This paper systematically studies analysts' notes, an important form of analyst disclosure not previously studied in the literature. Analyst notes are written disclosures that represent a product of sell-side analysts' daily effort and provide a vehicle for analysts to communicate their...

We exploit an influential 1991 Delaware court ruling to examine simultaneously two types of conservatism that play important roles in resolving creditor-owner agency conflicts: contracting conservatism and reporting conservatism. The ruling expanded managerial fiduciary duties in favor of...

Executives confront potentially conflicting pressures - to maximize shareholder wealth in the long term and to appease shareholders in the near term. Because near-term pressures must be addressed to preserve tenure and to realize the potential benefits of long-term strategies, executives are...

Over the years since airline deregulation five of the remaining U.S. legacy carriers lost money on mergers that cost them a total of $29.6 billion. The combined market cap of these carriers at the end of 2007 was $15.5 billion. In other words, their return on merger investments was -48%. Why?...

Enron's demise and the corporate investigations that ensued have reinvigorated the debate on managerial fiduciary duty. Some have argued that the recent stock bubble and the ensuing revelations of managerial malfeasance merely repeat history: Capitalism regularly corrects market exuberance and...

In this we paper we explain why maximizing shareholder value should be the sole objective function for governing the corporation and why that objective function is, on balance, good for all stakeholders. Shareholder value maximization is the ideal corporate goal because it is the best among all...

Stock option grants to top managers have largely contributed to the dramatic increase in US executive pay in recent years. In this paper it is argued that stock options, compared to other forms of compensation, have created strong incentives for managers to engage in lobbying activities for...

Concern over issues of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance persists, fueled, in large part, by recent (and ongoing) corporate scandals of one sort or another. The debate over the nature of the corporation - and, consequently, the proper role of directors, shareholders, and...

The article examines the mandatory requirement under state corporate law and stock exchange listing standards that public corporations hold annual shareholders' meetings for the election of directors. Specifically, I question the value of requiring corporations to (1) elect directors annually,...

Among the clearest rules in U.S. securities law is the duty that brokers have to quot;seek the best execution that is reasonably available for its customers' orders.quot; The problem with the current orientation of the policy discussion on best execution is that it has focused on the narrow, yet...