Newspaper has become a part of any modern society. This is one of the most important consumer products of our daily life. Like all other consumer goods newspaper industry requires some special marketing efforts. The main focus of this article is to describe the various tools of marketing mix i. e. 4Ps of newspaper marketing. To do so the researchers have selected Prothom Alo, as it is the number one daily (in terms of circulation) of our country. The article has also attempted to point out the marketing problems of Prothom Alo. It is found that the management of Prothom Alo does not have proper concept of marketing; they don’t have any marketing manager; they don’t conduct regular marketing research; the distribution channel is very long and costly; the price is comparatively higher and so on. At the same time researchers have suggested that to solve those problems Prothom Alo should adopt modern marketing concepts in their decision making process, hire people with proper background, follow differentiated pricing, target different consumer segments to increase the market share, minimize the distribution cost, develop Prothom Alo as a brand and the like.

This study investigates whether real earnings management (RealEM) affects firms' debt choice. We find that firms with higher RealEM rely more on bank debt than public debt as a source of financing. Our cross-sectional analysis reveals that the RealEM-debt choice association is more significant in the presence of poor corporate governance and heightened financing constraints. We also observe that the connection between RealEM and bank debt is more significant for suspect firms (i.e., firms with a genuine motive for opportunistic earnings management) than their non-suspect counterparts. Additionally, we find that RealEM increases the use of trade credit and short-term debt. Our findings are robust to endogeneity concerns and other issues. Overall, our findings suggest that the impact of information asymmetry issues arising from RealEM is less for bank than for public debtholders.

Researchers have struggled to find rational risk factors that explain momentum profits derived from buying recent winners and shorting recent losers. Behavioral explanations have been offered that focus on the tendencies of investors to underreact to news and recommendations. Our study provides an alternative explanation centered on the behavior of sell-side analysts. We find a change in consensus recommendation from a hold to a buy is accompanied by an increase in momentum profits of 3.40% annually. Momentum profits fall, yet remain material, after the passage of Reg FD and the enactment of the Global Analyst Research Settlement. Our results support a behavioral explanation of investor cognitive biases fueled by analyst regency and optimism biases.

Intangibles provide competitive advantages and enhance productivity and efficiency. We investigate whether accumulated intangible assets mitigate the adverse impact of pandemic shocks on corporate performance. Using a sample of 8738 unique U.S. firms during the period 1985–2020, we find that a firm's pre-pandemic intangible assets mitigate the pandemic-induced negative stock price reaction and operating performance. We also show that the resilience to pandemic shocks is driven by both internally generated and externally acquired intangible assets. Finally, we explore related channels, and find that intangible assets-driven corporate resilience to pandemic shocks is explained by positive investor sentiment, customer loyalty, and managerial ability. Importantly, corporate resilience to pandemic shocks emanating from intangibles holds for non-Covid pandemic periods. Overall, our study documents the critical role of intangible assets in safeguarding firms and investors from epidemic- and pandemic-induced shocks.

A B S T R A C T Organization capital represents the stock of knowledge, capabilities, culture, and business processes, and systems that integrate human skills with physical capital to enhance organizational efficiency. We investigate whether and how a firm's payout choices are related to its level of organization capital. Using a large sample of U.S. firms during the period 1980-2017, we find that both the likelihood and the levels of cash dividend distribution and share repurchases are significantly higher for firms with more organization capital. Our findings hold up to a battery of robustness checks and endogeneity tests. We further explore related channels and find strong evidence that the positive association between organization capital and dividend payments (share repurchases) is largely attributable to agency problems (executive compensation incentives). We find weak evidence for the signaling argument for corporate payouts. Overall, we document that organization capital plays a central role in shaping corporate payout choices. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coupling additive manufacturing (AM) with interlayer peening introduces bulk anisotropic properties within a build across several centimeters. Current methods to map high resolution anisotropy and heterogeneity are either destructive or have a limited penetration depth using a non-destructive method. An alternative pseudonondestructive method to map high resolution anisotropy and heterogeneity is through energy consumption during milling. Previous research has shown energy consumption during milling correlates with surface integrity. Since surface milling of additively manufactured parts is often required for post-processing to improve dimensional accuracy, an opportunity is available to use surface milling as an alternative method to measure mechanical properties and build quality. The variation of energy consumption during the machining of additive parts, as well as hybrid AM parts, is poorly understood. In this study, the use of net cutting specific energy was proposed as a suitable metric for measuring mechanical properties after interlayer ultrasonic peening of 316 stainless steel. Energy consumption was mapped throughout half of a cuboidal build volume. Results indicated the variation of net cutting specific energy increased further away from the surface and was higher for hybrid AM compared to as-printed and wrought. The average lateral and layer variation of the net cutting specific energy for printed samples was 81% higher than the control, which indicated a significantly higher degree of heterogeneity. Further, it was found that energy consumption was an effective process signature exhibiting strong correlations with microhardness. Anisotropy based on residual strains were measured using net cutting specific energy and validated by hole drilling. The proposed technique contributes to filling part of the measure gap in hybrid additive manufacturing and capitalizes on the pre-existing need for machining of AM parts to achieve both goals of surface finish and quality assessment in one milling operation.

