An Empirical Analysis of Quoted Depths of NYSE and Amex Stocks

In this study, we find strong intertemporal/cross-sectional correlations between quoted depths and various security characteristics for a sample of stocks listed on the NYSE and Amex. Our empirical results indicate that although specialists are generally unable to discern insider trading as it occurs, they cope with insider trading by posting smaller depths for stocks with a greater tendency of insider trading. Empirical evidence also indicates that specialists/limit order traders quote smaller depths for riskier stocks to limit potential losses to better-informed traders. In addition, we find that specialists/limit order traders quote larger depths for stocks with greater trading volume, larger market capitalization, and higher competition. Overall, our findings suggest that depths are an important means through which specialists and limit order traders deal with the adverse selection problem, order processing problem, and competition.     

The Market Quality of Dealer versus Hybrid Markets: The Case of Moderately Liquid Securities

Abstract:  Over the last decade, electronic limit-order trading systems have been sweeping securities exchanges around the world. This paper studies a transitional case, namely, the commencement of trading of a group of moderately liquid stocks on SETS of the London Stock Exchange. The evidence reveals that the liquidity of those stocks dropped substantially after the introduction of the limit order book and the removal of the market makers' obligations. This transition provides an example that a hybrid market with a limit order book and voluntary dealers may not perform as well as a dealership market with obligatory market makers.     

Do Market Makers Suffer from Splitting Headaches?

Studies of transactions surrounding stock split ex-dates often conclude that splitting firms either experience a decline or an improvement in their stock's liquidity, based on independent measures of trading costs and trading activity. In contrast, our evidence suggests that splits from outside into what often is deemed to be the optimal stock price range of $10.00 to $39.99 are nonevents for market makers: The spread-setting behavior of the market does not change after a split. Our analysis accounts for the interdependencies between bid-ask spreads and market microstructure effects and distinguishes between optimal and all other splitting firms.     

Competition and Information Production in Market Maker Models

Abstract:   The microstructure literature models the mechanisms through which fundamental information is incorporated into market prices. This paper extends previous models by endogenising information production and analysing incentives for costly information production. In contrast to the existing literature, increasing the number of informed traders can result in reduced price informativeness. When prices have an allocative role this has welfare consequences: the regulatory implications of a dichotomy between private and public incentives for information gathering are discussed.     

场外机构间证券市场发展研究

我国资本市场存在“大场内、小场外”的结构失衡,制约了资本市场投融资功能的充分发挥,不利于防范化解金融风险及投资者保护。从成熟资本市场发展经验看,投资银行在场外市场中发挥核心“交易商”功能,离不开场外机构间证券市场的发展和完善。我国场外机构间证券市场还处于发展初期阶段,在顶层设计、市场创新培育机制、特色化业务模式、市场基础等方面存在的一些问题制约了市场功能发挥。为更好地促进我国场外机构间证券市场发展,本文从规范和引导证券公司合理创新、深化场外市场层次、完善场外机构间证券市场基础设施、明确场外机构间证券市场管理和组织者角色和定位等方面提出相应政策建议。     

Liquidity Provision,Bank Capital,and the Macroeconomy

New bank equity must come from somewhere. In general equilibrium, raising bank capital requirements means either that banks produce less short‐term debt (as debt holders must become shareholders), or short‐term debt is not reduced and the banking system acquires nonbank equity (as the shareholders in nonbanks become shareholders in banks). The welfare effects involve a trade‐off because bank debt is special as it is used for transactions purposes, but more bank capital can reduce the chance of bank failure (producing welfare losses).     

