This study tests the size effect in the London Stock Exchange, using data for all nonfinancial listed firms from January 1985 to December 1995. The initial tests indicate that average stock returns are negatively related to firm size and that small firm portfolios earn returns in excess of the market risk. Further, the study tests whether the size effect is a proxy for variables such as the Book-to- Market Value and the Borrowing Ratio, as well as the impact of the dividend and the Bid- Ask spread on the return of the extreme size portfolios. The originality of this study is in the application of the Markov Chain Model to testing the Random Walk and Bubbles hypotheses, and the Vector Autoregression (VAR) framework for testing the relationship of macroeconomic variables with size portfolio returns.

This thesis will be concerned with investigating the empirical characteristics of stock returns, forUKfirms which are distinguished by market value. The primary aimof thisworkis to identify whether there are differences between the behaviour of large and small firm retums. A substantial amount of attention has recently focused upon how firm size influences the behaviour of stock returns in US markets, but, the role that firm size might have in determining the behaviour of stock returns in UK markets has received very little attention. The aim of this thesis is to redress this imbalance. The first part of this study will be concerned with showing that the returns of small firms are more predictable than the returns of large firms. The second part of this study will show that the relationship between risk and return depends on firm size. The third and final part of this thesis will show that not only are the mean returns of large and small firms different but that there are also important differences in the conditional variances of large and small firms. In all three parts of this thesis, important differences between the behaviour of large and small firm returns are documented for the first time.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Nov. 2, 2006). PDF text: iii, 86 p. ; 3.21Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3214106. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche format.

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The primary objective of this thesis is to investigate the value implications of the mergers and acquisitions deals initiated by the firms from the CEE region. We examine the sample of the 203 M&A announcements made by the bidder firms from the two major economies in the region-Poland and Russia-over the period 2006-2016. We apply the event study methodology to investigate the effect of the M&A announcement on the wealth of the acquirers' shareholders. The results demonstrate that on average investors of the Polish acquirers receive positive short-term wealth effect, while the investors of the Russian firms lose in short-term value. Our empirical findings provide partial support for the positive wealth effect when acquirers target the strategically important asset. Our results hold after controlling for the number of firm and transaction-specific characteristics. JEL Classification G14, G32, G34 Keywords mergers and acquisitions, event study, bidder gains, shareholder wealth effects, Central and Eastern Europe Author's e-mail lukashova.a.v@gmail.com Supervisor's e-mail kocenda@fsv.cuni.cz

I investigate the effect of the change in call loan rates on stock returns during 1929. Call loan rates are the interest rates on borrowed funds to trade equity on a given exchange. It is estimated that 40% of stocks during this period were bought on margin. After a price decline comes a margin call, followed by a forced sales of securities, which leads to additional margin calls and future price declines. I regress daily excess returns on the change in daily call loan rates during 1929. In addition, I estimate volatility using an ARCH model and observe the previously understood negative relationship between volatility and stock prices. I find a statistically significant negative relationship between call loan rates and stock returns. Furthermore, I also find that changes in call loan rates are most influential on the manufacturing sector relative to the other 11 industries tested.

The effectiveness of the PEG ratio as a valuation tool has been a topical debate between market commentators ever since being popularised by Lynch (1989). This study examines the appropriateness of the fair value criteria of 1.0 (PEGL) in comparison with a time-series based share specific benchmarking model (PEGT). Furthermore, influencing factors of analyst forecasting accuracy, namely: the number of analyst contributions, forecast dispersion and forecast horizon, were tested and compared using sub-set portfolios for each category with the objective of identifying a possible optimal PEG trading rule strategy. The outcome showed a consistent outperformance of PEGT portfolios compared to PEGL portfolios and the market benchmark. Unexpected results were obtained for the impact of analyst forecasts on the performance of the PEG ratio with additional literature review providing possible reasons that analyst optimism may have a more influencing impact on the PEG ratio than forecasting accuracy. Finally, an optimised PEG trading rule strategy delivered annual abnormal returns of 5.4% (CAGR: 19.7%) for a PEGL portfolio, versus that of 13.7% (CAGR: 28.5%) for a PEGT portfolio. The ensuing methodology appeared to single out small cap firms with above market growth prospects. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The application of accrual accounting principles is a challenge for public sectors internationally and increases the level of transparency and accountability of management. Taxation authorities are governed by legislation and have to be supported by a sound legislative framework to enable effective administration of taxes and the proper application of the accrual accounting principles. The recent issuing of the accounting standard for taxes and developments relating to the subsequent measurement of tax receivables highlights the ineffectiveness of current administrative tax legislation relating to penalties and interest which does not allow SARS to effectively apply accrual accounting principles. The receipt of taxpayer returns and payments as required by legislation are critical in order to allow the recording of taxes owed in the financial records of SARS. These taxpayer actions can only be effectively influenced by an effective penalty regime. Similarly, the current interest regimes on tax receivables and payables need to be adjusted in order to allow efficiencies and be comparative to market rates and calculation methods. International comparisons of penalty and interest regimes did not indicate a specific standard regime that should be applied, but the United Kingdom identified sound design principles for penalty and interest regimes. A simple standardised penalty and interest regime for all taxes administered by SARS is recommended which meets the identified design principles and supports the accrual accounting principles. The move to accrual accounting is an additional driver for administrative legislative reform which supports the effective management of taxation authorities. Copyright / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Taxation / unrestricted

Directors of listed companies earn abnormal returns by trading in a contrarian manner. This research report investigated whether outside investors can earn abnormal returns by following director contrarian trades. The returns to directors and outsiders, following a director trade were analysed using the event study methodology. The event study methodology utilised director trading information from SENS announcements on the JSE Securities Exchange, daily share prices, betas and price to book values for the selected companies, and daily all share index prices. The focus of the analysis was the post trade Cumulative Average Abnormal Returns (CAAR), in the 20 days following the director trade. The overall CAAR for all transactions was a statistically significant but economically insignificant 0.43%. When viewed from a transaction type perspective, the CAAR was 0.72% and 0.44% for purchases and sales transactions respectively. This study shows that while directors of listed South African companies do earn abnormal returns, they do not do so while consistently trading in a contrarian manner. In fact, transactions not deemed contrarian generated higher abnormal returns for directors. In addition, the study shows that outside investors do not earn abnormal returns by mimicking directors, and actually, their following of director trades generates the abnormal returns for directors. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted