Stocks with high idiosyncratic volatility perform poorly relative to low idiosyncratic volatility stocks. We offer a novel explanation of this anomaly based on real options, which is consistent with earlier findings on idiosyncratic volatility (the positive contemporaneous relation between...

This paper examines the relationship between two important financial variables (price informativeness, and cost of capital) and information asymmetry, controlling for the total amount of information in the market. In the model, each investor has a private signal. We measure information asymmetry...

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...

Using financial institution mergers as exogenous shocks to common ownership, we find that stock prices of commonly held firms incorporate future earnings news more quickly and are less sensitive to noise traders. Our analyses show that the increase in price informativeness is due to: (1)...

Management, directly or indirectly, learns from its firm's stock price, so that a more informative stock price should make the firm more productive. We show that stock price informativeness increases firm productivity. We predict and confirm that the productivity of smaller and younger firms,...

We show that suppliers cut back on trade credit extensions as they learn about future growth opportunities from their stock prices. We further explore how suppliers’ financial strength, relationship specific investments (RSI), product characteristics, and market power moderate the effect of...

Using the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006, we examine the credibility of mandatory disclosure by credit rating agencies (CRAs) on managerial learning from stock prices. We find an increase in investment-price sensitivity for firms affected by the Act. Consistent with managers relying...

In this study, we test whether earnings management has a positive impact on information asymmetry as well as whether earnings management has a negative impact on stock return synchronicity to investigate how discretionary accrual earnings management affects the imbalance of information and the...

Dividend reductions have long been considered a "last resort" action for firm managers. Managerial reluctance to reduce dividends emanates from the view that dividend drops signal managerial pessimism regarding future earnings. Contrary to expectations, studies show that earnings rebound...

With 5% of U.S. public firms acquired annually, rational expectations perpetually embed a significant portion of acquisition gains into firms' stock prices long before a takeover. We estimate 10% of a typical target's pre-deal price is attributable to general merger anticipation. The unobserved...