How electronic trading affects bid‐ask spreads and arbitrage efficiency between index futures and options

This paper examines the impact of switching to electronic trading on the relative pricing efficiency of Hang Sang Index futures and options contracts traded on the Hong Kong exchange. The study is motivated by the recent shift in 2000 from the pit to an electronic trading platform. Electronic trading leads to lower bid‐ask spreads and less price clustering than floor trading in both the options and futures markets. Mispricing between futures and options drops significantly after the change. Quicker correction of mispricing indicates a significant improvement in dynamic inter‐market arbitrage efficiency with electronic trading. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 25:375–398, 2005     

The information flow and market efficiency between the U.S. and Chinese aluminum and copper futures markets

This study examines the information flow and market efficiency between the metallurgical futures markets of the United States and China over a ten‐year span from 1999 to 2009. There were structural breaks in the aluminum and copper futures price series for the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) between 2006 and 2008. The New York and Shanghai markets are cointegrated, indicating an equilibrium relationship between the two markets. Trading strategies are implemented to explore the error‐correction process. The overall results show that U.S. and Shanghai futures prices are closely related and both markets are comparably efficient on a daily basis. The U.S. market does not appear to be more efficient than the Chinese market in incorporating information into prices. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark     

Volatility and trading activity following changes in the size of futures contracts

This paper has two purposes. First, we examine the relationship between daily price volatility and trading activity one year before and after a change in contract size by examining the results of contract splits in the Australian share price index futures and the U.K. FTSE-100 futures contracts and a reverse contract split in the Australian Bank Bill Acceptance futures contract. Second, we evaluate the effect of the change in contract size on the use of the particular futures market. We find that after a contract size change, the change in total trading frequency has the power to explain the change in daily price volatility. Specifically, after a contract split, trading frequency increased, resulting in increased daily price volatility, and vice versa after a reverse contract split. Most of the average trade size variable has an immaterial impact on price volatility. However, decomposing the total trading frequency into four trade size classes, we find that the trading frequency for small and large trade size categories are highly significant in explaining changes in daily price volatility after the contract splits. Finally, we find the change in contract size for each futures market was successful because within three years following the change, the adjusted trading volume and open interest surpassed the levels prior to the change and have continued to increase thereafter.     

Analysis of Blogs and Microblogs: A Case Study of Chinese Bloggers Sharing Their Hong Kong Travel Experiences

Blogs and microblogs became popular in recent years among people who would like to share their travel experiences online. This is a phenomenon which marketers are interested in but know very little about. This exploratory study analyzes blog and microblog contents created by mainland Chinese visitors sharing their Hong Kong experiences, with the objective of gaining insights into how bloggers communicate their travel experiences and how this could help market a destination. Three hundred blog posts and 300 microblog posts are analyzed. Research results indicate a generally positive image of Hong Kong as a destination among the mainland Chinese bloggers. The study also profiles the bloggers by their usage pattern and identifies opportunities for using the social media for destination marketing purpose. While the case study is about Hong Kong, the research method and blogging patterns identified would also apply in other destination situations.     

跟上中国的脚步

中国投资环境之争的话题归根到底还是源于跨国企业在本土化过程中遇到的问题,他们要么拒绝本土化,要么过度本土化12月1日起,中国开始统一内外资企业和个人城市维护建设税和教育费附加制度,标志着外资企业在中国内地长期享有的所谓超国民待遇进一步终结。中国的投资环境是不是变得越来越糟糕了?     

FURTHER EXAMINATION OF PRICE DISCOVERY ON THE NYSE AND REGIONAL EXCHANGES

I re‐examine price discovery on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and regional exchanges. I employ three common‐trend cointegration models to analyze the equilibrium dynamics between the NYSE and regional exchanges for the thirty Dow stocks. The overall results show that whether the regional exchanges free‐ride on the NYSE in obtaining equilibrium prices depends on whether trade prices or quotes are examined. The regional exchanges play a significant (though less important) role in the price‐discovery process for trade prices. However, the contributions of regional exchanges in price discovery of quotes are negligible. I explain the inconsistency between the results using quotes and those using trades. I also highlight the problems of using either quotes or trades in examining this free‐riding hypothesis and suggest future research on the different informativeness of trades on the NYSE and regional exchanges. JEL classification: G20, C32.     

Price discovery in the hang seng index markets: Index,futures, and the tracker fund

In this paper, price discovery among the Hang Seng Index markets is investigated using the Hasbrouck and Gonzalo and Granger common‐factor models and the multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (M‐GARCH) model. Minute‐by‐minute data from the Hang Seng Index, Hang Seng Index futures, and the tracker fund show that the movements of the three markets are interrelated. The futures markets contain the most information, followed by the spot market. The tracker fund does not contribute to the price discovery process. The three markets exhibit spillover effects, indicating that their second moments are linked, even though the flow of information from the tracker fund to the other markets is minimal. Overall results suggest that the three markets have different degrees of information processing abilities, although they are governed by the same set of macroeconomic fundamentals. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 24:887–907, 2004     

Transaction Costs and Market Quality: Open Outcry Versus Electronic Trading

On May 10, 1999, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) transferred trading in the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 Index futures contracts from outcry to LIFFE CONNECT, its electronic trading system. We find lower spreads in the electronic market after the transition. However, the open outcry mechanism has higher market quality (or smaller variance of the pricing error) on the basis of Hasbrouck's (1993) model. Furthermore, employing the Hasbrouck (1991) model, we show that trades in the open outcry market have higher information content. Inventory control considerations also affect the electronic market more than the open outcry market. The overall results suggest that electronic trading should complement, but not replace, open outcry in futures markets. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 21: 713–735, 2001