Investment trust IPOs: Issuing behaviour and price performance Evidence from the London Stock Exchange

In this paper, we document an average first day return of 1.91 percent for the population of 105 investment trust IPOs during the period from January 1984 through August 1992 on the London Stock Exchange. This is the first study that finds evidence of significant first day returns for a sample of closed-end fund IPOs. The results also suggest that investment trust IPOs are subject to ‘hot’ issue periods. These tend to occur when there is a marked narrowing in the discounts of seasoned investment trusts. Initial gains are, however, short lived; by the end of their first year, investment trust IPOs substantially underperform a number of relevant benchmarks and, on average, trade at discounts to their underlying net asset values.     

未来更多地投入到价值观点的创造

提到这个品牌的时候,我第一个想到的就是"与众不同"。自从Apple建立以来,这个品牌一直致力于革新,以求拥有一个清晰的训喻。它并不只是要生产最好的软件(与Windows竞争)。而是要在硬件上进行不断的     

WHY IS CASH (STILL) SO ENTRENCHED? INSIGHTS FROM CANADIAN SHOPPING DIARIES

One similarity among many developed economies is the predominance of cash over electronic payments in terms of payment frequency, especially for the low‐value transactions that are the bulk of retail payments. We use the Bank of Canada's 2009 Methods‐of‐Payment Survey, which collected information on consumers' payment choices through shopping diaries, to estimate a simple model of choice between cash and other payment methods. Results suggest that the main reasons cash is still a popular payment instrument in Canada, especially for low‐value transactions, are its wide acceptance among merchants compared with other alternatives, speed and ease of use, and low marginal cost when on hand. (JEL E41, D12, L81)     

Creating a bridge between university and industry in small European countries: the role of the Industrial Liaison Office

The frequent and intermittent need for new scientific knowledge has resulted in an increasing focus on links between industry and academic institutions. This has been particularly pronounced in the flows of knowledge between the two partners, which may lead to considerable diffusion of scientific and technical knowledge, particularly into the small firm sector. This development could be of particular benefit to smaller peripheral economies, which have demonstrated low levels of indigenous industrial technological development. As a result, universities could become increasingly important for local economic development in smaller countries on the periphery of Europe. However, a greater understanding is required of the pro-active role that the university itself can play in developing strong linkages with industry, particularly through mechanisms such as the Industrial Liaison Office (ILO). In particular, there needs to be an examination of the strategies and policies that are undertaken to increase the process of technology transfer from academia into local indigenous business within smaller countries. This paper will therefore examine the role that universities play in the regional economic development in two contrasting small countries of Europe, namely Sweden and Ireland. Drawing on interviews with key individuals in the processes of technology transfer between academia and industry (including ILOs), as well as secondary data, it will examine the general role and function of the industrial liaison office and how this has changed. It will also discuss the involvement of the university in different types of industrial links, the main opportunities and barriers to the development of links between university and industry, the benefits to the university from industrial links, and the perception of industry’s assessment of the relationship with universities. The research will provide valuable insight into the role of universities in developing innovation and entrepreneurship within the smaller and peripheral countries of Europe and will determine whether these universities are undertaking a pro-active role in encouraging the growth of innovative indigenous industry. This may have significant policy implications, especially with regard to the development of specific regional programmes to encourage academic-based entrepreneurship.     

Internationalization of China's private‐sector MNEs: An analysis of the motivations for foreign affiliate formation

China's private‐sector multinational enterprises (MNEs) are often owned and controlled via offshore holding companies in tax havens. As such, their foreign affiliates are often difficult to identify, and their activities are also not captured in official Chinese outward foreign direct investment data. To date, therefore, there has been comparatively little systematic analysis of these affiliates as they internationalize. Here we address this gap by developing a method that allows us to identify 104 privately owned Chinese MNEs owned via offshore holding companies, as well as their 227 foreign affiliates. We analyze and discuss the motivations for the formation of their foreign affiliates in light of current theory. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.