Background: The reasons why this study is conducted is because of the latest recession in the global economy. The current recession has made a lot of companies more aware of its cost, and in order to fit the new harsher economic climate the companies has to be more cost efficient. In order to do so many companies choose to reduce their amount of employees. When this happens in a recession, most of the layoffs are an effect of reactive causes, such as lower incoming orders, and fewer customers. This leads to a problem for the companies that don’t know how these kinds of layoffs will affect the value of the company’s stock. This leads to a question whether there is a significant pattern between layoffs that are a result of reactive reasons and the number of employees that are being laid off, in percentage of the total number of employees of the companies in question? Purpose: The reason for this study is to find out if there is any correlation between how many employees that is laid off, in percentage of the company’s total employees, and if different percentages have different impact in the valuations of the company’s stock. Approach: This study is made in the form of a modified event study and narrows down to the recession during 2008-01-01 to 2009-10-01, and only involves companies that are on trade on the stock market in Stockholm Sweden. The objects that are involved in this study are from the stock markets large and mid-cap sections. The criteria for companies in this study are that they should have made layoffs for reactive reasons in the time period that we are interested in. The variations in the company’s stock are compared to Stockholm’s stock markets OMX-index. The information needed to conduct this study is gathered from press realises and from financial reports made by the companies. Result and conclusions: The study shows that there is a correlation between how large percentage of the company’s total employees that are laid off and the effect of variations in the stock. The correlation is -0,306 but it is not statistical verified. This result was not in line with our hypotheses that we had concluded from earlier research and theories that are in the study. Earlier research on the American stock market shows a stronger connection between large percentage layoffs and how this makes the stock value to decrease.

This paper examines whether the phenomena of price drift around quarterly earnings re-leases exist among firms listed on the large cap. list at the Stockholm Stock Exchange for a time period ranging from the first quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of 2006. It fur-thermore examines the ability of the variables forecast error, relative to analyst’s estimates, and firms’ size to explain the variation in price drift among firms. A sample of some 30 firms were drawn in the first three quarters of each year between 2003 and 2005, for the year of 2006 only the fist two quarters were included in the study. For each quarter all firms were classified into three different portfolios on the basis of earnings deviations relative to mean analyst’s estimates (forecast error). The returns for each firm in all portfolios were investigated during 20 days post- and pre quarterly earnings release date, resulting in an event window totaling 41 days. In order to clear out effects from general market movements the Capital Asset Pricing Model, CAPM, was used in which betas were estimated for all firms each quarter. The findings from this study indicate that price drift, measured by cumulative abnormal re-turn, occur for firms with both negative forecast error as well as positive. For firms with positive error, statistically significant positive price drift was found for both the pre- and post period. As for the firms with earnings below analyst’s mean estimates, negative prean-nouncement drift was statistically supported. The ability of firms size and forecast error to explain the variation in price drift on a stock level was very weak, R2 measures of below 5% was reported. However, forecast error was a strongly significant independent variable in the context of the regressions run for both pre- and post-announcement drift. The firms below the lower market cap. quartile in the sample show, on average, lower pre-announcement drift than the firms belonging in the largest quartile. Concerning market efficiency among the large cap. firms the price drift found is an indica-tion of market inefficiency both it terms of the semi strong and the strong form. However, care should be taken before generalizing the results from this study but. Possible misspeci-fication of the equilibrium return model will skew the price drift measurement. Moreover, speculation is not explicitly controlled for in this test. Finally, this study is done within a li-mited time span; hence generalization over time is not possible

This paper will analyze the market reactions to news announcements of a corporate headquarter relocations for 76 firms through the time period of 1984 to 2012. Previous literature has identified that the market interprets capital expenditure decisions and acts on these interpretations, which can be found in the changes of the price of a security. The study uses an event-study methodology as well as a multiple-regression model to examine the contextual factors that play a role in influencing the corporate headquarter relocation decision. For the event-study, the event windows being used are two-day (-1,1), four-day (-2,2), fourteen-day (- 7,7), and two nineteen-day (-14,5 and -5,14) periods. The multiple regression model tests the relationship between the Average Cumulative Abnormal Returns over the event period three days prior to and after the day of the announcement (-3,3) against a number of other contextual variables.

