Do “The Best Companies to Work” have higher Stock returns?

Do “The Best Companies to Work” have Higher Stock Returns? The main purpose of this work is to prove the link between job satisfaction and the firm’s value. The «Best Companies to Work» list give us our measure for job satisfaction. The sample of this work is composed by firms listed in STOXX Europe 600 Index. We compared the monthly returns of a portfolio composed by firms present in the «Best Companies to Work» list with two other benchmark portfolios, using the four-factor model proposed by Carhart (1997), from January 2010 to December 2014. Our results show that the BCWE600 portfolio outperforms both benchmark portfolios. In other words, companies classified as Best Companies to Work generated 0.40%/month and 4.94%/year higher stock returns than their peers over the 2010-2014 period. Also, the market risk in portfolio BCWE600 is inferior compared to other portfolios. This work shows that firms with the most satisfied workers get better results, resulting in higher returns for it’s shareholders.

Synthetic portfolio for event studies: Estimating the effects of volatility call auctions

We propose a method denoted as synthetic portfolio for event studies in market microstructure that is particularly interesting to use with high frequency data and thinly traded markets. The method is based on Synthetic Control Method and provides a robust data driven method to build a counterfactual for evaluating the effects of the volatility call auctions. We find that SMC could be used if the loss function is defined as the difference between the returns of the asset and the returns of a synthetic portfolio. We apply SCM to test the performance of the volatility call auction as a circuit breaker in the context of an event study. We find that for Colombian Stock Market securities, the asynchronicity of intraday data reduces the analysis to a selected group of stocks, however it is possible to build a tracking portfolio. The realized volatility increases after the auction, indicating that the mechanism is not enhancing the price discovery process.

Merluccius hubbsi (Teleostei: Merlucciidae): stock identification based on reproductive biology in the south-southeast brazilian region

The Argentine hake, Merluccius hubbsi, a demersal-pelagic species found from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to the Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, has become an important target of the Brazilian bottom-trawler fleet since 2001. Earlier studies focusing on the species have suggested that more than one stock might occur off the Brazilian coast, in accordance with environmental features. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, fish were collected from four different areas in the Brazilian waters in which the hake is distributed, during the summers and winters of 1996-2001 and 2004, the females being used to analyze and compare spatial-temporal variations in ovarian maturation. Gonad indexes were also applied for the same purpose. Results indicate a north-south spawning gradient occurring as from summer at around 21°S to winter near 34°S, leading to the identification of two distinct stocks: one located between 21°S and 29°S (Southeastern stock) and the other between 29°S and 34°S (Southern stock), this latter shared with Uruguay and Argentina. Brazilian stocks present clear signs of overexploitation, the situation calling for an urgent solution.

Integrating technology roadmapping and portfolio management at the front-end of new product development

Many authors point out that the front-end of new product development (NPD) is a critical success factor in the NPD process and that numerous companies face difficulties in carrying it out appropriately. Therefore, it is important to develop new theories and proposals that support the effective implementation of this earliest phase of NPD. This paper presents a new method to support the development of front-end activities based on integrating technology roadmapping (TRM) and project portfolio management (PPM). This new method, called the ITP Method, was implemented at a small Brazilian high-tech company in the nanotechnology industry to explore the integration proposal. The case study demonstrated that the ITP Method provides a systematic procedure for the fuzzy front-end and integrates innovation perspectives into a single roadmap, which allows for a better alignment of business efforts and communication of product innovation goals. Furthermore, the results indicated that the method may also improve quality, functional integration and strategy alignment. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A generalized multi-period mean-variance portfolio optimization with Markov switching parameters

In this paper, we deal with a generalized multi-period mean-variance portfolio selection problem with market parameters Subject to Markov random regime switchings. Problems of this kind have been recently considered in the literature for control over bankruptcy, for cases in which there are no jumps in market parameters (see [Zhu, S. S., Li, D., & Wang, S. Y. (2004). Risk control over bankruptcy in dynamic portfolio selection: A generalized mean variance formulation. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 49, 447-457]). We present necessary and Sufficient conditions for obtaining an optimal control policy for this Markovian generalized multi-period meal-variance problem, based on a set of interconnected Riccati difference equations, and oil a set of other recursive equations. Some closed formulas are also derived for two special cases, extending some previous results in the literature. We apply the results to a numerical example with real data for Fisk control over bankruptcy Ill a dynamic portfolio selection problem with Markov jumps selection problem. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qualitative assessment of stock prices listed on the Sao Paulo stock exchange: An approach from the perspective of homogeneity analysis

The stock market suffers uncertain relations throughout the entire negotiation process, with different variables exerting direct and indirect influence on stock prices. This study focuses on the analysis of certain aspects that may influence these values offered by the capital market, based on the Brazil Index of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), which selects 100 stocks among the most traded on Bovespa in terms of number of trades and financial volume. The selected variables are characterized by the companies` activity area and the business volume in the month of data collection, i.e. April/2007. This article proposes an analysis that joins the accounting view of the stock price variables that can be influenced with the use of multivariate qualitative data analysis. Data were explored through Correspondence Analysis (Anacor) and Homogeneity Analysis (Homals). According to the research, the selected variables are associated with the values presented by the stocks, which become an internal control instrument and a decision-making tool when it comes to choosing investments.

