A takeover announcement does not necessarily mean good news for stockholders of the acquiring firm. In fact, for a majority of takeovers it means losses in share prices. Motives that can explain this trend are agency and hubris. This thesis is an event study of 28 acquir-ing firms in Sweden between the years 1997-2005, and the purpose is set to see whether stock prices are affected or not. This has been done by the help of the market model. The empirical results show that the takeovers are on average value decreasing operations which indicate that agency and hubris are the primary motives even though one can not for cer-tain exclude synergy.

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This dissertation examines stock return predictability with aggregate credit conditions. The aggregate credit conditions are empirically measured by credit standards (Standards) derived from the Federal Reserve Board's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices. Using Standards, this study investigates whether the aggregate credit conditions predict the expected returns and volatility of the stock market. The first essay, "Credit Conditions and Expected Stock Returns," analyzes the predictability of U.S. aggregate stock returns using a measure of credit conditions, Standards. The analysis reveals that Standards is a strong predictor of stock returns at a business cycle frequency, especially in the post-1990 data period. Empirically the essay demonstrates that a tightening of Standards predicts lower future stock returns. Standards performs well both in-sample and out-of-sample and is robust to a host of consistency checks including a small sample analysis. The second essay, "Credit Conditions and Stock Return Volatility," examines the role played by credit conditions in predicting aggregate stock market return volatility. The essay employs a measure of credit conditions, Standards in the stock return volatility prediction. Using the level and the log of realized volatility as the estimator of the stock return volatility, this study finds that Standards is a strong predictor of U.S. stock return volatility. Overall, the forecasting power of Standards is strongest during tightening credit periods.

It is wide believed that the economic growth is good to stockholders, but there still exist some arguments about the positive relationship between the economic growth and stock market returns. We prove that the economic growth has positive effect on the stock market returns. As a result, the stockholders could use the economic index to choose their target market to earn return. We find that the stock market could only reflect the short term condition of the country and could not reflect the long term accumulation of a country. That is, the national competitiveness could not reflect on the stock market return for stockholders in the long term. Otherwise, we also find that the capital formation and productivity are significantly positive to the stock market returns. We use the real GDP growth rate as the economic growth proxy and the national competitiveness rank to measure the national competitiveness from IMD competitiveness center. The time period of data is from 1997~2010. Fifty countries included in our sample.

This paper presents an empirical study of the determinants that drive the investment performance of China’s venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds. Using data on VC/PE funds backed initial public offerings (IPOs) from ChiNext between October 2009 to October 2011 and the internal rate of return (IRR) as the measurement for investment performance, this paper finds that fund experience has a positive influence on investment performance whereas investment scale and investment duration have a negative influence on investment performance.

2-(2-mandelyl)thiamin (MTh), the adduct of benzoylformate and thiamin, is an accurate model of 2-(2-mandelyl)thiamin diphosphate, the initial covalent intermediate in the decarboxylation of benzoylformate by benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFDC). The first order rate constant for spontaneous decarboxylation of MTh is about 106 times smaller than the enzymic rate (kcat) for the BFDC reaction. Based on the similarities of MTh and the corresponding enzymic intermediate, as well as the inherent nature of the intermediate, it is not obvious why the enzyme-catalyzed reaction is so much faster. However, earlier studies showed that the decarboxylation of MTh is catalyzed by protonated pyridines and this was proposed to occur through a preassociation mechanism. If this explanation is correct, then the observed 12C/13C kinetic isotope effect (CKIE) will increase in the presence of the catalyst as a more favorable forward commitment is made possible. This provides a specific model for the enzyme-catalyzed process. We developed a technique using headspace analysis and compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) to determine the CKIE for the decarboxylation of MTh in the presence and absence of pyridinium. We found that the CKIE increases in the presence of the catalyst, as predicted for the preassociation mechanism. In a related study, we investigated the kinetics of decarboxylation of pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid, which was known to be subject to acid catalysis in highly acidic solutions. In the expected mechanism, protonation of the pyrrole ring at C2 destroys the aromaticity of the ring. C-C bond cleavage in the process of decarboxylation will re-establish the aromatic pyrrole. However, the overall reaction rate would not increase as it is counteracted by a larger concentration of the undissociated carboxyl group compared to carboxylate ion necessary for decarboxylation. Since the reaction occurs readily, there must be an alternative pathway for the acid-catalyzed reaction. This can be achieved in an associative mechanism that is initiated by addition of water to the carboxyl group of the carboxyl-protonated reactant. C-C bond cleavage results in formation of pyrrole and protonated carbonic acid, a species that has been recognized as a viable intermediate in related processes. Protonated carbonic acid is spontaneously converted to H3O+ and carbon dioxide. The associative mechanism is consistent with solvent-deuterium kinetic isotope effects and 12C/13C kinetic isotope effects.

