Getting a tax refund from the federal government at the end of the year may not always be the best option for lower-income populations, according to the research from Harris School economist Damon Jones. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Companies involved in merger talks manipulate their stock prices during negotiations by releasing more news than usual, according to a University of Michigan study.
“Media coverage has a significant effect on stock trading and returns,” said Kenneth Ahern, assistant professor of finance at U-M’s Ross School of Business. “Even stale news, if widely publicized, can dramatically raise short-term returns and influence prices of large and widely followed stocks in the S&P 500.”
In their study, “Who Writes the News? Corporate Press Releases during Merger Negotiations,” Ahern and Ross School colleague Denis Sosyura examined more than 500 completed stock mergers of large U.S. publicly traded firms from 2000 to 2008. They studied the frequency and content of news releases issued by acquiring firms, and analyzed more than 617,000 articles in 421 newspapers and newswires worldwide. (more…)
*Strong enterprise and Xbox momentum drive revenue growth of 13% and earnings per share of $0.61.*
REDMOND, Wash. — Apr. 28, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. today announced third-quarter revenue of $16.43 billion for the quarter ended Mar. 31, 2011, a 13% increase from the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.71 billion, $5.23 billion, and $0.61 per share, which represented increases of 10%, 31%, and 36%, respectively, when compared with the prior year period. Diluted earnings per share included a $0.05 tax benefit primarily related to an agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to settle a portion of their audit of tax years 2004 to 2006.
“We delivered strong financial results despite a mixed PC environment, which demonstrates the strength and breadth of our businesses,” said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “Consumers are purchasing Office 2010, Xbox and Kinect at tremendous rates, and businesses of all sizes are purchasing Microsoft platforms and applications.” (more…)
*General Social Survey Also Shows That Happiness Takes A Hit Because of Personal Finances*
Chicago — A recently released report of the General Social Survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, shows that for the first time since 1972, more Americans say that their financial situation has gotten worse in recent years rather than better. Understandably, also for the first time since 1972, the percentage of Americans saying that they are “not at all” satisfied with their financial situation (31.5%) notably exceeds those saying they are “pretty well” satisfied (23.4%). (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Stock analysts’ earnings forecasts for companies with hard-to-read annual financial reports are more informative, but less accurate, say University of Michigan researchers.
A new journal article in the May issue of Accounting Review shows that sell-side financial analysts expend greater effort to generate earnings forecasts of publicly traded firms with less readable 10-K filings. This increased effort by analysts results in earnings reports to investors that contain more information—but less accuracy and greater uncertainty. (more…)
“Japan will recover from the catastrophe that has hit its shores,” says Bernard Bernier, director of the Université de Montréal Department of Anthropology. “This will not be a turning point in the country’s history.” (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Americans who are more conscientious have higher lifetime earnings and save more for retirement, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Retirement Research Center. (more…)
In discussions of how best to solve global poverty, helping the 3 billion people living on less than $2.50 per day, development economists tend to fall into one of two camps.
One camp claims that wealthy nations contribute too few dollars to combat poverty. The other camp counters that money doesn’t guarantee poverty alleviation, and points to the $2.3 trillion spent in foreign aid over the past 50 years as evidence that throwing money at the problem won’t solve it. Despite their differences, both groups agree that some types of development interventions work better than others. (more…)
