Masters in International Tourism Management- MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Talk about theMasters in International Tourism and Hotel Management. Answer: Presentation: In the realm of business, the need to have enterprising procedures is getting increasingly significant for improvement. Driven by the desire of enterprise, the methodology with respect to the procedures assesses the operational condition for the business and accentuates the thoughts and advancement. According to Baladacchino, the travel industry and cordiality industry has been under different changes in the most recent decade. There are pervasive serious weights, examples of utilization, visit changes in the inclinations of the buyers, progresses in the innovation, limiting in the cost, new and inventive circulation channels and combination (Baladacchino, 2013). Be that as it may, there are hardly any adjustments in the scene of business. Development has been administering the travel industry and accommodation industry as an approach to manage these and different changes in the business (Ballantyne Packer, 2013). Development and the travel industry and cordiality industry have close relationship with an innovative attitude that is basic to discover new organizations alongside reviving the previously existing one. Enterprise or making of new business in the travel industry and cordiality industry isn't as simple as the travel industry and neighborliness industry causes the clients to feel. Accommodation Accommodation which portrays the connection between the host and the visitor including the training or demonstration of being neighborly has been an empowering the drive for building a hotel as an activity in the travel industry and neighborliness industry. There has been an arrangement for building a 3 featured retreat along the intriguing sea shore of Burleigh Heads Beach, Gold Coast in Australia. The retreat would be named as Sunshine Resorts which would have 50 rooms with an advanced at this point near nature vibe. The arrangement of building the 3 featured retreats along the fascinating sea shore of Gold Coast is a lot of practical structure the business discernment. Burleigh Heads Beach in the Gold Coast is one of the competitors in the best sea shore class which is as of now a vacation spot. According to Birdir, et al, the Gold Coast sea shore has been pulling in the ostentatious vacationers and groups because of the appeal and intriguing perspective. The extended lengths of perfect and delightful sea shore give the best of exercises to the visitors. Building the 3 featured inn in this sightseers fascination spot would be improved by the degree for exceptional conditions for surfing and other water sports exercises alongside winding strolling tracks in the Burleigh Heads Beach of Gold Coast (Birdir, et al., 2013). The foundation of the 3 featured retreats in this excellent and extraordinary sea shore region along a significant interstate would be exceptionally helpful in the more extended te rm. Putting resources into building Sunshine resorts would likewise incorporate the ecological and social effects of the tasks and improvement of the travel industry and neighborliness business. The ecological and social effects of the foundations of business in the lovely common sea shore are to the degree where the issues with respect to the manageability have been penetrating in about pretty much every angle in the travel industry and friendliness industry. This has been influenced by different elements that remember the craving of the proprietors and administrators for request to lessen the expenses of activity, affecting the demeanor of the financial specialist towards the earth (Birdir, et al., 2013). This likewise has the concurring with the development in regards to the corporate social obligation programs. The arrangement of building up Sunshine resort on the sea shore of the Burleigh Heads sea shore additionally remembers the expanded administrative concentrate for the office advancement and tasks and an essential move towards the example of supportability. Natural Movement The natural development isn't a perspective to be disregarded while getting ready for building a 3 featured retreat by the side of an outlandish sea shore. There is a need to embrace ecological projects including the objectives that are broadly corporate ordinarily so as to decrease the use of vitality, age of waste, utilization of water and all the more as of late the emanations of ozone harming substance (Chen, 2013). The way that the state, government and the utility projects in regards to the asset proficiency focus on the inns and different other business foundations for the decrease of utilization of power is to be thought of while building up the retreat. The procedure for the with respect to the activities that are centered around clients, for example, the utilization of material and towel reuse programs. According to Chen, the essential inspiration factor for setting up the 3 featured retreats is the cost controls countering the increasing rates if utility (Chen, 2013). Utilities would represent 5-10 percent of the all out expenses of activity for the hotel and the natural administration systems that would be financially savvy can diminish the property wide utilization up to 20% with