Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Hedge Funds In A Volatile Market, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre

We show that relative to the first half of 2007, the volatility of hedge fund returns has doubled during the September 2007 to April 2008 period. At the same time, aggregate hedge fund returns have declined while exit rates have tripled. Commodity, macro, and, to a lesser extent, arbitrage funds outperformed during this period, while bottom-up funds underperformed. In Asia, funds engaging in less traditional strategies like arbitrage, event driven, fixed income, and distressed debt have emerged relatively unscathed. Our results also suggest that around the world, funds with headquarters near their investment markets, fewer assets under management, and higher …

Herd Behaviour In Financial Markets: Do Traders Follow The Crowd Or Do Their Own Thing?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

In financial markets, what part of a trader’s action is simply “following the crowd” or herding, and how much is based on the trader’s own information? Herding has been shown to decrease the stability and efficiency of markets, hence the interest in these behaviours. Marco Cipriani (Asian Division, IMF Institute) and Antonio Guarino (University College London) studied herd behaviour in a laboratory setting involving financial market professionals. Cipriani presented a co-authored IMF working paper on herd behaviour in financial markets at a recent seminar at the Singapore Management University. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earnings Management Around Secondary Equity Offerings By Insiders, Hui Di

Doctoral Dissertations

Accruals-based earnings management is becoming a more common practice. Firms have strong incentives to manage earnings around secondary equity offerings by insiders (insider offerings) to raise offer prices. However, the literature on earnings management around insider offerings is limited and provides mixed evidence of earnings management. In this study, I investigate the motivations and the extent of earnings management around insider offerings.

This study examines a sample of 490 secondary equity offerings made by insiders over the period 1989 to 2005. Inconsistent with the managerial opportunism hypothesis, I find negative adjusted discretionary total accruals before insider offerings. While discretionary accruals …

Predatory Lending Laws And The Cost Of Credit, Anthony Pennington-Cross, Giang Ho

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Various states and other local jurisdictions have enacted laws intending to reduce predatory and abusive lending in the subprime mortgage market. These laws have created substantial geographic variation in the regulation of mortgage credit. This article examines whether these laws are associated with a higher or lower cost of credit. Empirical results indicate that the laws are associated with at most a modest increase in cost. However, the impact depends on the product type. In particular, loans with fixed (adjustable) rates are associated with a modest increase (decrease) in cost.

A Face Can Launch A Thousand Shares—And An 0.80% Abnormal Return, Matteo P. Arena, John S. Howe

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper we examine the market reaction—price and volume—to the appearance of a firm in the Who’s News column of The Wall Street Journal. We differentiate between those firms whose articles are accompanied by a picture of an executive and a control set of firms whose articles on the same day are not accompanied by a picture. The results show a more pronounced market reaction to the “cum picture” articles, consistent with the incomplete information theory of Merton [1987] and the heuristic-based familiarity hypothesis. There is no evidence of significant long-run abnormal performance for the sample firms.

Debt Financing Does Not Create Circularity Within Pro Forma Analysis, Tom Arnold, Peter C. Eisemann

Finance Faculty Publications

Using debt to finance a firm's external financing need within a pro forma analysis can lead to "circularity" when finding the appropriate value for debt. The circularity incorrectly implies that there is no direct solution for finding the value of debt. In this paper, a direct solution for the value of debt is found; thereby showing that circularity need not exist. Further, the technique is demonstrated to be more accurate than the "additional funds needed" (AFN) approach featured in many texts.

