In past decades, many empirical studies revealed return anomalies in many different asset classes and markets. Very recent publications have, however, even found evidence that stock markets react to the results of soccer matches. In this article, we argue that such empirical studies should be...

Many empirical studies have found that patterns in stock index returns are seasonally related, which is contrary to the weak form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). This article takes a closer look at the Turn-Of-the-Month Effect (TOME) and its economic relevance. By scrutinizing the...

In this paper, we empirically examine the systematic risk of corporate bonds in the Euro area. Based on a unique sample of 784 bonds from 1999 to 2010, we show that the systematic risk of constructed bond portfolios and individual bonds—measured against three different market indices—depends...

Private investors increasingly use passive investment strategies, i.e. investment methods that try to replicate a stock market index as accurate as possible. In this paper we compare retail index certificates and exchange traded funds. Both investment products promise a performance that...

While the academic world is still discussing if charting works or if it is more or less something like "Voodoo finance", the practical orientated world has been using technical analysis for decades. One argument of practitioners is, that technical analysis is useful to "disciplinate" the trader...

We examine four European stock indices and the prices of eight major German stocks for indications of psychological barriers. The frequency, (expected) returns, intraday volatility and trading volume of these assets are studied contingent on whether the prices lie within a certain range around...

Regulators' expectations to the IFRS introduction are high. In our analyses we measure by different variables for market liquidity how inter alia reporting quality and investors' preference developed with IFRS adopter and non IFRS adopter firms over the years, starting in the time of the early...

In this paper, we empirically examine if sovereign risk matters for corporate bonds in developed economies. Using a unique panel data sample of 897 corporate bonds from eleven countries within the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), we investigate sovereign and corporate ratings as well as...