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Detection of myositis autoantibodies (MAs) has utility in both the diagnosis and subtyping of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). Multiplex assays such as the Euroimmun line immunoassay (LIA) have significant limitations in rare diseases like IIM. A retrospective cohort study was performed on positive MA detected on LIA in 171 patients using the manufacturer's recommended cut‐off. Only 16.7% were deemed true positive after clinical correlation. Autoantibody‐specific cut‐offs were created and applied to the original cohort, along with generically applied higher cut‐offs. Positive predictive value (PPV) improved, but there was variable increase in false negatives. False positive MA results are common using LIA, but locally derived cut‐offs can improve performance. Clinicians must be aware of the limitations of LIA, which is the commonest method for MA detection in Australasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the impact of CEO's happiness on firm innovation in China. As happiness is difficult to measure, we use CEO's age based on the Happiness Curve theory. We find that when CEOs are in their less happy midlife stage, they more actively promote higher reward and risk innovation strategies, and that employee wellbeing represents a channel through which CEO unhappiness promotes innovation. The non-linear relationship between CEO age and risk-taking behaviour helps settle prior conflicting evidence which assumes a linear relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the impact of state control on stock price crash risk given whether and how ownership structure affects stock price crash risk is relatively underexplored. Design/methodology/approach: The sample includes 2,285 Chinese firms listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. Panel data is used for conducting the analysis and endogeneity is addressed with instrumental variable estimation and by testing how stock price crash risk is affected when the ultimate controller changes from a private-owned company to a state-owned enterprise. Findings: The authors find that state control is negatively associated with future stock price crash risk. The mechanism analysis shows that state control reduces stock price crash risk through the implementation of conservative corporate policies. Furthermore, the impact of state control is more pronounced with more intensive state involvement, e.g. in strategic industries and when a company's ultimate controller is a non-corporate government agency or the central government. Originality/value: This paper enriches the literature on the controversy of the role of state control and the results of this study highlight the importance of the conservatism of state control on reducing stock return tail risk. The authors also add to the literature on the importance of the policy-risk sharing effect of state ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The authors examine the influence of powerful political corporate appointments on the usage of firm bribery channels. Party Secretaries within Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) may simultaneously hold top management positions, thereby endowing powerful firm-level decision rights on those appointees, hereafter referred to as powerful dual role Party Secretaries. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs panel data analysis with industry and year fixed effects. The authors use a sample of 1,143 Chinese SOEs listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2004 to 2015. Findings: The authors find that powerful dual role Party Secretaries are associated with greater bribery channel usage. Following the ongoing anticorruption campaign, SOEs with the powerful appointments significantly reduce their usage of both transparent (entertainment and travel costs) and opaque bribery (abnormal management expenses) channels. However, in general, Chinese SOEs respond to the anticorruption shock by switching from the more transparent to the opaquer bribery channel. Originality/value: The authors contribute to the ongoing debate of politicians on corporate boards by examining the relatively unexplored area of government appointed top management and their influence on bribery at the firm level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Employing the anti-corruption campaign as an exogenous political shock, this paper examines how political intervention shapes the impact of financial expert CEOs on firm investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a sample of 2,808 Chinese firms listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2003 to 2016. Panel data is used for conducting the analysis controlling for firm, industry, and year fixed effects. Findings: The authors found that CEOs with financial expertise are sensitive to political intervention when making investment decisions. First, financial expert CEOs spend more on R&D expenditure in private-owned companies and they are associated with less R&D expenditure in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Second, financial expert CEOs are associated with higher investment expenditure in general, but they become less likely to invest more in the post-anti-corruption period. The reduction in investment expenditure due to the anti-corruption campaign is more pronounced in SOEs than in private-owned companies. Third, the anti-corruption campaign promotes R&D investment in general, but in SOEs, expert CEOs tend to be less likely to invest more on R&D after the anti-corruption shock. Originality/value: This paper enriches the growing literature on the impact of political intervention and the role of the anti-corruption campaign on corporate behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Management of grade III injuries of the radial collateral ligament (RCL) of the thumb is controversial. These injuries are often treated with early surgery. However, early surgery may not be practical for the professional