Lawn Establishment

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Speculative Behavior of Institutional Investors

A survey compared speculative behavior in two groups of institutional investors. The "experimental" group held stocks that had shown extraordinary price increases over the preceding year that also had high price earnings ratios. The control group held randomly selected stocks. In Shiller and Pound [1986] we argued that the survey results gave some support to some diffusion or epidemic models for interest in the stocks in the experimental group. Here, we show that the two groups are similar in describing their investment strategy as relating to a theory about fundamental value rather than about the kind of stocks that are becoming attractive to investors. However, the experimental group is less likely to make explicit comparisons of price with measures of fundamental value, and differs from the control group in their attitudes toward timing, price changes, and short-term earnings disappointment. Overall, these results appear consistent with the notion that price changes unrelated to fundamentals may be caused by contagious enthusiasm about fundamentals amongst institutional investors. The holding patterns of those experimental group investors who said that they were unsystematic in their stock choice are studied. These investors tended to show gradually increasing holdings over the period of stock price increase. Reasons respondents gave for the gradual increase are discussed.

THE SEDIMENTARY EVOLUTION OF THE 'EXMOOR BASIN' DURING THE LATE EMSIAN - EARLY EIFELIAN: THE LYNTON FORMATION

An integrated investigation of the sedimentological, ichnological and syn-sedimentary tectonic aspect of the late Emsian to early Eifelian Lynton Formation (Lynton Beds of previous studies) has revealed a varied mudstone-dominated shallow marine succession which accumulated in a rapidly subsiding rifted basin. The 'Exmoor Basin' developed in response to a Devonian phase of transtension associated with dextral shear along a fundamental east-west lineament to the north (the Bristol Channel Fault Zone). The Lynmouth - East Lyn Fault (a splay off the BCFZ?) was active throughout the deposition of the Lynton Formation and strongly influenced the depositional styles developed along its length. A re-evaluation of the p/subsidence curve for the 'Exmoor Basin' using the latest biostratigraphic and lithological thickness data indicates a pattern consistent with a strike-slip basin; Carboniferous thermal phase p/subsidence values suggest only 10% crustal thinning compared to values c. 50 % claimed be previous authors (Dewey 1982, Sanderson 1984). The base of the exposed Lynton Formation is characterised by extensive intraformational slide deposits and the presence of phosphatic material which represents a highstand deposit that correlates with the eustatic transgressive T-R event Ic of Johnson et al. (1985). Following a period of gradual reduction in accomodation space the sequence was punctuated by a massive influx of sand and granule grade material deposited at the base of the Lynmouth - East Lyn Fault scarp. This material was swept together into a series of offshore sand ridges and a shoreface deposit adjacent to the fault scarp. A new process-response model has been developed to describe the offshore sand ridges that were moulded by a combination of semi-permanent trade wind induced geostrophic flow, oscillatory currents and (possibly) weak tides. The central part of the Lynton Formation records a gradual upwards increase in relative accomodation space and decrease in the influence of semi-permanent currents; dysaerobic substrates became widespread and a localised anoxic mud developed offshore. The transition into the overlying Hangman Sandstone Group was marked by the southward progradation of a sandy shoreline in the face of a period of world-wide eustatic sea-level rise. The older, more northerly shoreline was dominated by longshore currents whilst the younger shoreline preserved a mixed (lower energy) storm- and wave-dominated sequence. The rate of shoreline progradation was relatively slow and the Lynton Formation - Hangman Sandstone Group boundary is markedly diachronous; the thickness of the exposed Lynton Formation varies from 200m adjacent to the Lynmouth - East Lyn Fault, where previously unrecognised outliers of the Hangman Sandstone Group occur, to 250m some 5km down-palaeoslope. Although the ichnofauna was locally diverse, with 27 distinct ichnotaxa recognised within the Lynton Formation, the succession was dominated by a gradation between straight Palaeophycus tubulraris burrows and branching Chondrites systems reflecting the response of an organism tolerant to dysaerobic conditions. The study demonstrates the value of integrating sedimentological, ichnological and structural techniques when studying Devonian marine shelf successions which accumulated m a tectonically unstable setting

