This paper examines empirically the effects of domicile and SEC registration and reporting requirements on information asymmetry. We compare the adverse-selection component of the relative bid–ask spread (our measure of information asymmetry) for three samples of Nasdaq NMS companies that trade in different home markets and are subject to different standards of disclosure: registered U.S. companies, registered non-Canadian foreign companies, and unregistered non-Canadian foreign companies covered by the information-supplying exemption of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. We find that the adverse-selection component is not significantly larger for the two foreign samples, and it is not reliably different for the registered and unregistered foreign samples. Therefore, we are unable to document that less stringent SEC registration and reporting requirements for foreign companies are associated with greater information asymmetry among investors for non-U.S. securities traded on Nasdaq.

ABSTRACT Linear and nonlinear Granger causality tests are used to examine the dynamic relation between daily Dow Jones stock returns and percentage changes in New York Stock Exchange trading volume. We find evidence of significant bidirectional nonlinear causality between returns and volume. We also examine whether the nonlinear causality from volume to returns can be explained by volume serving as a proxy for information flow in the stochastic process generating stock return variance as suggested by Clark's (1973) latent common‐factor model. After controlling for volatility persistence in returns, we continue to find evidence of nonlinear causality from volume to returns.

Linear and nonlinear Granger causality tests are used to examine the dynamic relation between daily Dow Jones stock returns and percentage changes in New York Stock Exchange trading volume. The authors find evidence of significant bidirectional nonlinear causality between returns and volume. They also examine whether the nonlinear causality from volume to returns can be explained by volume serving as a proxy for information flow in the stochastic process generating stock return variance as suggested by P. Clark's (1973) latent common-factor model. After controlling for volatility persistence in returns, the authors continue to find evidence of nonlinear causality from volume to returns.

Using data on 560 firm-commitment initial public offerings of common stock for the 1982–1983 period, we find that the cross-sectional distribution of one-day returns is modeled better as a mixture of two distributions, with the parameter estimates of one distribution being consistent with underpricing and the other with price stabilization. Further, the evidence that early IPO returns are drawn from a mixture distribution persists for at least four weeks. The implications of these results for the analysis of IPO returns are illustrated by examining the influence of a measure of ex ante price uncertainty on IPO pricing.

We examine the relationship between leverage (the assets-to-equity ratio) and the weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) for an unbalanced panel of U.S. bank holding companies (BHCs) over the period spanning 1996 through 2019. We assess the extent to which changes in capital requirements affect the WACCs of these institutions and find significant differences across three, mutually exclusive asset-size classes of BHCs. In particular, the WACCs of small and medium-sized BHCs are found to be more sensitive to changes in capital requirements than the WACCs of large BHCs. For a hypothetical doubling of Tier-1 capital, we find that the largest BHCs saw their WACCs increase by 42 basis points, while the WACCS of small and medium-sized BHCs are estimated to have increased by 62 and 76 basis points, respectively. We attribute differences between these results to differences in the strength and scope of government guarantees and in the composition of BHCs’ assets and liabilities as reported on their balance sheets.

Using data on 560 firm‐commitment initial public offerings of common stock for the 1982–1983 period, we find that the cross‐sectional distribution of one‐day returns is modeled better as a mixture of two distributions, with the parameter estimates of one distribution being consistent with underpricing and the other with price stabilization. Further, the evidence that early IPO returns are drawn from a mixture distribution persists for at least four weeks. The implications of these results for the analysis of IPO returns are illustrated by examining the influence of a measure of ex ante price uncertainty on IPO pricing.