athlete. We report on the outcome of delayed primary repair of chronic RCL injuries without the use of tendon grafts or tendon transfers. Methods: Twelve elite professional athletes with 15 soft tissue RCL injuries who underwent delayed surgery (greater than 6 weeks) were included in this study. Athletes were managed with splinting and ongoing play during the sporting season, and underwent surgery at the conclusion of the season. Mean duration from injury to surgery was 5 months. Mean follow-up was 4.2 years after surgery. Patient-report outcome measures including pain, satisfaction rating, and disability of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) scores were collected. Examination findings including range of motion, laxity, and grip and pinch strength were also measured. Return-to-play data were collected for all athletes. Results: The RCL was able to be primarily repaired with suture anchors in all cases. All twelve patients were able to return to competitive play at the same pre-injury professional level. Post-operative joint function such as range of motion and laxity were comparable to the unaffected contralateral side, as were grip and lateral pinch strengths. Tip-pinch strength is lower compared to the unaffected side, but is comparable to age and sex-matched reference group. Conclusions: Delayed primary repair of the RCL is a viable option and results in satisfactory long-term outcomes. This option may be more preferable to the professional athlete who wishes to avoid surgery during the sporting season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how venture capital (VC) backing influences the board size and independence and how VC backing and board structure impact firm performance in China.Design/methodology/approach Using hand-collected data from 924 initial public offering (IPO) prospectuses covering the period from January 2004 to December 2012, the authors investigate the impact of VC backing on board size, board independence and firm market performance through regression analysis. A two-stage approach is also used to address the endogeneity issue.Findings The authors find robust evidence that VC-backed IPOs have more independent boards, after controlling for CEO and firm characteristics, and the potential endogeneity concerns. Furthermore, firms backed by VCs with management political ties (PTs) have more independent directors with industry relevant expertise than other firms. While no significant relationship is found between board independence and firm performance, the authors present some evidence that IPOs which have a larger percentage of independent directors with industry relevant expertise exhibit higher long-term stock returns, and VCs with management PTs also improve IPO long-run stock performance.Research limitations/implications Although VC is new in China and the Chinese capital market has relative poor corporate governance and weak minority shareholder protection, the authors find support in this paper that VC backing is valuable to IPO firms in China not only through providing funding but also by providing political ties and industry experience. However, Chinese regulatory and institutional settings have strong impact on test results and they change rapidly, so the results may not apply to other period in Chinese markets.Originality/value This paper sheds lights on the influences of VC backing on corporate governance and firm performance in a transitional and emerging economy. It discovers the value of VC investors in a transitional economy as of providing political ties and industry experience. The new definition of independent directors suggested by Suchard (2009) is first used by our paper in the Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on liquidity in international stock markets, highlights differences and similarities in empirical results across existing studies, and identifies areas requiring further research. Design/methodology/approach – International cross-country studies on stock market liquidity are categorized and reviewed. Important relevant single-country studies are also discussed. Findings – Market liquidity is influenced by exchange characteristics (e.g. the presence of market makers) and regulations (e.g. short-sales constraints). The literature has identified the most appropriate liquidity measures for global research, and for emerging and frontier markets, respectively. Major empirical facts are as follows. Liquidity co-varies within and across countries. Both the liquidity level and liquidity uncertainty are priced internationally. Liquidity is positively associated with firm transparency and share issuance, and negatively related to dividends paid out. The impact of internationalization on liquidity is not universal across firms and countries. Some suggested areas for future studies include: dark pools, high-frequency trading, commonality in liquidity premium, funding liquidity, liquidity and capital structure, and liquidity and transparency. Research limitations/implications – The paper focusses on international stock markets and does not consider liquidity in international bond or foreign exchange markets. Originality/value – This paper provides a comprehensive survey of empirical studies on liquidity in international developed and emerging stock markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English law provides three forms of insolvency proceeding for companies: liquidation, administration and company voluntary arrangements. This paper begins by examining the nature and purpose of insolvency law, the concepts of insolvency and insolvency proceedings, how insolvency practice is regulated and the role of the court. It then considers the sources of the law before describing the distinguishing characteristics of liquidation, administration and company voluntary arrangements. Finally, it deals with the sanctions for malpractice, transaction avoidance and cross-border insolvency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We extend Byoun's (2008) modelling of the relationship between deficits and surpluses and adjustment speed, to demonstrate how industry characteristics identified by Kayo and Kimura (2011), including industry concentration, industry munificence and industry dynamism, impact on speed of adjustment. Using New Zealand firms as a case study, we find significant evidence that, as well as firm financial position, industry characteristics also impact on adjustment speed. The firm financial position results are the most robust, and we recommend further research to confirm the nature of the relationship between industry characteristics and the speed at which firms adjust towards target capital structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use high-frequency data over a long period (1996–2009) to document the prevalence of cultural biases in the Chinese equity market where many Chinese see the numbers 8 and 4 as lucky and unlucky, respectively. We show that cultural clustering is pervasive across both exchanges and share classes but is declining over time. Cultural-driven order placement is more prevalent in higher-priced shares. The aversion to order prices ending in 4 is strong in bid orders but non-existent in ask orders, and the attraction to 8 is significantly greater in ask orders. Order prices also exhibit strategic placement to prioritize execution time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use firm-level data to examine whether the political cycle differentially relates to small vs large firms in New Zealand; a country that operates a unicameral political system has a short three-year political term and a right-of-centre stock market premium exists. Design/methodology/approach – Using firm-level data from 1972 to 2010, the authors examine monthly returns during right-of-centre National governments and left-of-centre Labour governments. The authors apply Santa Clara and Valkanov (2003) regression analysis approach to examine the political cycle impact on firm returns. Findings – Like in the USA, New Zealand’s political cycle premium is driven by small firms; however, the results are opposite. In New Zealand, periods governed by the right of the political spectrum produce significantly higher stock returns than those from the left and this finding is primarily driven by small firms who perform particularly poorly under left-of-centre governments. Research limitations/implications – Small firms were relatively heavily affected by the move to an open, deregulated economy; they were also less able to cope with tight monetary conditions, and periods of sharply falling inflation. New Zealand’s three-year political term may encourage newly formed governments to implement relatively fast moving shifts in policy where a more reasoned and steady approach would be warranted. Originality/value – This is the first paper to use firm-level data outside of the USA to examine the political cycle impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This note is written by way of an addendum to the author's article on the extra-territorial scope of the stay imposed in an English administration which was published in this journal last year.[The Extra-] In that article, it was argued that the stay imposed in an English administration should be treated by the English courts as applying without territorial limitation but that the courts should nonetheless grant leave to proceed in other jurisdictions in any case where there is no sufficient connection with England. The purpose of this note is to reconsider the issue in the light of the decision of the Privy Council in Stichting Shell Pensioenfonds v Krys[[2015] AC ] on anti-suit injunctions, where judgement was given some months after publication of the original article. It is suggested that the decision in Shell as to the circumstances in which an anti-suit injunction will be granted has significantly narrowed the issue but that extra-territoriality would nonetheless still be a desirable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study IPO underpricing and long-run performance of ChiNext, a newly-established Growth Enterprise Board in China. Using a sample of 281 ChiNext IPOs during October 2009-December 2011, we find the initial average market adjusted abnormal return (MAAR) is 33.5 percent. The average 12-month buy-and-hold abnormal return (BHAR) is -45.7 percent for those IPOs listed prior to 2011. Although the average MAARs of ChiNext is significantly higher than IPOs listed on the Main Board, it is not significantly different from the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Board IPOs during the sample period. However, the ChiNext average BHARs are significantly lower than those on both the SME and Main Boards. Regression findings support the information asymmetry hypothesis (high uncertainty of ChiNext IPOs) and the behavioral theory (market sentiment) on underpricing for ChiNext IPOs, and we find that ChiNext IPO underperformances are consistent with the significant deterioration of their operating performance after listing and investors' speculative trading behavior on these new issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to examine whether the cross-sectional return patterns in New Zealand's main stock market (NZSX) are also present in the alternative (NZAX) and over-the-counter (Unlisted) markets. Design/methodology/approach -- Cross-sectional regressions of monthly stock returns on well-known pricing factors including firm size, book-to-market (B/M) ratio, liquidity and past returns were run. The NZSX sample commenced in 1988 and continued through to 2011, while data are available for the Unlisted and NZAX markets from 2004 to 2011. Findings -- The pricing factors that are important in explaining returns in major international markets also influence returns on the NZSX. However, only B/M is consistently priced across all New Zealand stock exchanges, including the alternative NZAX and Unlisted markets. There is evidence of reversal in NZAX stocks, but liquidity effects