Impact of price limits on Taiwan security returns

The paper investigates the effects of daily price limits imposed by the R.O.C. Government on shares listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The study is performed on nineteen blue-chip stocks from six industries. For each sample stock, the daily returns (from 4 January 1986 to 24 October 1987) are divided into three groups: (A) first experimental, (B) second experimental and (C) control groups. Each sample point in groups A and B consists of one event day and the following six trading days. Event day is defined to be the day the stock price reaches the upper (lower) price limit. Group C comprises all other days, except ex-dividend days. Group C data are used in the market model to obtain the alpha and beta estimates for that stock. These estimates are then used to (CARs) embedded in data sets A and B. The preliminary results of this research suggest severe violation of the random walk hypothesis. Further, the impact of government imposed price limits on stocks varies across stocks. While several patterns of CARs of stock return are observed, the results suggest existence of potential profitable short-run investment strategies among several sample stocks in this study.We are most grateful to the National Science Council of Taiwan and National Chiao-Tung University for providing the data set, SPIT. This paper has benefitted from the discussion in the conference.     

Diversification and intervalling effects on stock returns

Diversification and intervalling effects on stock markets have been studied separately in the literature. This paper studies empirically the interaction of these two joint effects on five international stock markets. The diversification benefits may depend on the length of the holding interval because the covariance between two stock indexes may not change proportionally with the individual stock indexes' variances when the holding interval varies. The empirical results show that the degree of diversification benefit varies with the length of the holding interval. The greatest gain occurs with the shortest holding interval while the degree of risk reduction decreases with an increase in the holding interval in general.     

Board social capital and excess CEO returns

Excess CEO returns refer to CEO financial returns in excess of shareholder returns. How do boards rein in excess CEO returns? Introducing a social capital view of board monitoring, we suggest that boards face two competing normative pressures—corporate elite norms and monitoring norms. How boards conform to such normative pressures for controlling excess CEO returns is affected by their external and internal social capital. Further, we substantiate our arguments by showing that powerful CEOs and institutional investors may facilitate or constrain the normative pressures existing in the social network and alter the effects of board social capital on excess CEO returns. Data from a sample of U.S. corporations listed on the Standard and Poor's 1,500 index from 1999 to 2010 largely support our framework. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CPF stocks: Prices,returns and volatility

We identify a unique phenomenon in the Central Provident Fund (CPF) stocks where stock prices increase in the absence of fundamental changes in firm value. CPF stocks are stocks endorsed by the Central Provident Fund Board in Singapore as approved investment for its members. CPF stocks offer significant price appreciation and value preservation as well as abnormal returns in the bull market before the October 1987 market crash. We find evidence of noise trading in bull markets and price pressure effects that persist through bearish market conditions.The authors are from the Department of Finance and Banking, National University of Singapore.     

Robust optimal policies of production and inventory with uncertain returns and demand

We consider an inventory and production planning problem with uncertain demand and returns, in which the product return process is integrated into the manufacturing process over a finite planning horizon. We first propose an inventory control model for the return and remanufacturing processes with consideration of the uncertainty of the demand and returns. Then a robust optimization approach is applied to deal with the uncertainty of the problem through formulating a robust linear programming model. Moreover, properties on the robust optimization model are studied, and an equivalent robust optimization model based on duality theory is obtained which allows the solutions to be derived more efficiently. Finally, we provide a set of numerical examples to verify the effectiveness of the approach and analyze the effects of the key parameters on the solutions.     

Risks and returns of acquiring and acquired firms in Singapore: An empirical analysis

This paper investigates the risk profiles of target and acquiring firms and the impact of the takeover process on them. It was found that corporate takeovers generally increased the systematic risk of the acquiring firms after the event while lowering the systematic risk of the target firms. There were large and statistically significant returns obtained by the shareholders of the target firms due to the takeover event. The shareholders of the acquiring firms did not suffer any negative returns.The authors benefitted from the discussions at the Academy of International Business South-east Asia Regional Conference, 26–28 June 1986, where an earlier version of this paper was presented. The authors also like to acknowledge the financial support from the National University of Singapore.     

The dynamic implications of increasing returns: Technological change and path dependent inefficiency

This paper addresses the issue of path-dependent selection and inefficiency, counterfactual methods and the empirical evidence employed in this research trajectory. The general message is basically that the theoretical argument to prove path-dependent inefficiency is relatively straightforward, while empirical demonstrations, as well as the analysis of welfare implications are much more difficult. In the first section, we briefly state the basic argument explaining how localized learning leads to an incomplete exploration of the variety distribution of a technology. We then synthesize the most interesting historical studies, which get potential regret results, and ask whether these results suggest a large welfare loss. To try to answer this question, we start from the critical arguments of Liebowitz and Margolis to discuss the theoretical and empirical difficulties of establishing path-dependent inefficiency.     

Grain reserves and food security in Nigeria

This article assesses the strategic grains reserves policy of Nigeria and suggests appropriate measures needed for its success. The article traces the historical development of this strategy for meeting emergency food needs and identifies factors which determine the scope of such a programme. Current and proposed grains production and capacity of storage silos are far from adequate. In spite of this, however, confidence can be placed in this strategy to increase the supply of grains provided certain remedial steps are taken. Some of these steps include timely release of funds and land, increased emphasis on production and price forecasting and improved coordination between the two agencies involved.     

Egypt: Food security and food aid

This article examines the multifaceted notions of food security and food aid through a case-study of a rather exceptional country in political terms - Egypt. Egypt has achieved a high degree of food security with lessened reliance on domestic production and has become one of the largest recipients of cereal food aid. The analysis considers significant questions about the interdependence of food security and food aid, the maintainability of an externally dependent food system, its implicit resource costs and its internal distribution and equity impact.     

