Is the Convergence of Accounting Standards Good for Stock Markets?

This paper examines the impact of the convergence of Hong Kong Accounting Standard 40 (HKAS 40) with the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) on the stock prices of firms in the property industry. Using a sample of 22111 firm-day observations, we show that the new standard has a negative impact on the stock performance of these firms.Hong Kong Accounting Standard 40, Event Window, Stock Return.

Thermodynamical Metrics and Black Hole Phase Transitions

An important phase transition in black hole thermodynamics is associated with the divergence of the specific heat with fixed charge and angular momenta, yet one can demonstrate that neither Ruppeiner's entropy metric nor Weinhold's energy metric reveals this phase transition. In this paper, we introduce a new thermodynamical metric based on the Hessian matrix of several free energy. We demonstrate, by studying various charged and rotating black holes, that the divergence of the specific heat corresponds to the curvature singularity of this new metric. We further investigate metrics on all thermodynamical potentials generated by Legendre transformations and study correspondences between curvature singularities and phase transition signals. We show in general that for a system with n-pairs of intensive/extensive variables, all thermodynamical potential metrics can be embedded into a flat (n,n)-dimensional space. We also generalize the Ruppeiner metrics and they are all conformal to the metrics constructed from the relevant thermodynamical potentials.Comment: Latex, 25 pages, reference added, typos corrected, English polished and the Hawking-Page phase transition clarified; to appear in JHE

Separability and Killing Tensors in Kerr-Taub-NUT-de Sitter Metrics in Higher Dimensions

A generalisation of the four-dimensional Kerr-de Sitter metrics to include a NUT charge is well known, and is included within a class of metrics obtained by Plebanski. In this paper, we study a related class of Kerr-Taub-NUT-de Sitter metrics in arbitrary dimensions D \ge 6, which contain three non-trivial continuous parameters, namely the mass, the NUT charge, and a (single) angular momentum. We demonstrate the separability of the Hamilton-Jacobi and wave equations, we construct a closely-related rank-2 Staeckel-Killing tensor, and we show how the metrics can be written in a double Kerr-Schild form. Our results encompass the case of the Kerr-de Sitter metrics in arbitrary dimension, with all but one rotation parameter vanishing. Finally, we consider the real Euclidean-signature continuations of the metrics, and show how in a limit they give rise to certain recently-obtained complete non-singular compact Einstein manifolds.Comment: Author added, title changed, references added, focus of paper changed to Killing tensors and separability. Latex, 13 page

Non-extremal Charged Rotating Black Holes in Seven-Dimensional Gauged Supergravity

We obtain the solution for non-extremal charged rotating black holes in seven-dimensional gauged supergravity, in the case where the three rotation parameters are set equal. There are two independent charges, corresponding to gauge fields in the U(1)xU(1) abelian subgroup of the SO(5) gauge group. A new feature in these solutions, not seen previously in lower-dimensional examples, is that the first-order "odd-dimensional self-duality" equation for the 4-form field strength plays a non-trivial role. We also study the BPS limit of our solutions where the black holes become supersymmetric. Our results are of significance for the AdS_7/CFT_6 correspondence in M-theory.Comment: Latex, 12 pages, typos corrected and a reference adde

BPS Geometries and AdS Bubbles

Recently, 1/2-BPS AdS bubble solutions have been obtained by Lin, Lunin and Maldacena, which correspond to Fermi droplets in phase space in the dual CFT picture. They can be thought of as generalisations of 1/2-BPS AdS black hole solutions in five or seven dimensional gauged supergravity. In this paper, we extend these solutions by invoking additional gauge fields and scalar fields in the supergravity Lagrangians, thereby obtaining AdS bubble generalisations of the previously-known multi-charge AdS black solutions of gauged supergravity. We also obtain analogous AdS bubble solutions in four-dimensional gauged supergravity. Our solutions generically preserve supersymmetry fractions 1/4, 1/8 and 1/8 in seven, five and four dimensions respectively. They can be lifted to M-theory or type IIB string theory, using previously known formulae for the consistent Pauli sphere reductions that yield the gauged supergravities. We also find similar solutions in six-dimensional gauged supergravity, and discuss their lift to the massive type IIA theory.Comment: Latex, 11 page

Extending the first-order post-Newtonian scheme in multiple systems to the second-order contributions to light propagation

In this paper, we extend the first-order post-Newtonian scheme in multiple systems presented by Damour-Soffel-Xu to the second-order contribution to light propagation without changing the virtueof the scheme on the linear partial differential equations of the potential and vector potential. The spatial components of the metric are extended to second order level both in a global coordinates ($q_{ij}/ c^4$) and a local coordinates ($Q_{ab}/ c^4$). The equations of $q_{ij}$ (or $Q_{ab}$) are obtained from the field equations.The relationship between $q_{ij}$ and $Q_{ab}$ are presented in this paper also. In special case of the solar system (isotropic condition is applied ($q_{ij} = \delta_{ij} q$)), we obtain the solution of $q$. Finally, a further extension of the second-order contributions in the parametrized post-Newtonian formalism is discussed.Comment: Latex2e; 6 pages PS fil

A scalar field instability of rotating and charged black holes in (4+1)-dimensional Anti-de Sitter space-time

We study the stability of static as well as of rotating and charged black holes in (4+1)-dimensional Anti-de Sitter space-time which possess spherical horizon topology. We observe a non-linear instability related to the condensation of a charged, tachyonic scalar field and construct "hairy" black hole solutions of the full system of coupled Einstein, Maxwell and scalar field equations. We observe that the limiting solution for small horizon radius is either a hairy soliton solution or a singular solution that is not a regular extremal solution. Within the context of the gauge/gravity duality the condensation of the scalar field describes a holographic conductor/superconductor phase transition on the surface of a sphere.Comment: 16 pages including 8 figures, v2: discussion on soliton solutions extended; v3: matches version accepted for publication in JHE