FRONT COVER -- RESEARCH IN FINANCE -- COPYRIGHT PAGE -- CONTENTS -- LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER 1 AN EMPIRICAL EXPLORATION OF THE CBOE VOLATILITY INDEX (VIX) FUTURES MARKET AS A HEDGE FOR EQUITY MARKET AND HEDGE FUND INVESTORS -- LITERATURE REVIEW -- EMPIRICAL PROPERTIES OF THE CASH VIX AND THE CASH-FUTURES BASIS -- EXPLANATION OF THE VOLATILITY FUTURES RISK PREMIUM -- THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIX AND THE S&P 500 -- USING VIX TO REDUCE HIGHER MOMENT RISKS OF HEDGE FUNDS -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 2 GLOBAL EARNINGS FORECASTING EFFICIENCY -- UNDERSTANDING RISK AND PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION -- EXPECTED RETURNS MODELING AND STOCK SELECTION -- EFFICIENT PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION -- ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE ON TRACKING ERROR AT RISK AND EFFICIENT PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION -- CONCLUSIONS -- NOTES -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- DISCLAIMER -- CHAPTER 3 THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP ON FIRMS' INVESTMENTS AND MARKET VALUE -- INTRODUCTION -- LITERATURE REVIEW -- EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP AND ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY -- EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP AND THE MARKET VALUE OF EQUITY -- EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP VERSUS OTHER COMPENSATION PLANS -- IMPLICATIONS -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- NOTES -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- APPENDIX: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN CORPORATE INVESTMENT DECISIONS -- CHAPTER 4 ABNORMAL RETURNS AND IN-HOUSE MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS -- INTRODUCTION -- LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT -- SAMPLE AND DATA -- DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AND UNIVARIATE COMPARISONS -- SHAREHOLDER WEALTH EFFECTS -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- REFERENCES -- APPENDIX -- CHAPTER 5 ENHANCING THE ROLE OF REAL OPTIONS IN FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING: BUYING AND SELLING REAL OPTIONS -- INTRODUCTION -- THE CASE OF THE COMPACT REACTORS FROM BABCOCK & WILCOX -- THE CASE OF HAWKER BEECHCRAFT -- CLOSING REMARKS -- NOTES -- REFERENCES.

CHAPTER 6 FINANCIAL LEVERAGE, PROJECT EQUITY, AND SENSITIVITY OF NPV -- INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE -- DESCRIPTION OF THE FORMAL MODEL -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- APPENDIX: A SIMPLE EXAMPLE -- CHAPTER 7 RISK MANAGEMENT AND MARKET EFFICIENCY ON THE MIDWEST INDEPENDENT SYSTEM OPERATOR ELECTRICITY EXCHANGE -- INTRODUCTION -- BACKGROUND -- RESULTS -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 8 AT THE ORIGINS OF FEMALE DIRECTORS' NETWORKS: A STUDY OF THE FRENCH CASE -- INTRODUCTION -- THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND HYPOTHESES FOR SPECIFICITY OF FEMALE BOARD NETWORKS -- METHODS -- RESULTS -- CONCLUSION -- NOTE -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 9 ECONOMIC MOTIVATION OF THE EX-DIVIDEND DAY ANOMALY: EVIDENCE FROM AN EMERGING MARKET ENVIRONMENT -- INTRODUCTION -- BACKGROUND -- DATA -- METHODOLOGY -- EMPIRICAL RESULTS -- SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- REFERENCES.