Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-132).

Thesis (M.A.B.S.)--Multnomah School of the Bible, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-81).

The main aim of this thesis was describe and evaluate the price trend of milk and dairy products in selected countries of European Union during the period (2001 - 2010). In the first part of this thesis are theoretical knowledge from the sphere of price - pricing methods. The practical part describes the development of agriculture (average numbers of dairy cows, the average annual milk yield, average milk deliveries to dairies for processing...). Then is described the evolution of the farm price of milk and the price of industrial producer (butter and skim milk powder) in selected countries. Next is shown the influence of farm milk prices on the variability of butter and skim milk powder prices. There are also calculated elasticity.

Reducing customer churn while simultaneously increasing prices is a challenge in need of a successful intervention. This study takes an in-depth look into successful interventions that assist a business in retaining their customers while increasing prices. By identifying such successful methods, business can continue to have price optimisation strategies that can increase the value of the business through the growth in customer equity. By using an experimental design that takes place in a live setting on over 50,000 customers, interventions are tested to research whether they can have a causal relationship between the intervention and improved customer retention. Three different interventions target improving customer loyalty by offering them an additional benefit, providing justification of the increase through a personal phone call or both. The results of this research found that by simultaneously offering a customer an additional benefit and also creating a personal touch point by communicating directly with the customer telephonically in order to justify the increase had a significantly positive impact on customer retention. As an outcome, an additional level of depth can be added to the academic literature and a deeper insight into customer relationship management exists for businesses to learn from and grow their firm value. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

This research project examines the link between social media and its effect on stock exchanges and movement of stocks. The study uses Twitter as its primary social media platform and focuses on its effect on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The study examines various forms of social media and micro-blogging sites in its attempt to provide a thorough understanding of the role of social media within the market. In line with its exploration of social media, the study analyses User-Generated Content, Sentiment Analysis and the impact of Word-of-Mouth. A brief explanation of Algorithmic Trading, the Efficient Market Hypothesis, and the Adaptive Market Hypothesis is also provided. The information used to show the relationship between Twitter and the JSE was extracted using a quantitative survey answered by registered traders on the JSE. The survey aimed to ascertain the level of information pertaining to stock movement posted to the platform by these traders, and how these traders used that same information to make trading decisions. The results of the study show that Twitter and other micro-blogging sites have a level of determination in stock exchanges. This study shows that traders make some use of online information to inform their trading decisions on the Stock Market. The validity of this online information stems from the fact that traders place trust in other people and other users’ experience, as proven by Word of Mouth. The findings of this study were contrary to the researchers’ expectation that Twitter was widely used as an informant for trade decisions. What is deduced from the available findings is that while Twitter and other social media platforms do to some extent provide information for traders on the JSE in making trade decisions, it is not a wide-spread basis for movement of shares. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / zkgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Many articles have been written on the effect and potential benefit of cost reduction, downsizing and expense management. Most of these articles have conflicting messages, some even internally within the same article.The objective of this research was to critically evaluate these articles and to see if there was any evidence of the economic effects of cost reduction from the South African experience. The evaluation of the articles was done by a process of deductive reasoning with some help from the principles found within the application of the Theory of Constraints. The research further used a quantitative design to analyse the effect of a cost reduction event on certain ratios and the share price performance relative to an appropriate index over a period of six years after the event.The research has shown that at least some of the academic articles on this subject made different implicit assumptions during the research process. The results from the quantitative research have shown that there were no significant evidence of any effect on the ratios and share price performance from the South African market experience. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This PhD dissertation research primarily aims to empirically investigate into two financial topics using annual and monthly data sets of market-capitalization based size portfolio returns from the US stock market for the period 1925 to 2012. Using size-based portfolio returns is a pioneering effort for both topics. The first empirical research using annual data is on short and long horizon stock return predictability using three widely selected ratios in terms of price-output, price-earnings and price-dividend. Using univariate and multivariate predictive regressions for horizons from one year to fifteen years for the full sample and three different sub-samples for comparison reasons with the previous research using aggregate stock market data, it is reported that both short and long horizon return predictability exists albeit with different predictive ability for different horizons. Among the three selected ratios, overall the price-output ratio is empirically favoured as a superior predictor of stock returns. The empirical findings refer to that this is robust across the three sub-samples investigated. It is empirically shown that size significantly matters in terms of return predictability. The second empirical research using monthly data is on the analysis of impact of macroeconomic volatility in terms of inflation and industrial production growth on asymmetric time-varying volatility of stock returns. Using a two-stage econometric methodology, first, based on estimation of asymmetric conditional volatilities of stock returns and macroeconomic variables, and then employing a vector autoregression methodology; it is reported that volatility of size-based portfolio returns are, in general, not significantly dependent on macroeconomic volatility. It is also shown that stock return volatility is more responsive to its own previous shocks as shown by the variance decomposition. It is also found that size does not matter in this specific case.

