THE INTRADAY INTERDEPENDENCE STRUCTURE BETWEEN U.S. AND JAPANESE EQUITY MARKETS

Contrary to the efficient market hypothesis, previous research documents a significant correlation between lagged U.S. close-to-close stock market returns and current open-to-close Japanese equity market returns. We find that the significant correlation is limited to the first hour of Japanese trading, with subsequent hourly returns independent of lagged U.S. returns. This evidence suggests that the documented significant correlation is attributable to a sticky Japanese opening value associated with the use of nonsynchronous index data.     

THE RELATION BETWEEN THE MAGNITUDE OF GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES AND THE DURATION OF EQUITY

I examine the relation between the magnitude of growth opportunities in a firm and the duration of the firm's equity. Conventional wisdom holds that because cash flows from growth opportunities occur late relative to cash flows from existing projects, firms that can be characterized as growth firms have a higher duration. I adopt the real option approach to the valuation of growth opportunities and show that under certain circumstances the opposite can be true; equity duration can be lower for growth firms. I further show that the relation between equity duration and the magnitude of growth opportunities depends on (a) the magnitude of the duration of assets in place, (b) dominance of the firm in its industry, (c) the magnitude of R&D expenditure, and (d) the volatility of expected cash flows generated by the investment project underlying the growth opportunity. I empirically test these predictions and find the predictions are not rejected, particularly for the utility and banking industries. JEL classification: G31, G12.     

THE ROLE OF INVESTMENT BANK REPUTATION AND RELATIONSHIPS IN EQUITY PRIVATE PLACEMENTS

We explore the role of placement agents in equity private placements. Reputable agents are more likely to place shares of firms that have performed better and that have had frequent prior relationships with the agent. Controlling for self‐selection and endogeneity, firms using reputable agents offer smaller price discounts. However, issuers having frequent prior relationships with placement agents incur higher gross spreads. Although the results support the certification role of investment banks in private placements, they also shed light on the costs incurred by issuers that frequently rely on the same investment bank.     

A NOTE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYSTEMATIC RISK AND GROWTH IN EARNINGS

This paper provides a simple analytical derivation of the relationship between growth in earnings and systematic risk. Theoretically and empirically it concludes that this relationship is positive.     

SEGMENTATION OF THE A‐ AND B‐SHARE CHINESE EQUITY MARKETS

In this study we use the latent variable asset pricing model to examine the pricing of A and B shares in the Chinese stock markets. The hypothesis tested is whether markets for the A and the B shares of the same companies are segmented. We document only one latent variable in both A‐ and B‐share markets. However, the latent risk premiums for the A and B shares are only weakly correlated, indicating the two‐tier markets are loosely related. The weak correlation implies the two markets reflect different fundamental forces. Additional analysis demonstrates that the Shanghai market responds to the Shenzhen market rather than the other way around.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DURATION AND ECONOMIC DEPRECIATION: A NOTE

This note derives an expression for duration in terms of the economic depreciation of a capital budgeting project or financial instrument. By showing how the decline in the value of an asset or liability influences duration, additional insight into the characteristics of this measure is obtained. The new formula shows that duration equals a standard value, which is adjusted for depreciation or appreciation.