This study examines whether the celebrity or star status of a chief executive officer (CEO) affects the informativeness of his insider trades. Using three different measures to identify star CEOs in a sample of S&P 1500 firms, we find that trades of non-star CEOs predict future abnormal returns and earnings innovations and that trades of star CEOs do not. The predictive power of non-star CEO trades is mostly attributable to opportunistic trades, not routine trades. We also find evidence suggesting that the abnormal returns associated with non-star CEO insider trades are due to the lower visibility and consequently less scrutiny of non-star CEOs compared with star CEOs.

The authors examine investors’ limited attention to surprising earnings news among economically linked firms. They do not find evidence of investors’ attention constraints on supplier firms after the announcement of customer firms’ surprising earnings news. Abnormal returns of supplier firms at the announcement of customer firms’ negative (positive) standardized unexpected earnings (SUE) are negative (positive) and significant, and cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) from day 1 to day 10 become insignificant. They also document that information uncertainty delays the diffusion of information between economically linked firms. Thus, the notion of limited attention is not a universal phenomenon, but it is subject to the nature of both the news and the parties involved. TOPICS:Fundamental equity analysis, portfolio theory

This study examines whether the celebrity or star status of a CEO affects the informativeness of his trades. Using a sample of CEOs of S&P 1500 firms over the period of 2004–2011 and three different measures to identify star CEOs, we find that trades of non-star CEOs are better predictors of future abnormal returns and earnings than trades of star CEOs. This superior predictive power of non-star CEO trades is mostly attributable to opportunistic trades in contrast to routine trades. These findings support the argument that trades of non-star insiders are more informative than those of star insiders. The findings remain strong after various robustness checks. JEL classification: G14; G23; G29

We find that in contrast to the stock market, which performs better during Democratic presidencies, “sin” stocks — publicly traded producers of tobacco, alcohol, and gaming — perform better during Republican presidencies and even more so when the Republican presidency is accompanied by a Republican majority in at least one chamber of Congress. We examine whether sin firms use contributions to establish connections with politicians and find that sin firms contribute more to Republican candidates and that these contributions are greater when Republicans are in power. We also find a positive relation between political contributions and future returns. The relation is stronger for contributions to Republicans.

Purpose – Prior research has documented the role of information uncertainty in the cross-sectional variation in stock returns. Miller (1977) hypothesizes that if information uncertainty is caused by differences of opinion, prices will reflect only the positive beliefs due to short-sale constraints. These anomalous stock price behaviors may result from mispricing. In contrast, Merton (1974) asserts that default risk is a function of the uncertainty in the asset value process. Information uncertainty may be subsumed by credit or default risk. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors employ various sorting techniques and Fama-MacBeth Regressions to test the hypotheses. Findings – The authors provide empirical evidence consistent with Merton’s (1974) default risk hypothesis and inconsistent with Miller’s (1977) mispricing hypothesis. Research limitations/implications – Risk aversion and not misplacing is the primary factor driving information-related anomalies in equities markets. Practical implications – It would be quite difficult to find arbitrage opportunities in equities markets because there appears to be little, if any, mis-pricing due to information uncertainties. Originality/value – This study provides important information about the primary underlying information-related source of certain empirical anomalies in the cross-section of stock returns.

This study was conducted to analyze the short and long run price performance of IPOs in Bangladesh. Based on a sample of 163 IPOs that were issued during the period between 1992 and 2006, this study documents short run out-performance and long run underperformance of IPOs in the secondary market. The short run out-performance of IPOs peaks in the first month of trading in the secondary market. In the long run IPOs under perform the industry and the market in general. But the underperformance to industry is much severe than underperformance to market. Further analyses reveal that the long run underperformance is much higher for IPOs issued in few years, particularly the hot issue periods. IPOs belonging to Leather, Engineering, Paper, Ceramic and Food industries underperform their respective industry and the market severely in the long run. On the other hand, IPOs belonging to Banking and Non-bank Financial Institutions industries outperformed the industry and the market significantly.

