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The literature has provided mixed evidence on the relationship between cash holdings and average stock returns. We empirically verify that the relationship is positive and robust to the adjustment of risk, the construction of cash holdings portfolios, and the weighting scheme of portfolio returns. We further examine a battery of potential channels that can explain the positive relationship. We find that the cash holding effect can be subsumed by accruals-related anomalies and it mainly comes from stocks with low net operating assets. It is stronger among stocks with high limits to arbitrage. Overall, our results indicate that the cash holding effect does not present a new asset-pricing regularity, but that it is a manifestation of existing anomalies closely related to mispricing.

The rs36084323 A > G polymorphism in programmed cell death-1(PD-1) gene has been reported to be associated with cancer risk. However, the results of previous studies were inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to identify the potential association, by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and the Chinese CNKI, WANFANG and CBM databases. Data were extracted and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to assess the strength of the association. A total of 10 relevant studies involving 4445 cancer cases and 5126 controls were recruited. Overall, the results indicated that the PD-1 rs36084323 A > G polymorphism was not statistically associated with cancer risk. However, stratified analysis revealed that there was a statistically reduced cancer risk in Asians(G vs. A, OR = 0.89, 95%CI:0.81–0.97, P = 0.008, I2 = 48.8%; GG vs. AA, OR = 0.79, 95% CI:0.66–0.94, P = 0.008, I2 = 48.7%; GG/AG vs. AA, OR = 0.87, 95%CI:0.76–0.98, P = 0.017, I2 = 34.9%; GG vs. AG/AA, OR = 0.85, 95%CI:0.75–0.97, P = 0.027, I2 = 40%) and in the patients with EOC(AG vs. AA, OR = 0.69, 95%CI:0.54–0.90, P = 0.005, I2 = 0%; GG/AG vs. AA, OR = 0.67, 95%CI:0.52–0.85, P = 0.001, I2 = 0). Meta-regression showed that ethnicity (P = 0.029) but not cancer types (P = 0.792), source of controls (P = 0.207) or ample size (P = 0.585) were the sources of heterogeneity. This meta-analysis demonstrates the PD-1 rs36084323 A > G polymorphism is associated with decreased cancer risk in Asian, and suggests it could potentially serve as a biomarker to screen high-risk individuals. Large-scale and well-designed case-control studies are needed to enrich the evidence of this result.

This study develops an empirical approach to measuring the monetary policy effectiveness for price stability based on stock market expectations. First, we use the fraction of fundamentalists estimated by the model of heterogeneous agents as an indicator of agents' predictions of stock market movements. When the expectations of fundamentalists are the only basis for interest rate policy decision making, our results in seven countries show that those with an overvalued stock price use tight monetary policy so than the price falls to the fundamental level, and countries with an undervalued stock price use expansionary monetary policy so the price increases to the fundamental level. Furthermore, the stock price in the next six months in these countries continues to show a negative reaction to expectations-based monetary policy. In addition, in countries not subject to the influence of monetary policy based on the expectations of fundamentalists, our survey results showed that within the next three months, in more than 33% of cases, stock prices reacted negatively to policy. In short, the effect of expectations-based interest rate policy on price stability is superior to adjustments in the policy rate by monetary policy committees. Our results remain robust following a series of additional tests.

The development and immune recognition of natural killer (NK) cell are regulated critically by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. However, it remains unclear whether the function of NK cells is regulated by MHC class II molecules. To test this, we monitored the development, phenotype and function of NK cells by using MHC class II deficient (H2-/-) mice. The numbers and development of NK cells keep unaltered in H2-/- mice, compared with those in wide type (H2+/+) mice. A part of Ly49 family receptors on NK cells are down-regulated both in mRNA and protein expression in absence of MHC class II molecules. Furthermore, NK cells obtained from H2-/- mice exhibit more expression of CD69 and IFN-γ after cross-linking with NK1.1. Also, the cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines of NK cells from H2-/- mice was increased significantly. Taken together, our study indicates that the absence of MHC class II molecules promotes the activation and function of NK cells in mice.

