This study provides empirical evidence of a positive relationship between operating leverage and systematic risk of the U.S. airline industry. This paper contributes to the literature related to operating leverage by developing a method to estimate the degree of operating leverage using publicly available information on aircraft capacity and operating expenses of the publicly listed airlines. The results suggest that, holding other financial characteristics constant, a rise in operating leverage of an airline is associated with an increase in systematic risk as perceived by the investors. In order to achieve desirable levels of operating leverage, the airlines are advised to contemplate decisions on capacity adjustments and operating expenses management in reactions to changes in economic conditions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

We examine the financing choices of undiversified large shareholders or owner-managers in a continuous time structural model with rational expectations. The interplay between the objective of the undiversified, self-interested owner-manager who controls the firm and the valuation of the firms marketed claims by well-diversified outside investors, has a major impact on leverage and debt maturity choices as well as credit spreads. The effect of this interplay is particularly significant in a world where the representative investor (who determines asset prices in the economy) is risk-averse leading to nonzero market prices of systematic risk and risk premia of the firms investment opportunities. In a perfect information framework with no taxes or bankruptcy costs, we show that, the owner-manager could, depending on the projects characteristics, finance them exclusively with debt, exclusively with equity, or with a combination of equity and debt. Ceteris paribus, leverage increases with the expected growth rate of firm value under its investment opportunities, and decreases with its volatility. Debt maturity varies non-monotonically in a U-shaped manner with the expected growth rate, and decreases with the volatility. Our results reconcile empirical evidence on the variation of financing choices with firm characteristics that is not completely consistent with previous theories. The significant impact of the expected returns (therefore, risk premia) of firms investment opportunities on their leverage ratios, debt maturities, and credit spreads are important implications of our theory that cannot be obtained in these models or in models in which all agents are risk-neutral so that risk premia are zero. We empirically test the implications of our theory for the relationships among firms financing and debt maturity choices and the expected growth rate and volatility of their asset values. Controlling for all the significant determinants of firms financing and debt maturity choices identified by earlier studies, we show significant empirical support for our predictions.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2000. / Typescript. Schulich School of Business. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-193). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ67886.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 121 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-185).

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2009.

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2009.

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2008.