Kiekvienos įmonės savininkas yra suinteresuotas kuo didesniu savo turto augimu, o jei įmonės vadovas yra ne savininkas, o samdytas direktorius profesionalas, tuomet savininkui natūraliai kyla klausimas, ar jis pakankamai gerai valdo įmonę ir maksimaliai didina jos vertę. Tam, kad nustatyti, kurie yra geresni įmonių vadovai (vadovai-savininkai ar vadovai-profesionalai), buvo atliktas tyrimas, kurio tikslas: įvertinti ir nustatyti atstovavimo problemos įtaką įmonių finansiniams rodikliams, labiausiai didinantiems įmonės vertę. I dalyje apžvelgiami teoriniai atstovavimo problemos ir įmonių vertės nustatymo aspektai, II dalyje sudaroma tyrimo metodologija, III dalyje atliekamas tyrimas, nustatantis koks vadovų tipas (vadovai-savininkai ar vadovai-profesionalai) sugeba apsiekti geresnius įmonės vertės didinimo rezultatus. Tyrimo metu nustatyta 1) kokie įmonių finansiniai rodikliai geriausiai koreliuoja su įmonės vertės didėjimu, išreikštu per EBIT/CE santykį 2) kad tiek vadovas-savininkai, tiek vadovai-profesionalai vienodai pasiekia įmonės vertę didinančius rodiklius. / The owner of every company is interested is his company wealth maximization, however, if company’s manager is not owner, but hired professional manager, one may question the quality of management and achievement of aim of increasing company’s wealth. In order to determine, which kind of management (directors-owner or directors-professionals) can achieve better results, a following research was done, which aim was: evaluate and determine agency problem’s impact on companies’ financial indexes that drives company’s value the most. In the Ist part of this research we look at the theoretical aspects of agency problem and company value creation, in the IInd part research methodology is done, in the IIIrd part a research is done, that determines which type of managers (manager-owner or manager-professional) manages to drive company’s value more. During research it was determined: 1) which financial indexes correlate better with company value, which is determined as EBIT/CE ratio 2) that manager-owner, as well as manager-professional, both equally are capable of driving company’s value.

Numerical methods form an important part of the pricing of financial derivatives and especially in cases where there is no closed form analytical formula. We begin our work with an introduction of the mathematical tools needed in the pricing of financial derivatives. Then, we discuss the assumption of the log-normal returns on stock prices and the stochastic differential equations. These lay the foundation for the derivation of the Black Scholes differential equation, and various Black Scholes formulas are thus obtained. Then, the model is modified to cater for dividend paying stock and for the pricing of options on futures. Multi-period binomial model is very flexible even for the valuation of options that do not have a closed form analytical formula. We consider the pricing of vanilla options both on non dividend and dividend paying stocks. Then show that the model converges to the Black-Scholes value as we increase the number of steps. We discuss the Finite difference methods quite extensively with a focus on the Implicit and Crank-Nicolson methods, and apply these numerical techniques to the pricing of vanilla options. Finally, we compare the convergence of the multi-period binomial model, the Implicit and Crank Nicolson methods to the analytical Black Scholes price of the option. We conclude with the pricing of exotic options with special emphasis on path dependent options. Monte Carlo simulation technique is applied as this method is very versatile in cases where there is no closed form analytical formula. The method is slow and time consuming but very flexible even for multi dimensional problems.