no significant interests in the broad level which would likewise incorporate up to 65% in the regions that would be focused on. Advances in the utilization of vitality recuperation framework would be utilized f or the most part for recouping the vitality that would be squandered from high temp water boilers through the use of innovation related with the warmth exchanger that would incorporate the assortment of condensate from the water chilled frameworks of climate control systems alongside the water recuperation frameworks of the flush cycle clothing. The act of gathering water for the water system and clothing utilizes, minimization of the expense of bills water utility and the synthetics for rewarding chlorinated and hard water sources would likewise be incorporated. As per Chen, the idea of building up Sunshine resort would care for the biological and natural structure that would incorporate no overabundance of innovation. The utilization of high caliber of reduced bright light bulbs and low stream paces of productive shower heads. It has been felt that the utilization of towel or material reuse tent card on the end table would upgrade the dedication of the administration to spare the earth and the environmental arrangement of the sea shore. The whole 3 featured hotel would be totally founded on the topic that is near the nature keeping the feeling of nature lives inside the rooms even (Chen, 2013). The utilization of bamboo and filaments that are all the more ecologically manageable will be utilized in building the inside of the rooms. The vitality framework that would be utilized for lighting and cooking reasons for existing are additionally going to be based generally as per the sustainable power source assets (Chen, 2013). The objective regions for teaching the natural and ecological perspectives into the structure would be the visitor rooms, kitchen, hallways, entryway, meeting lobby, the water system, and so forth this will be cultivated through a review that would concentrate on the properties of the offices, activities, and hardware in detail. The establishment of the sub-meters in high use zones would be gainful to assess and screen the adequacy of the focused on intercessions. The natural and ecological techniques that would be remembered for the foundation of Sunshine Resorts are changing of the staff rehearses for the decrease of the waste and protection of assets. Proficiency with respect to improved end use would be described by the decrease of assets, for example, power and water in order to play out a similar end utilize, for example, warming, ventilation, cooling, lighting, clothing burdens, and refrigeration. It tends to be accomplished through the asset recuperation frameworks, advancements that are exceptionally proficient and powerful controls (Chen, 2013). The appraisal of the outer condition of the Sunshine Resorts, fifty years down the line, can be broke down by the PEST examination viably. The political components would incorporate political variables that would impact the methods of adjustments in the perspectives and administrative proportions of the current government that would decide the achievement and improvement of Sunshine Resorts. Is the administration would be steady and supporter of the travel industry and friendliness industry then there would be gigantic extension enormous development for the hotel. There is finished help of the Australian government for the travel industry and cordiality industry as this industry creates a gigantic measure of income for the nation (Chen, 2013). Hence, the world of politics is helpful for the foundation of Sunshine Resort. The financial factor incorporate the components, for example, the predominant swelling rates, current paces of tax collection, the degree of joblessness, the situation of the equalization of trade and exchange rates, changes in the accessibility of funds and loan costs would influence the foundation of Sunshine Resorts (Chen, 2013). The financial condition for building the hotel would incorporate the bearing and nature of the Australian economy where the retreat would need to contend later on. The progressions in regards to the social condition in the way of life and qualities, changing examples of recreation and work, changing the blend in the strict and ethnic populace foundation and segment changes will have the effect on the manageability of the hotel (Kasim, et al., 2014). The developing ethnic, sex and social decent variety in the workforce of the retreat would make openings and difficulties to the hotel. These variables would some way or another work to the detriment of the foundation of the retreat as the regular changes in the qualities and way of life of the clients would show a declining pattern that has the capability of influencing the hotel antagonistically. The mechanical elements that would affect the foundation of the Sunshine Resorts on the Gold Coast sea shore in Australia can change the manners by which diverse help would be given .additionally, the presentation of the availability of broadband, the whole business world has experienced a change (Kim Lee, 2017). These mechanical advancements would have impacts on the development and working of the Resort. The progressed sy

The Crucible Essays

