Market structure affects the informational and real frictions faced by traders in equity markets. Using bid-ask spreads, we present evidence which suggests that while real frictions associated with the costs of supplying immediacy are less in order-driven systems, informational frictions...

With the benefit of very high frequency (25 million 1 minute observations) and recent data (2001) for the UK, this paper explores a number of intra day patterns of stock market behaviour. More specifically, a distinct reverse J shaped bid-ask spread pattern is noted for SETS securities, a...

Signaling theories of the pricing of initial public offerings are based on an equilibrium which separates high from low quality companies. In empirically testing these theories one issue which needs addressing is how to identify high and low quality companies. This paper develops a new test of...

"This paper investigates a neglected topic in corporate governance research; namely, do governance characteristics affect the market reaction to news? The topic is important given the emphasis by governance regulations and codes of best practice on the need for greater transparency of corporate...

This paper builds on prior research by analysing the impact of cultural factors on both price clustering and price resistance in China's stock markets. The results support the presence of cultural factors impacting on price clustering with the digit 8 showing a higher propensity for clustering...

We examine how information risk and transaction costs influence the initial and subsequent market reaction to earnings news. We find that the initial market reaction is higher per unit of earnings surprise for higher information risk firms (information content effect). Furthermore, it is...