Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

A Multilevel Analysis Of Institutional Fiscal Autonomy And Its Effect On Affordability, Operating Efficiency, And Minority Access At Public Colleges And Universities, Christine J. Glass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, an unstable funding environment for state higher education systems has led to a trend of increasing institutional fiscal autonomy in exchange for reductions in appropriations. With the growing concern that reducing state oversight will result in increased tuition and spending levels, this study was designed to provide a clearer understanding of how fiscal autonomy at public institutions impacts measures important to the state public policy goals of affordability, operating efficiency, and access. To accommodate the diversity and hierarchical structure of public institutions, this study used multilevel modeling techniques to integrate complex, interrelated institution- and state-level data. Institution-level …

What Determines Public Pension Investment Risk-Taking Policy, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

State public pension plans, mostly defined benefit plans, cover pension benefits for 12.8 million active public employees and 5.9 million retirees and other annuitants. However, by the end of 2009, public pension plans had accumulated a total funding deficit of $697 billion (measured by the difference between actuarial pension assets and liabilities). On average, public pension funds cover 75 percent of their liabilities, but individual state results vary greatly.

The 2008 stock market crash strongly affected pension asset value in that equity allocation on average accounted for 56 percent of invested assets. The average 2009 pension asset beta of 0.63 …

Shareholder Returns From Supplying Trade Credit, Matthew D. Hill, G. Wayne Kelly, G. Brandon Lockhart

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

We examine shareholder wealth implications of supplying financing to customers. Robust results demonstrate that excess returns and trade receivables are directly and significantly related. Further evidence indicates the value of receivables is higher for suppliers with stronger motives relating to operating and contracting costs. The results also suggest a discounted value of receivables for financially unconstrained firms. Overall, we conclude that investors recognize trade credit as an effective instrument in mitigating frictions hindering sales growth. Thus, certain suppliers are positioned to derive increased strategic benefits from credit policy.

F.A.C.E.S. (Faculty Academic Community Education Showcase): Professional Growth Experiences In A Career University, Paul J. Colbert, Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

Institutes of higher education exist for the purpose of developing, fostering, nurturing, and stimulating the intellectual growth and development of students. The core values of a college education provide students conceptual and practical educational opportunities that focus on improving their skills and knowledge. These skills and knowledge translate into purposeful, real-life learning experiences. However, in the academic community, learning is not restricted to students. Faculty, too, must be supported and provided opportunities for personal and professional growth and development. Although professional development is not a novel concept in the education profession, schools often take up the gauntlet, but fall short …

How One Trade Could Change The World: High Frequency Trading And The Flash Crash Of 2010, Sarah Perlman

Honors Projects in Finance

Financial markets are controlled directly by a small population of people, but have direct effects on almost every aspect of the global community. Financial markets are now flooded with computerized algorithms that have drastically changed the face of trading. As with any advances in technology, there are always unforeseen events that create new challenges, and adjustments that need to be made. In our increasingly global and technological world, one wrong click of the mouse in New York could affect the stock markets in London, Tokyo, and Brazil. On May 6th, 2010, such a situation occurred and caused the Dow Jones …

Cost Of Winning: What Contributing Factors Play The Most Significant Roles In Increasing The Winning Percentage Of A Major League Baseball Team?, Patrick Tartaro

Honors Projects in Finance

Over the past decade, discussions of competition disparity in Major League Baseball have been brought to the forefront of many debates regarding the sport. The belief that "large market" teams such as the New York Yankees buy their championships through acquiring star talent at high prices has become a common belief of many followers of the game. This research will answer the pressing question, "What are the most significant factors that correlate to a Major League Baseball Team’s winning percentage?”. I used stepwise regression to identify factors significantly related to winning percentage. Interestingly enough, payroll is not a significant factor …

The Social And Economic Impact Of Mpesa On The Lives Of Women In The Fishing Industry On Lake Victoria, Danielle White

