This thesis aims to examine whether a merger arbitrage strategy is able to generate market neutral alpha in the Nordic region. Similar studies of merger arbitrage strategies in both the US and Australian market find market neutral alpha. To investigate the viability of such a strategy, we developed a “Merger arbitrage portfolio” which invests in 55 deals during 2003-2017 in the Nordic equity capital market. Our findings provide strong support that a merger arbitrage strategy is market neutral, even in times of financial turmoil. An excess return is recorded, however, when estimating the portfolio with the Market Model we find no statistically significant alpha. The results are affected by large outliers. We conclude that our version of the merger arbitrage strategy is not an optimal investment in terms of its Sharpe Ratio, compared to an index using a similar strategy and the stock market.

Este estudo objetiva definir uma metodologia para cálculo do potencial de expropriação de fluxo de caixa dos acionistas controladores sobre os acionistas minoritários e correlacionar esse potencial com os mecanismos de Governança Corporativa (GC) comumente citados, de forma a verificar se tais mecanismos realmente influenciam nos níveis de expropriação das empresas de capital aberto no Brasil. Para tanto, apresenta três etapas: 1) definição de uma metodologia para cálculo do potencial de expropriação de fluxo de caixa dos acionistas controladores; 2) mensuração do potencial definido para as empresas que realizaram operações de alienação/venda de controle acionário no Brasil nos anos de 2004 a 2010 conforme prerrogativas da Instrução CVM nº 361/2002, a qual exige que as empresas publiquem, dentre outros dados, o preço ofertado pelo controle; e 3) correlação do potencial de expropriação calculado com os mecanismos de Governança Corporativa mais citados para analisar a efetividade destes no combate à expropriação. Por meio de deduções algébricas para a definição do potencial de expropriação e análise multivariada de dados (regressões múltiplas) para a análise da correlação entre este e os mecanismos de GC destacam-se os seguintes resultados: 1) a definição de uma próxi viável para o cálculo do potencial de expropriação e 2) a expropriação de fluxo de caixa é determinada pelo free float das ações ordinárias, pelo porte do ativo, pelo Return on Equiy (ROE), pela composição da Diretoria Executiva e da presidência do Conselho de Administração e pelos Níveis de GC da Bovespa. As relações entre o potencial de expropriação e as suas variáveis determinantes são: o potencial de expropriação é menor quanto menor for o free float, quanto maior for o porte do ativo, em empresas nas quais o Diretor Executivo e o Presidente do Conselho são a mesma pessoa e nas empresas com níveis de GC da Bovespa, sendo baixa a representatividade dessas duas últimas devido ao baixo número de empresas na amostra com tais características. Tais relações contrariam a teoria corrente, principalmente quanto à influência do free float, que é apontado como uma forma de minimizar o problema da expropriação, sendo até mesmo exigido em níveis diferenciados de governança como forma de limitar o risco da empresa, porém consistente com os resultados obtidos no decorrer da dedução do potencial de expropriação. / This study means to define a methodology to calculate the expropriation potential of cash flow by controlling shareholders over minority shareholders and to correlate this potential with Corporate Governance (CG) mechanisms commonly cited in order to verify if these mechanisms influence levels of expropriation of Brazilian publicly traded companies. For both, has three steps: 1) definition of a methodology to calculate the expropriation potential of cash flow by controlling shareholders; 2) mensuration of the defined potential for companies that sold or alienated their control in Brazil in the years 2004 to 2010 as prerogatives of CVM Instruction nº 361/2002, which requires that companies publish, among other data, the price offered by the control; and 3) correlation of expropriation potential with Corporate Governance mechanisms more cited to analyze their effectiveness to reduce the expropriation. By means of algebraic deductions and multivariate analysis (Multiple Regression) for correlation analysis of it and the Corporate Governance mechanisms, highlight the following results: 1) the viable definition of a proxy to calculate the expropriation potential and 2) the cash flow expropriation is determined by the free float of ordinary shares, by Return on Equity (ROE), by asset size, by the composition of Executive Direction and the Chairman of the Board and by CG levels according Bovespas Classification. The relations between the expropriation potential and its determinants variables are: the expropriation potential is lower than lower the free float, than higher the Return on Equity (ROE), than lower the asset size, in companies that the Executive Director and the Chairman of the Board are the same person and in companies that has the Corporate Governance level by Bovespa, but the representative of these last two variables is low, because there are few companies with these characteristics. These relations contradict the current theory, especially regarding the influence of free float, which is targeted as a way to minimize the expropriation problem, being required even at levels of Corporate Governance as a form to limit the companys risk, but it is consistent with the results of expropriation potential deduction.

