Background: Mergers and acquisitions (M&A’s) are common ways for businesses to expand, compete, and maintain in competitive business environments. A strongly debated question in literature is whether or not these M&A’s provide measurable benefits, as factors such as industry, geographic location, and regulations play key roles in the impacts of the M&A’s. In this paper, we investigate the short-term effects of M&A’s based on stock returns of acquiring companies, with a focus on finance industries in the British Isles. Purpose: The purpose is to study whether or not there are significant short-term abnormal returns for acquiring companies when M&As of financial services target enterprises take place. Further, the study examines factors which can affect the impact of M&A’s, such as size of transaction, whether it is domestic or cross-border, whether or not the acquiring company is in a finance industry, and whether there is evidence of merger waves related to finance M&A’s in the British Isles. Method: An event study methodology is applied and focused on calculating the cumulative abnormal returns, as well as verifying whether those are statistically significant. The study analyses 100 M&A’s conducted on target companies from the UK and Ireland between the years 2000 and 2019. The event study is performed using the STATA statistical software, which is used to analyse the stock return performance in comparison to the domestic market index for each acquiring company. Conclusion: The study finds statistically insignificant results, concluding that M&A events do not generate significant abnormal returns for acquiring companies. This is in line with majority of previous research done, showing that M&A deals are not deemed significantly value creating nor value destroying. M&A’s within finance industry where the acquiring companies were domestic, in a finance industry, where the deals were smaller, were all shown to have less negative, albeit still insignificant results. This study also presents evidence for merger waves. Moreover, this thesis adds a clear geographic and industry component which is often missing in previous research, showing that within finance industry in the British Isles the impacts of M&A deals are unlikely to be statistically significant in causing abnormal returns.

Investors are constantly searching for new ways to obtain a higher return on the market. This study examines if the stock prices for the companies within the market index OMXS30 changes more than expected when an earnings announcement is published and if it is possible to benefit from it in order to obtain a higher return. The study investigates how well the traditional theories, such as the efficient market hypothesis and random walk, can explain the market today by performing two event studies that represent different investment strategies. Event study 1 examine how the stock price changes before earnings announcement. Event study 2 examine how the stock price changes if you own the stock when the earnings announcement is published and sells it afterwards. The results from the event studies show that the null hypothesis are rejected at a 5 percent significance level, where event study 1 had an abnormal return of 0.84 percent and event study 2 had an abnormal return of 5.46 percent. Based on the results of the study the conclusion is that it is possible to obtain an abnormal return using the two investment strategies. / Investerare letar ständigt efter nya sätt att erhålla en överavkastning. Denna studie kommer att undersöka om aktiepriset för bolagen inom indexet OMXS30 förändras mer än förväntat i samband med att kvartalsrapporten publiceras och om det går att dra nytta av detta för att erhålla en överavkastning. Studien testar hur väl de traditionella finansiella teorierna såsom den effektiva marknadshypotesen och random walk förklarar marknaden idag genom att genomföra två eventstudier som representerar två alternativa investeringsstrategier. Eventstudie 1 undersöker hur aktiepriset förändras inför en kvartalsrapport. Eventstudie 2 undersöker hur aktiepriset förändras när en aktie ägs vid publiceringen av kvartalsrapporten och säljs efteråt. Resultatet från eventstudierna visade att båda nollhypoteserna kan förkastas på 5 procents signifikansnivå, där eventstudie 1 visade en abnormal avkastning på 0,84 procent och eventstudie 2 visade en abnormal avkastning på 5,46 procent. Utifrån studiens resultat dras slutsatsen att det går att erhålla en abnormal avkastning vid de båda alternativa investeringsstrategierna.

