We examine the frequency of short selling in stocks listed in the Nasdaq market. Using previously unavailable transaction data, we can report several findings: (1) overall, 1 of every 42 trades involves a short sale; (2) short selling is more common among stocks with high returns than stocks with...

We use data from Nasdaq's FIPS system for reporting transactions in selected high-yield corporate bonds to investigate the relationship between the returns on a firm's stock and the returns on its publicly traded, high-yield debt. Regression models and analysis of the behavior of the returns...

This paper studies short-selling prior to the release of analyst downgrades in a sample of 670 downgrades of NASDAQ stocks between 2000 and 2001. We document abnormal levels of short-selling in the three days before downgrades are publicly announced. Further, we show that this pre-announcement...

This paper analyzes changes in US equity values around the 2004 presidential election. At 4:00 PM on November 2, trading in George Bush's victory contract on Tradesports.com implied a probable defeat; early November 3, Bush was the winner. Because no other important event occurred in that...

This paper examines the trading volume of a sample of high-yield corporate bonds reported on Nasdaq's Fixed Income Pricing System (FIPS). This analysis of volume allows us to better understand the liquidity of debt issues. We demonstrate that the quot;mandatoryquot; FIPS issues trade fairly...

This paper examines the relationship between short selling in the equity market and corporate bond returns. We show that both shorting activity and size of short trades are inversely correlated with contemporaneous bond returns. In addition, firms with heavily shorted shares or large short trade...