法国公开要约收购制度的最新改革——以2006年《公开要约收购法》为中心

2006年3月31日，依欧盟转化《要约收购指令》之要求，法国颁布了《公开要约收购法》，对现有的公开要约收购制度进行了多方位、深层次的改革。从宏观上看，此次改革主要涉及四个方面，即金融证券管理局监管范围的改革、强制要约收购制度的改革、要约透明机制的改革以及反要约收购防御措施的改革。尽管改革的效果仍有待评估，但法国在此次改革中所体现的提高欧盟范围内企业竞争力的决心和表率作用无疑为欧盟经济一体化注入了新的活力。     

构建与金融业全面开放相适应的金融监管体制

我国的金融监管体制近20年来几经制度变迁和改革调整，已形成了人民银行、银监会、证监会、保监会（一行三会）的架构，但在实际运行中出现了不少矛盾，如何从我国金融业即将全面开放的要求和特点出发，特别是适应金融综合经营时代的到来，有必要对宏观金融监管体制进行改革。     

政府监制与电力监管

阐述了政府管制的内涵及研究视角,论述了电力监管作为政府管制的重要组成部分的组成要素、基本任务、主要内容和监管体系。     

建立我国基于风险控制的企业年金监管体系

在我国企业年金制度启动后，为防范企业年金基金管理风险，必须建立一套行之有效的监管体系和监管方法。本文提出建立我国基于风险控制的企业年金监管体系，该体系是基于风险的金融监管理论在企业年金领域的应用和实践。建立基于风险的企业年金监管体系主要包括4个方面的内容：即确定企业年金的监管架构及适合我国国情的监管模式；建立统一的风险监管平台，开发统一的企业年金风险监管系统，统一企业年金监管风险管理工具和风险指标，形成支持协同监管的技术系统平台；完善规章制度体系，凄定监管基础；切实严格执行管理机构的准入制度，形成优胜劣汰良好机制。     

发展我国农村社会养老保险制度的几点思考

长期以来,我国城乡养老社会保障呈现了明显的二元化特征.笔者认为,应该从我国家庭户规模的变化、未来人口发展趋势、经济体制改革以及非经济因素等方面来全面考虑发展农村养老社会保险制度的意义、面临的挑战及改革思路.要根据各地经济发展水平不同建立分地区、分层次的农村养老社会保障制度,必须尽快将农村养老社会保障制度建设纳入法制化轨道,并且应推广发达地区的成功经验,继续进行试点工作.     

关于输配电价几个重要问题的探讨

我国电力企业将要由传统的垂直垄断的模式转变为网厂分开、竞价上网的模式。电网公司作为一个独立的经营实体分离开来,有着独立的收益需求。在市场运营过程中,通过输配电价取得收益就成了电网公司取得收益的主要手段。在输配电价的制订过程之中,管制方式、输配电成本、输电定价方法、价格水平及电网投资、输配电价价区、电网提供的辅助服务等六个问题十分重要。文中就这六个问题的解决作了一些有价值的探讨。     

Social networks in the global banking sector

We show that banks with shared social connections partner more often in the global syndicated loan market and that central banks in the network play dominant roles in various interbank transactions, indicating that social connections facilitate business connections. However, more centralized banks in the network also contribute significantly to the global systemic risk. Moreover, we find the soft information generated by social networks is particularly valuable when potential partners operate under different accounting and regulatory standards. Finally, we show that the recent banking crisis significantly limited the positive soft information effects of social networks in the global banking system.     

Pension fund manager skills over the economic cycle: the (non-)specialization cost

We study whether pension fund managers, as professionals of important social and financial products, are able to add value for their clients and adapt to economic changes. To this end, we analyze the performance and skills (market timing and stock picking) over the economic cycle from both pension fund and manager perspectives. This double analysis allows examining whether skills reside in managers and/or funds and control for manager substitutions. Despite the long-term nature of pension funds, we find that both fund and manager skills vary with market conditions, showing better evidence of stock-picking in booms, and of market timing in recessions. Nonetheless, top (bottom) funds and managers exhibit both (incorrect) skills in booms and in recessions. Some of the top (bottom) funds and managers are the best (worst) in both abilities in the same periods, but not in different periods, showing that not all managers have the ability to adapt to market conditions. Additionally, managers with limited skills tend to specialize because diversification requires multi-task skills and the non-specialization of these managers usually results in incorrect skills.     

Responsiveness of Auditors to the Audit Risk Standards: Unique Evidence from Big 4 Audit Firms

We examine the effect of changes in audit risk standards on the conduct of financial statement audits in a European setting. We investigate this by analysing the audit hours and audit fees for clients of Big 4 audit firms in Finland in 1996 and 2010. Our results show that audit firms became more sensitive to clients’ business risk due to the introduction of the new audit risk standards, with more audit hours allocated to owner-managed companies in 2010 than in 1996, and fewer audit hours allocated to low-risk clients in 2010 than in 1996. Also, the labour mix in the audit team changed for owner-managed companies, with a greater work load carried by junior auditors in 2010 than in 1996. Regarding the price of audit, we find an increase in audit fees for clients with high business risk, while audit fees remained at roughly the same level for low-risk clients. These findings should be of interest to the auditing profession and those involved in the development of auditing regulations.     

Deracializing Exploitation? ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ in the South African Wine Industry

This paper considers the discourse and practice of 'Black Economic Empowerment' (BEE) in the South African wine industry. It argues that far from representing a decisive break with an inequitable past, BEE allows the South African wine industry to avoid potentially more uncomfortable options to redress current and past race-based imbalances – such as land redistribution, import boycotts and better working conditions for grape pickers. An essentialist racial discourse, pivoting on ahistorical and dislocated notions of 'blackness', has been used to displace the transformation agenda away from addressing the conditions faced by workers, and to an ameliorism that allows a small cohort of black entrepreneurs to become the preferred beneficiaries of 'transformation' in the wine industry. The new terrain is characterized by branding, advertising and image building on the one side: and by codes of conduct, a sectoral BEE charter, scorecards and auditing on the other. These allow the standardization, legitimation and ostensible deracialization of exploitative labour and social relations in the South African wine industry.