This paper assesses the impact of earnings quality on market responses to annual earnings announcements. Earnings quality is measured by the ratio of earnings to funds from operations. The difference in the association between forecast errors and excess returns across the high/low quality earnings subsamples is found to be statistically significant; there is a greater market response to earnings announcements of high-quality firms than to low-quality firms. Hence, earnings quality as measured by the ratio of earnings to funds from operations, is found to have pricing implications. The results are robust across two regression models: OLS on returns ordered in announcement time and SUR/GLS on returns ordered in calendar time. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

In this work the problematic issue of price determination in economic theory is re-examined. In the first chapter a state-of-the-art survey regarding the existence of equilibrium and the structure of the equilibrium set in price-setting games is provided. In chapter two a new core concept, the Bertrand core, is introduced and characterized. In chapter three a revealed preference perspective upon the Nash equilibria in price-setting games is provided. In chapter four, the issue of Bayesian equilibrium existence is addressed when traders have incomplete information regarding each others' types. Finally, a summary of possible future avenues for research in this area is provided.

Dans les années 60 et avant, le marché international de l’aluminium était présenté comme un cas d’école en matière d’organisation oligopolistique des firmes. En effet, un petit nombre de grands groupes fortement intégrés (les 6 Majeurs) contrôlaient la quasi-totalité du secteur de l’aluminium, des opérations d’extraction de la bauxite, à la fabrication de produits finis à base d’aluminium, en passant par la production d’alumine et d’aluminium en lingots. A partir des années 70, ce monopole est de plus en plus contesté, notamment par des entreprises sur-liquides venues principalement des secteurs miniers et par des entreprises étatiques porteuses de motivations différentes. La création en décembre 1978 du contrat Aluminium au London Metal Exchange (LME) sonne le glas du monopole constitué par les 6 Majeurs. On passe alors d’un système de prix- producteurs, à un véritable système de prix de marché L’objectif de cette thèse est de vérifier, si le LME, bourse pionnière et marché de référence pour les métaux non-ferreux, remplit efficacement ses fonctions financières concernant l’aluminium : Information sur les prix et l’état du marché, protection contractuelle contre les risques de fluctuations des prix, stabilisation des cours. / In the 1960s and before, the international aluminium market has been hold up as a paradigm for oligopolistic company organisation. A small number of strongly integrated conglomerates (the six Majors) did indeed control virtually the entire aluminium sector, from bauxite extraction to alumin and aluminum bar production as well as the manufacturing of finished aluminium products. From the 1970s onwards, this monopoly has been more and more called into question, in particular by cash-fuelled mining corporations and state-owned companies driven by different motivations. When the London Metal Exchange (LME) introduced the Aluminium contract in December 1978, the days of the 6 Majors’ monopoly were counted. From there on, prices have been fixed by producers and the market. This thesis aims at determining whether the LME, a pioneering exchange and the prime market for non-iron metals, efficiently fulfils its financial functions concerning aluminium: information about prices and the market situation, legal protection against price fluctuation risks, price stabilization.