Shariah Compliance Status and Value of Analysts’ Recommendation Revisions: Evidence from Malaysia

This study examines the effect of 1096 analyst recommendation revisions on prices of Shariah-compliant and Shariah non-compliant listed securities in Bursa Malaysia over the period 2005-2016. The study finds that while stocks added-to-buy had positive abnormal returns, the stocks added-to-sell and remove-from-buy had negative abnormal returns in short- and long-term horizons. This finding shows that analysts’ recommendation revisions carry valuable information. Secondly, the study examined the effect of analysts’ recommendation revisions issued contemporaneously with earnings announcements and without earnings announcements on price reactions over various time horizons. The results show that earnings announcements can trigger analysts’ recommendation revisions because the investors react strongly to analysts’ recommendation revisions issued contemporaneously with earnings announcements. We find that performance differences of Shariah-compliant and Shariah non-compliant stocks in response to analysts’ recommendation revisions are often negligible. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence that analysts’ recommendation revisions for Shariah-compliant companies often do not own any additional investment value than those for Shariah non-compliant stocks

Are religious investors financially smart? evidence from equity funds

Using a dataset of 91 Islamic and 78 conventional funds from 2007 to 2016, this study analyzes the flow-return relation of Islamic and conventional funds in Malaysia. We find that the fund flow-return relation for Islamic funds is positive and stronger than that of conventional funds for positive performers. Moreover, Islamic funds still attract fund flows, while conventional funds experience capital outflow during a negative performance. Besides, this study is unique by its attempt to capture the effect of the month of Ramadan on the flow-performance relation of Islamic and conventional funds in Malaysia. Fund outflows of conventional funds increase during the month of Ramadan, though it does not affect the direction of money-flows either in or out of an Islamic fund. These findings reflect the limited choice availability and significance of religion for Muslim investors. Furthermore, to have an in-depth understanding of the smart-money effect, this study also examines the impact of relative performance on money-flows. Interestingly, the findings show that not only the top and bottom performers of Islamic funds attract larger money inflows and but also suffer larger money outflows than their conventional counterparts. Overall, this paper provides strong evidence that investors consider Islamic and conventional financial assets as different asset classes, and given religious restrictions, investors of Islamic funds act financially smarter than those of conventional funds

POTENTIAL HAZARDS DUE TO FOOD ADDITIVES IN ORAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS

Food additives used to preserve flavor or to enhance the taste and appearance of foods are also available in oral hygiene products. The aim of this review is to provide information concerning food additives in oral hygiene products and their adverse effects. A great many of food additives in oral hygiene products are potential allergens and they may lead to allergic reactions such as urticaria, contact dermatitis, rhinitis, and angioedema. Dental practitioners, as well as health care providers, must be aware of the possibility of allergic reactions due to food additives in oral hygiene products. Proper dosage levels, delivery vehicles, frequency, potential benefits, and adverse effects of oral health products should be explained completely to the patients. There is a necessity to raise the awareness among dental professionals on this subject and to develop a data gathering system for possible adverse reactions