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study will examine the social and economic impact of the mobile banking system, MPESA, in the lives of women in the fishing industry on Lake Victoria in Kenya. The study aims to discover what MPESA is being used for and how its use is affecting the lives of its female users. It will not only study the immediate impact on women, but also the impact on the interactions with their families and communities, as well as the fishing industry. The study aims to determine whether or not MPESA is beneficial to these women and if it is, how the …

Determinants Of Dow Jones Returns, Cory Sloan

Honors Projects

As of 2010, there was $14 trillion invested in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and $55 trillion invested in stock markets worldwide. In this study, we use the Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) to identify the main determinants of the returns of the stocks that compose the Dow Jones for the period 1990-2011. We test several hypotheses on the relationship between firm specific variables such as Dividend Yield, Earnings Yield, Book-Market ratio, previous returns and the stock returns. We also document the relationship between several macroeconomic factors including T-bill rate, Default Spread, Term Spread, Unemployment, Real GDP and Inflation and …

San Diego Center For Children Audit Committee Handbook, San Diego Center For Children

Finance

2012 edition of the San Diego Center for Children's Audit Committee handbook.

Firm Location And Corporate Debt, Matteo P. Arena, Michael Dewally

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This study examines the influence of a firm’s geographical location on corporate debt and provides evidence that the higher cost of collecting information on firms distant from urban areas has significant implications on a wide array of corporate debt characteristics. We find that rural firms face higher debt yield spreads and attract smaller and less prestigious bank syndicates than urban firms. Rural firms attempt to reduce their informational disadvantage by relying more on relationship banking. Our results on the effect of location on corporate debt are robust to the inclusion of an extensive set of firm and issue characteristics.

Sustainability Of Mfis Through Governance Mechanisms: A Cross-Country Analysis Of Regulation On Outreach And Operational Self Sufficiency, Daniel Muwamba

College of Management Honors Theses

Poverty is an age long problem that has been part of mankind ever since civilization and the fight against poverty is as old. There are many efforts to fight poverty of which microfinance is one. One theory to explain prevalence of poverty especially in the age of capitalism is that poor enterprising people cannot lift themselves out of poverty because they lack capital to develop their enterprises. Start up businesses and enterprises commonly start operations with credit support from financial institutions but there are prerequisites to attaining this credit and numerous poor individuals do not possess these prerequisites. Such individuals …

Suntrust Portfolio Recommendations: Crummer Investment Management [2012], Boston Russell, Fernanda Vanetta, Josh Aguilar, Ian Aguilar, John Humphrey, Carly Apap, Mike Hoffecker, Chad Karime, Chris Brinkman

Crummer Truist Portfolios

The primary difference between this and last year is that the markets appear to support the recovery. Last year market performance lagged behind the nascent recovery. Eventually headwinds from Greece and the developing world caused a flight to quality that suppressed market activity even as the US economy grew slowly. This year we are looking at a significantly more confident capital market. Some of the fears stemming from the European debt crisis have abated. Employment has stabilized significantly. The market has spent the better part of 2012 growing with renewed confidence. Moreover, the growth has resembled a classic recovery, with …

Three Essays On Banking Foreign Direct Investment, Tamrat Workalemahu Gashaw

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates three aspects of banking foreign direct investment (BFDI). One striking development in the banking sector over the past two decades is the significant increase in BFDI. Multinational banks are now major players in the global financial system in terms of their asset positions, loan amounts, and operational scales. Despite this significant trend in BFDI, few empirical studies exist explaining observed international BFDI trends.

The first essay investigates the factors determining a bank’s decision to invest abroad. I first develop a two-asset portfolio selection model to identify determinant factors, and then employ a three-way error component model for …

A New Non-Parametric Test For Umbrella Alternatives, Gilbert Ngwa Muma

Dissertations

The Mann-Whitney statistics have commonly been used as a building block for many tests involving ordered and umbrella alternatives. Such tests are based on pair wise information that is obtained from all Ck 2 pairs of samples. This dissertation introduces a new nonparametric test for testing umbrella alternatives in a completely randomized one way design. This test is based on information obtained from a subset of the Ck 3 trios of samples. Unlike most existing tests for umbrella alternatives, the new test lays emphasis on the importance of testing across the peak of the umbrella, thereby rendering the new test …

A Training Manual: To Increase Performance In Cost Management Of A Las Vegas Nightclub For Operations Managers, Mark F. Staudinger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to write a training manual on cost management for operating managers in the Las Vegas nightclub industry. The manual will be designed to be used as a tool to control and manage costs for managers responsible for making decisions that directly affect controllable costs. These decisions include but are not limited to staffing and par levels, price points, purchasing, and staff training and monitoring.