Despite the fact that both Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and excessive alcohol consumption represent health problems worldwide, the mechanism by which alcohol affected the progression of HBV-associated liver disease are not completely understood. Therefore, we studied how alcohol affects the development of HBV infection and the role of T cells and NK cells in the antiviral response. Mononuclear cells (MNCs) derived from HBV-carrier mice and wild type (WT) mice were characterized for phenotype by flow cytometry, HBV antigen and gene expression were detected by Radio Immunoassay (RIA), immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR. Metabolomics changes were detected in mice liver tissue based on ultra high performance liquid tandem chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOFMS). The mice after ethanol consumption shows higher levels of HBV surface Ag (HBsAg), HBV core antigen (HBcAg) and HBV 3.5 kb RNA expression, and a lower level of CD8+ T cells during HBV persistence, with an increased lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) expression on CD8+ T cell. In addition, the energy metabolism was downregulated and the oxidative stress was upregulated in the liver tissue. Furthermore, NK cells depletion results in a lower levels of HBV surface Ag (HBsAg) and HBV 3.5 kb RNA expression, and a higher level of CD8+ T cells with reduced expression of LAG-3. In conclusion, alcohol abuse induces CD8+ T cells failure after acute HBV infection, but depletion of NK cells could retore CD8+ T cell activity. Moreover, downregulation of energy metabolism and upregulation of oxidative stress may also contribute to CD8+ T cell failure.

This study attempts to illustrate the contributing factors for different patterns of crashes. In addition to the fundamental macro-economic factors, this paper argues that the existence of herding behavior as well as the level of investor attention are also important factors affecting the pattern of stock price fluctuations. By differentiating the rational component and irrational component of these behavioral factors, more insight concerning financial crisis can be drawn. Patterns of crashes are defined by three dimensions, which are the cumulative decline, the speed of decline, as well as the duration of the crash. Innovative measures and comprehensive analyses are conducted based on three sets of explanatory factors: macroeconomic factors, market micro-structure factors and behavioral factors. Results of partial R2 show that behavioral factors are the most influential factors explaining the magnitude as well as the duration of crash; while the speed of decline is mainly related to market micro-structure factor. Our results show that investors' irrational behavior is more important than fundamental factors in explaining or predicting market crashes.The contribution of this study are threefold: First, crashes in 40 markets are defined, measured and categorized into eight types of crash patterns, providing interesting statistics for international market crashes. Secondly, we differentiate between rational and irrational components of behavioral factors in explaining the causes of market crashes, which are largely neglected in past literatures. Thirdly, threshold of each explanatory variable of market crash are estimated. The results of this paper can provide policy makers, fund managers and investors valuable information in risk management and pre-warning system.

Background The precise role of innate immune responses in the early stage of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), especially those mediated by natural killer (NK) cells, is poorly understood. Methods The frequency and phenotype of NK cells from traumatic SCI patients and healthy controls were assessed by flow cytometry. ELISA assay was used to detect the production of a series of cytokines, neurotrophins, and neurohormones in plasma samples. In vitro cell culture was performed to observe brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-induced NK cell activation. Results A significant increase in the NK cell frequency and the presence of NK cells with the activated phenotype was observed, as reflected by the enhanced expression of CD69, HLA-DR, NKG2D, and NKp30 on the NK cells, in traumatic SCI patients within 24 h of injury, compared to case for the healthy controls. Meanwhile, a higher level of BDNF, a member of the neurotrophin family, was observed in the plasma samples of the SCI patients; the elevated level of BDNF was strongly and positively correlated with the percentage of NK cells during the early stage of traumatic SCI. Furthermore, the expression of CD69 and NKp30 on the NK cells increased following stimulation with BDNF for 24 h in vitro , which is consistent with the in vivo observation in SCI patients. Conclusion Collectively, our findings demonstrate the activation of NK cells within 24 h after traumatic SCI, and reveal a novel role of BDNF in regulating NK cell activation.

A new class of efficient low-molecular-weight gelators composed of a 2-substituted anthraquinone and a hydrazide subunit were synthesized, and the structure–property relationships with respect to their gelation abilities in organic solvents were investigated. The toluene gels showed exceptional thermal stability. Interestingly, it was also found that the ultrasound radiation could promote 1b–e to form a stable organogels instead of precipitates in polar solvent, and the ultrasound could remarkably induce changes of the morphology of the assembly in pyridine. Moreover, the reversible gel to sol phase transition could be achieved by adding TFA and TEA. The gelators 1b–e further showed selective gelation of aromatic solvents or chloroalkanes from their mixtures with water.

