Coulomb blockade in two island systems with highly conductive junctions

We report measurements on single-electron pumps, consisting of two metallic islands formed by three tunnel junctions in series. We focus on the linear-response conductance as a function of gate voltage and temperature of three samples with varying system parameters. In all cases, strong quantum fluctuation phenomena are observed by a log(k_B T/(2 E_co)) reduction of the maximal conductance, where E_co measures the coupling strength between the islands. The samples display a rich phenomenology, culminating in a non-monotonic behavior of the maximal conductance as a function of temperature

Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds? Wealth Effects and the Choice between Major and Minor Corporate Name Changes

This study is the first to investigate the causes and effects of corporate name changes in Continental Europe using a sample of German firms in the period 1997-2009. We report a positive and significant stock market reaction to announcements of corporate name changes considerably different for major and minor name changes. Regression results show that prior firm performance positively affects the observed stock returns. Short-term effects turn out to be transitory as firms significantly underperform the German CDAX in the year after the name change was announced. As the first study, we examine the impact of performance and corporate governance on the probability of corporate name changes and show that managers react to poor firm performance by implementing more expensive major name changes. This can be interpreted as an attempt to cloud poor past performance of both the firm and the management. Accordingly, we document a positive relation between management influence, available cash, and the probability of major name changes

Ankündigungseffekte der Emission von High-Yield Bonds in Europa

Announcement Effects of High-Yield Bond Issues in EuropeThis article examines for the still young European corporate high-yield bond market in what way bond-issue announcements affect the issuing companies' share prices and which determinants can explain the share price responses observed. On the basis of all events identifiable for the period 1998–2006, this study suggests the existence of a significant, negative cumulated abnormal return of -1.14% on the three days around the date the issue was announced. This study, like the US studies hitherto made (Huffman/Ward (1996) inter alia), is not able to identify determinants of abnormal return levels