The Crucible Essays The Crucible Essay The Crucible Essay I would guide Mary to state this in an arguing and alarmed power, and I would guide her to lean forward and back a little once saying it, so it would seem that she needs to connect and get Abigail. This passes on to the crowd that Mary is frozen of Abigail and she recognizes what Abigail is doing. After this, Mercy ventures forward out of the horde of young ladies in front of an audience and starts babbling her teeth and puts her arms out to give her shaking hands and takes a gander at Danforth and Yells : Your Honor, I hold up! in a particular shuddering voice. This passes on to the crowd that Mercy needs the appointed authorities to trust Abigail, and shows that Mercy has comprehended Abigails indication to begin seeing the fallen angel. At the point when Mary says her next line, I would guide Mary to do the line: Lord, spare me! in a shouting for all to hear movement, and I would guide her to tumble to the floor by her knees beginning to curve, and I would guide delegate to snatch her underarms and lift her back up. This passes on to the crowd that Mary doesnt have anything to do with what Abigail is doing, and she has an inclination that she has no expectation left in her, and that lone the ruler can spare her. Danforth then takes a gander at Mary and says: Mary Warren, do you with her? I state to you, do you send your soul out? I would coordinate Danforth to take a gander at Abigail before he says the line and afterward to take a gander at Mary, this shows to the crowd that he had seen what is happening and is being one-sided about what he is stating. When Danforth is stating his lines I would guide him to state Mary Warren in a rough tone, and once he has said her name he glances back at Abigail and afterward for cefully turns his head back to Mary and gives pointy eyes (generally known as wrongs) to Mary. The he likewise says the line in an immediate allegation tone. This shows the crowd that Danforth trusts Mary and he is startling her. Once Abigail has said her line : goodness, glorious dad, remove this shadow I would guide Proctor to jump forward, relinquishing Mary, and snatches Abigail by the hair, and falls upon Danforths work area and afterward pulls himself up, as yet grasping her hair, and pulls her to her feet violently, while Abigail shouts in torment, and goes Abigail to confront him (the entirety of this would be a side perspective on the two motel front of the crowd, so the crowd can perceive what delegate is doing to Abigail) and he relinquishes her hair, yet with one hand despite everything holding it firmly, and the other hand getting the base of her jaw and he lifts her jaw up and hollers : How would you call paradise, Whore! Prostitute! This communicates to the crowd that Proctor has lost his temper with Abigail, and is taking out his hostility on what she has done on her and is happy to lose his great keeps an eye on notoriety for it, to demonstrate to the court that Abigail is equipped for anythi ng. When Proctor and Abigail have been isolated, Proctor should state his next line: It is a prostitute in a short of breath and anguishing way, and he should twist down and place his hands on his knees. This shows he put all his exertion into assaulting Abigail and is currently exhausted. On the line: John, you can't state such a - I would coordinate Francis to look shocked about the thing Proctor has quite recently said about Abigail, and makes large hand signals while saying it to show his feeling in what he is stating. This proposes to the crowd that he doesnt need Proctor to state that Abigail is a prostitute, and it shows that he doesnt accept what Proctor has quite recently said and that he doesnt accept that a youngster could be fit for it. I would guide delegate to turn upward, with his head held high, holding his clench hands and attempting to hold back the tears and says : in the best possible spot, where my brutes are slept with. On the most recent night of my delight, nearly eight months past. She used to serve me in my home, sir. (He needs to brace his jaw to prevent him from sobbing) A man may feel that God rests, however God sees everything, I know it now, I beseech you, sir, I implore you see her what she is. My significant other, my dear great spouse, took this young lady before long, sir, and put her put on the highroad. Also, being what she is, a chunk of vanity, sir (he is being survived. ) Excellency, pardon me. (Indignantly against himself, he gets some distance from the Governor for a second. At that point as if to cry is his lone methods for discourse left) she thinks to hit the dance floor with me on my wifes grave! Also, well she may, for I thought of her delicately. Lord have mercy on me, I craved, and there is a guarantee in such perspiration. Be that as it may, it is a prostitutes retaliation, and you should see it; I set myself altogether in your grasp. I realize you should see it now. Where the words are in italics, this is the point at which I would guide delegate to about separate in tears, and show his actual feeling; and the words that are in strong I would guide him to state these words unmistakably. This speaks with the crowd that Proctor is profoundly embarrassed about himself and is frantically attempting to break through to the adjudicator about what Abigail resembles. After Proctors