In this paper, a mathematical model for steady-state simulation of transcritical CO 2 water-to-water heat pump system with an expander has been developed. It is used to simulate the performance of transcritical CO 2 system with CO 2 expander prototype. Simulated results are compared with experimental data to verify the accuracy of the simulation model. The comparison results show the average deviation of about 15% for COP c (cooling coefficient of performance) and COP h (heating coefficient of performance), about 17% for cooling and heating capacity at experimental high pressure ranges. With this model, which has been validated in a limited high pressure range, the influence of water mass flow rate and water inlet temperature of both evaporator and gas cooler on the performance of transcritical CO 2 expander system is analyzed. The results show that decreasing inlet temperature and increasing mass flow rate of cooling water cannot only increase the system performance but also reduce the optimal heat rejection pressure, at which the maximum COP (coefficient of performance) can be obtained. For chilling water, increasing its inlet temperature and mass flow rate is favorable for increasing the system performance, while the optimal heat rejection pressure does not vary very much.

We compare the expiration-day effects of two index futures contracts, TAIEX futures and SGX TW futures, which have the same underlying spot market, but different settlement mechanisms. By taking into account other factors such as open interests and institutional traders' activities, we find that the settlement mechanism and traders' structure affect expiration-day effects. In terms of minimizing expiration-day effects, the average price is better than the opening price, which in turn is better than the closing price settlement. Moreover, the results also demonstrate that foreign institutional traders' trading activities increase expiration-day effects.

Vanadium oxide nanotubes (VO{sub x}-NTs) modified by highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles have been synthesized via a facile silver-mirror reaction. The crucial factors that affected the preparation of the Ag modified vanadium oxide nanotubes (Ag/VO{sub x}-NTs) have been also studied. The dispersion and structure of Ag nanoparticles in the obtained materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction (ED) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed the distribution and size of the formed Ag particles were greatly influenced by the concentration of AgNO{sub 3} solution. Typically, Ag nanoparticles were well dispersed on the VO{sub x}-NTs with the size range from 3 to 10 nm. The corresponding antibacterial tests demonstrated the as-synthesized Ag/VO{sub x}-NTs exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli)

Trichloroethylene (TCE), a major chemical hazard during occupational exposure, can cause obvious skin lesions, including irritant reactions and dermatitis. Nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is involved in a broad array of pathogenesis of skin inflammatory and immune responses. To understand the mechanisms of TCE-induced dermatoxicity, we investigated the effects of TCE on NO production and NOS mRNA expression in cultured normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK). Cells were treated with TCE (0 mM, 0.125 mM, 0.25 mM, 0.5 mM, 1.0 mM, 2.0 mM) for 4 h, and then incubated for 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. At each given time point, NO production were evaluated indirectly by measuring nitrite plus nitrate concentration in the culture medium using Griess reaction, as well as cell viability determined by MTT test, iNOS and cNOS activities assayed with a NOS activity detecting kit. The expression of iNOS and cNOS mRNA was detected using RT-PCR. TCE decreases cell viability and enhance NO production from NHEK in concentration- and time-dependent manner. Aminoguanidine (AG), an inhibitor of NOS, can prevent NO production and cell viability decrease in NHEK by TCE induced. Change to NO production was accompanied by increased activities of both types of NOS, but the iNOS activity accounted mainly for the TCE-induced NO production. RT-PCR detection showed that NHEK expressed both iNOS and cNOS mRNA by TCE exposure. Whereas a concentration- and time-dependent up-regulation of the mRNA expression was observed for iNOS and cNOS following TCE exposure, changes to iNOS were more marked. These results suggest that TCE caused increase in NO production, attributed to activation of iNOS as well as cNOS, and expression of iNOS and cNOS mRNA. These cellular changes may contribute to the pathological and physiological features of TCE-induced erythema and skin inflammation.

The trend toward the energy efficiency improvement for transcritical carbon dioxide refrigeration cycles has led to the development of the two-stage compression process. Three different variations of transcritical carbon dioxide two-stage compression cycles with expanders are investigated by using thermodynamics analysis. They are the two-stage compression at optimal intermediate pressure (TCOP) cycle, two-stage compression with expander driving high-pressure stage (TCDH) cycle and two-stage compression with expander driving low-pressure stage (TCDL) cycle, respectively. The performance of the TCOP cycle and the single-stage compression with expander (SCE) cycle is mainly discussed and compared for a wide operating condition. It is found that the COP and exergy efficiency of the TCOP cycle are on average 9% higher than those of the SCE cycle. At given design points, the COP of the TCDH cycle outperforms the other options, showing 11.32%, 9.65% and 0.72% performance improvement over the TCDL cycle, SCE cycle and the TCOP cycle, respectively. If design and structure are also taken into account, the TCDH cycle is a feasible option since the expander and the auxiliary compressor are integrated into one unit; thus, the transfer loss and leakage loss can be decreased greatly. The key problem is to adopt some measures that control the operating conditions to avoid deviating from the design point.

