THE SURVIVAL OF INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS IN THE AFTERMARKET

We estimate an accelerated failure time (AFT) model to investigate the effects of several characteristics suggested as indicators of firm survival for initial public offerings (IPOs). The results indicate that the survival time for IPOs increases with size, age of the firm at the offering, the initial return, IPO activity level in the market, and the percentage of insider ownership, while the survival time decreases with increases in the general market level at the time of the offering and the number of risk characteristics. Additionally, the survival time is negatively affected if the IPO is in the computer and data, wholesale, restaurant, or airline industries and positively affected if the IPO is in the optical or drug industries.     

DEFAULT RISK PREMIA IN THE NEAR-CASH INVESTMENT MARKET: THE CASE OF AUCTION RATE PREFERRED STOCK VERSUS COMMERCIAL PAPER

Auction rate preferred stock (ARPS) is often regarded as an alternative to other near-cash instruments such as commercial paper while the dividend exclusion for ARPS offers tax advantages to corporate purchasers. The mean default risk premium for ARPS, relative to commercial paper, is estimated at 83 basis points during stable financial markets. This default premium appears to surge during unstable equity markets, having jumped by 192 basis points in November 1987. Lower-rated ARPS shows even larger changes, with yields 40–50 basis points above yields on high-rated ARPS, adjusted for the normal risk premium differential. The perceived risk change of ARPS underscores how quickly market participants re-evaluate default risk, and even the importance of the priority order among debt and equity claimants. Findings suggest ARPS and commercial paper are not an acceptable substitute for commercial paper during times of unsettled equity markets.     

DUTCH AUCTION VERSUS FIXED-PRICE SELF-TENDER OFFERS: DO FIRMS OVERPAY IN FIXED-PRICE OFFERS?

We investigate differences in purchase premiums and returns of common stock the day following the offer expiration of firms conducting Dutch auction self-tender offers versus those conducting fixed-price self-tender offers to see whether firms overpay for shares in fixed-price offers. After controlling for the proportion of shares sought and firm size, no statistically significant differences in premiums or returns are found between the two types of offers.     

THE UNDERPRICING OF IPOS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

This paper examines the underpricing of IPOs of financial institutions over the period 1983 to 1987. Based on a sample of 185 banks and savings and loan associations (including S&L conversions) and a control sample of 1,361 industrial firms, results indicate that in general IPOs of financial institutions are significantly less underpriced than those of the non-financial institutions. In particular, the IPOs of non-S&L conversion financial institutions are less underpriced than the IPOs of non-financial institutions.     

HIGH-TECH IPOS: A TALE OF TWO CONTINENTS

The typical price behavior of an initial public offering (IPO), consisting of a price upsurge on the first trading day followed by subpar performance in the (longer-run) after-market, is one of the most intriguing puzzles in corporate finance. This study focuses on high-tech IPOs in Europe and the U.S. over the period 1998–2001, both to compare the European and U.S. IPO markets and to determine how the price behavior of high-tech IPOs compares to that of IPOs in general. Average initial-day returns were 39% and 64% for the European and U.S. samples, respectively. The median returns were significantly lower, however, indicating that the sample averages are affected by a small group of exceptionally strong performers. But, for the first full year of trading, the median market-adjusted returns were negative for both samples. Not surprisingly, this substandard aftermarket performance was most apparent in companies that failed to generate operating profits.
As with IPOs in general, high-tech IPOs showed higher initial-day returns in "hot" markets than in "cold." Strong first-day performance was a good predictor of IPO volume in the high-tech market, with strong first-day returns triggering a flood of IPOs in subsequent months. Overall, then, the authors' study concludes that the price behavior of high-tech IPOs provides an exaggerated version of the general tendency of IPOs to be underpriced initially but underperform over the longer term.     

INSTITUTIONAL TRADING AND SECURITY PRICES: THE CASE OF CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE S&P 500 INDEX

This paper examines the common stock valuation and liquidity effects of firms being added to and deleted from the S&P 500 Index. Three potential pricing and trading volume hypotheses are discussed and tested—an Information Content Hypothesis (ICH), a Price Pressure Hypothesis (PPH), and a Liquidity Cost Hypothesis (LCH). The empirical findings indicate that firms being added to (deleted from) the S&P 500 Index over the 1977 to 1983 period experience positive (negative) abnormal common stock returns on the day following the addition. An analysis of common stock liquidity around additions to the Index reveals that while relative trading activity increases in the month of addition, it actually declines in subsequent months. The valuation and liquidity results are consistent to some degree with both the PPH and the LCH and are most likely due to index fund managers adjusting their holdings to reflect changes in the Index.     

THE VOLUNTARY PRESENTATION OF VALUE ADDED STATEMENTS IN AUSTRALIA: A POLITICAL COST PERSPECTIVE

This paper explores corporate management's incentive to voluntarily disclose Value Added Statements in their yearly financial reports. Adopting a political cost perspective, hypotheses relating Value Added Statement disclosure to labour intensity, corporate tax payments, rate of return, size and industry volatility are developed. Using a sample of Australian publicly listed companies, the results of our empirical testing support the hypotheses that the decision to voluntarily disclose Value Added Statements is related to a company's size (in terms of both market concentration and profitability), a proportional measure of tax payments and the industry to which it belongs. Labour intensity and rate of return were found to be unrelated to the voluntarily disclosure of Value Added Statements.     

THE IMPACT OF ASSET SECURITIZATION: A PERSPECTIVE FOR INVESTORS

A securitization transaction creates a new set of analytical challenges for both investors in the asset backed securities (ABS) and for holders of the debt and equity of the sponsor. This article argues that investors can gain insights into the risk and expected rewards of both ABS and the sponsoring corporation's securities by focusing on the excess cash flow (or residual interest) that is expected to be generated by the ABS trust. The value of this residual interest is recognized as a one-time gain by the sponsoring lender in the period the ABS transaction is closed. Because the assumptions used to calculate this gain should represent management's best estimates as to the performance of the loan pool, comprehensive analysis of the gain-on-sale calculation can provide both corporate and ABS investors with significant insight into the level of risk in the securities they own. It also offers a tool for determining whether the expected returns justify the risks.     

SWITCHING TO A TEMPORARY CALL AUCTION IN TIMES OF HIGH UNCERTAINTY

We evaluate a stock-specific circuit breaker implemented in several European stock exchanges, which consists of a short-lived call auction triggered by intraday stock-specific price limits. It differs from U.S. trading halts in that it is short-lived and nondiscretionary, and a trading mechanism (continuous or discrete) is always going. It differs from daily price limits in that trade prices are not restricted once the limit is hit. Intraday price ranges are smaller and adjusted to the recent volatility, so that limit hits are more frequent. We contribute to the debate about circuit breakers by enlarging the span of these mechanisms studied.     

ESTIMATING THE DEPENDENCE STRUCTURE OF SHARE PRICES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN

In this paper, we show that estimating the correlation structure of domestic share prices via the Overall Mean method cannot be considered universally superior to estimation at the Full Historical level for all countries. Specifically, the Japanese data show that the Full Historical Model outperforms the Overall Mean Model in forecasting accuracy, while the opposite is true with the U.S. data. We derive a Composite Model that analytically explains this contrasting result. The Industry Mean Model, which allows for efficient ex ante portfolio selection via a simple algorithm, is likely to be the best forecasting model applicable to both the U.S. and Japanese stock markets.