Investigating the Valuation Effects of Announcements of Voluntary Corporate Selloffs

While there has been an abundance of empirical research on the subject of mergers and acquisitions, little research exists on a closely related topic—voluntary corporate selloffs. This study examines the effect on shareholder wealth of the announcement by management of an investment decision to voluntarily sell part of its operations to another firm. Positive abnormal returns are found to occur on the announcement date. However, it is found that such selloffs generally occur after a period of abnormally negative returns, suggesting the announcement is preceded by the release of negative information about the firm.     

Ranking Australian Economics Departments by Research Productivity

This study ranks Australian economics departments according to their average research productivity during 1998–2002. The highest ranked departments are those at ANU, JCU, Melbourne, Tasmania and UWA. We also rank departments according to the variability of research productivity among their members, the assumption being that, other things being equal, the less variable is productivity within a department, the better. Research productivity is found to be highly skewed within all departments. However, in general, research productivity is more (less) evenly distributed within those departments that have relatively high (low) average research productivity.     

Revenue Recognition: Judgment in the Spotlight / LA CONSTATATION DES PRODUITS: PLEINS FEUX SUR LE JUGEMENT

This paper examines recent history in the area of revenue recognition in financial reporting by Canadian public companies. Revenue recognition is critical because of the profound impact this accounting policy has on the financial statements, but it can be highly judgmental. Restatement of public financial statements is taken as evidence that the reliability of the reported results, as initially presented, is questionable ‐ that is, the financial statements do not fairly reflect the financial position of the organization. We examine recent newsworthy examples of restatement of revenue by Canadian public companies to determine whether this can be traced to faulty professional judgment or to other circumstances, such as deliberate misrepresentation. Les auteures se penchent sur l'histoire récente de la constatation des produits, dans l'information financière communiquée par les sociétés ouvertes canadiennes. L'importance cruciale de la constatation des produits tient aux répercussions profondes qu'a la méthode de constatation sur les états financiers et au fait qu'elle peut faire largement appel au jugement. Les auteures évaluent certains exemples canadiens récents de retraitement des produits qui sont dignes d'être rendus publics, afin d'en déterminer les paramètres.     

Factors Determining Credit Worthiness of Low Income Consumers

The purpose of this study was to identify variables that can be used in granting credit to low income consumers. Credit behavior, as exemplified by loan repayment, was examined with respect to economic, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics of borrowers from a credit union that had been established to serve low income people in Columbus, Ohio. Findings indicate that early warning signals—default and delinquency—are given by borrowers when a loan is going bad. Consumer education and financial counseling might help eliminate this problem.     

Returns to investments in information: can investments reduce bad purchase experiences of consumers?

A maximum likelihood probit analysis was used to examine the impact of stock of information, specific information sources, research, value of time, and demographic characteristics on the probability of having a bad purchase experience over the past 12 months. Results indicated that age and degree of social contacts, all representing stock of information, were significantly related to the probability of having a bad purchase experience. Using sales persons' advice as a source of information prior to making prior purchases was also a significant predictor.     

PILE UPHOLSTERY FABRICS–CONSTRUCTION CHARACTERISTICS AND ABRASION RESISTANCE

Pile fabrics are currently enjoying a renewed popularity. They are not only an important upholstery fabric but also are gaining importance in other textile end-uses such as apparel, footwear, toys and accessories. Pile fabrics are made in both natural and synthetic fibres as well as natural and synthetic fibre blends. The study was an attempt to develop a procedure to evaluate the physical properties of pile fabrics to determine their suitability for specific end-uses. The study defined and tested different pile fabric samples which were representative of the 1979 interior textile fabric lines. Six pile fabrics, each with different fibre contents were subjected to seven separate tests and the results reported. The tests included fibre identification, fabric weight determination, fabric thickness determination, breaking load determination, tearing strength determination, and abrasion resistance determination. The results found that pile upholstery fabrics of different generic fibres performed differently when subjected to physical testing. The results obtained from the physical properties tests gave results which can be used to compare pile fabrics of different generic fibre content.