This paper examines a wide variety of popular volatility models for stock index return, including Random Walk model, Autoregressive model, Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model, and extensive GARCH model, GARCH-jump model with Normal, and Student-t distribution assumption as well as nonparametric specification test of these models. We fit these models to Dhaka stock return index from November 20, 1999 to October 9, 2004. There has been empirical evidence of volatility clustering, alike to findings in previous studies. Each market contains different GARCH models, which fit well. From the estimation, we find that the volatility of the return and the jump probability were significantly higher after November 27, 2001. The model introducing GARCH jump effect with normal and Student-t distribution assumption can better fit the volatility characteristics. We find that that RW-GARCH-t, RW-AGARCH-t RW-IGARCH-t and RW-GARCH-M-t can pass the nonparametric specification test at 5% significance level. It is suggested that these four models can capture the main characteristics of Dhaka stock return index.

This study analyzes the effect of social pressures on CEO compensation focusing on social interactions within 60 miles of the firm. Social premiums in CEO pay are in excess of what can be explained by firm performance and characteristics, corporate governance, and local economic variables. Using the S&P 500 companies during 1994-2005, we show that the average social premium in a social circle with 31 CEOs (the 75th percentile of social circles) is $1.29 million higher than that in a circle with six CEOs (the 25th percentile). Golfing, sharing directors, and comparing mansions are likely avenues of social interactions.

We investigate the information cost of stock trading during the 2000 presidential election. We find that the uncertainty of the election induces information asymmetry of politically sensitive firms under the Bush/Gore platforms. The unusual delay in election results in a significant increase in the adverse selection component of trading cost of politically sensitive stocks. Cross-sectional variations in bid-ask spreads are significantly and positively related to changes in information cost, controlling for the effects of liquidity cost and stock characteristics. This empirical evidence is robust to different estimation methods.

We evaluate the efficacy of price discovery in the round-the-clock U.S. Treasury market. Using a comprehensive intraday database, we explore informational role of trades over the 24-hour day. We find that information asymmetry is generally highest in the preopen period and lowest in the postclose period. Information asymmetry in the overnight period is comparable to that in the regular trading period. However, on days with macroeconomic announcements, information asymmetry peaks shortly after the news release at 8:30. Moreover, information asymmetry is higher on Monday morning and higher immediately before than after the open of U.S. Treasury futures trading. Although volume is low after hours and trading cost is relatively high, overnight trading generates significant price discovery. Results suggest that overnight trading activity is an important part of the Treasury price discovery process.

This paper tests the smart money effects about equity mutual fund flow, and provides some good sights for the international investments. First, it provides some evidence of the outperformance of equity mutual funds using Chinese equity mutual fund data. Then it studies the determinants of mutual fund total net flows, individual net flows, and institutional net flows, and finds that the proportion fee plays an important role. Most importantly, I test the “smart money” effects, confirm its existence, and conclude that institutional net flows are smarter than individual net flows. Finally, I find that the proportion fee has a significant signal effect to direct the net flow of the new money.

Trading constraints with unspecified constraint horizon are imposed on the shares held by the state in the IPO of each listed firm in China Stock Market. In 2005, a so-called Split Share Structure Reform (also known as Division Reform) was launched in which the holders of restricted shares give up a proportion of their shares to purchase the right to terminate the trading constraint. From the size of the compensation, we infer the value of restricted shares and find that their price discounts are negatively affected by the restriction looseness captured by our proposed new multi-dimensional measure and positively affected by the bargaining power of the holders of freely-traded shares.

We use an implicit alternating direction (IAD) numerical procedure to estimate the value of a fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) with embedded default and prepayment options. The value of FRMs depends on interest rates, the house value, and mortgage maturity. Our numerical results suggest that the joint option value of prepayment and default is considerably high, even at loan origination. We extend the model to include prepayment penalties in FRM valuation.

A model of the domestic financial intermediation of foreign capital inflows based on agency costs is developed for studying financial crises in emerging markets. In equilibrium, the banking system becomes progressively more fragile under imperfect prudential regulation and public sector loan guarantees until a crisis occurs with a sudden reversal of capital flows. The crisis evolves endogenously as the banking system becomes increasingly vulnerable through the renegotiation of loans after idiosyncratic firm-specific revenue shocks. The model generates dynamic relationships between foreign capital inflows, domestic investment, corporate debt and equity values in an endogenous growth model The model's assumptions and implications for the behavior of the economy before and after crisis are compared to the experience of five East Asian economies. The case studies compare three that suffered a crisis or near-crisis, Thailand and Malaysia, to two that did not, Taiwan Province of China and Singapore, and lend support to the model.

Great credit risk is a big headache which blocks the development of the banking sector of China. Based on the panel data of the Chinese banking sector from 2002 to 2006, this paper empirically examines the effects of foreign strategic investors’ participation on the risk behavior of Chinese banks. The results show that foreign strategic investors (FSI) had a positive, but limited impact on the credit risk of Chinese banks. Further analysis reveals that the risk management abilities of Chinese banks have improved apparently when the proportion of shareholding of the leading foreign strategic investors exceeds 15 percent, which results in a significant drop of the credit risk. However, due to the ‘minority ownership’ restriction on foreign investors' stock shares, the positive effect of the participation of foreign strategic investors is limited. The visible decline in both non-performing loans (NPLs) and the NPL ratio of Chinese banks mainly reflects the rapid growth of China's economy and benefits a lot from the massive financial restructuring of state-owned banks.

Chinese banks generate large profits and have relatively low nonperforming loans. However, good financial performance does not, in itself, guarantee that banks efficiently intermediate the economy’s financial resources. This paper first examines how efficient Chinese banks are in financial intermediation, using the stochastic production frontier approach. Quality of loans are controlled for by focusing on net loans and correcting for nonperforming loans; Hong Kong SAR banks are included in the sample to have a more universally representative production frontier. The results suggest that Chinese banks indeed became more efficient during 2001–07. Nevertheless, a majority of banks remain quite inefficient, including several large state owned banks and many city banks. Large banks tend to hoard deposits and operate beyond the point of diminishing returns to scale, while smaller banks operate at increasing returns to scale. This suggests that reallocating deposits from large to smaller banks would increase overall efficiency. The paper finds no significant correlation between bank efficiency and profitability. Possible factors leading to large profits in the banking system, despite wide-spread inefficiencies, are low deposit interest rates, large interest margins, and high market concentration. Moving to indirect monetary policy and deepening capital markets to channel some of the savings to productive investment would help improve the efficiency of financial intermediation. This may spur loan growth, however, which will need to be handled with monetary policy and regulatory/supervisory tools.