Purpose: The main objective of this thesis is to study if acquiring companies’ shareholders on the Swedish market earn abnormal returns after an M&A and further to examine possible differences in the abnormal return depending on whether the M&A is announced during a period with high level of merger activity or low level of merger activity. Method: This thesis uses a quantitative research method and an event study to examine abnormal returns. The abnormal return is obtained by calculating the difference between the actual return and the normal return. Stock prices for the thirty companies in the sample have been collected; fifteen M&As from periods characterized by high merger activity and fifteen M&As from periods of low merger activity. The event window consists in total of eleven days, five days before the announcement day and five days after. Day minus six is used as an index. Finally, the results have been tested with t-statistics for further analyzing. Conclusion: Our findings regarding the Swedish market in this thesis is not consistent with most of the previous research. Earlier research claims negative abnormal returns for the acquiring companies’ shareholders. In our study we have found that the Swedish acquiring companies’ shareholders actually earn positive abnormal returns after an M&A. Moreover, the abnormal returns are higher for M&As announced during times with high level of merger activity on the market compared to the abnormal returns for M&As announced when the level activity of merger is low. / Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka om förvärvande företags aktieägare på den svenska marknaden uppnår onormal avkastning efter ett företagsförvärv. Studien undersöker även skillnader i onormal avkastning till det förvärvande företaget beroende på om förvärvet genomförts under en tidsperiod med hög respektive låg aktivitet av företagsförvärv på marknaden. Metod: Denna uppsats använder sig av en kvantitativ forskningsmetod samt en eventstudie för att undersöka onormal avkastning. Den onormala avkastningen erhålles genom att beräkna skillnaden mellan den faktiska avkastningen efter ett företagsförvärv med den normala avkastningen om förvärvet inte genomförts. Aktiepriset för de trettio företagen i urvalet har samlats in, hälften av urvalet är hämtat från en period med hög förvärvsaktivitet och resterande från en period med låg förvärvsaktivitet. Händelsefönstret består av elva dagar, fem dagar före och fem dagar efter tillkännagivandet av företagsförvärvet. Dag minus sex används som index. Slutligen har resultatens testats med t-test för vidare analys. Slutsats: Våra resultat gällande den svenska marknaden är inte samstämmiga med de flesta av de presenterade tidigare forskningarna. Enligt mycket tidigare forskning erhåller förvärvande företagens aktieägare negativ onormal avkastning medan vår studie av svenska företag visar positiv onormal avkastning till följd av ett företagsförvärv. Dessutom är den onormala avkastningen högre för företagsförvärv som genomförs i perioder med hög aktivitet av förvärv på marknaden jämfört med den onormala avkastningen för företagsförvärv som genomförs när aktivitetsnivån på förvärv är låg.

The Say on Pay vote, part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law by Barack Obama in July 2010, is a non-binding vote that either approves or disapproves of the compensation given to Named Executive Officers. As of June 21, 2012, there have been 103 companies that have failed to reach 50% approval in this vote. For this paper I analyze the 103 companies over event windows of two, four, and ten days around the date of the failure to test for statistically significant abnormal stock market returns. None of the average cumulative abnormal returns for the three event windows are significant at any level, and I find no evidence that failing the Say on Pay vote corresponds to an increase or decrease in stock market returns.

This paper describes the effects of environmental innovation, or EI, on the market value of a firm. EI involves the creation or enhancement of ‘green’ products or ‘eco-efficient’ production processes which result in improved environmental performance. The study involves the selection of a number of press releases related to EI and environmental performance. These form the basis of an event study to determine the effect of these announcements on share prices. Results indicate that the market recognizes the value of EI, especially for product-driven initiatives. It is also found that the market values good environmental performance, particularly when it has been recognized externally through an award, membership, or certification. Implications for policy and for management are discussed.

