Effects of the 1970 Bank Holding Company Act: Evidence from Capital Markets

This study measures the effects of the 1970 amendment to the Bank Holding Company (BHC) Act on the profitability and risk of BHCs using capital market data. Differences in abnormal returns and risk among three portfolios of bank shares which differ in their regulatory status are examined in various periods preceding and following the enactment. No significant differences in performance and no change in the relative risk of any pair of portfolios were observed. Thus, the null hypothesis that the nonbank expansion provisions of the 1970 amendment had no effect on BHCs' risk and profitability cannot be rejected.     

Income Tax Effects on Asset Valuation and Managerial Analysis

Under an income tax structure that treats profits and losses unequally, the tax function is non-linear. This note examines how this non-linearity affects asset valuation and related managerial analyses.     

Worrying about the Stock Market: Evidence from Hospital Admissions

Using individual patient records for every hospital in California from 1983 to 2011, we find a strong inverse link between daily stock returns and hospital admissions, particularly for psychological conditions such as anxiety, panic disorder, and major depression. The effect is nearly instantaneous (within the same day) for psychological conditions, suggesting that anticipation over future consumption directly influences instantaneous utility.     

Direct Evidence on the Informational Properties of Earnings in Loan Contracts

Using a sample of firms that disclose the realizations of earnings used for determining covenant compliance in loan contracts, we provide direct evidence on the informational properties of earnings used in the performance covenants included in debt contracts. We find that the earnings measure used in performance covenants does not exhibit asymmetric loss timeliness and has significantly greater cash flow predictive ability than GAAP measures of earnings. We suggest that these results reflect the idea that contracting parties design accounting rules for performance covenants to enhance their efficacy as “tripwires.”     

Perquisites,Risk, and Capital Structure

In a corporate agency problem, perquisites and risk interact to produce novel, complex comparative statics. For example, even if additional debt induces risk-neutral insiders to increase risk, they never seek to increase the market value of their stock; instead, insiders decrease the present value of their subsequent, conditionally optimal perquisites. Also, the firm's optimal capital structure includes a risky bond with an agreement to remove insiders whenever the bond defaults. However, the optimal sharing rule between corporate claimants cannot be supported solely by standard securities such as bonds, stocks, options, and their hybrids.     

An Analysis of Yield Curve Notes

This paper analyzes a new type of security, the yield curve note, which pays interest at a rate that varies inversely with short-term interest rates. A valuation model for yield curve notes is presented, the parameters of the model are estimated empirically, and the estimated model is used to explore, in simulation, the price behavior and risk characteristics of yield curve notes in comparison with fixed-rate notes. The risk of a yield curve note is approximately twice as great as a fixed-rate note with the same maturity. The unique risk characteristics of yield curve notes make them useful (as liabilities) in immunization strategies for financial institutions. Their usefulness in this regard may be the chief rationale for their development.     

The Interrelation of Stock and Options Market Trading-Volume Data

This research empirically investigates the relation between common stock and call option trading volumes. The paper hyothesizes and tests a sequential flow of information between the stock and option markets. If information trading for CBOE-listed firms is predominantly accomplished through option trading, then existing research methodologies may be biased against finding any significant economic consequences in those instances where option listing is an important variable. Results indicate that trading in call options leads trading in the underlying shares, with a one-day lag.     

Short-Sales Constraints and Price Discovery: Evidence from the Hong Kong Market

Short‐sales practices in the Hong Kong stock market are unique in that only stocks on a list of designated securities can be sold short. By analyzing the price effects following the addition of individual stocks to the list, we find that short‐sales constraints tend to cause stock overvaluation and that the overvaluation effect is more dramatic for individual stocks for which wider dispersion of investor opinions exists. These findings are consistent with Miller's (1977) intuition and other optimism models. We also document higher volatility and less positive skewness of individual stock returns when short sales are allowed.     

Optimality of the Friedman Rule in an Overlapping Generations Model with Spatial Separation

Recent models with spatial separation and limited communication suggest that the Friedman rule may not be optimal. This is important in light of the disparity between theory and practice concerning optimal monetary policy. We take a close look at these models and show that intergenerational transfers are key to the suboptimality of the Friedman rule. The Friedman rule is a necessary condition for achieving the efficient allocation in equilibrium. We also show that the Friedman rule is chosen whenever agents can implement mutually beneficial arrangements.