We perform a comprehensive test of order choice theory from a sample period when the NYSE trades in decimals and allows automatic executions. We analyze the decision to submit or cancel an order or to take no action. For submitted orders we distinguish order type (market vs. limit), order side...

We investigate how the increase in speed of U.S. equity markets has distorted liquidity measures. We find that the widely-used Monthly Trade and Quote (MTAQ) database yields a percent effective spread 43% higher than our benchmark, a quoted spread that is nonpositive nine times more often, and a...

U.S. equity markets have explosively increased their trade and quote frequency and the decline of the dominance of the NYSE has increased the importance of National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) quotes. We address three methodology issues that arise in the computation of the NBBO: (1) millisecond...

We analyze variations of three risk determinants of the Extended Merton structural corporate bond model. We consider three alternative non-Gaussian distributions, varying recovery rates, and the possibility of early default or default at maturity. We test a sample of 79 corporate bonds from 1987...

First, we replicate the Liquidity-adjusted Capital Asset Pricing Model (LCAPM) tests of Acharya and Pedersen (2005) using their original methodology and covering both their original time period and a more recent period. We successfully qualitatively replicate the descriptive and the first-stage...

I examine the acceptance time (i.e., the time that eventually-published articles take from first-round submission to final-round acceptance) and the online/print publication times (i.e., the time that eventually-published articles take from first-round submission to online/print publication) of...

Performance share plans are an increasingly important component of executive compensation. They are equity-based, long-term incentive plans where the number of shares to be awarded is a quasi-linear function of a performance result over a fixed time period. We derive closed-form formulas for the...

Do fast, competitive markets yield liquidity measurement problems when using the popular Monthly Trade and Quote (MTAQ) database? Yes. MTAQ yields distorted measures of spreads, trade location, and price impact compared with the expensive Daily Trade and Quote (DTAQ) database. These problems are...

This paper provides evidence that stock traders focus on round numbers as cognitive reference points for value. Using a random sample of more than 100 million stock transactions, we find excess buying (selling) by liquidity demanders at all price points one penny below (above) round numbers....