Finance

A multitude of studies have been conducted to assess volatility. Since the work of Mandelbrot (1963) and Fama (1965), researchers have been designing several volatility calculation models. However, the ARCH process of Engle (1982) and GARCH of Bollerslev (1986) are the most important initiatives. Our empirical validation has studied the evolution of covariance between volatilities of U.S. indices on the one hand, and non-US indices, on the other hand, over eleven years. We found changes in covariance marked by amplifications during periods of crises. These show transmissions of excess volatility between markets, where a contagion phenomenon prevails.

Housing development in developing countries in which Nigeria is not an exceptional case is a combination of many interrelated components which include land, infrastructure, building materials, policies, building regulations but more importantly is the finance component. This paper examined the performance of Primary Mortgage Institutions in financing housing development in Abuja and Lagos. It carefully identified the existing PMIs in the study areas, examined the mortgage business activities of the PMIs and the factors militating against effective performance of the PMIs in the study areas. The methodology employed by the research includes the collection of primary and secondary data. Questionnaires were administered to the PMIs existing as at the time of field work in Abuja and Lagos. This was done to collect data that will give a true representation of PMIs activities in the study areas. Among other findings, it was discovered that there is statistical significant relationship between the capital base and loans disbursed for housing development by the PMIs in the study areas. Recommendations were made to improve performance of PMIs for effective housing delivery.

The study aimed at examining the perception of organizational commitment of women working on leadership positions in Saudi Arabia, The three dimensions of organizational commitment including affective, continuance and normative commitment were looked at. The influence of demographic factors including age, experience, qualification, level of income and marital status on the organizational commitment was studied. It was a descriptive correlational study in which organizational commitment Questionnaire-OCQ was used to collect data. The study found that the level of women leaders’ organizational commitment was high with continuance commitment as the strongest form. Demographic variables of age, experience and income significantly influenced the organizational commitment of women leaders. This study is significant because of the insights it provides for the management to better understand the nature of organizational commitment of women leaders and develops an understanding of the commitment process to promote it among them in Saudi Arabia

Stock price forecasting is a prominent phenomenon for investors and other financial information users. Indeed, stock price prediction has been regarded as an interesting yet challenging process in the advanced world of business. Various economical or non economical factors have effected on stock market behavior, hence stock price forecasting is recognized as one of the most complicated subjects in business. In past, statistic-based methods were suggested to solve this problem. In recent decade, nonlinear based fuzzy time series models methods, artificial neural networks, fuzzy neural networks and combined prediction models have been recommended. There have been permanent debates about different methods of forecasting precision among those authors who selected artificial intelligence in forecasting. Therefore comparative analyses are crucial. This study by applying neural networks and minimizing stock price forecasting error designs and provides stock price forecasting model, in comparison to combined artificial neural networks technique. Results show that the combined neural network model forecasts more appropriately and is faster with higher estimation capability in stock price forecasting in relation to single neural networks.

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between school environment factors such as peer influence, class size and media usage in school with English Language subject achievement among Form Five students of a school in PasirGudang, Johor by measuring their English language SPM Trial examination results of 2010. The differences of English Language achievement among the students were analysed based on their demographic factor and the influence of the school environment factors (independent variables) on the SPM Trial English Language achievement (dependent variable). Sampling 180 respondents of Form Five students one of the secondary schools in PasirGudang District was chosen to carry out the research. Three research hypotheses were developed for this study. The data was analyzed using SPSS software. Statistical tool such as Pearson Coefficient Correlations, frequency and Multiple Regressions were used to test these hypotheses. There are two types of variables used in this research which are Dependent Variables (DV) and Independent Variables (IV). Students’ achievement is classified as theDV while the factors of school environment (teachers’ commitment, class size and peer influence) are classified astheIV. A conceptual framework is drawn based on the variables. The results indicated that class size has a weak significant impact towards students’ achievement whereas peer influence and media usagedo not have significant impact towards students’ achievement.