O gerenciamento dos custos com a compra de energia elétrica para atendimento do mercado consumidor é um assunto que assumiu, nos últimos anos, papel relevante nas distribuidoras. Este fenômeno pode ser explicado pela crescente participação dos custos de energia comprada, para suprimento do mercado cativo, no desempenho operacional dessas empresas, bem como pelas recentes alterações na regulamentação que agregaram ao processo da compra a necessidade de um altíssimo nível de assertividade. Considerando a existência de uma lacuna na literatura da área, a despeito de trabalhos que tratam do entendimento e gerenciamento do repasse dos custos com a compra de energia elétrica pelas distribuidoras e da análise de riscos associados às incertezas pertinentes ao processo, propõe-se, neste trabalho, uma metodologia para representar os custos com a compra de energia elétrica no fluxo de caixa da distribuidora, assim como modelo que auxilie no gerenciamento dos riscos associados aos desvios das variáveis que compõem o processo, em relação a um cenário de referência. Para tanto, são apresentadas, através de equações, as regras de repasse com a aquisição de energia elétrica para a tarifa de fornecimento do consumidor final e uma metodologia empírica para análise de risco baseada em modelagem estatística, com o suporte de modelos econométricos, permitindo uma varredura de cenários plausíveis via simulação Monte Carlo. Com isso, para uma compra energia que atenda às necessidades de consumo de uma distribuidora ao longo de um ano, tal modelo deve ser capaz de informar a disponibilidade de caixa da empresa para fazer frente às despesas com a compra de energia em determinada data futura ou, ainda, deve ser capaz de permitir a avaliação do valor presente resultante dos desembolsos versus recebimentos ao final do período de repasse, aferidos através de metodologia com enfoque probabilístico. / The management of the costs related to electric energy purchase to supply the market is an issue that assumed, in the last years, a relevant role in the distribution companies. This phenomenon may be explained by the increasing participation of the quoted costs in the operational performance of such companies and by the recent changes in the rules which brought to the energy acquisition process a need of very high assertiveness. Considering the existence of an important gap in the area literature, in despite of papers which approach the understanding and management of cost pass through with electric energy purchase by the distributors, and the risk analysis connected to the uncertainties relevant to the process, in this work it is developed a new methodology to represent the costs with electric energy purchase in the distributors cash flow, as well as a model that helps in the management of risks related to the variable changes in relation to a reference scenario for the whole process. In this way, the energy supply costs pass through rules are presented with the aid of mathematical equations, as well as an empirical methodology is proposed, taking advantage of statistical and econometric models, in order to making feasible a Monte Carlo simulation aiming at screening the universe of scenarios that could happen in real life. Furthermore, giving the energy supply costs throughout one year, the model should be capable to forecast the company cash available to face these costs in a certain future date and, besides that, the model should be capable to calculate the present value arising from the disbursement versus the receipts along the time, till the end of the pass through period, in a probabilistic focus.

