We examine Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) that went public between 1986 and 2004. Consistent with previous studies, we find that REIT IPOs are associated with lower levels of underpricing relative to traditional issues. We also find that REITs are...

Previous research finds that stock analysts exhibit both optimistic and pessimistic biases in their earnings forecasts, with the net result being a consistent, but declining, overestimation of forecasted earnings. We extend this research by examining the potential effect of Seasonal Affective...

We examine the influence of credit rating changes on corporate excess cash holdings. We find that downgraded firms increase excess cash holdings by approximately 3% of total noncash assets, compared to a matched sample of firms without a rating change. We largely observe no significant cash...

Many financial scandals appear to depend on a lack of skepticism on the part of their victims. For example, sophisticated investors trusted Bernie Madoff, despite early warning signs of implausible returns. Our study investigates how education and personality explain skeptical behavior in...

We examine the differing influences of equity and asset acquisitions in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) considering the prevalence of REIT asset acquisitions as frequent and major investment decisions. We examine the impact of asset purchase announcements on market returns, operating...

We examine the firm's alterations in dividend and investment activities following credit rating changes. We find that downgraded firms reduce both dividends and investments more than no-rating-change firms. However, a silver lining of this doubly negative impact for shareholders is an increase...