The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is the most important legislation affecting corporate financial reporting enacted in the United States since the 1930s. Its purpose is to improve the accuracy and reliability of accounting information reported to investors. We examine stock price reactions to...

We examine the voluntary disclosure practices of family firms. We find that, compared to non-family firms, family firms provide fewer earnings forecasts and conference calls, but more earnings warnings. Whereas the former is consistent with family owners having a longer investment horizon,...

In the standard rhetoric of the corporate law literature, federalism is quot;the genius of American corporate lawquot; - an engine of efficiency, motivating a race (or at least a leisurely walk) to the top. Some have dissented, suggesting that the prevailing wisdom is wrong as to either the...

Under Delaware law, a securities issuance in which all existing investors may participate pro rata (a “rights offer”) is often seen as treating insiders and outsiders equally, making it difficult for nonparticipating outsiders to prevail on a claim that insiders sold themselves cheap...

Were we to distill 2020 into a single word, from the capital markets’ perspective at least, it would certainly be SPACs, which – although to a different extent – are now having their momentum on both shores of the pond. If, in the US, SPACs are really enjoying a new lease of life due to...

Blockholder disclosure thresholds shape incentives for hedge fund activism, which are jointly determined with real investment and managerial behavior. Uninformed investors value lower thresholds (greater transparency) when the cost of trading against an informed activist outweighs the benefits...

We document pervasive informed trading activity in equity options before M&A announcements. About 25% of takeovers have positive abnormal volumes. These volume patterns indicate that informed traders are likely using bullish directional strategies for the target and volatility strategies for the...

Analysts' functions are divided into discovery and interpretation roles, but separating between the two is non-trivial. We conjecture that analysts' interpretation skill can be gauged by their forecast revisions following material unanticipated news — in particular following non-earnings 8-K...

We study the impact of a principles-based (i.e., comply or explain) approach to female representation on corporate boards. In contrast to the existing evidence on mandatory diversity regulation, we find that those firms most likely to be affected by this principles-based regulation exhibit...