The Swedish market has over the past couple of years seen a large increase in companies going public through an IPO. At the same time the capital on the private equity market is increasing for each year which enables companies to stay private longer. Our research focuses on two main areas. First, we investigate if companies that enter the public market at an early stage in the company life cycle have worse aftermarket performance than companies that wait to go public. In our research we will define companies that went public at an early stage as younger than six years at the time of the IPO, based on Brown & Wiles (2015) research, and companies that delayed an IPO as older than six years at the time of the offering. The second area investigates whether the large capital increase on the private equity market have affected the long-run aftermarket performance of IPOs.  Our dataset consists of 746 Swedish IPOs from four different Swedish stock exchanges. We will collect long-run aftermarket performance data from companies that conducted an IPO between the years 2003-2018. The long-run aftermarket performance will be measured over a three-year period. Both buy and hold abnormal returns (BHAR) and monthly abnormal returns are used to analyze the aftermarket performance of the IPO firms. Our main findings are that Swedish IPOs generally underperform the reference market index in the long run. Additionally, we find that the underperformance is generated by companies that conduct an early IPO, which makes us question the IPO readiness of these young companies. We also show that profitability is a key determinant for greater IPO aftermarket performance. Lastly, we do not provide any support that the increase in capital on the private equity markets have any effect on the IPO aftermarket performance. However, the results indicate that companies who went public after the increase of capital perform worse. In our research we contribute with practical variables for retail investors to focus on when investing in IPOs and provide companies with useful information on how to increase the chances of a successful IPO.

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Uppsatsens syfte är att fastställa hur reporäntebeslut påverkar fastighetsaktiemarknaden. Vi har undersökt 67 tidsintervall på tio dagar där annonseringen av reporäntebesluten utgör mittpunktenerna och har följaktligen läst av reporäntans kortsiktiga effekt på fastighetsaktier. Målet är att kunna ge en förklaring till marknadens reaktioner och att bilda en hypotes kring frågeställningen. Vi har genomfört en eventstudie där vi delvis replikerat tidigare studier som redogjort för styrräntans effekt på aktiemarknaden. Vidare har vi utgått från ett kvantitativt perspektiv. Respondenterna har representerats av fondförvaltare med goda kunskaper om fastighetsaktier. All empiri grundar sig på sekundärdata och material från gjorda intervjuer. Sammanställningen av våra resultat visade ett negativt samband mellan reporäntan och fastighetsaktier när en förändring av reporäntan ägde rum. Den kortsiktiga påverkan kan således härledas till vad flera studier tidigare redogjort för. Resultatet argumenterar för en ineffektiv marknad med hjälp av effekten på en förändrad styrränta, men motsätter sig samtidigt den slutsatsen i och med den effekt som förekom vid beslut om oförändrad reporänta. Bakomliggande faktorer till resultatet har inte kunnat fastställas men vi har bland annat redogjort för ett förändrat avkastningskrav hos investerarna samt en förändrad räntekostnad hos fastighetsbolagen, till följd av en reporänteförändring. / The purpose of the study was to establish how the repo rate influences the real estate stock market. We have reviewed a time interval of ten days where the middle point is defined by the time of a decision. Consequently, we have reported the short-term effect on shares in the real estate business. Our goal was to be able to present an explanation to the reactions of the market and to form a theory surrounding the initial problem. We have implemented an event study where we partially have been replicating previous studies reported on the effect of the repo rate on the stock market. Furthermore, we have started from a quantitative perspective. The respondents have been represented by fund managers favoured with great knowledge in real estate. All the empirics are based on secondary data and material from the performed interviews. The compilation of our results showed a negative relationship between the repo rate and the stocks in real estate once a change in the repo rate took place. We were able to deduce our results about short term influence to previous reports. The results do not add up with the efficient market hypothesis when a change has taken place in the repo rate. Though, the effect of an unchanged repo rate suggests there is an efficient market. We have not been able to determine the elements behind the effects, although we have thoroughly reviewed elements such as a change in investor’s required rate of return as well as a change in the interest expenses, due to a change in the repo rate.