The aim of this study is to quantify the social cost of air pollution in Bophelong Township. Bophelong is a dominantly Black low-income settlement located on the South-western part of the Emfuleni Local Municipality in the Vaal Triangle. In 2006 the Vaal Triangle was the first region in the country to be declared an Airshed Priority Area in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (39/2004). Economic literature reveals that there is a strong positive correlation between poverty and pollution. It is on this basis that the study provides a theoretical background to poverty and pollution. The study makes use of a Contingent valuation method to elicit respondents‘ maximum willingness to pay for the reduction of air-pollution in the area. The survey questionnaire covers three broad socio-economic categories namely, the demographic profile, labour force profile and the residents‘ attitudes towards environmental issues. The valuation part of the questionnaire makes use of an open-ended questionnaire to elicit the respondents‘ maximum willingness to pay for the reduction of air pollution in Bophelong. The mean willingness to pay for the reduction of air-pollution in Bophelong is estimated at R132 per annum. The annual social cost of air-pollution in Bophelong is calculated by multiplying the mean willingness to pay with the estimated total population. Bophelong‘s total population was estimated at 49 408. The annual social cost of pollution is thus estimated at R6 521 856. The regression analysis shows that several factors positively influence respondents‘ willingness to pay. The analysis shows that education, employment and level of income are positively correlated with the respondents‘ willingness to pay. This study indicates that there is a positive correlation between poverty and pollution. Most of the air pollution that affects the population of Bophelong is generated from domestic sources such as the burning of coal and biomass fuels for VALUING THE SOCIAL COST OF AIR-POLLUTION IN BOPHELONG TOWNSHIP heating and cooking purposes. In order to eliminate the negative impacts of air pollution on the residents of Bophelong the study recommends that authorities must begin by ameliorating the poverty situation in the area. On the main authorities must introduce measures that target domestic sources of pollution. Some of the measures that could be undertaken to reduce the impact of pollution could include: (a) encouraging residents to adopt the more cleaner top-down coal ignition method known as Basa-njengo-Magogo, (b) providing free basic electricity to poor households in the area and (c) ensuring that houses are constructed with thermal comfort in mind, as this will minimise the need for space heating particularly during winter months. / PhD (Economics), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The research studies school heads’ perception of the implementation of the new Moral and Civic Education (MCE) curriculum in Hong Kong primary schools. The MCE curriculum is positioned as a key task in curriculum reform since 2001. The present study recognises school leadership role in steering curriculum delivery in which school heads’ perception is one of the determinants in shaping curriculum execution. Qualitative approach is adopted to uncover the factors affecting the perception of school heads and subsequent implementation strategies. Purposive sampling of six primary school heads is identified for interview to collect data. Content analysis is employed to make inferences from the data reviewing how school heads’ personal belief and values orientation affect the delivery of the curriculum. The MCE curriculum, resting on virtue ethics projecting desirable values to be promoted, is appealing to the school heads. The MCE curriculum designed as values education, resonates Chinese culture emphasizing cultivation of virtue through education while at the same time addressing the societal expectation of the call for promoting national identity with the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Given the social and political context of Hong Kong, positive attitude is exhibited by all the sample school heads but they respond differently to the curricular role, reflecting a wide spectrum of understanding of the curriculum and pedagogical competency. The research findings propose the importance of a heightened awareness of school heads’ cognition of the curriculum but their attitude towards the curriculum is deterministic how the curriculum is implemented. The attitude taken hinges on the values and belief of school heads vis a vis organisation values of the school. A model portraying school heads’ awareness, attitude and action for curriculum implementation is recommended to further study school leadership with implications for theory building and practice.

