The asset pricing model with external habit formation predicts that the equity premium depends on consumption changes relative to the habit level, implying a response that varies over the business cycle. We test this implication using a VAR model of the U.S. postwar economy whose time-varying...

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the current financial landscape shaped by the crises and new regulations impacts Investment Banking’s business model. We will focus on quantitative implications, i.e. valuation, modeling and pricing issues, as well as qualitative implications,...

This study finds firms that pay their employees’ health-care premiums earn average positive risk premiums and positive risk-adjusted excess returns. The problem of the study is to analyze risk premiums and risk adjusted returns of an equal-weighted portfolio of firms that pay 100% of...

This paper examines whether the decision and amount of firm charitable giving in response to catastrophic events are related to firm post-performance, and whether firm ownership type moderates this relationship. Using data on Chinese firms’ philanthropic response to the 2008 Sichuan...

This study focuses on determining whether short-term market inefficiencies exist that can be periodically exploited by investors. Berkshire Hathaway’s dual class stock with differential voting rights and one- way conversion option provides a unique opportunity to investigate this issue...

This research tries to find evidence for the Halloween effect by presenting an assessment of the profitability of the Sell in May, and go away investment strategy associated with this phenomenon. We present significant proof of the existence of the Halloween effect; it was observed in 29 of the...

The risk-free rate is an important input in one of the most widely used finance models: the Capital Asset Pricing Model. Academics and practitioners tend to use either short-term Treasury bills or long-term Treasury bonds as the risk-free security without empirical justification. This study...

This paper employs a hybrid approach that combines an adapted version of Fama-MacBeth two-pass regression with Engle-Granger cointegration test to characterize the relationship between expected stock returns and systematic risks with diverse investment horizons. We find no evidence supporting a...

In the current environment of financial distress, many governments are likely to soon become major holders of financial assets, but the policy debate focuses only on the likelihood and extent of short-term market stabilization. This paper shows that government intervention and propping up are...

We examine the option-implied volatility of the three most liquid ETFs (Diamonds, Spiders, and Cubes) and their respective tracking indices (Dow 30, S&P 500, and NASDAQ 100). We find that volatility smiles for ETF options are more pronounced than for index options, primarily because...