The Informativeness of Quarterly Financial Reporting: The Portuguese Case

With the Directive 2004/109/EC, of December 15, 2004 – Transparency Directive –, the European Union decided not to require listed companies to disclose financial information in the first and third quarters of each year. Each EU country now has to decide whether to oblige its companies to disclose this information. Using a sample of 1751 firm-earnings announcements between 1994 and 2004, this paper ascertains the informativeness of quarterly financial reporting in Portugal, one of the seven European countries where the disclosure of such information is currently compulsory in all quarters. Evidence suggests that the information of the first and third quarters, both in terms of price volatility and trading volume, is significant and not inferior to that of the remaining earnings announcements.Capital markets-based research; interim accounting disclosure; market reaction; market regulation

A design framework for enabling sustainability in the clothing sector

This article discusses general strategies to enable environmental sustainability within the clothing sector, providing a framework for decision makers involved in the development of programs and policies for this sector. It initially revises the environmental impact of the clothing system and determines its key environmental sustainability priorities. The framework involves five evolutionary strategies for enabling sustainable consumption and production: 1) environmental improvement of flows throughout the supply chain; 2) environmental redesign of existing clothes; 3) design of new clothes intrinsically more sustainable; 4) design of cloth-service systems and 5) promoting life styles towards sufficient consumption. The practical implications of each strategy is analysed based on correspondent ex-post-facto case studies identified in Brazil, using data collected through literature review and desktop research