We present a competitive model of takeovers that explains two robust features of the data: target premia and size-dependent bidder returns. Takeovers are driven by complementarity between two factors, non-tradeable "skill" and a tradeable "project". Firms are heterogeneous in both dimensions....

This paper examines the effect of product market threats on firms' stock crash risk. Competitive pressure from the product market aggravates managers' incentive to withhold negative information. When negative information is accumulated to a tipping point, the accumulated information all comes...

This paper explores an equilibrium model for industry entry dynamics and technological change. We focus on the share valuation of firms in the transition as technology changes, and whether or not share prices are always increasing when technology improves. We find that there can be a U-shaped...

The current financial crisis is a crisis of theory as well. The dominant theory of financial markets, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), states that in an efficient market the price of a financial asset reflects publicly available information about that asset. Competing theories, such as...

European equity trading mainly takes place in electronic order-driven systems. In those systems two groups of traders post their orders. One group makes liquidity by submitting limit orders while the other takes liquidity by submitting market orders. A high degree of liquidity is widely seen as...

Allegations have been made that High Frequency Traders (HFTs) prey on other market participants and only intermediate trades that would have taken place without their involvement. There are claims that HFTs can predict when orders are going to arrive at different trading venues and trade in...

We examine the response of investment to peers' stock prices. While the response to average peer-Q is typically positive, the response to prices of peer firms that are more threatening and those of industry leaders is reliably negative. The responses are more strongly negative when the prices...

Volatile events in the stock market such as the 2010 Flash Crash have sparked concern that financial markets are "rigged" in favor of trading firms that use high frequency trading ("HFT") systems. We analyze a regulatory change implemented by the SEC in 2007 by examining its effect on a key...

This paper explores an equilibrium model for industry entry dynamics and technological change. We focus on the share valuation of firms in the transition as technology changes, and whether or not share prices are always increasing when technology improves. We find that there can be a U-shaped...

This study presents evidence that much of the trading on macro-economic news occurs prior to the scheduled news announcement times. Examining the trading patterns ahead of the ISM Manufacturing Index and Construction Spending announcement, we find that the trading on the not-yet-publicly...