This paper examines whether sell-side security analysts follow momentum or create momentum by themselves for recommending stocks. We employ an indirect method of testing the role of analysts by assigning projected recommendation scores for the neglected stocks to mitigate the so-called piggy-backing effect. Our results are not fully consistent with the notion that analysts follow past momentum to predict future stock recommendations. Using a data set of neglected stocks and creating projected recommendations of these stocks, we find evidence that analysts drive up the stocks’ momentum characteristics before recommending them. This finding suggests the fact that analysts not only follow momentum, rather they create momentum, at least to a great extent.

While the world is fighting poverty and hunger, the new concept of Microfinance has emerged in the last couple of decades to provide loans to marginal and underprivileged people. Outreach and sustainability have become prominent indicators for success for microfinance institutions. Outreach pertains to the range of services; sustainability to a program's long-term existence., looking at the same time to the quantity and quality of services. This study deployed Sustainability Dependency Index (SDI), Sustainability Dependency Ratio (SDR) and Efficiency and Subsidy Intensity Index (ESII) techniques to measure the situation of (the Bangladesh Unemployed Rehabilitation Organization), a prominent microfinance institution of Bangladesh. From the analysis, BURO is found to have progressed towards achieving outreach and sustainability from 2001 to 2005, but then to have seen this trend deteriorate in 2006 and 2007. The study leads to a recommendation that microfinance institutions should concentrate on enhancing financial efficiency and reducing reliance on subsidies. Because the desire for micro credit is increasing day by day, microfinance institutions still have lots of opportunity to put more emphasis on outreach and sustainability factors. This study of BURO shows much that is relevant to the overall microfinance market in Bangladesh. Key Words: Outreach; Sustainability; Microfinance Institutions; Micro Credit; Savings Mobilization; Bangladesh; Bangladesh Unemployed Rehabilitation Organization (BURO); economic development. 1. Introduction There is a growing tendency among development economists and planners to think that microfinance programs have the potential for equitable and sustainable development with an ultimate goal of eradicating poverty. This received momentum from the award of the Noble Peace Prize to Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank. Bangladesh has acquired a rich experience of poverty alleviation through a rapid expansion of microfinance in the past one and half decades. Microfinance programs have a positive effect from different socioeconomic perspectives. They have for decades provided low-income households with considerable economic and non-economic externalities in developing countries. The outreach and sustainability of microfinance programs are highly important to ensuring that these services are available to large numbers of people and to ensuring the programs' longrun contribution. Knowledge about outreach and sustainability is, however, partial and contested. Although there have been a few works on the outreach and sustainability of reputed top-class microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh such as Grameen bank, ASA, etc., no focus has yet been placed on the new generation of microfinance institutions. In this study, the outreach and sustainability of BURO (the Bangladesh Unemployed Rehabilitation Organization), one of the new generation of MFIs in Bangladesh, is analyzed. Attempts are made here to find the ways by which BURO is operating its business and to what extent it is working toward the achievement of sustainable development. 2. Objectives of the Study The primary objective of this study is to analyze the outreach and sustainability of BURO. This leads to objectives of greater generality: (i) To discuss assessment of outreach and sustainability of microfinance institutions. (ii) To identify the factors affecting the outreach and sustainability of microfinance institutions. (iii) To make a comparative study, based on economic analysis, of the standard indicators of financial sustainability and the existing indicators for BURO. (iv) To find out the problems, if any, that MFIs have in attaining outreach and sustainability; and to suggest remedies for the problems encountered. 3. Research Methodology This paper is mainly based on secondary data received from BURO produced through its financial management and management information systems. …

Newspaper has become a part of any modern society. This is one of the most important consumer products of our daily life. Like all other consumer goods newspaper industry requires some special marketing efforts. The main focus of this article is to describe the various tools of marketing mix i. e. 4Ps of newspaper marketing. To do so the researchers have selected Prothom Alo, as it is the number one daily (in terms of circulation) of our country. The article has also attempted to point out the marketing problems of Prothom Alo. It is found that the management of Prothom Alo does not have proper concept of marketing; they don't have any marketing manager; they don't conduct regular marketing research; the distribution channel is very long and costly; the price is comparatively higher and so on. At the same time researchers have suggested that to solve those problems Prothom Alo should adopt modern marketing concepts in their decision making process, hire people with proper background, follow differentiated pricing, target different consumer segments to increase the market share, minimize the distribution cost, develop Prothom Alo as a brand and the like.