Global Financial Risks, Cvar And Contagion Management, Kian Guan Lim

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers was the 9/11 on Wall Street, and many articles had been written on the changes in the global risk landscape that followed. However, there is scarcity of rigorous studies using empirical data and advanced econometric methods to verify such a change and the nature of such a change. In this paper, we provide rigorous analyses of statistically significant changes in global financial risks and sharp increases in conditional Value-at-Risk after September 2008. We perform statistical analyses using conditional distributions on the tail losses of equity portfolios constructed from the stock indexes of six …

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight Test Approval Process And Its Implications: A Methodological Approach To Capture And Evaluate Hidden Costs And Value In The Overall Process, Tuan U. Tran

Theses and Dissertations

The advancement in small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) technology has brought a new revolution in the military domain. Their uses have become more synonymous with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. Concerns over their flight test safety and accountability have been addressed in multiple policies to mitigate mishaps and increase proper accountability. However, current DoD and FAA mandated regulations and policies concerning UAV flight tests are sometimes considered slow and time-consuming, which may lead to delays in UAV research and development. This study explores the quantitative and qualitative measure of benefits associated with an abbreviated flight test process for SUAVs. Specifically, …

An Evaluation Of The Argentinean Basic Trainer Aircraft Domestic Development Project, Guillermo A. Stahl

Theses and Dissertations

The Argentine Air Force (AAF) is facing increasing challenges in maintaining and sustaining trainer aircraft. The current trainer aircraft used by the AAF face obsolescence issues and decreased serviceability. Argentina used to have the largest aircraft industry among the Latin America countries, but a number of factors such as not maintaining objectives and policies over time undermined its consolidation and were instrumental in Argentina losing its leadership position. To meet AAF requirements and revive Argentina's domestic aircraft industry, an indigenous basic trainer aircraft project is proposed. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the project's viability using a multi-criteria …

Acquisition Program Problem Detection Using Text Mining Methods, Trevor P. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This research provides program analysts and Department of Defense leadership with an approach to identify problems in real-time for acquisition contracts. Specifically, we test the abilities of statistical algorithms using text mining techniques to detect unusual changes in acquisition programs’ cost estimates at the completion of the programs. Currently, the government purchases monthly written reports, an informational tool on status of an acquisition program, but has not been integrated into problem prediction analysis. We center our research on the following two questions: First, can we quantify the qualitative written reports? Second, can we use these quantifications of the texts to …

Minuteman Iii Cost Per Alert Hour Analysis, Allen R. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the cost associated with the Minuteman III (MM III) weapon system. The research develops three models for determining MM III costs per alert hour (CPAH). The first model is based on the Air Force Cost Analysis Improvement Group cost per flying hour model. The model is modified to include depot level reparables, consumables, and personnel costs. The second model is based on the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Cost Analysis Improvement Group cost per flying hour model and is formulated using service-wide data from the Air Force Total Ownership Cost tool. The third model is a …

Hedge Fund Return Correlation Under Extreme Market Condition, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre

How dependent are returns across hedge fund investment strategies? We estimate the probability that each investment strategy performs poorly when other investment strategies are delivering extreme negative returns. Under extreme market conditions, we find that event driven, distressed debt, and equity long/short funds exhibit the highest correlation with other styles while commodity trading advisors, macro, and equity market neutral funds exhibit the lowest correlation. In addition, we show that Asia-focused event driven and equity market neutral funds provide diversification for investors holding US- and Europe-focused funds.

Walking The Talk Of Wall Street, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The rules of the game on Wall Street may be ever changing but a professor of economics at Princeton University, Burton Malkiel, has held on to his views on how the game should be played for almost four decades.