Optimal pricing and order policies with B2B product returns for fashion products

We study optimal pricing and order policies in supply chain management of fashion products (e.g., a fashion apparel category) with consideration of product returns between supply chain partners (B2B). In order to study channel performance and optimal policies, two stochastic models for centralized channel and decentralized channel are, respectively, developed to handle new fashion and off-season product sales. In the centralized channel, closed-form solutions for optimal order and pricing decisions are proposed for new fashion products. Further, in a decentralized channel, the Stackelberg game model is proposed to derive the optimal Stackelberg equilibrium solution, and then a buy-back contract is designed to coordinate the channel. We also perform parameter analysis on performance of the two channel models. Numerical analysis is finally presented to validate our theoretical results and compare channel performances.     

Immiserising invention : The private and social returns to R&D under oligopoly

A cost-saving invention may so enhance a firm's market power that output price rises. The private return to R&D may then exceed the realised social gain. These possibilities arise when integer constraints are important in determining industry size. If economies of scale are exhausted at sufficiently low outputs for free entry to result in a zero-profit equilibrium, small inventions leave output price unchanged. This mirrors Arrow's perfectly competitive model. But under oligopoly both fixed fees and (possibly negative) royalties are used by an inventor in earning a return which may exceed the potential social gain.     

Considering stochastic lead times in a manufacturing/remanufacturing system with deterministic demands and returns

In this paper we study a manufacturing/remanufacturing system with stochastic lead times and a constant demand. We base our approach on previous research in which we have developed models to describe an inventory system with stochastic lead times. In this paper, we first adopt this method to manufacturing/remanufacturing situations, where there are essentially two supply sources for replenishing serviceable inventory. We then provide a solution procedure when a cycle ordering policy is used. Secondly, we investigate the possibility to use a dual sourcing ordering policy in which each order is split between a manufacturing and a remanufacturing process. Finally, we compare the two ordering policies and illustrate how the lead-time patterns influence the economic consequences.     

Consensus on strategy formulation and organizational performance: Competitors in a fragmented industry

This paper examines the relationship between organizational performance and consensus (or agreement) within top management teams on company objectives and competitive methods for a sample of nineteen firms competing within a highly fragmented industry—paints and allied products (SIC 2851). It was hypothesized that intense competitive pressures and the resultant low industry profitability would constrain organizational resources and augment the need for consensus on both objectives and methods. However, findings indicate that consensus on either objectives or methods is positively related to organizational performance.     

Agricultural policy reforms and food security in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan

This paper provides an overview of agricultural policy reforms and their impact on food security in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Owing to increasing hostility in regional trade among the countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, like their neighbors, have chosen to follow a path of food self-sufficiency, which has biased their agricultural systems towards grain production. The paper finds that the land reforms in these two countries, which have dismantled the state farms, have resulted in reduced productivity of crops and declining food availability at the household level. It argues that reversing this trend will require increased investment in rural infrastructure and agricultural research to improve crop yields, and in the short-term, food security interventions to protect the poor and vulnerable.     

美国药品安全与价格管理趋势

“化学与工程新闻”（C＆EN）驻华盛顿通讯记者BETTE HILEMAN,发表了一篇文章（C＆EN／JUNE19,2006）,对当前美国在药品安全和价格方面存在的问题与管理趋势进行了讨论。笔者认为,药品的安全性和价格是当前世界各国普遍关注的一个问题,美国在药品安全和价格管理方面的争论和趋势,具有一定的代表性和前瞻性。     

国际油价与我国原油安全对策

２００２年上半年国际原油价格的走势及其影响普氏公布的今年1～6月份现货市场dtdbrent、oman/dubai平均油价趋势：布伦特平均为23.12$/B，阿曼/迪拜平均为22.34$/B，分别比2001年全年平均低1.34$/B和0.50$/B。布伦特最低18.02$/B，最高27.33$/B，价差为9.31$/B；阿曼/迪拜平均价最低17.45$/B，最高26.33$/B，价差为8.88$/B。从整个走势看，2月26日以前，油价在低价位区间波动，2月26日至4月4日，油价出现大幅上涨，4月5日至6月底，油价出现高位盘整。分析变幻莫测的国际政治、经济形势，借鉴国内有关权威机构的分析，笔者认为今年以来…     

煤炭污染治理需要政策支持和法律保障

随着环保的要求,煤炭污染的治理成为必然,而要从根本上解决煤炭污染问题,必须有国家政策和法律的支持.即坚定不移地执行过去行之有效的政策法规,鼓励和引导结构调整,实行支持技术改造、支持技术创新政策,构建以煤为基础的产业链,加大资金投入,确保生产领域和消费领域无后顾之忧,制定相应的政策法规,加大处罚力度.只有这样才能从根本上解决煤炭污染的治理问题、从而保证国民经济和社会持续、稳定、健康的发展.     

Implementing market segmentation using full-refund and no-refund customer returns policies in a dual-channel supply chain structure

Products returned by customers are common in the retail industry and result in costs to both the supplier and the retailer. In practice, retailers implement returns policies that may give customers a full, partial, or no refund for returned products. In this paper, we examine how a firm that faces customer returns can enhance profit by using different customer returns policies, full-refund and no-returns, as a device to segment its market into a dual-channel structure. We also show the impact of customer returns on the firm's pricing and ordering decisions, as well as on the firm's profit in such a dual-channel structure.