A Study Of The Impact Of Filing Of IPO Class-Action Lawsuits On Stockholder Wealth

Companies undertaking initial public offering, in order to heighten public interest, sometimes disclose overly optimistic details and/or fail to disclose adverse information, in violation of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Rule 10(b)-5. This study examines the stock market reaction to the 71 Initial Public Offerings (IPO)-related lawsuits, filed in the period 1991-98.  We find that the filing of these lawsuits is associated with a significant loss of shareholder wealth.  This study also reveals that firms that misrepresent their future prospects and fail to disclose bad news experience the most significant decline in equity valu

A Study Of The Role Indian Accountants In Managerial Decision Making

This paper studies the extent of participation of accountants in the managerial decision making process in India.  In general, accountants had the most influence over decisions relating to management information systems (MIS), financing, production, resource allocation, new product introduction and discontinuance of old products. They had the least influence over decisions relating to marketing and personnel.  For some of the decision variables studied, professional experience and size of firm were significant factors affecting responses.  Factor and cluster analyses identified two distinct factors/clusters: a participation factor/cluster consisting of eight of the nine participatory variables studied, and a MIS-budgeting factor/cluster consisting of usefulness of the budget, involvement in MIS decisions, and the level of top management support

Dietary antioxidant curcumin inhibits microtubule assembly through tubulin binding

Curcumin, a component of turmeric, has potent antitumor activity against several tumor types. However, its molecular target and mechanism of antiproliferative activity are not clear. Here, we identified curcumin as a novel antimicrotubule agent. We have examined the effects of curcumin on cellular microtubules and on reconstituted microtubules in vitro. Curcumin inhibited HeLa and MCF-7 cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50 of 13.8±0.7μm and 12±0.6μm, respectively. At higher inhibitory concentrations (>10μm), curcumin induced significant depolymerization of interphase microtubules and mitotic spindle microtubules of HeLa and MCF-7 cells. However, at low inhibitory concentrations there were minimal effects on cellular microtubules. It disrupted microtubule assembly in vitro, reduced GTPase activity, and induced tubulin aggregation. Curcumin bound to tubulin at a single site with a dissociation constant of 2.4±0.4μm and the binding of curcumin to tubulin induced conformational changes in tubulin. Colchicine and podophyllotoxin partly inhibited the binding of curcumin to tubulin, while vinblastine had no effect on the curcumin-tubulin interactions. The data together suggested that curcumin may inhibit cancer cells proliferation by perturbing microtubule assembly dynamics and may be used to develop efficacious curcumin analogues for cancer chemotherapy

Capital structure revisited. Do crisis and competition matter in a Keiretsu corporate structure?

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version.open accessWe investigate firm-level determinants of capital structure using a large sample of 4,284 Japanese firms over a nineteen-year period (i.e., over 61,000 firm-year observations), a hitherto less examined sample for this purpose. We conduct our analysis and interpret our findings predominantly within the pecking order, the trade-off and the agency theoretical frameworks. We uncover three new findings. First, our evidence indicates that insights derived from the extant literature on capital structure are cross-national and are applicable in the context of Japan, despite the unique characteristics of Japanese firms. Second, financial crisis significantly impacts the relationship between leverage and firm-level determinants, particularly accentuating the effect of asset tangibility and growth. Third, product market competition significantly impacts the observed relationship between firm-level determinants and leverage. Our results are robust, controlling for the joint effects of competition and crisis