Benchmarking The Home Pages Of The Top Multinational Manufacturing Corporations In The Philippines, Jeden O. Tolentino

DLSU Business & Economics Review

In the information age, having a presence on the World Wide Web is critical for firms to establish and maintain competitive advantage. This study evaluated the Web presence of the top multinational manufacturing corporations in the Philippines. A sample of 70 Web sites of companies in BusinessWorld’s list of the Top 1000 Corporations in the Philippines for 2006 was subjected to a framework of ten critical factors; and comparisons were made against existing benchmarks. Thereafter, the functionality of the Web sites of the three top-ranked companies was analyzed using a two-dimensional grid for Web site evaluation. Results indicate that there …

Lagged Effect Of Tv Advertising On Sales Lagged Effect Of Tv Advertising On Sales Of An Intermittently Advertised Product Of An Intermittently Advertised Product, Cesar C. Rufino

DLSU Business & Economics Review

This study is an empirical evaluation of the dynamic effect of intermittent television ad placements on the sales of a consumer product using three classes of distributed lag models. The study is also geared to analytically determine the duration of advertising effects and the dependability of the firm’s pulsing type of advertising strategy. Empirical results support the soundness of the company’s strategy. Maximum duration of advertising effect is estimated at six months, which is about the largest number of consecutive months the product was not seen on TV during the sample period.

Lost And Found Again: Subjective Norm In Gym Membership, Octavia Leeman, Jaime S. Ong

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Understanding behavioral intention, a critical aspect of market planning, is not simple, as many factors are involved in the formation of behavioral intention. This study endeavored to better understand the relationship between attitude, subjective norm and behavioral intention in an empirical study of gym membership. Using a model based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, the study examined the influence of attitude and subjective norm on behavioral intention to join a gym. An analysis of the findings suggested that to maintain current gym members, a gym operator should capitalize on attitudes favoring gym membership.

The Patent System And The Quest For Affordable Medicines, Christopher E. Cruz

DLSU Business & Economics Review

This study examined how the patent system in the Philippines – as embodied by the Intellectual Property Code – affects the public’s access to affordable medicines. It discussed the issue of patent protection vs. public health in the context of the Philippine pharmaceutical industry. The study discovered that Filipino-owned pharmaceutical companies find it difficult to compete with multinational corporations, and that this factor has raised the prices of medicines in the Philippines. The study then proposed solutions to the problem, which include the promotion of off-patent drugs and the amendment of the Intellectual Property Code.

Planning Or Warfare: On Urban Allocation Of Land, Syed A. Samad

DLSU Business & Economics Review

This study reviewed the subject of the urban allocation of land, and mainly drew from two major works: Vernon (1960) and Vreeker, de Groot, and Verhoef (2007). The two major works were analyzed along with other relevant issues such as urban multifunctional land use, clustering of firms, and empirical implications. Recommendations regarding the urban allocation of land were then presented.

A Preliminary Exploration Of Generational Similarities And Differences In Values Between The United States, United Kingdom, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Colombia And The Philippines, Arnel Onesimo Uy, Edward F. Murphy Jr, Regina A. Greenwood, Jaime A. Ruiz-Gutierrez, Terrell G. Manyak, Bahaudin Mujtaba

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Generational similarities and differences among working adults in the United States, United Kingdom, Iceland, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Colombia were investigated using the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). Hypotheses were supported for cross-cultural generational differences for 23 of 36 values; there were also generational similarities. Sixteen values were ranked similarly for the 40+ year-old generation; thirteen values were ranked similarly for the 18 to 29 year-old generation; and 13 values were ranked similarly for the 30 to 39 year olds. This study is one of the first to identify values that are similar across cross-cultural generations in Western, Eastern, South …

The Disparity Between Long-Term And Short-Term Forecasted Earnings Growth, Zhi Da, Mitchell Craig Warachka

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We find the disparity between long-term and short-term analyst forecasted earnings growth is a robust predictor of future returns and revisions in long-term forecasted earnings growth. After adjusting for industry characteristics, stocks whose long-term earnings growth forecasts are far above or far below their implied short-term forecasts for earnings growth have negative and positive subsequent risk-adjusted returns, respectively. Despite the importance of conditioning on short-term forecasted earnings growth, these returns are not driven by earnings momentum. Instead, consistent with investors having limited attention, predictable revisions in long-term analyst forecasts appear to induce return predictability.