are not consistent or pervasive in either market. Practical implications -- With B/M being the only consistently priced variable across all markets, investors in the NZAX and in particular Unlisted may be concerned with other risk factors. For example, the risks associated with differing levels of investor protection, corporate governance and disclosure may be of more concern to investors than pricing factors such as size, liquidity and past returns in these alternative trading platforms. Originality/value -- The paper examines cross-sectional return patterns of the NZAX and Unlisted stocks and is the first paper to jointly test the explanatory power of size, B/M, past returns and liquidity factors for NZSX stocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's recent removal of short-selling and margin trading bans on selected stocks enables testing of the relative effect of margin trading and short selling. We find the prices of the shortable stocks decrease, on average, relative to peer A-shares and cross-listed H-shares, suggesting that short selling dominates margin trading effects. Contrary to the regulators' intention and recent developed market empirical evidence, liquidity declines and bid-ask spreads increase in these shortable stocks. Consistent with Ausubel (1990), these results imply that uninformed investors avoid the shortable stocks to reduce the risk of trading with informed investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact on stock liquidity following the reduction of minimum tick size from $0.01 to $0.005 for a selection of dual-listed and property stocks on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) during 2011. Design/methodology/approach -- Various liquidity measures were examined six months either side of the change in minimum tick size for the eligible stocks and these were compared to a sample of stocks matched on similar liquidity characteristics. Liquidity measures examined in the paper include quoted and effective spread, volume, depth and binding-constraint probability. Findings -- After controlling for firms matched on similar pre-period liquidity characteristics both spread and depth decline significantly. Evidence that small firms experience significant declines in trading activity was also found, and while firms with higher binding-constraints probability have greater declines in spread, their decline in depth is greater still. Research limitations/implications -- The small sample of 17 stocks eligible for the $0.005 minimum tick size potentially impacts on the strength of the statistical analysis. As such, it is harder to detect statistically significant changes in liquidity. Practical implications -- These findings have important implications for policymakers as the hoped for benefits of smaller tick increments may only be fully realized by larger more active stocks. Originality/value -- The paper examines the impact of a change in minimum tick size on eligible New Zealand Exchange (NZX) stocks to determine whether it meet the stated NZX goal of boosting liquidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the performance of the ‘Permanent Portfolio’ in the United States and international markets. This simple approach to asset allocation involves investors splitting their portfolio equally between stocks, bonds, gold and cash. The Permanent Portfolio does not consistently generate returns that are greater than those to a buy-and-hold stock portfolio or to stock and bond portfolios. By construction, its returns are the average of the four component asset classes. However, the Permanent Portfolio does outperform traditional portfolios on a risk-adjusted basis. It generates larger Sharpe ratios, larger Jensen alphas and has less downside risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the announcement and implementation of short sales and margin trading regulation affects Chinese stock returns and trading volume. On 31 March 2010, the Chinese regulators launched a pilot programme, allowing short sales and margin trading for 50 Shanghai Stock Exchange and 40 Shenzhen Stock Exchange stocks. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses an event study approach to compare market model abnormal returns (ARs) of the pilot firms with two distinct matched firm samples. A volume event study is also conducted to examine abnormal trading activity surrounding the key events in the pilot stocks. Findings – Negative ARs follow both the announcement and implementation of short selling and margin trading. This suggests the negative impact of short sales dominates the positive impact of margin trading on an average. Volume also declines, which is consistent with uninformed investors’ seeking to avoid trading against informed traders. Originality/value – The paper appears to be the first to address the impact of both the announcement and implementation of short selling and margin trading rule changes on returns and liquidity using individual stock data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the extra-territorial scope of the stay imposed in an English administration and argues that it should be treated by the English courts as applying without territorial limitation but that the courts should nonetheless grant leave to proceed in other jurisdictions in any case where there is no sufficient connection with England. It argues that this solution would be right in principle and that the court is not constrained from adopting such an approach by precedent. Copyright © 2014 INSOL International and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the capital structure of New Zealand firms influences their product-market performance in the period from 1984 to 2008. Our main findings are that the use of leverage by publicly listed New Zealand companies leads to an increase in relative-to-industry sales growth, but a decrease in relative-to-industry return on assets (ROA). We also conduct a reverse causality test by examining whether sales growth and ROA influence leverage. We