Throughout history stock splits have only been seen as a cosmetic change on how a firm express its market value of equity. This study investigates if abnormal return occurs in connection with stock split announcements on Nasdaq Stockholm and how the variations may be explained by selected factors. An event study is performed on 83 stock splits during the time period 2010-2020 to establish if abnormal return is present. With a multivariate linear regression, split quota, firm size and trading volume are the selected factors which may explain the variations in abnormal return. The results from the event study establish abnormal return one day prior to the announcement and the event day itself. Further, the regression confirms at a statistically significant level the negative relationship between firm size and abnormal return. For trading volume, the regression finds no statistically significant result and thereby it does not explain the variations in abnormal return. As for split quota, no conclusion can be drawn whether it affects abnormal return or not. The study concludes the occurrence of abnormal return in connection with stock split announcements on Nasdaq Stockholm and firm size as one of the factors explaining the variations.

This paper presents the results of financial return analyses after 133 articles regarding social and environmental news were published in Svenska Dagbladet. During the period from 2006 to 2015 Swedish Large Cap companies were analysed after the news announcements, using the event study methodology. The study shows that abnormal returns were significant for only three events at the announcement date. A regression analysis shows that firms issuing ESG reports do not significantly have distinct returns from non-issuing firms when in the news. The study shows that firms producing consumer goods or services experienced 0.5 percent significant return differences compared to other firms in the pre-announcement period (two days). Findings also suggest that there are no significant differences between different industries when in the news regarding social and environmental aspects. An analysis of means shows no implications of differences regarding articles of: equality, employees, society or environment. This study concludes that voluntary corporate responsibility acts are not premiered when a firm is in the news regarding social or environmental events.

Bakgrund: Kreditvärderingsinstituten har genom åren fått en del kritik. Under finanskrisen kring 2008 var en bidragande orsak till att kraschen blev så allvarlig på grund av felaktiga kreditvärderingar. Detta var dock endast möjligt på grund av att banker i stor utsträckning ignorerade riskerna med de felaktiga kreditbetygen, som de med hög sannolikhet var medvetna om. Med bakgrund som denna anser författarna att det är av intresse och nytta att granska huruvida kreditbedömningar på banker påverkar aktiekursen och på så sätt bolagsvärdet. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om kreditbetygsförändringar på de svenska storbankerna; Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB och Swedbank påverkar respektive banks aktiekurs. Ett delsyfte är att studera eventuell omfattning av denna påverkan på aktiekursen. Ett vidare delsyfte är att undersöka om det finns en skillnad i hur kreditbetygsförändringar påverkar aktiepriset hos de svenska storbankerna i hög- respektive lågkonjunktur. Metod: Denna kvantitativa studie grundas i en deduktiv ansats och hypoteser har utformats med hjälp av författarnas utvalda teorier: Effektiva marknadshypotesen (EMH), Agentteori och Signalteori. Studien har sedan genomförts i form av en eventstudie och det har uppmätts om det finns signifikanta avvikelser i aktiekursen vid publicerandet av en kreditbetygsförändring. Resultat: Resultatet i studien visar på att det finns signifikant påverkan på aktiekursen vid kreditbetygsnedgraderingar på eventdagen. Det påvisades även att lågkonjunktur var en bidragande faktor till aktieutvecklingen. Slutsats: Denna studie finner att kreditbetygsförändringar utgör en effekt på aktiekursen hos de svenska storbankerna. Det kan dock inte fastställas om det finns någon skillnad mellan upp- och nedgraderingar i denna studie. Resultatet visar istället på att lågkonjunktur är den bakomliggande orsaken till att aktiekursen påverkas signifikant. Resultatet tyder även på att aktiekursen har anpassat sig snabbare än i tidigare studier, vilket kan vara en följd av en mer digitaliserad marknad. / Background: Credit rating agencies have received a lot of criticism over the years. During the financial crisis, a contributing cause to why the crash became so serious was due to incorrect credit ratings. This was although only possible because banks generally ignored the risk in the incorrect credit ratings, which they with high probability knew of. With a background like this, the authors believe that it is of interest and benefit to examine whether credit assessments on banks affect the stock price and thus the company value. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether credit rating changes on the major swedish banks; Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank affect each bank's stock price. One part of the purpose is to study the extent of this impact on the stock price. A further part of the purpose is to study if there is a difference in the effect credit rating changes have on the major swedish banks stock price in a economic expansion respective recession. Methodology: This quantitative study is based on a deductive approach and hypotheses have been designed using the authors' selected theories: The Effective Market Hypothesis (EMH), Agent Theory and Signal Theory. The study is then implemented in the form of an event study and it has been tested if there are any significant deviations in the stock price connected to the credit rating changes. Results: The result of the study indicates that there is significant effect on the stock price during the event day when a credit rating downgrade is announced. The results also show that recession is a contributing factor to the significant effect on the stock price. Conclusions: This study finds that changes of credit ratings constitute an effect on the stock price among the big Swedish banks. It can however not be established if there is a difference between up- and downgrades. The result indicates instead that recession is the contributing factor to the significant effect on the stock price. The results also indicate that the stock price has adjusted faster than in earlier studies, which can be an effect of a more digitized market.