The overall goal of this research study is to determine if there is a correlation between electronic health (e-Health) adoption, e-Health investment and better health outcomes in a hospital setting. To carry out this research, data with respect to e-Health spending, e-Health adoption and relevant health outcome indicator results for Ontario hospitals were analyzed to determine if there is a correlation between the variables. There were significant positive correlations between e-Health adoption and investment variables; indicating that higher e-Health investment is associated with greater e-Health adoption. There were significant correlations between variables related to e-Health adoption, investment and certain health outcomes. For example, increased e-Health adoption was significantly and negatively correlated with variables related to Length of Stay (LOS), which suggests that increased e-Health adoption is associated with lower LOS. This study attempts to create a foundation upon which Return On Investment (ROI) may be calculated for e-Health technology.

The overall goal of this research study is to determine if there is a correlation between electronic health (e-Health) adoption, e-Health investment and better health outcomes in a hospital setting. To carry out this research, data with respect to e-Health spending, e-Health adoption and relevant health outcome indicator results for Ontario hospitals were analyzed to determine if there is a correlation between the variables. There were significant positive correlations between e-Health adoption and investment variables; indicating that higher e-Health investment is associated with greater e-Health adoption. There were significant correlations between variables related to e-Health adoption, investment and certain health outcomes. For example, increased e-Health adoption was significantly and negatively correlated with variables related to Length of Stay (LOS), which suggests that increased e-Health adoption is associated with lower LOS. This study attempts to create a foundation upon which Return On Investment (ROI) may be calculated for e-Health technology.

2-(2-mandelyl)thiamin (MTh), the adduct of benzoylformate and thiamin, is an accurate model of 2-(2-mandelyl)thiamin diphosphate, the initial covalent intermediate in the decarboxylation of benzoylformate by benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFDC). The first order rate constant for spontaneous decarboxylation of MTh is about 106 times smaller than the enzymic rate (kcat) for the BFDC reaction. Based on the similarities of MTh and the corresponding enzymic intermediate, as well as the inherent nature of the intermediate, it is not obvious why the enzyme-catalyzed reaction is so much faster. However, earlier studies showed that the decarboxylation of MTh is catalyzed by protonated pyridines and this was proposed to occur through a preassociation mechanism. If this explanation is correct, then the observed 12C/13C kinetic isotope effect (CKIE) will increase in the presence of the catalyst as a more favorable forward commitment is made possible. This provides a specific model for the enzyme-catalyzed process. We developed a technique using headspace analysis and compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) to determine the CKIE for the decarboxylation of MTh in the presence and absence of pyridinium. We found that the CKIE increases in the presence of the catalyst, as predicted for the preassociation mechanism. In a related study, we investigated the kinetics of decarboxylation of pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid, which was known to be subject to acid catalysis in highly acidic solutions. In the expected mechanism, protonation of the pyrrole ring at C2 destroys the aromaticity of the ring. C-C bond cleavage in the process of decarboxylation will re-establish the aromatic pyrrole. However, the overall reaction rate would not increase as it is counteracted by a larger concentration of the undissociated carboxyl group compared to carboxylate ion necessary for decarboxylation. Since the reaction occurs readily, there must be an alternative pathway for the acid-catalyzed reaction. This can be achieved in an associative mechanism that is initiated by addition of water to the carboxyl group of the carboxyl-protonated reactant. C-C bond cleavage results in formation of pyrrole and protonated carbonic acid, a species that has been recognized as a viable intermediate in related processes. Protonated carbonic acid is spontaneously converted to H3O+ and carbon dioxide. The associative mechanism is consistent with solvent-deuterium kinetic isotope effects and 12C/13C kinetic isotope effects.

Undersökningen behandlar med vilka handlingssätt och beslut e-handelsföretag inom den svenska marknaden kan påverka andelen returnerade varor. En kvalitativ undersökningsstrategi har valts, där datainsamlingen skett genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med utvalda personer från respektive företag. I undersökningen har nio stycken företag medverkat där samtliga bedriver e-handel inom detaljhandel på den svenska marknaden. Undersökningens syfte är att undersöka och förklara med vilka medel e-handelsföretag kan påverka andelen returer, samt att skapa förståelse kring utformningen av e-handelsföretagens returpolicy, för att sedan jämföra om företagens metoder överensstämmer med befintliga teorier och modeller. Analysen visar hur e-handelsföretag resonerar kring returer och vilka parametrar de tar i beaktning vid utformandet av deras Returns Management som sedan kopplats till tidigare forskning. Från undersökningen har vissa liknelser framkommit med tidigare forskning där företag mer eller mindre använder liknande parametrar för att påverka andelen returer. De parametrar författarna har valt att fokusera på är ångerrättstid, pris, produktsortiment och produktens tidskänslighet. Slutsatsen är att e-handelsföretag använder produktbeskrivningar, bilder, filmklipp och kunders betyg och omdömen tillsammans med innehållet av returpolicyn för att påverka andelen returer. För att det ska vara möjligt behöver företag anpassa sig till marknaden och göra en kostnadsanalys för att uppnå en optimal returpolicy.