This paper investigates the behavior of investors in the equity option market using a unique and detailed dataset of open interest and volume for all contracts listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange over the 1990 through 2001 period. We document major stylized facts about the option market...

We document insider trading activities of all companies listed on the NYSE, Amex, and Nasdaq exchanges during the 1975-1995 period. Insider trading is common, and in more than half the sample firms, there is at least some insider activity in a given year. In general, very little market movement...

Using a comprehensive sample of equity-linked private securities offerings by Korean firms from 1989 to 2000, we examine whether such offerings can be used as a mechanism for tunneling among firms belonging to a chaebol. We find that the chaebol-affiliated issuers sell private securities at a...

This paper investigates the long-run stock returns of privatization initial public offering (IPO) firms using a sample of 241 privatization IPOs from 42 countries during the period 1981-2003. We compare one- three-, and five-year holding period returns of the privatization IPOs to those of the...

This paper examines the relation between top executives' trading and the long-run stock returns of seasoned equity issuing firms. Primary issuers, who sell mostly newly- issued primary shares, significantly underperform their benchmarks, regardless of the top executives' prior trading pattern....

The option pricing framework has been very useful in tackling a wide range of problems. Merton pioneered the application of this methodology to the pricing of deposit insurance for financial institutions. Most applications in the deposit insurance area assume that the volatility of the assets of...

Merton pioneered the application of the option pricing framework to the pricing of deposit insurance for financial institutions. Most applications in the deposit insurance area assume that the volatility of the assets of the bank is exogenous whereas is may be more realistic to assume it is...

This paper examines the influence of corporate governance systems on insiders' ability to profit from their information advantage and the ways through which corporate governance systems influence such ability. We find that corporate governance significantly reduces the profitability of insider...

Using recent U.S. data we find that the patterns of returns around open-market share repurchases have changed compared to existing results based on earlier samples. The long-horizon abnormal returns estimated using various methodologies following repurchase announcements made after 2001 are much...

This paper investigates the behavior of investors in the equity option market using a unique and detailed dataset of open interest and volume for all contracts listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange over the 1990 through 2001 period. We document major stylized facts about the option market...