This dissertation examines the behavior of banks participating in the Farm Service Agency guaranteed loan program between the fiscal years of 1995 and 2003. Guaranteed loans are originated by banks but backed by the federal government. Borrowers must be creditworthy but unable to receive credit...

This paper examines how the price-setting process for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) is influenced by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The findings indicate a significant positive relation between underpricing and the presence of a regulatory constraint requiring an...

The purpose of this study is to extend the body of Agency Theory Literature to the class of relatively small firms that use the revolving Asset-Based Loan (ABL) as their major source of debt financing. Specifically, the revolving ABL structure is examined and implications for both the resolution...

This thesis examines the pricing of volatility on organized U.S. options exchanges from October 31, 2005 through November 1, 2007. The research is motivated in part by the rapid growth of hedge funds that trade volatility and in part by the growing importance that the financial markets place on...

This dissertation consists of two essays on diversification benefits, return characteristics, and the performance of U.S.-based global government bond mutual funds. The first essay examines: (i) the performance of U.S.-based global government bond funds, (ii) the benefits of inclusion of...

Numerous studies have documented that the stock market reacts, on average, positively to open market repurchases and dividend increase announcements. Most studies draw their conclusions based on the belief that the motivations for different stock repurchase programs are the same across firms, or...

This dissertation consists of four essays on pricing fixed income derivatives and risk management. The first essay presents pricing and duration formulas for floating rate bonds and interest rate swaps with embedded options. It combines Briys et al.'s approximation with the extended Vasicek term...