Social assistance programmes (SAPs), understood as non-contributory transfers aimed at ad-dressing poverty, have spread in developing countries since the late 1990s. National govern-ments in Latin America have sought to extend the coverage of SAPs through human devel-opment conditional cash transfer programmes (CCTs). CCTs share several implementation features. First, they employ targeting and selection methods based on means, and proxy means, tests. Research on targeting and selection methods has evolved hand in hand with the adoption of CCTs in Latin America, Africa and South East Asia. Second, CCTs involve the provision of cash transfers directly to households, but with conditions attached to human development objectives. Transfers are given to households in poverty contingent on investment in the human capital formation of their children. A third feature relates to the presence of programme exit conditions. To date, scarce research is available on the design and outcomes associated with exit condi-tions from CCTs. This thesis thus contributes to the literature in the implementation of SAPs by providing a critical examination of exit conditions in SAPs with specific emphasis on CCTs. The thesis provides a systematic theoretical and empirical analysis of the role of exit conditions in the implementation of CCTs. The thesis develops and tests two basic principles underlying the role of exit conditions. First, the exhausted-effectiveness principle suggests that the effectiveness of a CCT varies over time. The research reported in this examines the effectiveness of programme over time with the aim of identifying potential thresholds after which a given SAP's effectiveness de-clines. A two-period child human capital investment model is developed to study analytically the conditions in which programme effectiveness varies over time. This is examined empirically in order to demonstrate the existence of the time-varying effectiveness associated with the implementation of the Colombia's CCT, Familias en Accion. A continuous treatment effect model is estimated following Hirano and Imbens (2004), in which the length of exposure allows for the graphical analysis of dose-response functions. The results indicate that the design of SAPs must take account of time-varying effectiveness. Second, a principle of the non-recurrence of poverty states that beneficiaries should be able to exit an effective programme when two conditions apply: (i) they are not in poverty; and (ii) they face a low probability of becoming poor in the near future. This principle acknowledges the implications of poverty dynamics for the implementation of SAPs with a particular focus on exit conditions. This thesis characterises the poverty dynamics of beneficiary households through the estimation of a Markovian poverty transition model using data from the Familias en Accion programme. The findings from the empirical work suggest that programme participation should not end when households are non-poor, but attention must be paid to probabilities of recurrence, in order to secure non-recurrence in the near future. Taken together, the exhausted-effectiveness principle interacts with the non-recurrence of poverty principle in the sense that the first sets a maximum length of exposure to the intervention, while the second determines minimum levels of exposure.

Hu Bingbing. / "July 2004." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-73). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

Práce hodnotí finanční situaci podniku Pražská teplárenská. Zabývá se i souvislostmi - okolím podniku a situací v odvětví. Jedná se o finanční analýzu doplněnou řadou kvalitativních informací. Závěry práce formuluji doporučení pro vedení podniku, která mohou být využitelná v podnikové praxi.

Cílem práce je nastínit možný postup predikce vývoje budoucí hodnoty konkrétní firmy. Teoretická část představuje metody analýzy firemní výkonnosti, postup sestavení dlouhodobého finančního plánu a metodu stanovení hodnoty firmy na základě prognózovaných volných peněžních toků. Praktická část aplikuje metody vyložené v teoretické části na realitu firmy. Je provedena finanční analýza společnosti a podle jejích výsledků navržen dlouhodobý finanční plán. Poté je stanovena budoucí hodnota firmy podle plánu prostřednictvím predikovaných volných peněžních toků (free cash flow). Na závěr je cílová situace srovnána s výchozí situací a na základě tohoto srovnání je zhodnocena úspěšnost navrženého plánu.

The thesis is focused on the current management concepts of performance measurement, using both financial and non-financial criteria. The selected modern concepts of performance measurement can be found in the theoretical part, the larger part is devoted to the method of financial analysis, which is then applied on the selected building company in the practical part. The result of the work is to evaluate the financial health of selected company using both standard tools of financial analysis as well as less known techniques.

This thesis deals with different methods of funding of fixed assets. The main aim of the study is to provide a general overview of the given types of funding and their comparison, either from a qualitative or a quantitative perspective. The application section focuses on linking the general section with a real-life situation, for a better illustration of the overall problem and to determine which of these types of funding is most advantageous for the analyzed company (Diakonie Broumov). Emphasis is placed primarily on factors influencing investment decisions in acquisition of vehicles. To compare effectiveness of various methods of funding the method of discounted costs is used.

This diploma thesis deals with selected methods that large companies can use to optimize their business results in the international environment. It focuses namely on methods of outsourcing, offshoring, tax optimization and cash flow management. The first part briefly describes globalization in the world economy and transnational corporations as its major players. The next two chapters are devoted to strategies which lead to cost reductions of enterprises due to outsourcing and offshoring. The fourth part characterizes the way offshoring enters into foreign markets in the form of foreign direct investments. The fifth section deals with tax optimizations for multinational companies. The sixth part mentions the measures taken so far in the area of tax coordination in the world and in particular the European Union and the last chapter briefly defines various options which can be used for cash flow optimization.