The covered warrant market in the UK has gained in popularity over time since first launched in 2002. This has opened up an alternative investment choice which offers derivative securities with a life of typically one to two years. It seems to fulfill many of the functions of a traded options market. Since most research has been focused on options trading, the investigation on covered warrants trading is still very limited. This is also largely due to the lack of readily available data for end-traded covered warrants and the existing covered warrants. A unique set of hand-collected data, supplemented by public and private data from main covered warrants issuer and the financial database are employed, making this thesis possible. The sample periods can be divided into two separate sets. The UK covered warrants trading during the period July 2004 - December 2006 are used to examine the impact of warrant introduction and expiration on the price, volume and volatility of the underlying securities. For the introduction analyses, both the announcement and listing of covered warrants have negative impacts on the price of underlying securities for both call and put features, though the impact of the announcement is more pronounced than that of the listing. These affects are temporary and do not persist much beyond the introduction of the warrants. Negative price impacts of the expiration event are also reported for both call and put covered warrants. However, this study finds no significant impacts on the volume of underlying securities trading from the announcement, listing and expiration of call and put covered warrants. Further evidence indicates an increase in volatility of the underlying securities during the announcement and listing of covered warrants. The results hold true for both call and put warrants cases. On the other hand, a decreasing stock volatility is found as a consequence of the expiration of both call and put covered warrants. The second data set involves the call covered warrants traded in the UK market between April 2007 and December 2008; this was analysed for evidence of the best appropriate covered warrants pricing model. This study suggests default risk as a major concern for the warrant price which is called the Vulnerable warrant price. The reasons behind this arise from concern about the issuer’s creditworthiness due to traders’ fraudulent action and the recent subprime problem, the difficulties of dynamic hedging by issuers because of market imperfections, as well as the no guarantees on covered warrant trading provided by the London Stock Exchange. The most salient findings of the study are the following. The Vulnerable warrant price is generally lower than both the Black-Scholes price and warrant market price throughout the warrant’s lifetime. The evidence suggests an overvalued warrant price in the UK market. Moreover, the in-the-money warrants indicate a higher rate of default in comparison to the out-of-the-money warrants. An additional finding shows that the market becomes aware of the default risk only on a short-term basis. The presentation of negative abnormal returns of both market and the Black-Sholes prices support the assumption that default risk is a relevant factor in pricing the UK covered warrants. These findings add to the literature dealing with the effect of derivatives trading on the underlying securities as well as providing more empirical evidence on a particular covered warrant market. This could be of interest not only for practitioners to widen their investment opportunities but also for regulators to have this as a guideline for their future related policies planning.

A spatial hedonic model was constructed for a lakefront golf course community in South Carolina. Geographic information system (GIS) analysis classified 589 vacant lots into eight different view categories including golf course, mountain, and lake views. The OLS results confirm a hierarchy in the pricing of views with premiums ranging from 42% to 54% for golf course views, 94% to 133% for lake views, and 131 %to 305% for lakefront lots. Spatial variables including the slope of a lot, length of shoreline, and proximity to the lakeside village were also found to be statistically significant variables influencing the value of the property. Other spatial variables were found to be statistically insignificant including view aspect and length of golf course frontage. Tests for spatial autocorrelation were conducted for the 589 properties utilizing spatial lag and spatial error models. Both spatial models were statistically superior compared to the original OLS model. The diagnostic tools indicate that the modeling of the spatial errors using a maximum likelihood framework produces a statistically significant model that improves goodness-of-fit indicators compared to an alternative spatial lag model. These results confirm the importance of modeling spatial errors. The period of study, from 2000 to 2010, was a decade of turbulence in the real estate market on Lake Keowee. The empirical evidence indicates the emergence of a speculative bubble that reached its crescendo in 2005/2006 with median real estate prices doubling in a five year period. This study examines the role of launch marketing tactics as a price amplifier by creating an urgency to buy in response to a systematic increase in property prices and simultaneously limiting supply by restricting lot sales to 30% of reservations. Finally, the study illustrates that the construction of golf courses is no panacea to the problems confronting today's residential real estate developers. The results suggest that communities based on waterfront properties may have greater potential price growth in strong markets and resiliency in weak markets. Further research is warranted to understand the changing role of golf courses in the 21st century.