Earnings Asymmetric Timeliness And Shareholder Distributions, Richard M. Frankel, Yan Sun, Rong Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We study whether more asymmetrically timely earnings constrain payouts to shareholders in the presence of bad news. Our goal is to provide evidence on the ex post contracting benefits of accounting conservatism. We distinguish between cash flow asymmetric timeliness and accrual asymmetric timeliness to examine how each relates to asymmetric sensitivity of shareholder payouts. We find that only the asymmetric timeliness of cash flows is significantly related to the asymmetric sensitivity of shareholder payouts. Other measures of conservatism (earnings skewness and accumulated nonoperating accruals) are also not significantly related to the sensitivity of shareholder payouts given bad news. These results …

Consolidation In Indian Banking Industry – Need Of The Hour, Syed Ahsan Jamil, Bimal Jaiswal, Namita Nigam

Business Review

This study is aimed at trying to unravel the fast and metamorphic changes been brought about within the Indian banking industry. With the government in India clearly specifying that it will liberalize the entry of foreign banks in India by 2009 alarm bells have started ringing for underperforming banks who largely nurtured under government protection and lack of competition. It is now a fight for survival. Consolidation seems to be the only viable solution for most of theses beleaguered banks.

2007-2008 Operating Budget: Subr Agricultural Extension And Research Programs, Southern University System. Office Of Finance & Administration.

All Southern University System Budgets

2007-2008 Operating Budget of the SUBR Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Final Printing.

2007-2008 Operating Budget: Southern University At New Orleans, Southern System. Office Of Finance & Administration.

All Southern University System Budgets

2007-2008 Operating Budget of the Southern University at New Orleans Campus. Final Printing.

Islamic Finance Unit Takes Bank Beyond Michigan Roots, Karen Ahmed

College of Business Faculty and Staff Works

No abstract provided.

Volatility Spillovers On Precious Metals Markets: The Effects Of The Asian Crisis, Lucia Morales

Conference papers

This paper investigates the nature of volatility spillovers between precious metals returns over the 1995- July 2007 period. We analyzed daily closing values for precious metals data, we took the US$/Troy ounce for gold, the London Free Market Platinum price in US$/Troy ounce, the London Free Market Palladium price in US$/Troy once, and the Zurich silver price in US$/kilogram. We divide our sample into a number of sub periods, prior to, during and after the Asian crisis, with the objective to provide a wide analysis of the behaviour of the precious metals markets during this crisis; we use GARCH and …

Can Monetary Policy Help To Stabilise Asset Prices?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Should central banks use monetary policy to stabilise asset prices, particularly home and equity prices? Stefan Gerlach, professor of monetary economics, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt, points out that no central bank has had lowering home prices as one of its policy goals. Gerlach spoke recently at an Economics and Statistics Seminar at the Singapore Management University on how residential property and equity prices, inflation and economic activity responded to monetary policy shocks in 17 countries from 1986 to 2006.

Forecasting Flying Hour Costs Of The B-1, B-2, And B-52 Bomber Aircraft, Stefanie L. Van Dyk

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis both evaluates, and presents improvements to, the current method of forecasting flying costs of Air Force aircraft. It uses depot level repairable (DLR) and consumable (CONS) data for the Air Force's bomber platforms: B-1B, B-2, and B-52H. The current forecasting method assumes a proportional relationship between costs and flying hours such that 1) when no hours are flown costs are zero, and 2) a 1% increase in flying hours will increase costs by 1%. The findings of this research indicate that applying log-linear ordinary least squares regression techniques may be an improved fit of flying cost data over …

Pre-Test Assessment, Thomas Berry

College of Business Faculty and Staff Works

Pre-tests are a non-graded assessment tool used to determine pre-existing subject knowledge. Typically pre-tests are administered prior to a course to determine knowledge baseline, but here they are used to test students prior to topical material coverage throughout the course. While counterintuitive, the pre-tests cover material the student is not expected to know, but serve as a motivational tool and a road map for the students, resulting in improved course performance.

