Despite years of study, the impact of firm-level governance on stock returns is not clear, especially in non-U.S. markets. We investigate the returns of governance-based trading strategies in Asia, using bias-free return data and CLSA governance ratings. We argue that poor governance should be...

Stock pledged loans have become prevalent among large shareholders of listed firms in China. The largest shareholder pledges a greater fraction of her holdings as collateral for credit when the firm is in growth industries, less profitable, not state owned, and has higher leverage. Stock...

This paper presents a dynamic model of the firm with risk-free debt contracts, investment irreversibility, and debt restructuring costs. The model fits several stylized facts of corporate finance and asset pricing: First, book leverage is constant across different book-to-market portfolios,...

The problem of return on current assets and return on working capital related to the cost of equity invested in a company is analyzed in this paper. Risk - return and liquidity - profitability trade-offs influence the company’s equilibrium and management decisions. Liquidity is measured by the...

This paper examines how private equity returns in Asia are related to levels of legal protection and corruption. We utilize a unique data set comprising over 750 returns to private equity transactions across 20 developing and developed countries in Asia. The data indicate that legal protections...

Earnings manipulations are often revealed with significant lag. This usually entails dramatic share price' slide. Therefore investors should avoid/buy stocks with low/high earnings-quality. However, given the shortcomings of auditing, using this strategy requires application of the other (then...

All conceivable solutions to the internal rate of return equation are shown to have meaning as well as use. Internal rates of return are the units in which value is measured and the quantities of such units. This result implies a single internal rate of return cannot be an investment criterion....

We review the theory and evidence on venture capital (VC) and other private equity: why professional private equity exists, what private equity managers do with their portfolio companies, what returns they earn, who earns more and why, what determines the design of contracts signed between (i)...

This note proposes a coherent system enabling interpretation and manipulation of rates of interest (or rates of return) including an imaginary component. This may help to throw new light on equations involving complex solutions, especially when valuing investment projects. In addition, a series...

The motivation and characteristics of firms that announce stock repurchase programs but do not carry them out are poorly understood. We conjecture that the long-term earnings quality of such firms is low, which makes them poor candidates for subsequent stock purchase. Their announcement is just...