In this paper, a comparative study is performed for the transcritical carbon dioxide refrigeration cycles with a throttling valve and with an expander, based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The effects of evaporating temperature and outlet temperature of gas cooler on the optimal heat rejection pressure, the coefficients of performance (COP), the exergy losses, and the exergy efficiencies are investigated. In order to identify the amounts and locations of irreversibility within the two cycles, exergy analysis is employed to study the thermodynamics process in each component. It is found that in the throttling valve cycle, the largest exergy loss occurs in the throttling valve, about 38% of the total cycle irreversibility. In the expander cycle, the irreversibility mainly comes from the gas cooler and the compressor, approximately 38% and 35%, respectively. The COP and exergy efficiency of the expander cycle are on average 33% and 30% higher than those of the throttling valve cycle, respectively. It is also concluded that an optimal heat rejection pressure can be obtained for all the operating conditions to maximize the COP. The analysis results are of significance to provide theoretical basis for optimization design and operation control of the transcritical carbon dioxide cycle with an expander.

New Frechet-type dendritic BINOL ligands bearing several BINOL units at the periphery have been successfully synthesized. The (dendritic BINOL) Ti(IV) complexes were proved to be efficient catalysts for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aromatic aldehydes. Moreover, these ligands could be quantitatively recovered and reused at least five times without a loss of the yield and enantioselectivity.

Dianhydro-L-talofuranose dimethylacetal 7 was synthesized from D- glucose in 7 steps. A series of 4-deoxy-4-nucleobase-2,5-anhydro-L-mannitols 13-16 were synthesized regioselectively from 7 in good yields. 6-O-p-Tolylsulfonyl-2,5:3,4- dianhydro-L-talofuranose dimethylacetal 8 reacted with uracil or thymine to give the corresponding isonucleosides 17 and 19, but in the case of reaction of 8 with adenine, reformation of tetrahydrofuran ring took place, giving 4-(S)-adenyl-5-(R)-(l'-(R)-hydroxy- 2',2'-dimethoxy) ethyl-2,3-dihydrofuran 21 and 4-deoxy-4-adenyl-2,5:3,6-dianhydro-L- mannofuranose dimethylacetal 22. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd A number of nucleoside analogues have been found to possess anticancer and antiviral activities.l-4 In the search for effective, selective and nontoxic anticancer and antiviral agents, the discovery of a new class of nucleosides is of immense importance. Isonucleoside is a new class of nucleoside analogues in which the nucleobase is linked to a position of ribose other than C-1'. Therefore isonucleosides have attracted much attention owing to their chemical and enzymatic stability and potential antiviral activities. 5 A series of isomers of 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides which contain a modified carbohydrate moiety have been synthesized and some of these compounds exhibited significant and selective anti- HIV activity. 6,7 New regioisomers of AZT, AZU, BVDU and IDU have also been synthesized, s Recently, a number of nucleosides with the unnatural L-configuration have been reported as potent chemotherapeutic agents against HIV, HBV and certain forms of cancer. It is interesting that these L-nucleosides have potent biological activities, while some of them show lower toxicity profiles than their D-counterparts. 9 We have reported the synthesis of 4'-(R)-hydroxy-5'-(S)-hydroxymethyl- tetrahydrofuranyl purines and pyrimidines from D-xylose. 1° In this paper, we describe the synthesis of some derivatives of 4-deoxy-4-nucleobase-2,5-anhydro-L-mannitols from D-glucose. Many isonucleosides syntheses have been achieved by use of epoxide opening by an azide anion, with subsequent reduction furnishing an amino group which is used to build up a heterocyclic moiety. An alternative synthesis involves the substitution of a leaving group on the sugar ring by a heterocyclic nucleophile under basic conditions. In order to avoid lengthy synthetic routes, we synthesized isonucleosides by using an epoxide opening by a nucleobase itself in basic conditions. The desired epoxide can be obtained from a corresponding sugar. Our strategy for the synthesis of the epoxide required the leaving group and hydroxyl group in a trans relationship on the sugar moiety. The key intermediates 5 and 6 were synthesized from 1,2-O-isopropylidene-3,5-di-O-p-tolylsulfonyl-6-O- benzoyl-ot-D-glucofuranose 2 or 1,2-O-isopropylidene-3,5,6-tri-O-p-tolylsulfonyl-ot-D-glucofuranose 3, respectively, which in turn was prepared from D-glucose. 11 Results and discussion When 2 was treated with 2% TFA in methanol under reflux for 72 h, a mixture of ¢x- and (3-methyl- 3,5-di-O-p-tolylsulfonyl-6-O-benzoyl-D-glucofuranosides was obtained. We modified the procedure

