The Valuation Effects of Corporate Investment Decisions: Evidence From Domestic and Foreign Plant Announcements

This study examines the effects of corporate investment decisions--announcements of plants--on the value of the firm, using event-study methodology. This paper consists of two parts. Essay I discusses the valuation effects of domestic investments, while Essay II analyses the valuation effects of foreign investments undertaken by U.S. firms and compares the valuation effects between the two investments. Specifically, this study examines the validity of the overinvestment hypothesis and whether focus-increasing investments enhance the value of the firm. First, the evidence shows that the valuation effects of the investment decision depend on the firm\u27s investment opportunities, proxied by Tobin\u27s q. That is, the domestic and foreign plant announcements of value-maximizing finns (i.e., q \u3e1) earn significant positive abnormal returns, while those of overinvesting firms (i.e., q \u3c 1) realize significant negative abnormal returns. Also, for value-maximizing firms, the abnormal returns are positively but insignificantly related to the level of cash flows, while, for overinvesting firms, the abnormal returns are negatively related to the level of cash flows. These results suggest that managers of overinvesting firms are more likely to waste cash flows in sub-optimal or negative net present value projects than managers of value-maximizing firms. The evidence is consistent with the predictions of the overinvestment hypothesis (Jensen (1986), Lang and Liztenberger (1989), Doukas (1995)). Second, for both domestic and foreign investments, focus-increasing investments are found to gain positive abnormal returns, whereas diversifying domestic and foreign investments experience significant negative abnormal returns. Further, post-investment performance tests show that firms with focus-increasing investments tend to improve their profitability, while firms with diversifying investments do not. This evidence appear to support the view (Lang and Stulz (1994)) that increases in corporate focus are consistent with shareholder wealth maximization. Overall, the results suggest that the valuation effects of corporate investment decisions depend on the firm\u27s investment opportunities and the type of investment decisions pursued by the managers

A non-perturbative field theory approach for the Kondo effect: Emergence of an extra dimension and its implication for the holographic duality conjecture

Implementing Wilsonian renormalization group transformations in an iterative way, we develop a non-perturbative field theoretical framework, which takes into account all-loop quantum corrections organized in the $1/N$ expansion, where $N$ represents the flavor number of quantum fields. The resulting classical field theory is given by an effective Landau-Ginzburg theory for a local order parameter field, which appears in one-dimensional higher spacetime. We claim that such all-loop quantum corrections are introduced into an equation of motion for the order parameter field through the evolution in the emergent extra dimension. Based on this non-perturbative theoretical framework, we solve the Kondo effect, where the quantum mechanics problem in the projective formulation is mapped into a Landau-Ginzburg field theory for the hybridization order parameter field with an emergent extra dimension. We confirm the non-perturbative nature of this field theoretical framework. Intriguingly, we show that the Wilsonian renormalization group method can explain non-perturbative thermodynamic properties of an impurity consistent with the Bethe ansatz solutions. Finally, we speculate how our non-perturbative field theoretical framework can be connected with the AdS$_{d+2}$/CFT$_{d+1}$ duality conjecture.Comment: Completely rewritte

Current-driven motion of magnetic topological defects in ferromagnetic superconductors

Recent years have seen a number of instances where magnetism and superconductivity intrinsically coexist. Our focus is on the case where spin-triplet superconductivity arises out of ferromagnetism, and we make a hydrodynamic analysis of the effect of a charge supercurrent on magnetic topological defects like domain walls and merons. We find that the emergent electromagnetic field that arises out of the superconducting order parameter provides a description for not only the physical quantities such as the local energy flux density and the interaction between current and defects but also the energy dissipation through magnetic dynamics of the Gilbert damping, which becomes more prominent compared to the normal state as superconductivity attenuates the energy dissipation through the charge sector. In particular, we reveal that the current-induced dynamics of domain walls and merons in the presence of the Gilbert damping give rise to the nonsingular $4\pi$ and $2\pi$ phase slips, respectively, revealing the intertwined dynamics of spin and charge degrees of freedom in ferromagnetic superconductors.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Cooper-Pair Spin Current in a Strontium Ruthenate Heterostructure