The study investigates the direction of volatility spillover between exchange rate and stock prices in Nigeria using quarterly data for the period of 1990-Q1 to 2009-Q4. Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (EGARCH) framework due to Nelson (1991) was employed. Two different stock exchange indicators were used as proxy for stock prices to test the direction of volatility spillover between the variables. Thus we have two EGARCH models. The ADF and PP tests suggest that the series are random walk processes in their level form. The empirical findings suggest evidence of no long run equilibrium relationship between exchange rate and stock prices. It further shows that there is a robust unidirectional volatility spillover running from exchange rate to stock prices irrespective of the stock market indicator used. The result supports the findings of Beer and Hebeins (2008) for industrialized countries. The estimated mean equation showed that there is instantaneous positive response of stock market volatility to exchange rate fluctuation. Evidence from variance equation revealed that volatility persists longer when SMC was used as proxy for stock prices than ASI. The standard deviation statistic showed that stock market indicator is positively related to risk, validating the capital asset market hypothesis.

This study the impact of company financial leverage and growth opportunities on the investment decisions using information on Iranian companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange. This paper aims to answer is whether financial leverage influences the investment decisions in Iranian context. By answering this question, the author attempts to add to the existing literature by bringing new evidence on the relationship between leverage and investment decisions of firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange in Iran. For the study purpose, the 92 companies with the desired condition were selected for this purpose and panel data with fixed effects was used to test hypotheses. The results of this research show that companies with higher Financial Leverage adjust their investment decisions. The results of this study can be used by shareholders, managers and finance researchers.

The paper exposes some of the unethical practices that surrounds IMF stabilization polices. It specifically examines the functionality of the financial programming model of the IMF vis-à-vis its adoption and imposition on LDC’s. This is in turn juxtaposed with foundational Islamic norms. The author concludes with some remarks and recommendations.

The primary objective of the study is to investigate the existence of seasonality in stock price behavior in Indian stock market and more specifically in the Gas, Oil and Refineries sector. The period of the study is from 1st January 2006 to 31st December 2010. For the purpose analysis, the study has employed daily price series that have been obtained from the official website of National Stock Exchange (NSE). The daily price series of selected eight Gas, Oil and Refineries companies were selected for this study, and used multiple regression technique to examine the significance of the regression coefficient for investigating month of the year effects. It is found that all the eight selected Gas, Oil and Refineries companies evidenced month of the year effect and mostly either on September, August or February. Only GAIL, and HPCL evidenced significant October and July effect.

Ethics are important because finances make people do some strange things. The spreadsheet does not have a conscience, and the goal of working with spreadsheets is to make numbers add up in a way that is pleasing to the organizations and its constituents. Ethical behavior is an important aspect for the success of a company, as it influences its relations with various stakeholders. Financial managers are responsible for the difficulty in interpreting sensitive and Exchanges presenting them in the form of financial reports that can be used to evaluate corporate performance is Month interest groups are responsible. So unethical professional practice includes providing financial information poor quality can destroy public confidence in financial management. With increasing global attention to the topic of ethics and quality of information in the accounting profession, in this paper an attempt has been made to the research vacuum in the corner of the financial manager explained the moral perspective on the quality of financial reporting to be filled. Field research companies in Tehran Stock Exchange are accepted. In this study, the ethical perspective of financial management as the independent variable is the moral status was assessed with a questionnaire. Quality and usefulness of financial reporting used to be correct financial reporting as dependent variables were examined. The aims of the present study include applied research, in terms of how to collect the required data from the standpoint of descriptive and correlation research is considered. For data analysis software (SPSS) was used. Based on the results obtained from the ethical perspective of financial management and financial reporting, there is a significant relationship; It is recommended that companies choose their money managers not only scientific and practical aspects of management should be considered But the ethical aspect of the study is important for managers should pay special attention to ethics and corporate managers have a choice.