find no evidence that sales growth has an impact on the use of debt, but significant evidence that ROA is negatively correlated with its use. Our results suggest that New Zealand firms use debt to compete more aggressively in their product markets, even though this strategy comes at a cost of lower relative-to-industry profitability. A possible explanation for this behavior is the more competitive trading environment that has developed in New Zealand over the last 25 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the motives for takeovers in New Zealand surrounding the 1987 stock market crash and compare with the US findings of Gondhalekar and Bhagwat (). There are a number of structural differences between the New Zealand and US markets that could impact on merger motives. Compared with the US, New Zealand is a small capital market; with weak takeover regulation and a prolonged aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash. Consistent with US research, we find evidence of synergy and hubris motivations in New Zealand takeovers although we find the synergy motivation is stronger. Contrary to expectations we find no evidence of agency motivated takeovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market commentators have suggested that New Zealand's lax private placement and disclosure regulation allows private placement purchasers to immediately sell discounted shares without disclosing these transactions to the market. However, New Zealand firms with the deepest discounts tend to have higher risks, lower returns and higher costs associated with evaluating firm value. Therefore, the possibility that deep discounts may simply represent adequate compensation for the extra risk and cost private placement purchasers incur cannot be ruled out. In this respect private placement purchasers in New Zealand take on the role and risks associated with investment banker and underwriter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the price response to large block transactions on the Australian Stock Exchange during the 1999 sample period. We find asymmetry in the price reaction between buyer- and seller-initiated trades with respect to size and resiliency following the trade. We extend previous research by examining order book changes surrounding block trades and relating price effects to changes in book depth. Purchases are associated with persistent order book imbalance, while the sales imbalance is insignificant. Cross-sectional analysis demonstrates that price resiliency following a trade is related to the speed at which limit orders arrive to replenish book depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has revealed significant abnormal ex-date returns for stock dividends even though the ex-date is known in advance and the distribution contains no new information. Various researchers have suggested that the higher transaction cost of selling odd-lot share parcels compared to round-lot share parcels is a key driver in the abnormal returns. However, no study to date has directly compared the ex-date price reaction of stock dividends distributed when odd-lot transaction costs were charged to those issued when odd-lot costs were not evident. As odd-lot trade costs were eliminated from the New Zealand Stock Exchange on 1 October, 1991, the New Zealand market provides a unique opportunity to directly test the role, if any, that odd-lot transactions costs have in explaining stock dividend ex-date returns. We find that prior to October 1991 stock dividend ex-dates exhibit significantly positive returns, however, we do not find any significant ex-date return once the higher odd-lot transaction costs were removed. The New Zealand market also enables us to examine an imputation tax based argument of the ex-date price reaction and we find evidence that imputation tax credits have a value greater than zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stream water at the 18.7 ha pristine Ingabekken catchment, on granitic bedrock, in mid-Norway has been studied for 2 years, including intensive episode studies in the spring and autumn. The pH varied from over 7 at base flow to 5 or slightly below at high flow, while inorganic monomeric Al was <1 μ M for all flow conditions. The lowest pH (4.8) was observed in the early snowmelt during release of meltwater highly enriched in sea salts. The cation exchange capacity and base saturation of organic soils were comparable to those found at the acidified Birkenes site in southern Norway, but the ratio of exchangeable Al to exchangeable H+ was much lower at Ingabekken. This suggests that soils could undergo a transition during acidification whereby exchangeable H+ is replaced by aluminium. Such a transition may well be important in understanding long-term trends in acidification but is not a feature of most models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the professional duties of lawyers in business insolvency cases. Consequences of the insolvency of a client company on its professional advisers; Impact of insolvency procedure on the legal position of the advisers; Details of the principal English insolvency procedures affecting business enterprises.

Examines the English perspective on insolvency and fraud. Aim of insolvency law; Analysis of the types of fraud; Discussion on the civil and criminal provisions of English insolvency law.

A key question in asset pricing is the extent to which tax effects are passed through market prices or are capitalised in them. New Zealand stock dividends provide a useful window into this debate because of (1) the existence of both taxable and non-taxable stock dividends, and (2) the particular form of imputation tax system which allows the full pass through of corporate taxes to the investor on the proportion of profits which are distributed either as cash or taxable stock dividends. We present evidence that investors value future tax benefits associated with imputation tax credits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]