We examine the linkages between dark and lit venues using a proprietary data set. We find that algorithmic trades for less liquid stocks lead to higher spreads and price impact, and correlated trading on the lit venues. Also, signed trades for these stocks predict future returns over the next 15...

We assess the market microstructure properties of U.S. banking firms? equity, to determine whether they exhibit more or less evidence of asset opaqueness than similar-sized nonbanking firms. The evidence strongly indicates that large banks (traded on the NYSE) have very similar trading...

Underwriters using bookbuilding have discretionary power for allocating shares of initial public offerings (IPOs). Commissions paid to underwriters by investors are one of the determinants of IPO allocations. We test the hypothesis that investors trade liquid stocks in order to affect their IPO...

Funding risk measures the extent to which a fund can borrow money by posting collateral. Using a novel measure of funding risk based on futures margins, we are able to empirically identify the mechanism by which changes in funding risk affect the likelihood of contagion. An increase in margins...

Do option investors rationally exercise their options? Numerous studies report evidence of irrational behavior. In this paper, we pay careful attention to intraday option quotes and reach the opposite conclusion. An exercise boundary violation (EBV) occurs when the best bid price for an American...