awful discourse, I would coordinate Danforth to take a gander at Abigail disappointingly, and afterward Abigail would state her line turning around to Danforth and venturing towards him saying in a sharp tone : what look do you give me? I would coordinate Danforth to look dazed now) Ill not have such looks. (she turns for the entryway) By Abigail saying this in a sharp tone, and Danforth being dazed, it passes on to the crowd that Abigail is as yet controlling Danforth and that Danforth is presently beginning to trust Proctor. When Elizabeth has entered on page 90, I would guide Elizabeth to state her first line: Good, sir faintly. This passes on to the crowd that Elizabeth has been dealt with gravely in the jail and has unexpected frailty. I would then direct Elizabeth to attempt to get delegate consideration while saying: she were - I would guide her to look in delegate course, with a tear in her eye, and she would state the line hesitantly. This passes on to the crowd that Elizabeth doesnt realize how to respond to the inquiry as she doesn't have the foggiest idea whether her better half needs her to let them know or not. At the point when Elizabeth says the line Oh God! I would guide her to endeavor to glance back at delegate and for her to separate in tears. This passes on to the crowd that she lied for Proctor not understanding that he didnt need her to lie for him. After this show in front of an audience, I would guide Hale to state his line a requesting way. At the point when he says the line: I trust him! (Highlighting Abigail. ) This young lady has consistently struck me bogus! She has - I would guide him to rapidly point at Abigail, utilizing his entire arm and will stroll to towards her before he completes the sentence. This shows the crowd that Hale trusts Proctor and is attempting to show the court what is truly occurring and that he is attempting to persuade the court to trust Proctor. When Abigail shouts and says the line: You won't! Begone! Begone I state! In a terrified way; I would coordinate Abigail to push her arms back and to gaze toward the roof while saying the line, however not long before she says the line I would guide her to make an abnormal, wild and chilling cry. When Danforth asks Abigail what is wrong, I would coordinate Abigail to point at the roof with dread, and moves her head to confront Danforth, and her eyes look alarmed, with her face appallingly awed, and afterward she takes a gander at the young ladies, and they all do likewise as what she was doing beforehand, and afterward Abigail gazes toward the roof once more. This passes on to the crowd that Abigail is advising the young ladies to gaze toward the roof as something is there. At the point when Proctor says the line : Do you see a winged creature I would guide him to state this in a befuddled manner, to show that hes not certain if a genuine little fowl is there or not. This passes on to the crowd that lone the young ladies can see the feathered creature. On the line: Abby, Im here! I would guide Mary to shout this at Abigail while inclining forward a bit, as though to go close to her, while with two hands gripped on her heart. This passes on to the crowd that Mary is frantic for Abby to stop it and that Mary isnt doing anything incorrectly. At the point when all the young ladies state: Abby you mustnt I would guide every one of their eyes to fixed all the way open. This makes a sensational impact in front of an audience and passes on to the crowd that their activities have something to do with their arrangement with the demon. Mary at that point shouts: Abby and I would guide her to have tears moving down her cheeks, however not insanely, and for her to stamp her feet like a little youngster frantic to get what she needs. This passes on to the crowd again that Mary is frantic for Abigail to stop in any case if the appointed authorities trust Abigail and the young ladies; Mary could confront a capital punishment for it. On the line: Look out! Shes descending! I would guide all the young ladies to gaze upward before that line and once the line is stated, all the young ladies should yell and hurry to divider in front of an audience where the adjudicators are not situated. I would likewise coordinate the spread the eyes utilizing a cross shape with their hand, with the palms confronting outwards, similar to a shield before their eyes. The young ladies all shout, and afterward I would guide Mary to check out the court, to look alarmed, and close her eyes with her clench hands grasped, and for her to let out the most intense shout she can, and when this happens I would guide the young ladies shouts to gradually blur and for them to un-shield their eyes, so everybody in the court is watching Mary shouting. At that point I would guide delegate to run towards her and to snatch her by the shoulders. This proposes to the crowd that Mary got to terrified and joined Abigails side, and that Proctor is dumbfounded by what Mary has recently done. From that point onward, I would coordinate that Mary pulls from delegate and quits shouting, yet goes to confront him and gradually steps back screaming: My name, he need my name (I would guide Mary to take a gander at Danforth thoughtfully and afterward turn around round) Ill homicide you he state, if my significant other hangs!

