We analyze the ability of various market mechanisms to provide liquidity for large equity trades. Using data on 21,077 block transactions in Dow Jones stocks, we find that the "down-stairs" NYSE floor market is a significant source of liquidity. Although negotiation in the informal "upstairs"...

Restrictions on transaction price changes are a feature of many security markets. This paper analyzes the impact of such price continuity rules on price dynamics and examines possible rationales for their existence. Contrary to popular belief, continuity rules need not reduce price efficiency,...

The magnitude and determinants of credit and currency risks are topics of considerable importance. This paper uses data on peso- and dollar-denominated debt issued by the Mexican government to identify currency and country risk premia. We show that shocks in equity and debt market returns...

The process of clearing and settling trades involves risks to both investors and the brokerage firms that represent them. Because of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has appointed a technical committee to explore the problems of clearing and settlement in a global...

Many recommendations for reforming securities market are predicated on the belief that providing information on order flow and other market variables to traders (i.e., increasing market transparency) will increase liquidity and improve price efficiency. This paper demonstrates that market...

This article develops and tests a structural model of intraday price formation that embodies public information shocks and microstructure effects. We use the model to analyze intraday patterns in bid-ask spreads, price volatility, transaction costs, and return and quote autocorrelations, and to...

Opening mechanisms play a crucial role in information aggregation following the overnight nontrading period. This article examines the process of price discovery at the New York Stock Exchange single-price opening auction. We develop a theoretical model to explain the determinants of the opening...

It is commonly believed that fragmented security markets have a natural tendency to consolidate. This article examines this belief focusing on the effect of disclosing trading information to market participants. We show that large traders who place multiple trades can benefit from the absence of...