We examine the contracting and negotiation process in mergers using an incomplete contracts framework. Our multi-period model allows for the arrival of new information and renegotiation after the signing of an initial merger agreement but before deal completion or termination. A properly...

This paper estimates the cost of capital from observed accounting information and compares the resulting estimates with so-called implied cost of capital (ICC) calculations and those from asset pricing models. The estimates are based on the idea that buying earnings growth is risky, and...

This paper constructs a fundamental pricing factor based on observed accounting information. In contrast to standard models where accounting data often enter via data dredging, the factor is founded on consumption-based asset pricing theory and accounting principles that connect accounting...

A two-factor model explains returns for a variety of test portfolios, including those based of CAPM beta and those underlying factors in extant pricing models. The two-factor model involves the market factor and a factor based on firms’ fundamentals that has the feature of providing a hedge in...

This paper investigates the question of whether so-called anomalous returns predicted by accounting numbers are normal returns for risk or abnormal returns. It does so via a model that shows how accounting numbers inform about normal returns if pricing were rational. The model equates expected...

A two-factor Intertemporal Capital Asset Pricing Model (ICAPM) explains returns to risk associated with fundamentals with zero alpha. In contrast, the model identifies non-zero alphas for returns involving price movements rather than fundamentals, such as price momentum and price drifts....

We show that over a long study period (1963-2010), the existence and trading efficacy of the well-known low-volatility stock anomaly are more limited than widely believed. For example, we find that the anomalous returns are not found within equal weighted long-short (low minus high risk)...