146 research outputs found
The Benefits of Financial Statement Comparability
No full textInvestors, regulators, academics, and researchers all emphasize the importance of financial statement comparability. However, an empirical construct of comparability is typically not specified. In addition, little evidence exists on the benefits of comparability to users. This study attempts to fill these gaps by developing a measure of financial statement comparability. Empirically, this measure is positively related to analyst following and forecast accuracy, and negatively related to analysts’ dispersion in earnings forecasts. These results suggest that financial statement comparability lowers the cost of acquiring information, and increases the overall quantity and quality of information available to analysts about the firm
Litigation risk and strategic M&A valuations
No full textWe study the role of litigation risk in M&A valuations. Specifically, we hypothesize that litigation risk leads to strategic valuations in fairness opinions (FOs) obtained in M&A transactions. Employing a regulatory shock to merger litigation risk and focusing on the most common valuation techniques – peer firm comparables and DCF analysis – we find that target-sought FOs exhibit lower valuations when litigation risk is high. The effect is concentrated in deals with greater agency conflicts between target management and outside shareholders. Furthermore, downward-biased valuations reduce appraisal litigation but are also associated with lower premiums. In contrast to prior work suggesting that target-sought FOs are used to negotiate a higher takeover price, our findings imply that they are used, at least in part, to mitigate litigation risk and facilitate successful deal completion. Our findings are relevant to academics, practitioners, and regulators interested in M&A price formation, and highlight the role litigation plays therein
Adopting a label: Heterogeneity in the economic consequences around IAS/IFRS adoptions
No full textThis study examines liquidity and cost of capital effects around voluntary and mandatory IAS/IFRS adoptions. In contrast to prior work, we focus on the firm-level heterogeneity in the economic consequences, recognizing that firms have considerable discretion in how they implement the new standards. Some firms may make very few changes and adopt IAS/IFRS more in name, while for others the change in standards could be part of a strategy to increase their commitment to transparency. To test these predictions, we classify firms into “label” and “serious” adopters using firm-level changes in reporting incentives, actual reporting behavior, and the external reporting environment around the switch to IAS/IFRS. We analyze whether capital-market effects are different across “serious” and “label” firms. While on average liquidity and cost of capital often do not change around voluntary IAS/IFRS adoptions, we find considerable heterogeneity: “Serious” adoptions are associated with an increase in liquidity and a decline in cost of capital, whereas “label” adoptions are not. We obtain similar results when classifying firms around mandatory IFRS adoption. Our findings imply that we have to exercise caution when interpreting capital-market effects around IAS/IFRS adoption as they also reflect changes in reporting incentives or in firms’ broader reporting strategies, and not just the standards
Analysts’ Forecasts and Asset Pricing: A Survey
No full textThis survey reviews the literature on sell-side analysts’ forecasts and their implications for asset pricing. We review the literature on the supply and demand forces shaping analysts’ forecasting decisions as well as on the implications of the information they produce for both the cash flow and the discount rate components of security returns. Analysts’ forecasts bring prices in line with the expectations they embody, consistent with the notion that they contain information about future cash flows. However, analysts’ forecasts exhibit predictable biases, and the market appears to underreact to the information in forecasts and to not fully filter the biases in forecasts. Analysts’ forecasts are also helpful in estimating expected returns on securities, but evidence on the relation between analysts’ forecasts and expected returns is still scarce. We conclude by identifying unanswered questions and offering suggestions for future research
Information Environment and the Investment Decisions of Multinational Corporations
No full textThis paper examines how the external information environment in which foreign subsidiaries operate affects the investment decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs). We hypothesize and find that the investment decisions of foreign subsidiaries in country-industries with more transparent information environments are more responsive to local growth opportunities than are those of foreign subsidiaries in country-industries with less transparent information environments. Further, this effect is larger when (1) there are greater cross-border frictions between the parent and subsidiary, and (2) the parents are relatively more involved in their subsidiaries' investment decision-making process. Our results suggest that the external information environment helps mitigate the agency problems that arise when firms expand their operations across borders. This paper contributes to the literature by showing that the external information environment helps MNCs mitigate information frictions within the firm.Harvard Business School. Division of ResearchMIT Junior Faculty Research Assistance Progra
Investor Competition Over Information and the Pricing of Information Asymmetry
No full textWhether the information environment affects the cost of capital is a fundamental question in
accounting and finance research. Relying on theories about competition between informed
investors as well as the pricing of information asymmetry, we hypothesize a cross-sectional
variation in the pricing of information asymmetry that is conditional on competition. We develop
and validate empirical proxies for competition using the number and concentration of
institutional investor ownership. Using these proxies, we find a lower pricing of information
asymmetry when there is more competition. Overall, our results suggest that competition
between informed investors has an important effect on how the information environment affects
the cost of capital.Deloitte Foundatio
The mezzo-soprano as representation of 'the other' in nineteenth century opera
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.The author continues by arguing that mezzo-soprano and contralto voices resemble the male voice and therefore composers often cast women in this fach as the jealous and malicious characters compared to the true and simplistic nature of the soprano (e.g. Ortrud versus Elsa in Lohengrin).3 When one looks at the significant mezzo-soprano roles in nineteenth-century opera, it is clear that the majority of these roles can be seen as representations of the Other. The aim of the thesis will be to investigate some of the most important nineteenth-century mezzo-soprano roles that represent the Other. The main research question is: To what extent do the selected roles represent the various templates delineated in theories of alterity? The roles will be classified and discussed according to four templates of alterity: social, religious, moral and emotional
How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?
