How did the 2003 dividend tax cut affect stock prices?

We test the hypothesis that the 2003 dividend tax cut boosted U.S. stock prices and thus lowered the cost of equity. Using an event- study methodology, we attempt to identify an aggregate stock market effect by comparing the behavior of U.S. common stock prices to that of European stocks and real estate investment trusts. We also examine the relative cross-sectional response of prices on high-dividend versus low-dividend paying stocks. We do not find any imprint of the dividend tax cut news on the value of the aggregate U.S. stock market. On the other hand, high-dividend stocks outperformed low-dividend stocks by a few percentage points over the event windows, suggesting that the tax cut did induce asset reallocation within equity portfolios. Finally, the positive abnormal returns on non-dividend paying U.S. stocks in 2003 do not appear to be tied to tax-cut news.Taxation ; Stock - Prices

Did Pension Plan Accounting Contribute to a Stock Market Bubble?

During the 1990s the assets of corporate defined-benefit pension plans ballooned with the booming stock market. Under current accounting guidelines, the result was a substantial but stealthy boost to sponsoring firms' profits. This study assesses the extent to which investors were fooled by pension accounting. It finds that stock prices reflected not the fair market value of sponsoring firms' net pension assets, as reported in the footnotes to their financial statements, but rather some capitalization rate on pension cost accruals in the income statement. Additional tests indicate that the market values a firm's pension earnings no differently from its core earnings, suggesting that pension earnings are often overvalued. This failure to differentiate induces large valuation errors for many firms, although this does not seem to translate into aggregate overvaluation, at least not before 2001, when falling stock prices and interest rates slashed pension net asset values but not pension earnings.macroeconomics, Pension Plan Accounting, Stock Market Bubble

9-1-1 Leadership: Perceptions of Evidence-Based Quality Improvement

The quality of 9-1-1 services can mean the difference between life and death. In 2015, national 9-1-1 organizations created a minimum standard for Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) comprehensive quality improvement programs, yet there is no mandate for PSAPs to adopt such standards. This study focuses on quality improvement perceptions among New York State (NYS) wireless PSAP leaders from an evidence-based management theory framework. The study addresses the primary research question: How do NYS wireless PSAP leaders support effective implementation of quality care? Using directed content analysis out-transcripts from focus group sessions with NYS wireless PSAP leaders, the following themes emerged: PSAP leaders support effective implementation of quality care by achieving buy-in from stakeholders, building trust as leaders, and using local data to support their decision-making processes. While participants consistently agreed on general definitions of PSAP quality using a six dimensional model, measuring quality was inconsistent from agency to agency. Time, staffing, and funding were largely seen as barriers to effective implementation, while other factors such as training and accreditation were viewed positively. Stakeholder engagement and organizational culture were perceived as neutral, yet instrumental, to success

Cats with thermal burn injuries from California wildfires show echocardiographic evidence of myocardial thickening and intracardiac thrombi.

Recent increases in the prevalence and severity of wildfires in some regions have resulted in an increased frequency of veterinary burn patients. Few studies exist regarding diagnostics and management of burn wounds in veterinary patients and current knowledge is extrapolated from human literature and research models. Post-burn cardiac injury is a common finding and predictor of mortality in human patients and echocardiography is an important tool in monitoring response to therapy and predicting outcome. We describe the notable findings from cats naturally exposed to California wildfires in 2017 and 2018. Domestic cats (n = 51) sustaining burn injuries from the Tubbs (2017) and Camp (2018) wildfires were prospectively enrolled and serial echocardiograms and cardiac troponin I evaluations were performed. Echocardiograms of affected cats revealed a high prevalence of myocardial thickening (18/51) and spontaneous echocardiographic contrast and thrombi formation (16/51). Forty-two cats survived to discharge and 6 died or were euthanized due to a possible cardiac cause. For the first time, we describe cardiovascular and coagulation effects of thermal burn and smoke inhalation in cats. Further studies in veterinary burn victims are warranted and serve as a translational research opportunity for uncovering novel disease mechanisms and therapies

Chiral logs with staggered fermions

We compute chiral logarithms in the presence of "taste" symmetry breaking of staggered fermions. The lagrangian of Lee and Sharpe is generalized and then used to calculate the logs in $\pi$ and $K$ masses. We correct an error in Ref. [1] [C. Bernard, hep-lat/0111051]; the issue turns out to have implications for the comparison with simulations, even at tree level. MILC data with three light dynamical flavors can be well fit by our formulas. However, two new chiral parameters, which describe order $a^2$ hairpin diagrams for taste-nonsinglet mesons, enter in the fits. To obtain precise results for the physical coefficients at order $p^4$, these new parameters will need to be bounded, at least roughly.Comment: talk presented by C. Bernard at Lattice2002(spectrum); 3 pages, 2 figure

Footnotes Aren’t Enough: The Impact of Pension Accounting on Stock Values

Some research has suggested that companies with defined benefit (DB) pensions are sometimes significantly misvalued by the market. This is because the measures of pension cost and pension net liabilities embedded in financial statements, taken at face value, can provide very misleading picture of pension finances. The more pertinent information on pension finances is relegated to footnotes, but might not receive much attention from portfolio managers. But dramatic swings in the financial conditions of large DB plans around the turn of the decade focused widespread attention on pension accounting practices, and dissatisfaction with current accounting standards has recently prompted the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to take up a project revamp DB pension accounting. Arguably, the increased attention should have made investors wise to the informational problems, thereby eliminating systematic mispricing in recent years. We test this proposition and conclude that investors continued to misvalue DB pensions, inducing sizable valuation errors in the stock of many companies. Our findings suggest that FASB’s current reform efforts could substantially aid the market’s ability to value firms with DB pensions

From the Horse's Mouth: How Do Investor Expectations of Risk and Return Vary with Economic Conditions?

A fin de determinar si existe una estética cinematográfica propiamente femenina, es necesario indagar las relaciones entre diversos ámbitos como son, en este caso, el cine, el género y la estética. En particular, es necesario referirse al lenguaje