We examine the volume-return relationship of individual stocks around the world. We frame our empirical investigation in the context of the heterogeneous agent, rational expectations, framework proposed by Llorente, Michaely, Saar, and Wang (2002) in which investors trade to speculate on their...

Using ordered logit and probit plus random effects ordered probit approaches, we study the determinants of sovereign debt ratings. We found that the last procedure is the best for panel data as it takes into account the additional cross-section error

We investigate the impact of country and sector as variables in explaining the cross-sectional variability of price returns for a sample of over 1900 companies comprising the MSCI Developed World Index, drawn from 21 countries, over the period 1992-2001. For the value-weighted world portfolio,...

We investigate the impact of bankruptcy codes on firms' capital-structure choices. We develop a theoretical model to identify how firm characteristics may interact with the bankruptcy code in determining optimal capital structures. A novel and sharp empirical implication emerges from this model:...

This paper studies how institutional factors and systemic risks (driven by macroeconomic conditions) prevalent in emerging economies may impact market discipline among banks (traditionally understood as market responses to bank fundamentals). First, we discuss how certain institutional features...

One striking feature of international portfolio investment is the extent to which equity portfolios are concentrated in the domestic equity market of the investor - the home bias puzzle. In this paper, I examine the role of investors' perception of the risk of foreign investment on their...

International differences in the demand for accounting income predictably affect the way it incorporates economic income (dividend-adjusted change in market value) over time. We characterize the quot;shareholderquot; and quot;stakeholderquot; corporate governance models of common and code law...

This is a top-level and short review (hopefully an eye-opener) of the factors that affect the Dollar-Euro exchange rate in the near future. It seems that the US is better positioned, than the Euro Zone, to face the current illiquidity crisis. Moreover, over the period of this crisis it is...

Although it is generally agreed that companies are better off with shorter manufacturing lead times, investment in lead time reduction is often difficult to justify using traditional project valuation techniques such as net present value (NPV). In this article, we suggest that evaluating...

This paper analyzes the factors determining transactional exchange rate hedging with foreign currency debt for a sample of 56 Spanish non-financial companies listed in 2004. In particular, we analyze the variables that determine the decision to hedge with foreign currency debt as well as hedging...