Försäljningspriser på den svenska bostadsmarknaden tenderar att i allt högre grad avvika från fastighetsmäklarnas utgångspriser. En förklaring till detta är att fastighetsmäklare inte omedelbart anpassar sig till en stigande prisnivå. Syftet med denna uppsats är att förklara vilka faktorer hos bostadsrätter som är svåra för fastighetsmäklare att värdera i en marknad med stigande priser. Undersökningen är begränsad till att endast behandla fastighetsanknutna faktorer. Genom syftet vill vi bidra till en bättre förståelse kring hur köpares betalningsvilja skiljer sig från fastighetsmäklares värdering i en sådan marknad. För att uppnå syftet har en kombination av kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod använts. Undersökningen baseras på 112 bostadsrätter avyttrade under en tidsperiod av sex efterföljande kalendermånader i Karlstad, Sverige. Grunden till undersökningen är de utvalda bostadsrätternas objektsbeskrivningar. Genom analys av samtliga objektsbeskrivningar och respektive bostadsrätts prisutveckling utifrån utgångspris till försäljningspris har resultat kring faktorer som är svåra att värdera uppnåtts. Resultatet visar att nästan samtliga undersökta faktorer inom värdeteorin är överrepresenterade hos bostadsrätterna med hög prisutveckling. Den faktor med högst representation bland bostadsrätter med en hög prisutveckling är förekomsten av både kakel och klinker i badrum. Tidigare forskning visar att ett väl underhållet och modernt badrum är av stor vikt för köparen. Läget, som enligt teorin är den viktigaste faktorn för en bostads värde, visar i undersökningen inte lika hög överrepresentation hos bostadsrätter med hög prisutveckling mätt i avstånd till kommunikationsmedel och dagligvaruhandel. Detta behöver dock inte betyda att läget inte är den viktigaste värdeskapande faktorn, utan att fastighetsmäklare är väl medvetna om lägets betydelse och således kan värdera denna faktor rätt. Andra faktorer som ingått i undersökningen är antal rum, standard i kök, balkong/uteplats, våningsplan, utsikt över vatten, parkeringsmöjlighet, månadsavgift samt kakelugn/öppen spis. En slutsats är att fastighetsmäklare har svårt att, i en marknad med stigande priser, följa med i utvecklingen och utföra enligt marknaden korrekta värderingar. Undersökningen visar förekomsten av faktorer som fastighetsmäklare värderar korrekt samtidigt som det finns vissa faktorer med större betydelse för köpare, vilket bidrar till att försäljningspriset väsentligt avviker från utgångspriset. / The prices of residentials on the Swedish housing market tends to increasingly deviate from the list price. One explanation is that real estate agents not immediately adapt to the rising prices. The purpose of this paper is to describe the factors of condominiums which are especially difficult for real estate agents to valuate in a period with rising prices. This paper is limited to discribe only the factors related to the condominiums. By this purpose, we want to contribute to a better understanding of how customers’ willingness to pay differs from real estate agents valuation. To fulfill the purpose both a quantitative and a qualitative method has been used. The survey is based on 112 condominiums sold during a period of six following months in Karlstad, Sweden. The basis for the survey are the prospects of the selected condominiums. Through analysis of the prospects and the respective tenant price trends, results about specific factors difficult to valuate are achieved. The result shows that almost all investigated factors in the theory of value are overrepresented among the condominiums with high price trends. The factor that has the highest connection with a high price trend is the presence of both wall and floor tiles and/or clinker in the bathroom. Previous research says that a well-maintained and modern bathroom is important for the buyer. The location, which according to the theory is the most important factor for a residential value, does not show equal high connection according to the survey. This does not clearly mean that the location not is the most important value influcencing factor, rather that real estate agents are well aware of the importance of the location and therefore can valuate this factor correctly. Other factors involved in the survey are the number of rooms, standard in kitchen, presence of balcony/patio, storey, view, parking, the monthly fee and the presence of a stove/fireplace. A conclusion is that real estate agents faces difficulties that in a market with rising prices valuate residential properly and keep up with developments in the market. There are some factors that real estate agents are valuing correctly while other factors have greater importance for buyers and thus contribute to a significantly increase from the initial list price to the selling price.

No description available.

