We hypothesize that greater information asymmetry causes greater losses to debtholders. To test this, we identify exogenous increases in information asymmetry using the loss of an analyst that results from broker closures and broker mergers. We find that the loss of an analyst causes the cost of...

We explore a large sample of analysts' estimates of cost of equity capital (CoE) revealed in analysts' reports to evaluate their determinants and ability to capture expected stock returns. We first document that CoE estimates are more likely to be provided by less experienced and less busy...

We examine whether more sophisticated accounting methods (in the form of accrual accounting) interacts with other information sources and the pledging of collateral to reduce information asymmetries between small business borrowers and lenders, thereby lowering borrowers' probability of loan...

We explore a large sample of analysts’ estimates of the cost of equity capital (CoE) to evaluate their usefulness as expected return proxies (ERP). We find that the CoE estimates are significantly related to a firm’s beta, size, book-to-market ratio, leverage, and idiosyncratic volatility...

Private information imposes a severe trading disadvantage on uninformed traders while at the same time providing firms with valuable signals for investment adjustment. The two forces have opposite impacts on the cost of capital, and the net effect depends on which force dominates. We show that...

The average MRP used by analysts in the USA (5.1%) was similar to the one used by their colleagues in Europe (5.0%). But the average MRP used by companies in the USA (5.3%) was smaller than the one used by companies in Europe (5.7%), and UK (5.6%).The dispersion of the MRP used was high, but...

Our research examines the importance and influence of meeting or beating analysts' cash flow forecasts on a firm's cost of debt. We examine three important metrics related to a firm's cost of debt: initial bond rating, bond yield, and subsequent changes in bond ratings. Our results indicate...

The average Market Risk Premium (MRP) used in 2011 by professors for the USA (5.7%) is higher than the one used by analysts (5.0%) and companies (5.6%). The standard deviation of the MRP used in 2011 by analysts (1.1%) is lower than the ones of companies (2.0%) and professors (1.6%). Most...

Using a value-weighted rather than an equally weighted regression, Easton and Sommers (2007) show that the upward bias in the risk premium implied by analysts' earnings forecasts falls to 1.6%, but remains statistically and economically significant. In this paper, we argue that any estimation of...

We provide the first large-scale study of the performance of expected-return proxies (ERPs) internationally. Analyst-forecast-based ICCs are sparsely populated and not robustly associated with future returns. Earnings-model-forecast-based ICCs are well-populated, but are unreliable outside the...