Previous research has shown that the asset pricing model of Sharpe, Litner and Black fails to capture the relationship between market β and average return. This previous work showed that the relationship between β and average return was flat. Subsequently it was shown that a strong relationship between book-to-market equity and stock price returns existed. It has also been shown that book to market equity has strong roots in economic fundamentals. Utilities have historically used betas to justify rate increases I developing rate structures that meet the rate of return demands for investors given the risk profiles that the company betas suggest. Realizing that low betas argue against large rate increases l utilities have turned to other avenues to justify higher returns. The suggested relationship of book-to-market equity and average stock returns would provide utilities with a new argument. This thesis will show that the search for a risk proxy in the rate of return relationship for the electric utility is not resolved. The relationship reported between book-to-market equity and stock price returns does not appear to be statistically significant in the electric utility sector and extreme caution is advised in using this empirical model to predict or explain stock price returns. / Master of Arts

by Poon Yeuk Wan, Tsang Fei. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-55). / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.iii / Table of Contents --- p.iv / List of Tables --- p.vi / List of Appendix --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Project Objective --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Project Structure --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Data --- p.3 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Emerging Markets´ؤ-An Overview --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1 --- Latin America --- p.5 / Argentina --- p.5 / Brazil --- p.7 / Chile --- p.7 / Colombia --- p.8 / Mexico --- p.8 / Peru --- p.9 / Venezuela --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2 --- Eastern Europe --- p.10 / Czech Republic --- p.10 / Poland --- p.10 / Slovakia --- p.11 / Hungary --- p.11 / Russia --- p.11 / Chapter 2.3 --- Middle East --- p.12 / Israel --- p.12 / Jordan --- p.12 / Chapter 2.4 --- Implication For Further Analysis --- p.13 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Analysis and Findings I: Descriptive Statistics Analysis --- p.14 / Chapter 3.1 --- Objective of Descriptive Statistic Analysis --- p.14 / Chapter 3.2 --- Findings --- p.16 / Eastern Europe --- p.16 / Latin America --- p.16 / Middle East --- p.17 / Chapter 3.3 --- Conclusion --- p.18 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Analysis and Findings II: Day-of-the- Week (Monday effect) Test --- p.19 / Chapter 4.1 --- Objective --- p.19 / Chapter 4.2 --- Literature Review --- p.19 / Chapter 4.3 --- Methodology --- p.21 / Chapter 4.4 --- Data --- p.23 / Chapter 4.5 --- Analysis --- p.24 / Chapter 4.6 --- Empirical findings --- p.25 / Chapter I. --- The equality of return test --- p.25 / Eastern Europe --- p.26 / Latin America --- p.26 / Middle East --- p.26 / Overall --- p.27 / Local currency versus US currency --- p.27 / Chapter II. --- Comparison of Monday return with returns of other days within the week --- p.27 / Chapter l. --- Without exchange rate effect --- p.28 / Chapter 4.7 --- Monday effect一-an overview --- p.31 / Comparison by region --- p.31 / Eastern Europe --- p.31 / Latin America --- p.31 / Middle East --- p.32 / The effect of exchange rate --- p.32 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Analysis And Findings III: Correlation Analysis --- p.33 / Chapter 5.1 --- Literature Review --- p.33 / Chapter 5.2 --- Objective --- p.35 / Chapter 5.3 --- Methodology --- p.35 / Chapter 5.4 --- Findings --- p.38 / Chapter I --- Correlations Within Regions --- p.38 / Eastern Europe --- p.33 / Latin America --- p.40 / Middle East --- p.42 / Chapter II. --- Correlation Among Regions --- p.43 / Eastern Europe vs. Latin America --- p.43 / Latin America vs. Middle East --- p.44 / Eastern Europe vs. Middle East --- p.45 / Chapter III. --- Correlations with the United States --- p.46 / US vs. Eastern Europe --- p.46 / US vs. Latin America --- p.46 / US vs. Middle East --- p.47 / Chapter 5.5 --- Conclusion --- p.43 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusions and Implications --- p.49 / Implications on market integration --- p.52 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.54 / APPENDIX --- p.56

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