Information Pricing: The Evidence From Equity Mutual Funds

The theory of information pricing implies that the benefits from obtaining costly information should be offset by the costs. In the case of mutual funds, this theory suggests that trades by fund managers should take place at prices that compensate their clients for the managers' costs of becoming informed. This paper controls for risk, fund size, and age to assess the relationship of a fund's information costs to its performance. The findings show that stock funds charging the highest expenses generally earn returns insignificantly different from funds charging the lowest expenses. This lends support to the theory of information pricing. The findings are also indicative of an efficient market, given that information is costly.     

Customer Tuchpoins marken- und kundenpezifisch mangen

Marken hinterlassen an allen Kontaktpunkten mit Kunden Spuren und Fingerabdrücke. Dessen sind sich Manager und Mitarbeiter oft nicht bewusst. Das Management sowie die marken- und kundenspezifische Abstimmung aller Kontaktpunkte bieten somit gro?es Potenzial für Unternehmen zur wirksameren Vermarktung ihrer Marken. Unternehmen, die Kunden ganzheitlich positive und zufriedenstellende Markenerlebnisse an allen Kontaktpunkten vermitteln, sind erfolgreicher im Wettbewerb.     

Restructuring the electricity distribution industry: An analysis of the proposed ownership and governance structures of regional electricity distributors

The electricity distribution industry is currently fragmented and in a financial crisis. The government proposes restructuring the industry into a number of regional electricity distributors (REDs) that will take over the electricity distribution function from municipalities and Eskom, who will be given shares in the REDs in exchange for their distribution assets. It is also proposed that REDs be controlled by boards consisting of customers, trade unions, national and provincial governments, municipalities and Eskom. This article critically examines these and other restructuring options relating to the ownership and governance of REDs. It is argued that these proposals would perpetuate the inequalities that exist between historically advantaged and disadvantaged local governments; that they would extend Eskom's monopoly of the electricity industry, and that they would obstruct good governance and private investment in the sector. To conclude, the article makes a number of recommendations that would mitigate these negative consequences.     

The Impact of Macroeconomic Fluctuations on the Likelihood of African American Female Homeownership

Homeownership, a primary component of household wealth, confers benefits not just in terms of the value of home equity itself, but also the tax benefits and inflation protection associated with owning property. The 1990s represented a booming time in the economy and record low interest rates which allowed homeownership to become more available to more people than ever. As a result, the US housing market experienced significant growth and home values began to soar in part due to rising incomes. However, this period of rapid expansion in the housing market was followed by a rapid decline, precipitated by the recession, as home values began to plummet and foreclosures steadily increased. This study examines the impact that recent macroeconomic fluctuations had on the likelihood of homeownership for African American women compared to their white counterparts. Using data from the American Housing Survey (1997–2009), this tenure spatial analysis used a logistic regression model to examine the odds in favor of homeownership during economic fluctuations along with taking into consideration other important determinants. The empirical results show that there are significant differences in the likelihood of homeownership between African American women and white females.     

Steel: A new round of protectionism in American trade

Traditionally the American steel industry is the most protected industrial sector in the USA and internationally it is the largest user of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy proceedings. At the end of 1994 a ruling from the GATT Panel settled the most recent trade dispute in the steel market. A number of the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy proceedings applied for by US integrated steel producers in 1992 remain in effect. The following paper outlines the latest trade dispute in the steel trade, beginning with an overview of the various rounds of protectionism to date, and seeks to analyse the background to and causes of the dispute.