The technology industry is characterized by a greater than usual reliance on intangible assets. During the tech bubble many firms were valued entirely on intangible assets and growth prospects. In the aftermath of the bubble, intangible assets still play an important role as the innovative performance of a firm’s human capital and the value of its patents creates much of the value of high-tech firms. The problem of transferring human capital and knowledge may be further exacerbated when the firms belong to separate national cultures. Investor perception of acquisition announcements may be more favourable if the target workforce is much smaller relative to the bidder, and thus easier to integrate. Also, perceptions may be favourable when the target has a high ratio of intangible assets to total assets, as this may be a proxy for the relative value of the extractible intangible assets. This study uses a sample of 61 acquisition announcements between 1991 and 2004, where both acquirer and target are high-tech firms and accounting and trading data is available from three years prior to three years after the acquisition announcement. There is weak evidence to support the employee ratio hypothesis for bidder returns, and no evidence to support the intangible assets to total assets hypothesis for either bidder or target returns. Additionally, it is found that average bidder abnormal returns during the announcement period (as measured from one day prior to the announcement acquisitions to one day afterwards) are negative but not significantly different from zero, and that average target abnormal returns are positive and significant. Average wealth gains to bidders are negative and to targets are positive over the window from five days prior to the acquisition announcement to five days afterwards. Furthermore, combined wealth gains are negative, indicating the synergistic gains from high-tech cross-border acquisitions are offset by high premiums paid by the bidders for the targets. Relatedness, a lack of tender offers, and non-US acquirer status are demonstrated to be related to negative returns to bidders, whereas tender offers, US-acquirer status, and termination provisions are shown to be related to increased returns to target shareholders. In the long-run, it is found that acquirers experience superior operating cash flow returns when compared to their industry peers, however, the acquirer experiences diminished performance when compared to the combined performance of the pre-acquisition acquirer and target firms.

This paper describes the effects of environmental innovation, or EI, on the market value of a firm. EI involves the creation or enhancement of ‘green’ products or ‘eco-efficient’ production processes which result in improved environmental performance. The study involves the selection of a number of press releases related to EI and environmental performance. These form the basis of an event study to determine the effect of these announcements on share prices. Results indicate that the market recognizes the value of EI, especially for product-driven initiatives. It is also found that the market values good environmental performance, particularly when it has been recognized externally through an award, membership, or certification. Implications for policy and for management are discussed.

The technology industry is characterized by a greater than usual reliance on intangible assets. During the tech bubble many firms were valued entirely on intangible assets and growth prospects. In the aftermath of the bubble, intangible assets still play an important role as the innovative performance of a firm’s human capital and the value of its patents creates much of the value of high-tech firms. The problem of transferring human capital and knowledge may be further exacerbated when the firms belong to separate national cultures. Investor perception of acquisition announcements may be more favourable if the target workforce is much smaller relative to the bidder, and thus easier to integrate. Also, perceptions may be favourable when the target has a high ratio of intangible assets to total assets, as this may be a proxy for the relative value of the extractible intangible assets. This study uses a sample of 61 acquisition announcements between 1991 and 2004, where both acquirer and target are high-tech firms and accounting and trading data is available from three years prior to three years after the acquisition announcement. There is weak evidence to support the employee ratio hypothesis for bidder returns, and no evidence to support the intangible assets to total assets hypothesis for either bidder or target returns. Additionally, it is found that average bidder abnormal returns during the announcement period (as measured from one day prior to the announcement acquisitions to one day afterwards) are negative but not significantly different from zero, and that average target abnormal returns are positive and significant. Average wealth gains to bidders are negative and to targets are positive over the window from five days prior to the acquisition announcement to five days afterwards. Furthermore, combined wealth gains are negative, indicating the synergistic gains from high-tech cross-border acquisitions are offset by high premiums paid by the bidders for the targets. Relatedness, a lack of tender offers, and non-US acquirer status are demonstrated to be related to negative returns to bidders, whereas tender offers, US-acquirer status, and termination provisions are shown to be related to increased returns to target shareholders. In the long-run, it is found that acquirers experience superior operating cash flow returns when compared to their industry peers, however, the acquirer experiences diminished performance when compared to the combined performance of the pre-acquisition acquirer and target firms.

A financial failure prediction model should be dynamic by adding latest information in an effort to improve the current predictive power, and this model also can be applied to different industries and periods. That is, it has prominent goodness of fit and stable parameter. In this study, I testify that if the modified independent variables, industry relative ratios, can improve the prediction rate by using logistic regression. My research is based on public information. This study constructs two kinds of model¡GModel I is constructed with original financial ratios and Model II with relative industry ratios. Both models incorporate additional variables related to corporate governance. My empirical results suggest that relative industry ratios enhance the predictive power of financial failure prediction within three partially overlapping periods. Further study focus on Model II, I isolated firms which are confronted with financial difficulties and they can¡¦t be discriminated from other normal firms by using the prediction model. My result demonstrates that the main difference between the former and the latter is debt/equity ratio. Those firms which can¡¦t be detected afford less liability. In addition, my studies also compare these undetected firms with their control group and find they still can be distinguished from their control group by using logit model. The accuracy rate of prediction can reach 92.42%. Last study we use event study to research the links between the default possibilities of firms and their stock prices. My results demonstrate that the default possibilities may cause abnormal returns.