Den 1 april 2018 infördes en flygskatt för kommersiella flygresor per passagerare i Sverige. Enligt SOU 2016:83 var intentionen med flygskatten att minska miljöpåverkan som flygindustrin bidrar med. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur implementeringen av den svenska flygskatten har påverkat antalet inrikes flyg- och tågresenärer. För studien används metoderna minsta-kvadrat-metoden (OLS) samt en eventstudie (ARIMA). För eventstudien skattas ett predicerat resultat från tidigare periods trender och jämförs med det faktiska utfallet. Studiens undersökningsperiod är första kvartalet 2012 till och med sista kvartalet 2019. Kontroll har gjorts av prisindex för respektive transportmedel. Trots flygskattens införande, har flygresor blivit något billigare under studiens period samtidigt som tågresor blivit dyrare. Resultatet visar på signifikans för antalet faktiska flygpassagerare i relation till det predicerade resultatet på 0,1 procents signifikansnivå, där antal faktiska flygresenärer minskat. Medan antalet tågresenärer ökat under studiens period vilket däremot inte uppvisar signifikans. / On the 1st of April 2018, an air travel tax was introduced in Sweden for commercial flights per passenger. According to the Swedish government’s public investigation (SOU) 2016:83, the air travel tax is intended to reduce the environmental impact caused by the aviation industry. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the implementation of the Swedish aviation tax has affected the number of domestic air and train travelers. For this study the methods used are Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and an Event Study (ARIMA). For the ARIMA model, a predicted outcome based on previous periods’ trends is estimated and compared to the actual outcome. The study examines the time period between the first quarter of 2012 to the last quarter of 2019. A control has been done for the price index of each means of transportation. Despite the implementation of the air travel tax, air travel has become slightly cheaper, while train travel has become more expensive. The result shows statistical significance for actual air passengers in relation to the predicted outcome, at a significans level of 0.1, where actual air passengers decreased. Even though the number of train passengers have increased during 2012-2019, the results were not statistically significant.

This paper investigates the impact of Basel III on the valuation of banks in the EEA through an event study of the stock market. It contributes to academic literature by enhancing the study by Bruno, Onali & Schaeck (2018) with another event date after the conclusion of their study. This paper investigates two hypotheses: 1) Did the announcement by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on December 7th, 2017 (the event), affect the market capitalization of banks in the EEA; 2) Did domestic liquidity regulation prior to Basel III positively affect how those banks' market capitalization changed in response to the event. Using t-tests and a multivariate regression analysis, this study finds no statistical significance at a 10% level for either of the hypotheses. However, three findings appear to be found: 1) There was a small negative reaction to the event; 2) The negative reaction was larger for banks without prior regulation; and 3) The variance was larger for banks without prior regulation. These three findings all point towards both: 1) A negative effect from the event on banks’ market capitalization; and 2) A positive effect from prior domestic liquidity regulation. No statistically significant conclusions can be drawn from this study, however. This study's largest limitation is that it does not account for expectations prior to the event, and an effect may thus already have been priced into the market capitalization prior to the event.