Earnings management by firms announcing earnings after SEC filing

This study examines motivation and stock market reactions of firms announcing earnings in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) after filing with the Security Exchange Commission (SEC). Most firms announce earnings in the WSJ before SEC filing. Firms that reverse this sequence are voluntarily delaying public earnings announcements. The authors find that these firms are not only poor financial performers but also engage in earnings managements. They are delaying their WSJ announcements to postpone announcing bad news. The authors find significant stock price reactions to both the SEC filing and the WSJ announcement. The price reaction to earnings is incomplete at the SEC filings. The market continues reacting to firms' subsequent WSJ announcements as if the SEC filing fails to communicate earnings information to some investors.     

Will It Take a Crisis to Fix Fiscal Policy?

The U.S. national debt is on a trajectory to reach 185 percent of gross domestic product by 2035 unless there is a drastic change in federal fiscal policy. The main drivers of this situation are Social Security and health care programs, whose growth is amplified by an aging population and increasing medical costs, a dysfunctional Congress and an unwillingness to tackle the increasing burden of Social Security and the medical programs. The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and the Bipartisan Policy Center's Debt Reduction Task Force have produced thoughtful and sound plans for debt reduction but have produced little political traction. Reluctance to come to grips to the U.S. federal debt problem has increased the risks of a sovereign debt crisis, and the paper spells out potential responses, should one occur. Given the obstacles to a major overhaul of fiscal policy, it is difficult to see how it will be avoided.     

The Changing Nature of the Long-Run Federal Budget Problem

Although recent performance and the short-term outlook for the U.S. federal budget deficit have been favorable, the good news is not expected to continue. Low interest rates and slowly growing health costs have helped ease the burden of debt, but they are not expected to continue for very long. A likely combination of growing spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and higher interest rates would increase the drag on the American economy. This paper analyzes which expenditures do and do not cause a significant increase in the federal debt and describes how a remedy implies difficult choices that require leaders of both political parties “to join hands and jump off the cliff together.”     

INCOM a general system for medium and long-range forecasting

Modern industrial stratege demands accurate and dynamic medium and long-range planning. It is expected to have a strong influence on the profitability of investments, the optimum management of manufacturing and stocks, good marketing strategy and, of course, a sound financial management.