The links between interest rates, cost of capital, hurdle rates, and capital allocation have been remarkably weak during the last few years. For instance, whereas the current yield on the World Government Bond Index is a paltry 1.2%, survey evidence suggests that the median reported investment...

I investigate the profitability and investment premium in stock returns using hand-collected data from Moody's Manuals for 1940-1963. Controlling for value, the profitability premium emerges as important in this period. In contrast, there no reliable relation between investment and returns,...