Reassessing retiree benefits: the new challenge

For most employers, uncertainty about the future shape of the U.S. health care system, rising health care costs and FAS 106 accounting rules mean it is important to manage retiree medical costs. Survey data shows many employers are taking steps to manage their future retiree health care costs. These steps include reducing benefit levels, introducing service-related contributions and introducing managed care elements to retiree medical plans.     

Private information, trading volume, and stock-return variances

New evidence is provided on the determinants of stock-returnvariances. First, when the Tokyo Stock Exchange is open on Saturday,the weekend variance increases; weekly variance is unaffected,however, despite an increase in weekly volume. Second, the listingof U.S. stocks in Tokyo substantially increases the number oftrading hours, but Tokyo volume is negligible for these U.S.stocks and their 24-hour variance is unaffected. The overallresults are consistent with the predictions of private-information-basedrational trading models, but inconsistent with both the irrationaltrading noise and public-information hypotheses.     

On technical analysis

Technical analysis, or the use of past prices to infer privateinformation, has value in a model in which prices are not fullyrevealing and traders have rational conjectures about the relationbetween prices and signals. A two-period dynamic model of equilibriumis used to demonstrate that rational investors use historicalprices in forming their demands and to illustrate the sensitivityof the value of technical analysis to changes in the valuesof the exogenous parameters.     

YIELD VOLATILITY OF DISCOUNT COUPON BONDS

In this research, the yield volatility of coupon-taxable discount bonds is analyzed. The relationship of before-tax yield changes on discounts as compared with changes in new, par issue (market) yields is developed in the form of a net yield factor (NYF). Also, the behavior of the NYF as dependent upon parameters such as maturity, coupon, market yield, and tax rates is examined. Then, the incorporation and impact of the NYF on price volatility are shown. Finally, results of empirical tests are reported, which validate the usefulness of NYFs in the measurement of yield volatility for discount bonds.     

Competing bids, target management resistance, and the structure of takeover bids

We examine the structure of initial takeover bids and the frequencyof observing competing bids and target management resistance.We find the use of cash is not consistently correlated withthe frequency of competition or resistance and that the costof acquiring information about a target is associated with thelikelihood of competition and resistance. A high bid premiumappears to deter competing offers and is also associated witha lower likelihood of resistance. Finally, target managementresistance is associated with an increased likelihood of a competingoffer arising and a larger increase in target shareholder wealthbetween the initial public announcement and outcome dates relativeto the not-resisted subsample for both successful and unsuccessfulacquisition proposals.