No full textPrior evidence that higher-quality financial reporting improves capital investment efficiency leaves unaddressed whether it reduces over- or under-investment. This study provides evidence of both in documenting a conditional negative (positive) association between financial reporting quality and investment for firms operating in settings more prone to over-investment (under-investment). Firms with higher financial reporting quality also are found to deviate less from predicted investment levels and show less sensitivity to macro-economic conditions. These results suggest that one mechanism linking reporting quality and investment efficiency is a reduction of frictions such as moral hazard and adverse selection that hamper efficient investment
Don Carlo de Verdi
No full textPrograma de Don Carlo, dins el II Festival d'Òpera, en el marc de la XXIV Temporada Musical de Pro Musica. Hi van participar S. Estes com a Felip II, J. Carreras com a Don Carlo, J. Pons com a Rodrigo, V. Van Halem com el Gran Inquisidor, M. Caballé com a Isabel de Valois, E. Obraztsova com a Princesa d'Eboli i C. Fondevila com a Tebaldo, entre altres cantantsL'Orquestra que els va acompanyar va ser la del Gran Teatre del Liceu, dirigida per C. Vanderzand, i també hi va actuar el Cor del Gran Teatre del Liceu dirigit per R. Bottin
EXPERIENCES WITH THE INTERPRETATION OF GIUSEPPE VERDI´S OPERA IL TROVATORE
No full textABSTRAKT
Ve své diplomové práci jsem se rozhodla zaměřit na osobnost Giuseppe Verdiho z širší perspektivy. Značná část textu je proto věnována nejen jeho tvorbě samotné, ale i jeho životním osudům, které se zrcadlily v jeho tvorbě. Po rozboru důležitých dat osobního života mapuji i Verdiho profesní rozvoj v kontextu probíhajícího „risorgimenta“.
Ve druhé části své práce se zabývám podrobněji operou Il Trovatore a konkrétně jejímu nastudování v divadle F. X. Šaldy z roku 2019, kde jsem měla tu možnost ztvárnit roli cikánky Azuceny. Detailně popisuji děj po scénách s Verdiho režijními poznámkami, abych mohla později porovnat, jak je liberecké nastudování respektuje, či ne.
Diplomová práce s názvem “ZKUŠENOSTI S INTERPRETACÍ OPERY GIUSEPPE VERDIHO IL TROVATORE“ má za úkol přiblížit čtenáři autorovu práci na roli Azuceny v inscenaci opery Il Trovatore v divadle F. X. Šaldy v Liberci a inscenaci jako takovou.ABSTRACT
In my masters's thesis, I have decided to focus on the personality of Giuseppe Verdi from a broader perspective. A large part of the text is therefore devoted not only to its author but also to his life destinies, which were reflected in his work. After analyzing important data of personal life, I also map Verdi's professional development in the context of the ongoing "risorgiment".
In the second part of my work I follow up the opera Il Trovatore and specifically he studied at the F. X. Šalda Theater from 2019, where I had the opportunity to play the role of the gypsy Azucena. I describe the history after the scenes in detail with Verdi's directorial remarks, so that I can later compare how the Liberec study respects them or not.
The master's thesis entitled "EXPERIENCES WITH THE INTERPRETATION OF GIUSEPPE VERDI´S OPERA IL TROVATORE" aims to bring readers closer to the author's work on the role of Azucena in the production of the opera Il Trovatore in the theater F. X. Šalda
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