I investigate whether management’s decision to release or maintain the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets provides incremental information regarding pretax earnings growth in the following earnings period. I classify firm-years into two categories; valuation allowance release firm-years and valuation allowance maintain firm-years. The results of this study suggest that a release of the valuation allowance in the current period is positively associated with pretax earnings growth in the following period. This paper also studies whether a release of the valuation allowance yields increased external monitoring, and finds evidence that suggests an association.

Background: Previous studies show that recommendations accuracy partly can be explained by numerous variables. Prior research leave out several variables, which based on theoretical support, may have a connection with accuracy, such as the cash flows’ volatility. Based on the DCF-model’s structure, accuracy of target prices is assumed to have a positive relationship with companies that have stable cash flows. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the accuracy of stock analysts' target prices and their connection with stable cash flows. The purpose of the study is also to analyze the role of less highlighted variables’ relationship with the accuracy of target prices, in combination with earlier investigated variables. Completion: Including less highlighted variables is supported by theory about corporate valuation, where cash flows’ volatility is the main focus of this study. The accuracy of the target prices is analyzed by regression analysis for three time horizons, where the dependent variable is the absolute margin of error and the dependent variables are represented by the explanatory factors that the study examines. The relationships are estimated by OLS, due to the fact that data are unbalanced. Conclusion:  Stock analysts’ target prices present relationships with numerous of the variables examined in the study. The strongest relationships with the accuracy of target prices are shown by cash flows’ variation, the number of stock analysts, goodwill in terms of total capital and companies’ size. The results show that companies with stable cash flow have a positive relationship with the accuracy of target prices, which supports the theories of the DCF-model for valuation of companies with stable cash flow. The estimations show that the accuracy of target prices also is explained by other factors than those this very study investigates. The results show that the accuracy is higher for shorter time horizons. / Bakgrund: Tidigare studier finner att prognosers träffsäkerhet delvis kan förklaras av flertalet variabler. De variabler som studeras i tidigare forskning visar bitvis på tvetydigheter och utelämnar flertalet variabler som utifrån teoretiskt stöd kan ha ett samband med träffsäkerheten, som exempelvis kassaflödens volatilitet. Utifrån DCF-modellens uppbyggnad antas riktkursers träffsäkerhet ha ett positivt samband med bolag som har stabila kassaflöden. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att ekonometrisk analysera träffsäkerheten i aktieanalytikers riktkurser och söka systematiska förklaringsfaktorer till avvikelser mellan riktkurser och de faktisk realiserade kurserna. Fokus ligger på att, i kombination med tidigare undersökta variabler, analysera tidigare mindre uppmärksammade variablers så som kassaflödens samband med riktkursers precision.   Genomförande: Från teori kring bolagsvärdering hämtas stöd för mindre belysta faktorer som kan tänkas påverka riktkursers träffsäkerhet, där kassaflödens volatilitet är studiens huvudsakliga fokus. Riktkursernas träffsäkerhet analyseras via regressionsanalys för tre olika tidshorisonter, där beroendevariabeln är den absoluta felmarginalen i riktkursen och de oberoende variablerna representeras av företagens kassaflöden och övriga påverkansfaktorer som identifierats i tidigare forskning. Studien bygger på data från den amerikanska aktiemarknaden. Slutsats: Aktieanalytikers riktkurser uppvisar samband med flertalet av de variabler studien undersöker. Starkast samband med riktkursers träffsäkerhet visar kassaflödens variation, antalet aktieanalytiker, goodwill i termer av totalt kapital och bolags storlek. Resultaten visar att bolag med stabila kassaflöden har ett positivt samband med riktkursers träffsäkerhet. Detta ger stöd åt DCF-modellens teorier vid värdering av bolag med stabila kassaflöden. Skattningarna visar att riktkursers träffsäkerhet även förklaras av andra faktorer än de som studien undersöker. Resultaten visar att träffsäkerheten är högre för kortare tidshorisonter.