It has been recognized that the condensation of spin-triplet Cooper pairs requires not only the broken gauge symmetry but also the spin ordering as well. One consequence of this is the possibility of the Cooper-pair spin current analogous to the magnon spin current in magnetic insulators, the analogy also extending to the existence of the Gilbert damping of the collective spin-triplet dynamics. The recently fabricated heterostructure of the thin film of the itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO3 on the bulk Sr2RuO4, the best-known candidate material for the spin-triplet superconductor, offers a promising platform for generating such spin current. We will show how such heterostructure allows us to not only realize the long-range spin valve but also electrically drive the collective spin mode of the spin-triplet order parameter. Our proposal represents both a new realization of the spin superfluidity and a transport signature of the spin-triplet superconductivity.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Magnon topology and thermal Hall effect in trimerized triangular lattice antiferromagnet

The non-trivial magnon band topology and its consequent responses have been extensively studied in two-dimensional magnetisms. However, the triangular lattice antiferromagnet (TLAF), the best-known frustrated two-dimensional magnet, has received less attention than the closely related Kagome system, because of the spin-chirality cancellation in the umbrella ground state of the undistorted TLAF. In this work, we study the band topology and the thermal Hall effect (THE) of the TLAF with (anti-)trimerization distortion under the external perpendicular magnetic field using the linearized spin wave theory. We show that the spin-chirality cancellation is removed in such case, giving rise to the non-trivial magnon band topology and the finite THE. Moreover, the magnon bands exhibit band topology transitions tuned by the magnetic field. We demonstrate that such transitions are accompanied by the logarithmic divergence of the first derivative of the thermal Hall conductivity. Finally, we examine the above consequences by calculating the THE in the hexagonal manganite YMnO$_3$, well known to have anti-trimerization.Comment: 6 + 7 pages, 3 + 5 figures, 0 + 1 table; Journal reference adde

Detail Engineering Completion Rating Index System (DECRIS) for Optimal Initiation of Construction Works to Improve Contractors' Schedule-Cost Performance for Offshore Oil and Gas EPC Projects

Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors with lump-sum turnkey contracts have recently been suffering massive profit losses due to re-works and schedule delays in offshore oil and gas EPC megaprojects. The main objective of this research is to develop and implement a detail engineering completion rating index system (DECRIS) to assist EPC contractors to optimize fabrication and construction works schedules while minimizing potential re-work/re-order. This is achieved through adequate detail design development and results in minimizing schedule delays and potential liquidated damages (i.e., delay penalties). The developed DECRIS was based on findings from an extensive review of existing literature, industry-led studies, expert surveys, and expert workshops. The DECRIS model is an evolution, and improvement of existing tools such as the project definition raking index (PDRI) and front-end loading (FEL) developed specifically for the early stage of engineering maturity assessment (i.e., planning, basic design, and front-end engineering design (FEED)), prior to EPC projects. The DECRIS was evaluated and validated with thirteen sample as-built offshore megaprojects completed recently. When the DECRIS was applied to the completed projects post-hoc, a correlation (R-squared 0.71) was found between DECRIS scores and schedule/cost performances. This is much superior to the PDRI-Industrial model's correlation (R-squared 0.04), which was primarily devised for owners' basic engineering or FEED completion assessment. Finally, as a means of further validation, project schedule and cost performance of an ongoing project was predicted based on the correlations found on the thirteen completed projects. The resultant predicted schedule and cost performance was well matched with the current project performance status. Based on the accuracy of the DECRIS model found in the validation, said model is an effective prospective tool for EPC contractors to manage their engineering and procurement/construction risks during the initial detail design stages.11sciessciscopu