The valuation of multiple stock warrants

The issue of multiple series of stock purchase warrants by the same firm is an interesting financial structure not just in America, but is common in countries such as Switzerland, Malaysia, and Singapore. This paper derives valuation formulas for multiple series of outstanding warrants. The theoretical warrant prices from this model are compared against existing models. We report a subtle slippage effect and also a cross dilution effect that cause the existing models, such as Galai‐Schneller model, to be inappropriate for pricing such classes of multiple warrants. We also provide an example to illustrate the practicality of our model. The Greeks of the model are also derived in this paper. The complexity of multiple warrants could extend to other classes of contingent securities issued by the same firm but with differing expiry terms. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 23:517–534, 2003     

The Baby Boom and the Stock Market Boom*

This paper addresses two issues. The first is whether demographic change was plausibly responsible for the run‐up in stock prices over the last decade, and whether an attempt by the baby boom cohort to cash out of its investments in the period 2010–2030 might lead to an “asset meltdown”. The second issue is whether the rise in dependency that will accompany the retirement of the baby‐boom cohort calls for an increase in national saving. We analyze these issues using a forward‐looking macro‐demographic model, and show that they are related via the existence of installation costs for capital. If such costs are sufficiently large, then demographics do have the power to affect stock prices, but “saving for America's old age” is less optimal. However, conventional estimates of capital installation costs are not large enough to explain large stock price movements in response to actual demographic change.     

Conservative Reporting and the Incremental Effect of Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Audit Partner Rotation vs Audit Firm Rotation in South Korea

In this paper, we take advantage of Korea's unique experiment with mandatory audit firm rotation (MAFR) and mandatory audit partner rotation (MAPR) to ascertain their influence on audit quality, proxied by conditional conservatism. Overall, we find that the implementation of MAFR did not have the desired effect. Firms that adopted MAFR demonstrate higher levels of conservatism in previous periods under MAPR (or compared to voluntary adopters). Furthermore, we find that audit tenure increases conservatism levels consistent with the auditor expertise hypothesis. However, whilst evidence suggests MAFR decreases audit quality on the whole, we find that firms that switch from non‐Big 4 to Big 4 auditors demonstrate higher conservatism because Big 4 auditors are more likely to demand conservative accounting practices, consistent with Big 4 audit firm knowledge superiority. Overall, the results suggest that MAFR's negative effect on audit quality can be mitigated by Big 4 auditor supervision.     

Improving road transport operations through lean thinking: a case study

Traditionally, logistics and transportation problems have been addressed through mathematical modelling, operations research, and simulation, but criticism has emerged about their effectiveness to actually address real-life problems. This paper documents a case study whereby the road transport operations of a leading Mexican brewery were improved through lean thinking and waste reduction. Two lean-based principles and tools were combined: the Seven Transportation Extended Wastes and Transportation Value Stream Mapping. Three systematic steps were proposed to facilitate the implementation of improvement. Feasibility studies conducted in this research suggested that lean thinking is an effective alternative for the improvement of road transport operations. The findings of this research could be used as guidance for transport managers to improve road transport operations. This paper also expands the limited evidence of the application of lean thinking in road transport logistics and highlights the research areas where its application has been concentrated in this sector.     

The theory of planned behavior in e‐commerce: Making a case for interdependencies between salient beliefs

To provide more specific explanation of consumers' purchase intention on the Internet, this study expanded the original theory of planned behavior (TPB) by decomposing belief constructs and by including interdependency terms between salient beliefs. The findings of this study supported the existence of interdependencies between salient beliefs in TPB. Also, the decomposition of attitude components is expected to provide on‐line retailers with more clear‐cut information about customers' evaluative criteria for e‐tailers when they make a purchase decision on the Internet. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Are corporate governance attributes associated with accounting conservatism?

This article investigates the association between the board of directors, the audit committee and the external auditor (as well as an aggregate governance index) and the extent of conservatism evident in Australian firms’ financial reporting. Overall, the results provide only weak evidence that firms with certain governance characteristics report more conservatively. Evidence of any such link is restricted to measures of board composition and leadership, and even then the results are sensitive to the method used to measure the extent of conservatism in financial reporting.     

The Development and Management of Beach Resorts: Boracay Island,The Philippines

This paper deals with questions of beach resort development processes and their management. Issues are discussed within the context of Boracay Island in the Philippines, which is a popular destination, but one that is at risk from uncontrolled growth. The framework for the analysis is an existing model, and comparisons between it and the case reveal similarities and divergences. Findings suggest the unique qualities of individual resorts arising from local and national circumstances, but indicate more general patterns and attendant challenges that have a wider applicability. Development models are also seen to be useful, despite their limitations.     

Intermodal containerized shipping in foreign trade and regional accessibility advantages

Intermodalism has become one of the most significant transformations of freight transportation in the United States over the past two decades. The coupling of shipping modes has enabled shippers to more fully realize the respective time and costs advantages of respective modes. The opportunity to take advantage of intermodalism when shipping manufactured goods overseas may provide an essential competitive edge to a company or to an entire region engaged in world commerce. The change in the freight accessibility map of the United States to foreign markets that can be ascribed to intermodal infrastructures and operations has so far not been studied. With the help of a geographic information system, this paper analyzes this transformation in the United States by mapping integral place accessibility measures of five-digit zip code areas with respect to gateways for export of manufactured goods, especially containerized freight. The performance of the intermodal freight network is evaluated by comparing accessibility measures based on the highway network and on the intermodal network, respectively, for all North American container ports, as well as for subgroups of container ports on the Eastern Seaboard, the Western Seaboard, and the Gulf Coast of North America. The paper discusses regional winners and losers in the new national freight transportation system.     

Implications of Singapore's CPF Scheme on Consumption Choices and Retirement Incomes

Singapore has a unique policy of allowing the use of mandatory social security contributions to finance homeownership. An intertemporal model of housing demand is employed to demonstrate analytically that the CPF scheme can distort an individual's intertemporal and intratemporal consumption choices, and induce Singaporeans to demand more housing than they would otherwise. The withdrawals for housing have also affected the adequacy of CPF balances for financing retirement. Pegging the rate of return on CPF balances to a long‐term rate is the long‐term solution to curbing excessive withdrawals for housing, and ensuring the adequacy of CPF savings for financing retirement.