The literature has proposed a positive relation and a negative relation between cash holdings and future stock returns. We empirically verify that the relation is robustly positive. We examine a battery of applicable channels from the literature and find the return predictability to be a surrogate for either the accruals and profitability effects or the net operating assets effect. We further find that the relation depends on limits to arbitrage and hence the mispricing channel seems to be more appropriate. After all, the relation does not present a new asset pricing regularity or anomaly.

This paper revisits the effectiveness of Chinese monetary policy from augments concerning rational expectations. To estimate the dynamics of expectations, we incorporate market regime switching into the estimation of the rational expectations element using a recursive solution method. When Chinese market-oriented reforms improves the access of agents to market information, we show that (i) agents using available information behave rationally in forming price expectations and (ii) monetary policies in the presence of rational expectations are neutral with respect to real asset price dynamics, even if the market is heavily regulated by the monetary authority.

We study the effect of government transition on firm performance and the board composition of government-linked companies (GLCs) and explore the motivation for board restructuring of GLCs. Specifically, we examine two questions: (1) what the motivation is for board restructuring, and (2) whether the change in board composition affects subsequent firm performance. The empirical results indicate that the policy factor is the key determinant in board re-election of GLCs. The motivation of board restructuring after a powershift is mainly for control purposes rather than performance enhancement, which may explain why the market reacts negatively in the beginning to board restructuring announcements in GLCs. Furthermore, board restructuring after a powershift does not enhance subsequent firm performance.

This paper investigates the effect of price limits on strategically informed trading and market performances. We show that a price limit will increase the costs of liquidity traders and volatility spillover by its ex ante effects on strategically informed trading. Our study differs from prior research by focusing on informed traders' strategies and information competitiveness. With long-lived information or less information competitiveness, the price limit rule encourages stealthily informed trading, distorts the price dynamics and increases the trading costs of small liquidity traders. Volatility subsequent to a limit-hit is also increased. By using the listed firms in the Taiwan Stock Exchange, we provide empirical evidences that informed traders switch to trade with small orders when they encounter a price limit and volatility spillover exists. Furthermore, this negative effect is more sever for those stocks with less information competitiveness. Our findings suggest that the ex ante effects of price limits on market performances may be contrary to what the stabilizing mechanism is intended to achieve, especially for those firms with less information competitiveness

We study the effect of the government transition on firm performance and board composition of government-linked companies (GLCs) and explore the motivations of board restructuring of GLCs. Specifically, we examine two questions: (1) what is the motivation of board restructuring, and (2) whether the change in the board composition affects the subsequent firm performance. The empirical results indicate that the policy factor is the key determinant in the board re-election of GLCs. The motivation of board restructuring after the powershift is mainly for control and spoils purposes rather than performance enhancement, which may explain why the market reacts negatively to the board restructuring announcement in GLCs. Finally, none of the board restructuring factors can explain the change in firm performance after the powershift, the only significant factor is the policy factor.

This paper examines the relationship between private benefits and the discount of private equity offerings. Measuring private benefits in terms of both control rights and cash flow rights for insiders and outsiders, we find that control right is the dominant factor in private placement discounts. Private benefits are the most important factor in pricing private equity offerings, explaining 17.7% of private placement discount, and 16% of which comes from control right, only 2% from ownership. Furthermore, insiders are willing to pay more for private offerings than outsiders especially in high ownership concentration (greater than 25%) case. Finally, we find that contrary to the literature in corporate governance, the level of control seems to mean more to insiders than the deviation between control right and ownership in private equity offerings.

