I document a recent increase in the usefulness of quarterly earnings announcements. I measure the usefulness of earnings announcements as the percentage of total annual excess returns that occurs on or around quarterly earnings announcements. In the main sample, approximately 18.4% of...

This study discusses differences in the effectiveness of voluntary and mandatory policies promoting women on boards and their potential effects on stock price returns. Furthermore, it classifies the announcements of the policy proposals discussed in Germany and analyzes their impact using event...

In this paper we investigate how privatization affects stock return volatility. We show that privatization is related to volatility via political risk. In particular, a privatization program that is maintained over time signals credibility, which reduces political risk and in turn volatility. We...

In several recent cases, the Delaware Chancery Court has emphasized that where a conflict of interest exists between holders of a company's common stock and holders of its preferred stock, the standard of conduct for directors requires that they strive to maximize the value of the corporation...

Stock sales during takeover negotiations weaken the target Board's ability to recommend against the takeover, i.e., to resist. Sophisticated shareholders therefore face a coordination problem when deciding whether to sell-out early; and their actions generate a feedback loop between trading...

What precisely is stock market short-termism? For an issue that pervades corporate governance thinking, rhetoric, and policymaking, one would think that we know well what it is. But much that’s called stock market short-termism is not properly categorized as such. This distinction—between...

Current attempts to reform financial markets presume that shareholder empowerment benefits shareholders. We investigate the wealth effects associated with the SEC's rule to facilitate director nominations by shareholders. Our results are not in line with shareholder empowerment creating value:...

In the 1990s, European merger regulation (EMR) was biased against foreign acquirers, especially if the deal harmed domestic rivals (i.e., protectionism). In 2002, the Court of First Instance overturned three prohibitions by the European Commission (EC) and criticized its economic analysis. These...

This paper compares the reaction of bidders' stock prices to acquisition announcements by regulated non-financial firms, banks, and unregulated companies in Japan. Results suggest that regulated non-financial firms do not experience a significant stock price response at M&A announcements,...