Determinants of acquisition completion: a relational perspective

The strategic literature on relatedness in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is extensive, yet we know little about whether or how relatedness has an influence on the announcement to completion stage of the M&A process. Drawing on research on intra-industry competition and relational capabilities, we seek to shed light on the relatedness debate by examining the strategic forces that affect the completion of an announced related M&A, accounting for financial and organizational factors. We also explore additional strategic forces that might amplify or attenuate the negative effect of relatedness on deal completion. We test and find support for our hypotheses using longitudinal data from a sample of the largest M&A announcements in the world from 1991 to 2001.

Fried potatoes and human cancer.

A considerable public concern about cancer risk from acrylamide-rich foods followed the announcement that high concentrations of acrylamide are found in fried potatoes and potato chips and, more generally, in starch-containing foods cooked at high temperatures. From a series of hospital-based case-control studies conducted in Italy and Switzerland between 1991 and 2000, we have analyzed the relation between intake of fried/baked potatoes and cancer risk. The cancer sites considered were oral cavity and pharynx (749 cases, 1772 controls), esophagus (395 cases, 1066 controls), larynx (527 cases, 1297 controls), large bowel (1225 colon and 728 rectum cases, 4154 controls), breast (2569 cases, 2588 controls) and ovary (1031 cases, 2411 controls). All cancer cases were incident and histologically confirmed. Controls were subjects admitted to the same network of hospitals of cases for acute, non-neoplastic conditions. All the odds ratios (OR) for the highest vs. the lowest tertile of intake ranged between 0.8-1.1. We found no evidence of interaction with age, gender, alcohol and tobacco use. Our data provide reassuring evidence for the lack of an important association between consumption of fried/baked potatoes and cancer risk.

Individual vocal signatures in barn owl nestlings: does individual recognition have an adaptive role in sibling vocal competition?

To compete over limited parental resources, young animals communicate with their parents and siblings by producing honest vocal signals of need. Components of begging calls that are sensitive to food deprivation may honestly signal need, whereas other components may be associated with individual-specific attributes that do not change with time such as identity, sex, absolute age and hierarchy. In a sib-sib communication system where barn owl (Tyto alba) nestlings vocally negotiate priority access to food resources, we show that calls have individual signatures that are used by nestlings to recognize which siblings are motivated to compete, even if most vocalization features vary with hunger level. Nestlings were more identifiable when food-deprived than food-satiated, suggesting that vocal identity is emphasized when the benefit of winning a vocal contest is higher. In broods where siblings interact iteratively, we speculate that individual-specific signature permits siblings to verify that the most vocal individual in the absence of parents is the one that indeed perceived the food brought by parents. Individual recognition may also allow nestlings to associate identity with individual-specific characteristics such as position in the within-brood dominance hierarchy. Calls indeed revealed age hierarchy and to a lower extent sex and absolute age. Using a cross-fostering experimental design, we show that most acoustic features were related to the nest of origin (but not the nest of rearing), suggesting a genetic or an early developmental effect on the ontogeny of vocal signatures. To conclude, our study suggests that sibling competition has promoted the evolution of vocal behaviours that signal not only hunger level but also intrinsic individual characteristics such as identity, family, sex and age.

Three essays in dynamic corporate finance

Summary Throughout my thesis, I elaborate on how real and financing frictions affect corporate decision making under uncertainty, and I explore how firms time their investment and financing decisions given such frictions. While the macroeconomics literature has focused on the impact of real frictions on investment decisions assuming all equity financed firms, the financial economics literature has mainly focused on the study of financing frictions. My thesis therefore assesses the join interaction of real and financing frictions in firms' dynamic investment and financing decisions. My work provides a rationale for the documented poor empirical performance of neoclassical investment models based on the joint effect of real and financing frictions on investment. A major observation relies in how the infrequency of corporate decisions may affect standard empirical tests. My thesis suggests that the book to market sorts commonly used in the empirical asset pricing literature have economic content, as they control for the lumpiness in firms' optimal investment policies. My work also elaborates on the effects of asymmetric information and strategic interaction on firms' investment and financing decisions. I study how firms time their decision to raise public equity when outside investors lack information about their future investment prospects. I derive areal-options model that predicts either cold or hot markets for new stock issues conditional on adverse selection, and I provide a rational approach to study jointly the market timing of corporate decisions and announcement effects in stock returns. My doctoral dissertation therefore contributes to our understanding of how under real and financing frictions may bias standard empirical tests, elaborates on how adverse selection may induce hot and cold markets in new issues' markets, and suggests how the underlying economic behaviour of firms may induce alternative patterns in stock prices.

