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Abstract Stochastic dominance is theoretically superior to mean-variance (MV) analysis because it considers the entire return distribution and is based on minimally restrictive assumptions regarding investor motives. This study uses [...]

This paper examines the earliest evidence of the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on corporate results. We study the cross-sectional dispersion of corporate revenue and other performance impacts attributed to the pandemic as of the first quarter of 2020. The early business reports on this were mostly accessible through the business press or piecemeal corporate announcements. Market sentiment emerged that associated the spate of individual corporate news items with market-wide steep price declines. The Dow Jones' Index spiked downward, for example, and this was likened to a harbinger of a pandemic-induced crash. The sample is a random selection of public American SEC registrants. Our data is drawn from financial statements they filed with the SEC a short time after those early, informal reports. We examine the notion that the pandemic's immediate impact on revenue across the market in that first quarter of 2020 was pervasive and uniform. The research tracks revenue through to earnings and return on equity (ROE). We test the hypothesis that revenue changes are systematically correlated with a similar change in ROE. We also test the hypothesis that management acted to offset the reporting impacts of the pandemic at this early stage of it. We demonstrate greater cross-sectional diversity in the pandemic's impacts than reported. We demonstrate that revenue changes do not map into similarly systematic earnings and ROE changes. We continue our research into how the pandemic impacts corporate performance beyond these first financials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the earliest evidence of the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on corporate results. We study the cross-sectional dispersion of corporate revenue and other performance impacts attributed to the pandemic as of the first quarter of 2020. The early business reports on this were mostly accessible through the business press or piecemeal corporate announcements. Market sentiment emerged that associated the spate of individual corporate news items with market-wide steep price declines. The Dow Jones' Index spiked downward, for example, and this was likened to a harbinger of a pandemic-induced crash. The sample is a random selection of public American SEC registrants. Our data is drawn from financial statements they filed with the SEC a short time after those early, informal reports. We examine the notion that the pandemic's immediate impact on revenue across the market in that first quarter of 2020 was pervasive and uniform. The research tracks revenue through to earnings and return on equity (ROE). We test the hypothesis that revenue changes are systematically correlated with a similar change in ROE. We also test the hypothesis that management acted to offset the reporting impacts of the pandemic at this early stage of it. We demonstrate greater cross-sectional diversity in the pandemic's impacts than reported. We demonstrate that revenue changes do not map into similarly systematic earnings and ROE changes. We continue our research into how the pandemic impacts corporate performance beyond these first financials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies a well‐known, and flawed, use of the Black–Scholes model in reporting. It achieves two principal goals. First, it reports our critical analysis into the topic resulting from the combination of our fields' expertise in it. Second, we report our study into an as‐yet undocumented example of that flaw. The flawed use of Black–Scholes leads to mark‐to‐model measurements errors in reporting, most notably in Earnings. Our analysis covers the major sources of the resulting mis‐measurement: the mismatch between the parametrization of Black–Scholes models versus the legal formulation of ESO contract terms; and the alteration of the models' inputs mandated by regulators. These regulators asserted that the unavoidably incorrect values would be "sufficient" for reporting. Our study examines the infrequently studied "risk‐free rate" input to demonstrate that resulting mis‐measurements are readily quantifiable. We expect to continue this research into our fields' disagreements on the use of the Black–Scholes class of option pricing models for reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that when two information providers or outside auditors exist, the value provided by the second one will be decreased by the actions of the first. Credit rating agencies have been rating bank loans since 1996. Capitalizing on the highly similar functions performed by banks and these agencies, the informational value of bank loan ratings is examined. Further, evidence is provided on whether rating agencies duplicate the certifying and monitoring roles played by banks. The significant market reaction to negative bank loan rating announcements suggests these rating actions convey information beyond that provided via bank loan approvals and renewals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to obtain financing is a critical element in attempting to successfully reorganise a firm which has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing has become an increasingly popular method in recent years. This paper examines whether receiving DIP financing is related to successful reorganisations and a shortened duration under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. This study finds that there is an increase in realised returns to equity at the announcement of DIP loan agreements which is positive and statistically significant. It is also found that DIP-financed firms have a reduced probability of liquidation, and shorter time spent under bankruptcy proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until the late 1960s, Northern Goshawks, Accipiter gentilis atricapillus, were considered rare breeders in Wisconsin. Research initiated in 1971 revealed a small but growing breeding population, which continued to increase until the mid 1990s when depredations by mammalian predators began to reduce numbers. Since 1985, reproduction has fallenbelow the estimated threshold of 1.7 young fledged/active nest needed to maintain a stable population. The reintroduced Fisher, Martes pennanti, is largely responsible for increased nest failure and adult female mortality, with the turnover rate of nesting females having doubled to over 40%. Twenty-two years of reproductive data reveal a correlation between population levels and the 10-year wildlife cycle. Thegoshawk has been listed as a 'sensitive species' since 1986 in the Nicolet National Forest, and guidelines have been established for nestsite protection. However. no such standards exist for state, county and private lands, where populations are declining. Legal and illegal'take' of nestling goshawks is a continuing concern, especially as nest sites under national forest management become more vulnerable to falconers, who have taken an estimated 5% of young from monitored nests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]