Hotien county in Xinjiang province, China, is an area of severe iodine deficiency and has a high infantmortality rate. We investigated whether iodine replacement through iodination of the irrigation water would decrease infant mortality.We added potassium iodate to irrigation water over a 2 to 4 week period beginning in 1992 in certain areas of three townships (Tusala, Long Ru, and Bakechi). Logistic regression analysis was used to compare the odds ratios for infant and neonatal mortality in treated and intreated areas.The median urinary iodine concentration significantly increased in women of child-bearing age from10 micrograms/L to 55 micrograms/L. Infant-mortality rates decreased in the treated areas of Long Ru (mean [SD] 58.2 [4.4] per 1000 births to 28.7 [7.1] per 1000 births), Tusala (47.4 [12.4] per 1000 births to 19.1 [1.5] per 1000 births), and Bakechi (106.2 [9.5] per 1000 births to 57.3 [7.3] per 1000 births). Similar results were also seen for neonatal mortality. On regression analysis iodine treatment and time were significant independent predictors of infant mortality.Iodine supplementation of irrigation water in areas of severe iodine deficiency decreases neonatal and infant mortality. Iodine replacement has probably been an important factor in the national decrease in infant mortality in China.Hotien county in Xinjiang province is an area of severe iodine deficiency which also has a high infant mortality rate (IMR). The authors investigated whether iodine replacement through iodination of irrigation water would decrease the level of infant mortality. Potassium iodine was added to irrigation water over a 2-4 week period beginning in 1992 in certain areas of Long Ru, Tusala, and Bakechi. The median urinary iodine concentration significantly increased in women of child-bearing age from less than 10 mg/l to 55 mg/l, while IMR decreased in Long Ru from a mean of 58.2/1000 births to 28.7/1000, in Tusala from 47.4/1000 to 19.1/1000, and in Bakechi from 106.2/1000 to 57.3/1000. Similar results were also observed for neonatal mortality. Iodine treatment and time were significant independent predictors of infant mortality.

In this study, we are able to estimate the probability of informed trading on a transactional basis, which makes the hitherto difficult task of examining the transactional dynamics between informed trading, market depth and spread feasible. In addition, we have integrated the determinants of informed trading by a comprehensive analysis. We find that, as informed traders arrive, current volume and spread increase. This supports the clustering of trading hypothesis and provides empirical evidence to Admati and Pfleiderer (1988) viewpoint that both volatility and volume increase with informed trading. The VAR result suggests that uninformed traders avoid trading with the informed, and the decision of the uninformed depends on previous condition. The decision of the informed is based more on current situation and is attracted by price volatility. Overall, it is clear that the ultimate determinants of informed trading lies with the firm's financial quality and ownership structure. The condition of the market influences the timing of the informed trading, rather than the level of informed trading between firms.

The major difference between this study and the literature is in the estimation of the true IPO discount. We point out that initial return consists of two parts: the true discount of the offer price as well as the market reaction on the listing. By comparing the true discounts in traditional underwritten IPOs and the emerging direct public offerings(DPOs), we find that DPOs have both lower initial returns and lower discounts than IPOs, furthermore, DPOs have positive market reaction(overreaction) while IPOs have negative market reaction(underreaction) in the first month. The reason for the smaller discount of DPOs is not due to underwriting mechanism or firm characteristics, but that DPOs investors have less information asymmetry problem than their counterpart in IPOs. However, the DPO investors may be overconfident on their private information, which leads to market overreaction in the first month. Key words: DPO, IPO discount, initial return, overconfidence, information asymmetry

In this paper we estimate the probability of informed trading (Pi) in an order-driven stock market as well as perform a comprehensive analysis on the interrelations among probability of informed trading and three common performance indicators, i.e., liquidity, volatility and efficiency. We find that uninformed traders exhibit price chasing behavior even over very short time interval and that volatility in stock price attracts uninformed traders. Using 3SLS which takes into consideration the endogeneity of the probability of informed trading and the liquidity, volatility and efficiency measures, our empirical results provide new evidence on market microstructure literature. We find that Pi and the volatility and liquidity of stocks are simultaneously determined. Higher Pi leads to lower liquidity and higher volatility, and vice versa. Liquidity can explain volatility and efficiency, while the opposite is not true. Firms with larger size, higher ownership concentration and lower turnover have higher probability of informed trading.

This paper provides an explanation for the typical and often overlooked occurrence ofundersubscribed rights offerings. We argue that due to subscription costs it may be incorrect to presume that rights offerings will be fully subscribed simply because the subscription price is set below market. We present ordinary least squares estimates and Tobit estimates which support our subscription cost rationale.