Markowitz 2.0: Innovations For Asset Allocation, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

The idea of conducting financial analysis on asset classes, while widely accepted today, was a new concept in the 1950s. It was so new that Nobel Prize winner in economics Harry Markowitz almost did not receive his doctorate because his thesis on portfolio optimisation was deemed as “not economics” by his supervisor. Dr Paul Kaplan, quantitative research director at Morningstar, introduces an updated model of Markowitz’s portfolio optimisation model at a seminar in SMU.

Do External Financial Statement Auditors Sufficiently Adjust Their Audit Plans For Automated-Control Deficiencies?, Daniel D. Selby

Accounting Faculty Publications

Shelton (1999) found that experience, based on rank, mitigates the influence of less-than diagnostic evidence in going concern assessments. But, numerous studies (e.g., Abdolmohammadi and Wright 1987) question the external validity of studies that use rank to determine experience. I suspect that specialized domain experience is a better measure because all auditor ranks do not have procedural knowledge in going concern decisions but many auditors may have procedural knowledge in audit planning (AICPA 2008) and automated controls (Hunton et al. 2004). I investigate whether external financial statement auditors (henceforth auditors) sufficiently adjust their audit plans for material-automated-control-weaknesses. I determine the …

Walking The Talk Of Wall Street, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Years after he theorised that a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at stock listings can select a portfolio that would perform as well as one chosen by experts, Princeton economist Burton Malkiel is sticking by it. In the tenth edition of his investment classic, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Malkiel explains why the experts are overrated, and why sticking with a buy-and-hold strategy using a broad stock market index fund will outperform the professionally managed ones.

Financial Framework For Global Investment And Implications, Robert Ranish, Pawel Mensz

Finance Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to describe a valuation decision model for a firm in a multi -country environment. The paper extends the works of Myers, Myers and Pogue and Lev to include individual investment project decisions to the global marketplace. The model integrates the buy or builds decision, the location of production, distribution decision and tax effects into the capital investment decision of the firm. The model shows that a firm's production decision (buy or build), the customer location and tax effects are interdependent. The model to optimize the value of the firm is a function of the …

A Utility Based Approach To Energy Hedging, Jim Hanly, John Cotter

Articles

A key issue in the estimation of energy hedges is the hedgers’ attitude towards risk which is encapsulated in the form of the hedgers’ utility function. However, the literature typically uses only one form of utility function such as the quadratic when estimating hedges. This paper addresses this issue by estimating and applying energy market based risk aversion to commonly applied utility functions including log, exponential and quadratic, and we incorporate these in our hedging frameworks. We find significant differences in the optimal hedge strategies based on the utility function chosen.

San Diego Center For Children Finance Manual, San Diego Center For Children

Finance

2012 edition of the San Diego Center for Children's Finance Committee handbook.

Spin-Offs And Operating Performance, Gary L. Caton, Jeremy C. Goh, Frank Kerins

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study examines the relation between changes in industry-adjusted operating performance associated with corporate spin-offs and the market’s assessment of the spin-off as either a value increasing or value decreasing activity. I find that the average change in industry-adjusted operating performance associated with my sample of spin-offs is not significantly different from zero. However, I also present evidence suggesting that this average result is misleading because some spin-offs appear to be value increasing while others are value decreasing. I establish that a positive and significant relation exists between parent company revaluation and a) the change in industry-adjusted operating performance of …

A Theory Of Strategic Mergers, Gennaro Bernile, Evgeny Lyandres, Alexei Zhdanov

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine firms’ strategic incentives to engage in horizontal mergers. In a real options framework, we show that strategic considerations may explain abnormally high takeover activity during periods of positive and negative demand shocks. Importantly, this pattern emerges solely as a result of firms’ strategic interaction in output markets. We show that the U-shaped relation between the state of demand and the propensity of firms to merge, documented in past studies, is driven by horizontal mergers in industries that are: (1) relatively more concentrated, (2) characterized by relatively strong competitive interaction among firms, and (3) characterized by relatively low merger-related …