Review Of "Writing The Economy: Activity, Genre, And Technology In The World Of Banking", Andrea R. Olinger

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance, Shareholder Rights, And Shareholder Rights Plans: Poison, Placebo, Or Prescription?, Gary L. Caton, Jeremy C. Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine the effect of poison pill adoptions on firm value, controlling for the adopting firm's preexisting corporate governance structure. We find that only companies with the most democratic governance structures, defined as those with the fewest preexisting protective governance provisions, experience significantly positive abnormal stock returns and significantly positive abnormal revisions in five-year earnings growth rate forecasts. Moreover, regression results indicate that abnormal returns and forecast revisions are significantly related to governance structure and not to board composition or subsequent merger activity.

A Tale Of Two Prices: Liquidity And Asset Prices In Multiple Markets, Justin Sai Pang Chan, Dong Hong, Marti G. Subrahmanyam

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper investigates the liquidity effect in asset pricing by studying the liquidity-premium relationship of an American depositary receipt (ADR) and its underlying share. Using the [Amihud, Yakov, 2002. Illiquidity and stock returns: cross-section and time series effects. Journal of Financial Markets 5, 31-56] measure, the turnover ratio and trading infrequency as proxies for liquidity, we show that a higher ADR premium is associated with higher ADR liquidity and lower home share liquidity, in terms of changes in these variables. We find that the liquidity effects remain strong after we control for firm size and a number of country characteristics, …

Behavioral Explanations Of Trading Volume And Short-Horizon Price Patterns: An Investigation Of Seven Asia-Pacific Markets, David K. Ding, Thomas H. Mclnish, Udomsak Wongchoti

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We investigate whether behavioral postulations offer any implicit explanation of the country-varying relation between trading volume and price pattern among short-horizon winners/losers in seven Pacific-Basin markets during the period 1990 to 2000. Our findings lend credence to the Lee and Swaminathan [Lee, C. and Swaminathan, B., 2000. Price momentum and trading volume, Journal of Finance 55, 2017-2069.] Momentum Life Cycle explanation that high (low) volume winners (losers) are more likely to experience price reversals, whereas high (low) volume losers (winners), price momentum, in the subsequent period. This observation is especially pronounced in Hong Kong. Other models such as those based …

Portland Me: Affordable Housing V. Open Space, Patrick Wright, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer

Planning

Amid an acknowledged “affordable housing crisis”, a first-time developer approaches the City to release part of a tax-acquired property, promising a smart-growth development that would provide sorely needed starter homes for working families. The case highlights the complications of balancing competing interests in Portland ME. It shows where rational planning fails in the presence of strong neighborhood opposition, a disjointed city staff structure, and the absence of political will among City Councilors. It highlights the need for champions within local government when a project evokes competing interests. It demonstrates the extent to which “words matter” to policy outcomes, and who …

Corporate Ethics And Ceo Compensation, Martin Mack

Senior Honors Projects

Corporate ethics and chief executive officer (CEO) compensation will be forever linked together. The dramatic increase in recent corporate scandals has driven increased scrutiny of the enormous executive salaries that CEOs collect each year. The connection between these two topics led me to explore how executive compensation plans are designed and how ethics affect executives’ decision making. In this paper I try to determine which financial factors are the best indicators of a CEO’s compensation. I also examine how profitable a company is with an ethical CEO compared to a company with an unethical CEO. The companies I use are …

The Archway Investment Fund Semi Annual Report, May 2008, Bryant University, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002 On The U.S. Financial Markets, Sheryl-Ann Kathleen Stephen

Finance and Real Estate Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation examines the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on the U. S. financial markets by investigating three topics: security analysts' performance, security analyst monitoring activity and firm value, and the cost of equity capital. Each topic is presented in a separate essay. In the first essay, the impact of SOX on security analysts' performance is investigated. The findings indicate that security analysts' forecasting performance has deteriorated post-SOX for both large and small firms. In addition, this deterioration in forecasting performance holds across industries. Security analysts have also become pessimistic in their earnings forecasts post-SOX. The second essay examines …