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project and the Graziado School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

Alternative Investments For The Masses, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Historically, hedge funds and private equity funds have only been available to qualified (i.e., rich) investors. However, new ETFs offer the opportunity for smaller investors to join the party. Check out the new AlphaClone ETF, which will be offered on the International Securities Exchange.

Are Us Economic Variables Useful For Chinese Stock Market Forecasts?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

It is commonly thought that the economic systems of the world's two largest economies distinct, and so one's experience may not necessarily inform the other. Yet, a new study that compares and analyses stock market data from both countries offers a contrarian view. Undertaken by a PhD candidate at SMU's Lee Kong Chian School of Business, this study was recently presented at the HU-HUE-SKBI Tripartite Conference.

Key Findings Of 2012 Atrs Global Airport Performance Benchmarking Project, Tae Hoon Oum, Yapyin Choo, Chunyan Yu

Publications

The ATRS Global Airport Benchmarking Project measures and compares the performance of several important aspects of airport operations: Productivity and efficiency, unit costs and cost competitiveness, financial results and airport charges. The report also examines the relationships between various performance measures and airport characteristics as well as management strategies in order to provide a better understanding of observed differences in airport performance. This report includes 183 airports and 25 airport groups of various sizes and ownership forms in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. This presentation highlights key findings on efficiency and cost.

Aspirations, Innovation, And Corporate Venture Capital: A Behavioral Perspective, Vibha Gaba, Shantanu Bhattacharya

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study takes an organizational decision-making perspective to examine when firms are likely to utilize CVC units as a mechanism for externalizing R&D. We draw insights from the behavioral theory of the firm to argue that managerial aspirations for innovation-related goals are an important driver of CVC initiatives within firms. We test our argument by examining both the adoption and termination of CVC units for a sample of information technology firms from 1992 to 2003. Results show that a firm is more likely to adopt and less likely to terminate a CVC unit when its innovation performance is closest to …

The Intra-Industry Effects Of Chapter 11 Filings: Evidence From Analysts’ Earnings Forecast Revisions, Gary L. Caton, Jeffrey Donaldson, Jeremy Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Shareholders suffer huge losses when firms they own file Chapter 11. Interestingly, even shareholders of rival companies experience statistically significant losses. We examine how the bad news associated with a bankruptcy filing is transferred to the filing firm’s rivals. Using revisions in analysts’ earnings forecasts as a proxy for changes in expected future cash flows, we find that after a bankruptcy filing the market revises downward its cash flow expectations for rivals. Regression analysis confirms a positive relation between changes in expected cash flow and stock market reactions. These findings are consistent with our hypothesis that bad news associated with …

Expect Low Interest Rates To Continue, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

As the "flight to quality" continues, interest rates will likely remain low for the nations considered to be the most stable (such as the U.S. and Germany). This is a simple supply and demand relationship, as interest rates represent the price of money. (See the article here, the Wall Street Journal.)

Manipulating Earnings, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

To cover recent losses associated with CDS trading (see earlier post), JP Morgan sold securities in which they had an unrecognized gain. While this move will make their earnings look less negative, the trades will actually hurt firm value as they will trigger taxable gains and reduce future earning power. Thus, for long-term investors, metrics such as cash flow may be better measures then earnings, which tend to be more short-term in nature, as well as more easy to manipulate. (See article here, Reuters.)

On The Efficiency Of Us Equity Markets, Mikael Carl Erik Bergbrant

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most papers in empirical finance implicitly or explicitly assume the same price of risk, for each priced systematic risk factor, across all risky assets within a given domestic market. In doing so, they rely on the assumption that markets are domestically integrated and, as such, that the price of risk is determined independently of individual investors attitude towards risk. This is true in frictionless markets where investors have complete information, homogenous beliefs, and hold the mean-variance efficient combination of the market portfolio and a risk-free asset. However, investors might not hold the market portfolio because of exogenous reasons. In fact, …

Cds Trades Continue, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

JP Morgan recently announced a $2 billion loss, which renewed criticisms that originally surfaced during the credit crisis. While final details are still to come, initial reports suggest that much of the loss is attributable to the sale of Credit Default Swap (CDS) contracts. Similar exposures helped lead to the downfall of Lehman Bros., Bear Sterns, and AIG following the Crash of 2008. (See the article here, Fox Business.)

Hp Cuts Jobs, Stock Price Rises, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

HP announced on May 23 that it will cut 27,000 jobs (see article). In class I asked students what they thought happened to the stock price. Most thought the price would drop since this is a negative indicator. However, the stock price actually rose 2.2% from its prior day close, while the market was flat. The issue is efficiency (and margin). If HP can sell the same amount with fewer employees, earnings will be higher--which translates to higher growth (and therefore market value).

Popularity Of Alternative Investments Rises, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Alternative investments were once thought to be the domain of sophisticated, wealthy investors. However, they are gaining popularity among financial advisors (and their clients) as they realize the potential diversification benefits they provide. In particular, hedge funds and private equity funds are becoming increasingly common additions to even mid-market investors. (See article here, Reuters.)