The dog that did not bark: Insider trading and crashes

This paper documents that at the individual stock level insiders sales peak many months before a large drop in the stock price, while insiders purchases peak only the month before a large jump. We provide a theoretical explanation for this phenomenon based on trading constraints and asymmetric information. We test our hypothesis against competing stories such as patterns of insider trading driven by earnings announcement dates, or insiders timing their trades to evade prosecution. Finally we provide new evidence regarding crashes and the degree of information asymmetry.

Effects of hatching asynchrony on sibling negotiation, begging, jostling for position and within-brood food allocation in the barn owl Tyto alba

When siblings differ markedly in their need for food, they may benefit from signalling to each other their willingness to contest the next indivisible food item delivered by the parents. This sib-sib communication system, referred to as 'sibling negotiation', may allow them to adjust optimally to investment in begging. Using barn owl (Two alba) broods. I assessed the role of within-brood age hierarchy on sibling negotiation, and in turn on jostling for position where parents predictably deliver food (i.e. nest-box entrance), begging and within-brood food allocation. More specifically, I examined three predictions derived from a game-theoretical model of sibling negotiation where a senior and a junior sibling compete for food resources (Roulin, 2002a, Johnstone and Roulin, 2003): (1) begging effort invested by the senior sibling should be less sensitive to the junior sibling's negotiation than vice versa; (2) the junior should invest less effort in sibling negotiation than its senior sibling but a similar amount of effort in begging; and (3) within-brood food allocation should be directly related to begging but only indirectly to sibling negotiation. Two-chick broods were created and vocalization in the absence (negotiation signals directed to siblings) and presence (begging signals directed to parents) of parents was recorded. In support of the first prediction, juniors begged at a low cadence after their senior sibling negotiated intensely, probably because negotiation reflects prospective investment in begging and hence willingness to compete. In contrast, the begging of senior siblings was not sensitive to their junior sibling's negotiation. In contrast to the second prediction, juniors negotiated and begged more intensely than their senior sibling apparently because they were hungrier rather than younger. In line with the third prediction, juniors monopolized food delivered by their parents when their senior sibling begged at a low level. The begging cadence of both the junior and senior sibling, the junior's negotiation cadence, the difference in age between the two nest-mates and jostling for position were not associated with the likelihood of monopolizing food. In conclusion, sibling negotiation appears to influence begging behaviour, which, in turn, affects within-brood food allocation. Juniors may negotiate to challenge their senior siblings, and thereby determine whether seniors are less hungry before deciding to beg for food. In contrast, seniors may negotiate to deter juniors from begging.

Licorice-induced hypertension and common variants of genes regulating renal sodium reabsorption.

AIM: To study if gene alterations affecting renal sodium reabsorption associate with susceptibility to licorice-induced hypertension.METHODS: Finnish subjects (n = 30) with a previously documented incident of licorice-induced hypertension were recruited for the study using a newspaper announcement. Their previous clinical and family histories as well as serum electrolyte levels were examined. DNA samples from all individuals were screened for variants of the genes encoding 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11betaHSD2) and alpha-, beta-, and gamma-subunits of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC).RESULTS: Upon licorice predisposition, the patients had a mean blood pressure of 201/118 mmHg. Circulating potassium, renin, and aldosterone levels were low. No significant DNA variations were identified in the 11betaHSD2 gene. Four subjects were heterozygous for beta- and gammaENaC variants previously shown to be associated with hypertension. Furthermore, a novel G insertion (2004-2005insG) in the SCNN1A gene encoding the alphaENaC was identified in two subjects. The frequency of these ENaC variants was significantly higher in subjects with licorice-induced hypertension (6/30 i.e. 20%) than in blood donors (11/301 i.e. 3.7%, P = 0.002).CONCLUSIONS: Defects of the 11betaHSD2 gene do not constitute a likely cause for licorice-induced hypertension. Variants of the ENaC subunits may render some individuals sensitive to licorice-induced metabolic alterations and hypertension.