Movement and stock structure of narrow-barred Spanish mackerel as indicated by parasites

Data from permanent parasites (juvenile trypanorhynchs and anisakids) indicated that Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson from four sites on the west coast of Australia, Abrolhos, Shark Bay, Exmouth and Onslow, intermingled and were probably all drawn from the same stock. Fish from Broome, Kupang (Indonesia), Groote Eylandt-Torres Strait and the cast coast of Australia had distinct faunas of permanent parasites and probably each belonged to a different stock. There was evidence of movement of fish between Broome and the west coast. Abundances of temporary parasites (gill copepods and monogeneans) suggested that males and females on the west coast migrated separately because in several cases the parasite fauna of one sex was more similar to that of fish in an adjacent area than to the opposite sex in the same area. (C) 2001 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Demography of bridled nailtail wallabies translocated to the edge of their former range from captive and wild stock

Despite numerous, generally unsuccessful attempts to reintroduce threatened Australian mammals, the factors leading to their failure have not been fully clarified, although predator control would appear to be of paramount importance. An experimental approach was taken in attempting to establish a population of bridled nailtail wallabies ih an area of apparently suitable habitat and low fox density, but on the edge of the species' former range. The 133 wallabies released since late 1996 comprised four groups captive-bred animals, wild caught from the single remaining wild population, animals that were captive bred and acclimatised at the translocation site in a 10 ha predator-proof enclosure, and animals which had been bred in the enclosure. Survival was highest in those bred in the enclosure and highly variable among captive-bred animals. Survival estimates for wild recruits suggested the population would maintain a positive rate of increase under prevailing environmental conditions. Spotlighting surveys suggested the population had increased to approximately 400 animals by late 1999. Above average rainfall during 1996-1999 and no apparent predation suggests caution in describing the translocation as a success. Ongoing monitoring is critical, because it A uncertain ho v the population will cope with drought and inevitable predation events, and whether the population will expand and persist outside of limited preferred habitat. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relative importance of domestic and global factors in explaining Australian stock returns

In this study, we explore the relative importance of the several documented factors in explaining the behaviour of stock returns for a sample of 157 Australian companies over the period 1993–9. In line with prior evidence, we contend that the influence of global (market, industry and currency) factors is related to the extent of a firm's international activity. We find that Australian firms are in large part impacted by domestic factors with the level of sensitivity declining as the level of international activity increases. In contrast to prior literature, we also show that Australian firm returns are related to regional market, global industry and currency factors and the firm's sensitivity to these factors is an increasing function of its level of international activities.

Stock splits: Implications for investor trading costs

Stock splits are known to have a negative effect on market quality—while stock prices adjust consistently with the split's scale, the bid/ask spread and market depth do not. Two possible explanations for the relative increase in spread are that (i) splits cause an increase in market maker costs that are passed along to investors or (ii) splits provide a mechanism for market makers to increase excess profits. Using a robust econometric methodology, we find evidence of the latter, which raises questions about the motivation of the splitting practice. We also document that while NASDAQ spreads appear to adjust more fully than those of NYSE/AMEX stocks, NASDAQ spreads are higher in general.

Stock discrimination and movements of narrow-barred Spanish mackerel across northern Australia as indicated by parasites

The parasite fauna of Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson from 10 sites across northern Australia and one site in Indonesia, was examined to evaluate the degree of movement and subsequent stock structure of the fish. Kupang fish (Indonesia) had very few Terranova spp.. Grillotia branchi, Otobothrium cysticum or Pterobothrium sp. compared to Australian fish, indicating that no Australian fish enter the Kupang fishery. Univariate and discriminant function analysis of four 'temporary' parasite species, the copepod Pseudocyenoides armatus and the monogeneans Gotocotyla bivaginalis, Pricea multae and Pseudothoracocotyla ovalis, demonstrated little similarity between areas of northern Australia, indicating minimal short-term exchange between neighbouring groups of S. commerson. Analyses of five 'permanent' parasite species, the larval helminths G. branchi, O. cysticum, Pterobothrium sp., Callitetrarhynchus gracilis and Paranybelinia balli, also revealed large differences between areas thus indicating long-term separation. There are at least six parasitological stocks across northern Australia: Fog Bay/Bathurst Island, Cape Wessel. Groote/Sir Edward Pellew. Mornington Island, Weipa. and the Torres Strait. The occurrence of a few irregular fish in the samples suggested that LIP to 5% of fish moved between stocks during their lifetime. The similarity of within-school variability to that between schools showed that the fish do not form long-term school associations. (C) 2003 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.