Investors devote significant resources to producing private information. The value of such informational is eroded when it is leaked. We study the use of multiple brokers by institutions to help mitigate information leakage. We document that trades using multiple brokers better predict future...

Theory suggests that dark pools may facilitate or discourage information acquisition. We find that more dark pool trading leads to greater information acquisition. To overcome endogeneity concerns, we exploit a large exogenous decrease to dark pool trading that results from the implementation of...

Practitioners allocate substantial resources to technical analysis whereas academic theories of market efficiency rule out technical trading profitability. We study this long-standing puzzle by designing a machine learning algorithm to search for profitable technical trading rules while...

We use the SEC Tick Size Pilot Program to show that stock liquidity reduces the cost of bank loans. Treated firms experience a 52 basis point increase in the cost of borrowing during the Tick Size Pilot Program; an effect that reverses when the program ends. We find similar results in a broad...

While algorithmic trading now dominates financial markets, some exchanges continue to use human floor traders. On March 23, 2020 the NYSE suspended floor trading because of COVID-19. Using a difference-in-differences analysis, we find that floor traders are important contributors to market...

We study the impact of index investing on firm performance by examining the link between commodity indices and firms that use index commodities. Around 2004, there was a dramatic increase in commodity index investing, an event referred to as the financialization of commodity markets. Following...

This paper provides novel evidence that corporate political influence operates through renegotiations of existing government contracts. Using detailed data on contractual terms and renegotiations around sudden deaths and resignations of local politicians, the estimates show that politically...

We show that global political uncertainty, measured by the U.S. election cycle, on average, leads to a fall in equity returns in fifty non-U.S. countries. At the same time, market volatilities rise, local currencies depreciate, and sovereign bond returns increase. The effect of global political...

This paper examines whether shareholder litigation contributes to the decline in U.S. stock market listings. We find that higher litigation risk induces firms to delist. We establish causality by exploiting a 1999 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court that reduced litigation risk. The effect is at...