期货市场交易结构、价格形成机制及其效率研究

做市商机制和连续竞价机制是现代期货市场主流的两类交易机制，连续竞价机制则成本较低，价格信号反应灵敏；做市商机制透明、公正，市场连续性较好，代表着期货市场交易机制的未来发展方向。通过对期货市场微观交易结构及价格形成机制的模型研究，结合我国的实际情况，比较考察了几种典型的期货交易机制在不同交易结构下的价格形成效率，对我国期货市场转型完善时期具有现实意义。     

我国银行间市场资金面影响因素的探讨——兼对当前市场流动性状况的分析与展望

梳理银行间市场资金面的影响因素,对于分析市场资金面的供求关系,央行评估货币政策执行效果,以及金融机构进行资产组合配置都有积极作用。文章从货币政策、商业银行存贷款增量、央行外汇占款、税收因素等多个角度,梳理了影响我国银行间市场资金面的八项因素,并在此基础上分析了今年5月份以来银行间市场资金面快速趋紧的成因。三季度,受CPI冲高回落、重申人民币汇改以及大型商业银行流动性状况好转等因素影响,银行间市场资金面紧张的格局将逐步改善。     

Implicit intraday interest rate in the UK unsecured overnight money market

This paper estimates the intraday value of money implicit in the UK unsecured overnight money market. Using transactions data on overnight loans advanced through the UK large value payments system CHAPS in 2003–2009, we find a positive and economically significant intraday interest rate. While the implicit intraday interest rate is quite small pre-crisis, it increases more than tenfold during the financial crisis of 2007–2009. The key interpretation is that an increase in implicit intraday interest rate reflects the increased opportunity cost of pledging collateral intraday and can be used as an indicator to gauge the stress of the payment system. We obtain qualitatively similar estimates of the intraday interest rate by using quoted intraday bid and offer rates and confirm that our results are not driven by the intraday variation in the bid-ask spread.     

夯实做市商制度建设协力推进外汇市场发展

近年来,外汇市场汇价波幅逐步有序拓宽,而面对不断扩大的汇率波幅,一些做市机构的交易员出现了不适应的情况。文章指出,外汇做市商制度的切实履行和健全完善,对于规范做市交易与市场良性交易氛围的形成和推广,具有至关重要的作用。文章介绍了我国外汇市场建立做市商制度的目的、所采取的相关配套制度改革,展望做市商考评机制的改进方向,并就进一步规范外汇市场发展提出相关倡议。     

Requiem for a Market Maker: The Case of Drexel Burnham Lambert and Junk Bonds

This article adds to both the financial intermediation and market microstructure literature by examining the market reactions surrounding the withdrawal of a major financial intermediary and market maker from a specific securities market. We examine the exit of Drexel Burnham Lambert (Drexel) from the junk bond market in 1990. At the time Drexel exited the market by declaring bankruptcy, it was the dominant market maker and underwriter of junk bonds. We examine the impact of Drexel's failure on direct and indirect holders of junk bonds by investigating the effect of Drexel's collapse on junk bond returns, and on the stock returns of a group of firms that, on average, held significant amounts of junk bonds. We find that the collapse of Drexel had a significant impact on junk bond prices in general, and a greater impact on the prices of lower-quality junk bonds in particular. We interpret this result to imply that the value of the liquidity services supplied by Drexel was higher for lower-quality junk bonds. Additionally, we find that junk bonds underwritten by Drexel, as opposed to other investment banks, experienced a significant decline in price over the months leading up to Drexel's failure announcement. This suggests that the monitoring services provided by Drexel for the bonds it underwrote would not be replaced easily by other financial intermediaries operating in the junk bond market. Our results also indicate that the stock returns of life insurance companies with relatively high junk bond exposure tended to be affected more negatively by Drexel's financial distress than the stock returns of life insurance companies with relatively low junk bond exposure.     

Impact of liquidity on stock returns: an empirical investigation of the Tunisian stock market

This paper investigates the return–liquidity relationship on one Middle East and North Africa frontier market, the Tunisian Stock Exchange (TSE). The findings provide evidence that there is a significant and positive premium for companies with high price impact and low trading frequency. However, Tunisian investors appreciate more low spread stocks. We show, also, a non-linear relation between potential delays of execution and stock returns. In addition, we find that Tunisian investors require a premium to compensate past cumulative illiquidity risk (high price impact, low turnover and high potential delay of execution) over the prior three to 12 months and to compensate past cumulative spread over 12 months. We point out also that these effects are seasonal.