Should there exist secondary markets for executive stock options?

This paper investigates the potential disadvantages of the secondary markets for executive stock options (ESOs). The benefits of such markets are evident, but they might also have negative effects for shareholders. Executives might, for example, use inside information to time their ESO selling. We investigate two personal motives of managers that can be assumed to affect their optimal selling decision, that is, managers' personal portfolio management issues and the use of inside information. We explore these motives by analyzing unique data from Finland, where there are secondary markets for ESOs. The results of the study support the traditional portfolio diversification hypothesis according to which managers tend to sell their ESOs when holding an ESO is equivalent to holding the underlying stock; that is, in such a case a manager's wealth is closely tied to the stock price of the firm. With respect to the use of inside information the results indicate that ESO selling activity is not related to future stock price behaviour, suggesting that managers do not use inside information to determine the selling time of their ESOs. These results imply that the existence of secondary markets for ESOs does not weaken the usefulness of ESOs as the management compensation, although the benefits of such markets are evident.     

SUPPLY CHAIN INFORMATION SHARING IN A VENDOR MANAGED INVENTORY PARTNERSHIP

Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) involves the vendor making the replenishment decision for products supplied to a customer based on various inventory and supply chain policies. Information sharing between supply chain members is required in VMI. Sometimes VMI decisions are delayed and/or the information shared is inaccurate. This research examines the effects of information delay and accuracy, and the sharing of sales and forecast information in a VMI environment facing stationary and nonstationary demand. The simulation experiments show the impact of information delay, information inaccuracy, and information sharing on a variety of performance measures, including inventory levels and fill rates.     

EXPRESSING INVENTORY CONTROL POLICY IN THE TURNOVER CURVE

Estimation of the inventory level for an entire class of items is a valuable time saver when control of inventories at the aggregate level, rather than the item level, is of interest. Inventory approximation by location in supply chain network configuration and evaluation of inventory control policy shifts, are two examples of application. In this article, various popular inventory policies are related to a general function known as an inventory turnover curve that expresses inventory levels from the combined demand of multiple items. By knowing some basic item characteristics of representative items in a product class, the type of inventory policy being used, and the current aggregate inventory level, an inventory turnover curve can be constructed. This resulting turnover curve can be used to estimate inventory levels within 4.6%, on the average, of theoretically predicted ones.     

Are Securitizations in Substance Sales or Secured Borrowings? Capital‐Market Evidence*

Two standard‐setting approaches have emerged globally to guide the choice of accounting for securitizations: the control and components approach (SFAS No. 125 and SFAS No. 140) and the risks and rewards transfer approach (IAS No. 39). A lack of consensus about derecognition accounting is a major impediment to achieving convergence in global standards that must be resolved. Thus, both SFAS No. 140 and IAS No. 39 will be reexamined, and evidence pertinent to the debate is timely and important. In this study, we present evidence consistent with the view of credit‐rating analysts, who view many securitizations as, in substance, secured borrowings. Specifically, for a sample of originators applying sale accounting guidance in SFAS No. 125 / 140 during the period 1997‐2003, we show that off‐balance‐sheet debt related to securitizations has, on average, the same risk‐relevance for explaining market measures of risk (that is, CAPM beta) as on‐balance‐sheet debt. We also find that, in a returns and earnings association framework, the pricing multiple on securitization gains declines as the amount of off‐balance‐sheet debt increases, implying that investors take off‐balance‐sheet debt into account when assessing the valuation‐relevance of such gains. For those who advocate the control and components approach to securitization accounting, our results suggest that, at least for frequent securitizers, the put option arising from implicit recourse is a “missing piece” that is not currently accounted for when calculating securitization gains. Our results challenge the extant measurement standards in SFAS No. 140.     

AN EVALUATION OF PROCESS‐ORIENTED SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS

Supply chain management (SCM) is implemented by integrating corporate functions using business processes within and across companies. Several process‐oriented frameworks for SCM have been proposed but only two of these provide sufficient detail to enable implementation. We evaluate the Supply‐Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) framework and The Global Supply Chain Forum (GSCF) framework using four criteria and identify their relative strengths and weaknesses.     

论债转股

我国银行与企业之间的不良债务越来越多。如果这种情况继续下去,将导致企业破产,也会将银行拖垮,最终导致金融危机。债转股作为一种延缓矛盾和风险爆发时间应急性措施的债务重组手段,成功的关键在于是否能以此为契机,彻底转变企业经营管理机制和治理结构,使企业的产权明晰,将企业推向市场,在市场中生存和发展。     

信用风险水平与宏观经济变量的实证研究——基于中国、美国、日本部分银行的比较分析

基于1999～2007年中国、美国和日本部分银行的不良贷款率数据,本文对影响银行信用风险的宏观经济因素进行了实证研究和比较分析。结果表明:(1)中国的银行信用风险水平与失业率呈现显著的负相关关系;(2)表面上美国的银行信用风险水平极低,而且不受宏观经济变量波动的影响,但是实际上其风险被金融衍生工具隐藏并积累起来;(3)日本的银行信用风险水平与CPI呈现显著的负相关关系。最后本文提出了几点建议。     

An alternative interpretation of the discontinuity in earnings distributions

We show that the asymmetric effects of income taxes and special items for profit and loss firms contribute to a discontinuity at zero in the distribution of earnings. Income taxes draw profit observations towards zero while negative special items pull loss observations away from zero. These earnings components are thus expected to contribute to a discontinuity even in the absence of discretion. We show our results are not an artifact of deflation and that other common components of earnings do not have similar effects on the earnings distribution around zero.

信息技术在海关风险管理中的应用

长期以来,中国海关监管工作始终面临着一个突出的矛盾,即严格执法与高效运作的矛盾。借鉴国际海关通行的做法,提出了利用海关信息平台,构筑一个科学、系统、完善的风险管理体系,全面推进海关各项业务改革,加快海关现代化建设的步伐,提高海关管理水平。     

《南极条约》当事国实施南极考察活动的管理制度比较研究

南极对人类发展进程具有十分重要的意义,是国家拓展生存空间和维护国家利益的战略要地。目前,人类在南极的活动以科学考察为主,其特点是以科学研究为中心、活动频次受诸多因素影响等。有关考察活动的管理制度涉及国际规制和国内规制两个层次。国际规制设定法律框架,国内规制细化各项制度。通过分析各国开展南极考察的国家实践,总结其在考察主管部门、资金来源、设施设备和考察成果管理等方面的特点,可为我国南极考察管理制度提供有益经验,包括加快南极立法、明确考察统筹部门、丰富考察资金来源、加大考察投入力度、完善成果管理制度等,以不断推进我国的南极事业发展。