The impact of eliminating a child benefit on birth timing and infant health

We study the effects of the cancellation of a sizeable child benefit in Spainon birth timing and neonatal health. In May 2010, the government announced that a2,500-euro universal "baby bonus" would stop being paid to babies born startingJanuary 1, 2011. We use detailed micro data from birth certificates from 2000 to 2011,and find that more than 2,000 families were able to anticipate the date of birth of theirbabies from (early) January 2011 to (late) December 2010 (for a total of about 10,000births a week nationally). This shifting took place in part via an increase as well as ananticipation of pre-programmed c-sections, seemingly mostly in private clinics. We findthat this shifting of birthdates resulted in a significant increase in the number ofborderline low birth weight babies, as well as a peak in neonatal mortality. The resultssuggest that announcement effects are important, and that families and healthprofessionals may face effective trade-offs when deciding on the timing (and method) ofbirth.

Indicators used by clinicians to assess pain in the brain injured

INTRODUCTION. The assessment of pain in critically ill brain-injured patients is challenging for health professionals. In addition to be unable to self-report, the confused and stereotyped behaviors of these patients are likely to alter their ''normal'' pain responses. Therefore, the pain indicators observed in the general critically ill population may not be appropriate. OBJECTIVES. To identify behavioral and physiological indicators used by clinicians to assess pain in critically ill brain-injured patients who are unable to self-report. METHODS.Amixed-method design was used with the first step being the combination of the results of an integrative literature review with the results of nominal groups of 12 nurses and four physicians. The second step involved a web-based survey to establish content validity. Fourteen experts (clinicians and academics) from three French speaking European countries rated the relevance of each indicator. A content validity index (CVI) was computed for each indicator (I-CVI) and for each category (S-CVI). RESULTS. The first step generated 52 indicators. These indicators were classified into six categories: facial expressions, position/movement, muscle tension, vocalization, compliance with ventilator, and physiological indicators. In the second step, the agreement between raters was high with an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.88 (95% CI 0.83-0.92). The I-CVIs ranged from 0.07 to 1. Indicators with an I-CVI below 0.5 (n = 12) were not retained, resulting in a final list of 30 indicators. The CVI for this final list was 0.75 with categories ranging from 0.67 (compliance with ventilation) to 0.87 (vocalization). CONCLUSIONS. This process identified specific pain indicators for critically ill braininjured patients. Further evaluation is in progress to test the validity and relevance of these indicators in the clinical setting.

Vocal sib-sib interactions: how siblings adjust signaling level to each other

Game theory states that iterative interactions between individuals are necessary to adjust behaviour optimally to one another. Although our understanding of the role of begging signals in the resolution of parent-offspring conflict over parental investment rests on game theory implying repeated interactions between family members, empiricists usually consider interactions at the exact moment when parents allocate food among the brood. Therefore, the mechanisms by which siblings adjust signalling level to one another remain unclear. We tackled this issue in the barn owl, Tyto alba. In the absence of parents, hungry nestlings signal vocally to siblings their intention to contest vigorously the next, indivisible, food item. Such behaviour deters siblings from competing and begging when parents return to the nest. In experimental two-chick broods, nestlings producing the longest calls in the absence of parents, a signal of hunger level, were more successful at monopolizing the food item at the first parental feeding visit of the night. Moreover, nestlings increased (versus decreased) call duration when their sibling produced longer (versus shorter) calls, and an individual was more likely to call again if its sibling began to vocalize before or just after it had ended its previous call. These results are in agreement with the hypothesis that siblings challenge each other vocally to reinforce the honesty of sib-sib communication and to resolve conflicts over which individual will have priority of access to the next delivered food item. Siblings challenge each other vocally to confirm that the level of signalling accurately reflects motivation.

