The dividend irrelevancy proposition, which states that dividends have no impact on the market value of the firm, is only valid under the hypothesis of perfect markets. If market imperfections are considered, namely, the existence of taxes, then dividend distributions became relevant for the...

Since the 1960’s, there is an ongoing debate on dividend policy, which remains a controversial issue to this day. Why do firms pay dividends? The academics have not been able to agree on any convincing explanation, and the same time, many even claim that firms should not pay dividends, and so...

This paper analyses the technical efficiency of Chinese fossil-fuel electricity generation companies from 1999 to 2011, using a Bayesian stochastic frontier model. The results reveal that efficiency varies among the fossil-fuel electricity generation companies that were analysed. We also focus...

Interbank money markets play a fundamental role in financial systems but they can also be a channel through which problems in one institution can spread to the remaining ones. In particular, the potential for contagion stemming from interbank money markets is closely related with the pattern of...

This paper reports the results of tests on the weak-form market efficiency applied to stock market indexes of France, Germany, UK, Greece, Portugal and Spain, from January 1993 to December 2007. We use a serial correlation test, a runs test, an augmented Dickey-Fuller test and the multiple...

Following a dividend distribution, investors expect the stock price to decrease on the ex-dividend day. With no market imperfections, the price decrease should exactly match the amount of the dividend, thus eliminating all opportunities for profitable arbitrage. Allowing for different taxes on...

This paper reports the results of tests on the weak-form market efficiency applied to the PSI-20 index prices of the Lisbon Stock Market from January 1993 to December 2006. As an emerging stock market, it is unlikely that it is fully information-efficient, but we show that the level of weak-form...

This paper estimates changes in total productivity, breaking this down into technically efficient change and technological change by means of data envelopment analysis applied to a representative sample of insurance companies operating in the Portuguese market. The aim of this procedure is to...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the stock price adjustment after a dividend distribution, allowing for different types of investors and market imperfections, including taxes and transaction costs. Design/methodology/approach – An arbitrage model is developed to determine...

Rebranding corresponds to the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design or a combination of them for an established brand with the intention of developing a differentiated position in the mind of stakeholders and competitors. Increased competition has led firms to an avenue of...