Climate change, agriculture and Fairtrade: identifying the challenges and opportunities

This paper presents the findings of a study commissioned by the UK's Fairtrade Foundation on the implications of climate change for agricultural producers in Fairtrade value chains

John Adams: "hostile to the republicanism of the United States: the development of his political thought from 1765

A study of the development of John Adams's thought, from the Stamp Act of 1765 through thirty-five years of public service and a further twenty of reflective retirement. It draws principally upon his published works, Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, the Novanglus Letters, Defence of the Constitutions, Discourses on Davila; and on his Diary, Autobiography and prolific correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Rush, and others. This examination of his political thought addresses his initial motives for opposition to the British Government and the way in which this position evolved into a more systematic theory of government. The principal focus for this Thesis lies in the examination of the cause and course of the evolution of this theory over the succeeding years, in relation to what might be termed the "mainstream" of republican thought. As such it comprises a discussion of the various and conflicting ideological sources and interpretations of the Revolution and of "republicanism" as an aspiration, an idealistic model and a practical form of government. Changes in Adams's thought were determined by events, and his ideas are discussed in relation to the context of the early Republic, the growth of parties and domestic and foreign problems, particularly relations with France and Great Britain after the Revolution, and the cultural legacy of the latter and growing radical influence of the former after 1789. All this contributed to his concluding appraisal of the American people, and the state and future of the American Republic. Consequently, it is with reference to these conclusions that the central contention will be addressed: his support for and understanding of the republican experiment. His place in the development of American thought, the validity of his analysis and a defence of his patriotism, undiminished by his honest, if impolitic frame of thought, is argued

Survey Evidence on Diffusion of Interest Among Institutional Investors

Contagion or epidemic models of financial markets are proposed in which interest in or attention to individual stocks is spread by word of mouth. The models give alternative interpretations of the random walk character of stock prices. A questionnaire survey of institutional investors was undertaken to ascertain the relevance of such models. Questions elicited what fraction of these investors were unsystematic and allowed themselves to be influenced by word-of-mouth communications or other salient stimuli. Rough indications of the infection rate and removal rate were produced. Investors in stocks whose price had recently increased dramatically to a high P/E ratio were contrasted with a control group of investors

How the Proxy Rules Discourage Constructive Engagement: Regulatory Barriers to Electing a Minority of Directors

During the 1980s, both sides of the hostile takeover controversy viewed proxy contests in terms that bordered on the mythical. Those made uneasy by the takeover phenomenon, especially management, held out proxy contests as an alternative, almost utopian mechanism through which a civilized debate about corporate strategy and structure could be held. As the Delaware Supreme Court put it, [if the stockholders are displeased with the actions of their elected representatives [in blocking a hostile takeover], the powers of corporate democracy are at their disposal to turn the board out.” In contrast, those who believed that takeovers were necessary to displace inefficient management or otherwise change corporate policy dismissed the proxy contest as entirely ineffective. They argued that the costs of collective action arising from dispersed share ownership reduced to allegory the prospect that the proxy process could provide a viable means to correct management failure. With the benefit of a little hindsight, both views have turned out to be wrong. Takeover proponents\u27 dismissal of the proxy process ignored the dramatic growth in the holdings of institutional investors, and the resulting reduction in the costs associated with collective voting action. Moreover, takeover proponents\u27 dismissal of the proxy process seemed to stem from a preference (in the case of financial economists, often a purely intellectual preference) for market-based, price-driven mechanisms over ones that created a meaningful, substantive debate over corporate policy. Indeed, financial scholars often appeared to view the institutional complexity and substantive, process-driven dynamics associated with proxy contests with unease. The inefficiency of proxy contests was often assumed rather than treated as a hypothesis subject to empirical test

President Lincoln Engraving

The engraving features a black and white standing portrait of Abraham Lincoln. It is printed on off-white paper. Ref: O-17.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/1205/thumbnail.jp

President Lincoln Engraving

The engraving features a black and white standing portrait of Abraham Lincoln. It is printed on off-white paper. Ref: O-17.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-prints/1127/thumbnail.jp