Effets du stress sur l'évolution des représentations parentales au cours des 12 premiers mois de vie d'un enfant né avec une fente faciale = Stress influence on parental representations' development during the first year of a child born with a facial cleft

La venue au monde d'un enfant avec une fente faciale constitue un événement stressant, voire traumatique, pour les parents. Que ce soit à travers le risque de symptômes associés, la logistique d'alimentation ou par simples raisons d'esthétisme, de nombreuses personnes vivent l'annonce de la présence d'une fente faciale comme une intrusion brutale dans le vécu de la grossesse et une interruption momentanée de l'investissement représentationnel du foetus. À travers notre recherche, nous montrons qu'un haut stress n'influe pas forcément négativement sur le développement de la relation entre le parent et l'enfant et que, au contraire, dans le cas des pères, il peut contribuer à l'implication émotionnelle envers le bébé. Le moment de l'annonce de la malformation a aussi une importance dans les représentations à propos de l'enfant puisque si elle est faite durant la période prénatale, elle permet aux parents un réarrangement des représentations afin de mieux accueillir le bébé le jour de sa naissance. The birth of a child with a facial cleft is often seen as a very stressing event for both parents. Risks of comorbidity, difficulty in nutrition or just aesthetical reasons are frequently invoked while describing this moment. The announcement of the deformation is felt like a brutal intrusion in representations associated to pregnancy. Then, we can observe a kind of disinvestment of the coming baby. Through our study, we find that high stress has not always a bad issue on relationship between parents and infants. In contrary, this kind of chronic stress can preserve the well-being of the relationship, especially for fatherhood. The time of facial deformation announcement also plays its part in representations about the baby. Before birth, it opens room for reordering and modifying representations, then the baby will be accepted as it should be on his birthday.

SITC 26th annual meeting - summary.

ABSTRACT: The 26th annual meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer took place in Bethesda on November 4 to 6, 2011 and was organized by Charles G. Drake (Johns Hopkins University) Dolores J. Schendel (Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen - German Research Center for Environmental Health Institute of Molecular Immunology), Jeffrey Schlom (National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health), and Jedd D. Wolchok (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center). It was an event marked by a number of extraordinary circumstances: it attracted a record attendance of 805 participants from 24 different countries. The gathering came in the wake of great as well as very sad news for the tumor immunology community. Good news included the approval of anti-CTLA-4 as a therapy for metastatic melanoma in April and the announcement in early October of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine awarded to pioneering studies in the field of immunology. Indeed, one part of the prize went to Dr. Bruce Beutler, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA and Dr. Jules Hoffman, Institute for Molecular Cell Biology, Strasbourg, France, for their discoveries in innate immunity and the other part to Dr. Ralph Steinman, The Rockfeller University, New York, for his discovery of dendritic cells. Sad news was the losses of two giants in the field. Jürg Tschopp of the University of Lausanne in March and Ralph Steinman, who passed away just three days before his Nobel Prize announcement. The loss of these two charismatic scientific leaders was particularly sad for the Annual Meeting as both J. Tschopp and R. Steinman were confirmed speakers at this meeting: the former to deliver the keynote lecture and the latter as recipient of the Richard V. Smalley prize.

