Previous studies have shown that financial accounting information produce economic effects, as a result of its role in reducing information asymmetry in capital markets. Recent theories sustain that the level of value-relevance of a country's accounting information is directly related to...

We provide a theory of mandatory accounting conservatism as a means to avoid speculative bubbles and overvaluation. In a simple exchange economy where agents trade due to differences in opinion, we show that conservatism leads to a lower expected stock price than a full disclosure regime. Thus...

Prior research provides evidence that financial-statement users weight information less heavily in judgment when that information is provided in a less accessible format (e.g., information disclosed in a footnote or less important financial statement rather than being recognized on the income...

This paper examines the economic consequences of changes in the financial reporting requirements for contingent convertible securities (COCOs). Using a sample of 199 COCO issuers from 2000-2004, we find that issuers are more likely to restructure or redeem existing COCOs to obtain more favorable...

We investigate the relations between changes in the precisions of public and private information and changes in market liquidity around earnings announcements. Increases in the precision of public information reduce information asymmetry, whereas increases in the precision of private information...

We reexamine the descriptive ability of the conventional wisdom that earnings announcements made after trading and on Friday are dominated by bad news in light of the 24/7 media coverage and other technological changes of the 1990s. We find that the change in media coverage has facilitated a...

I document a large and significant diversification discount in multi-division firms that are diversified neither industrially nor geographically. All divisions of these firms, which are called quot;pseudo-conglomeratesquot;, operate in the same finely defined industry. Since divisions of...

The 1964 Securities Acts Amendments extended the mandatory disclosure requirements that had applied to listed firms since 1934 to large firms traded Over-the-Counter (OTC). We find several pieces of evidence indicating that investors valued these disclosure requirements, two of which are...

This paper studies market liquidity and stock prices components of information asymmetry around non-mandated earnings announcements by focusing on effective bid-ask spreads and trading volumes. Using event study methodology for 309 voluntary earnings announcements from 1998 to 2001, we found...

Do firms time the release of news in response to investor inattention? We consider news about earnings and analyze the reaction of investors to announcements on Friday and on other weekdays. The day of the week for the announcement has two main effects on stock returns. First, the short-term...