Information retention during competitive interactions : siblings need to constantly repeat vocal displays

Memory is essential to adjust behaviour according to past experience. In societies where animals interact on numerous occasions, memory of previous social interactions may help optimise investment in competition. How long information about the resource holding potential and motivation to compete of conspecifics is retained depends on how fast the value of this information fades, but also on the cost and benefit of retaining information. Information retention has never been investigated in the context of interactions prevailing within the family and more specifically sibling competition. In the absence of parents, barn owl (Tyto alba) nestlings vocally compete for priority of access to the next indivisible food item brought by a parent. The finding that owlets eavesdrop on vocal interactions between siblings to adjust investment in vocalization once competing with them suggests that they memorize siblings' vocal interactions. Playback experiments showed that owlets take into account the past siblings' vocal performance that signals hunger for at least 15 min, but only if the performance was witnessed during a sufficiently long period of time (30 min). Moreover, using natural vocal exchanges in another set of individuals, we showed that sibling signalling was no more taken into account after a few minutes. This suggests that young barn owls need to continuously display their motivation to trigger siblings' withdrawal from the current competition. Repeating a vocal display may ensure its honesty. Studying the extent to which individuals retain past information is important to understand how individuals adjust their competitive investment over resources.

Efficiency and significance of multiple vocal signals in sibling competition

Animals can compete for resources by displaying various acoustic signals that may differentially affect the outcome of competition. We propose the hypothesis that the most efficient signal to deter opponents should be the one that most honestly reveals motivation to compete. We tested this hypothesis in the barn owl (Tyto alba) in which nestlings produce more calls of longer duration than siblings to compete for priority access to the indivisible prey item their parents will deliver next. Because nestlings increase call rate to a larger extent than call duration when they become hungrier, call rate would signal more accurately hunger level. This leads us to propose three predictions. First, a high number of calls should be more efficient in deterring siblings to compete than long calls. Second, the rate at which an individual calls should be more sensitive to variation in the intensity of the sibling vocal competition than the duration of its calls. Third, call rate should influence competitors' vocalization for a longer period of time than call duration. To test these three predictions we performed playback experiments by broadcasting to singleton nestlings calls of varying durations and at different rates. According to the first prediction, singleton nestlings became less vocal to a larger extent when we broadcasted more calls compared to longer calls. In line with the second prediction, nestlings reduced vocalization rate to a larger extent than call duration when we broadcasted more or longer calls. Finally, call rate had a longer influence on opponent's vocal behavior than call duration. Young animals thus actively and differentially use multiple signaling components to compete with their siblings over parental resources.

Corporate Layoff Announcements and Shareholder Value: Empirical Evidence from Finland

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on tutkia lyhyen aikavälin markkinareaktiota suomalaisten pörssiyhtiöiden irtisanomisilmoituksiin. Lisäksi tutkitaan poikkileikkausmenetelmän avulla, vaikuttavatko erilaiset yrityskohtaiset tekijät siihen miten osakemarkkinat suhtautuvat irtisanomisiin. Kolmantena tutkimuksen kohteena ovat maakohtaiset irtisanomisiin liittyvät tekijät sekä kuinka ekstensiivistä on yritysten tiedottaminen irtisanomisista. Aineisto sisältää 83 julkisesti annettua irtisanomistiedotetta viiden vuodenaikaväliltä (kesäkuu 2000 - kesäkuu 2005). Osakemarkkinoiden keskimääräistä reaktiota sekä kehitettyjä alihypoteeseja tutkittiin hyödyntämällä tapahtumatutkimusmetodia. Empiiriset tulokset osoittavat, että sijoittajat näkevät irtisanomisetkeskimääräisesti negatiivisina uutisina yhtiöiden markkina-arvon kannalta. Irtisanomisilmoituksia edeltävä markkinareaktio on negatiivinen tukien aiempia tutkimustuloksia Yhdysvaltojen ja Iso-Britannian markkinoilta. Erona aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin on kuitenkin se, että negatiivinen markkinareaktio on täysin hinnoiteltu jo ilmoitusta edeltävänä aikana. Tukea löytyi myös kaikille yrityskohtaisillealihypoteeseille, jotka selittävät sijoittajien reaktiota irtisanomisilmoituksiin: koko pääoman tuotto, suhdannesykli, corporate governance sekä yrityksen ja johdon maine.