International Relations Gender Inequality Issues

Question: Examine about theInternational Relations forGender Inequality Issues. Answer: Presentation: Male centric society is known as the social framework, where guys hold the essential control over females. Guys hold the prevail power in the job of good position, social benefit, political authority and control of property. In the degree of family likewise, fathers hold the control over moms and their youngsters. This sort of social framework is exceptionally followed in the nation like India. Influential man of the general public created and controlled this framework for making risk of brutality over females. Indeed, such sort of sex disparity framework has become a conviction of each individual in the general public and everybody is very habituated with such framework. In such circumstance, forming a sexual orientation balance point of view is an excessive amount of extreme in the nation like India. Writing Review Male centric society framework is social framework guys have authority over females in all parts of the general public. As per Batra and Reio (2016), sexual orientation generalization is the most characterizing factor in the general public of India, which prompts man centric framework. Then again, Rao and Finnoff (2015) opined that male centric framework in Indian culture, is increasingly centered around Joint family structure, where guys are the head of family. As per Emran and Shilpi (2015) if there should arise an occurrence of business additionally, guys make the guidelines and guideline for the business and command business just as Government. Then again, Hughes et al. (2015) contended that females are just to hold up under housekeeping obligation, deal with youngsters, and above all help the guys. In the long run, it turns into the conviction of very individual including both the guys and females that guys reserve each privilege to anything they need and command the females. It is at last manhandling the females of Indian Society. Along these lines, sex uniformity insightful isn't an agreeable thing, which can be actualized in this sort of society. As per Bidner and Eswaran (2015), 54% of ladies in Indian Society are proficient in contrast with 76% educated men. It speaks to that female of this sort of society get little extent of tutoring and experience the ill effects of one-sided and out of line legacy. Then again, Mohammad and Jan (2015) contended that females in the nation like India are commonly hitched youthful and become mother early. Along these lines, ladies are immediately troubled with severe monetary and local duties. If there should be an occurrence of getting wage for a work likewise there are segregation between the guys and females. As per Rao and Finnoff (2015), at Rajasthan in India, the majority of the female specialists get 30% lower compensation contrasted with that of male laborers. Then again, Bidner and Eswaran (2015) brought up that solid inclination of child in Indian Society lead to expanding pace of female kid child murder. Thusly, ladies in this sort of society are carefully confined to show their autonomy and roll out any social improvement. In todays present day society, however different ladies strengthening techniques have been taken, yet expelling the convention and regular sex imbalance view of individuals totally is incredibly extreme. As indicated by Batra and Reio (2016), in Indian culture ladies are to live in the place of their dad while they are youngsters and are to live in their place of spouse, while they are hitched. There are no extent of demonstrating their autonomy. Then again, Mohammad and Jan (2015) opined that if there should be an occurrence of Muslim culture, the ladies are to confront extraordinary segregation than others. In this culture, ladies are to wear vale for concealing their face from guys. They are likewise not permitted to go any Mosque for Namaaz. Females are commonly withdrawn from getting their acquired property, since guys have all the more directly over these properties. Along these lines, sex disparity in Indian Society is in each part of life. Moreover, bringing the viewpoint of sex equity is an excessive amount of complex and need more training and present day thinking with respect to individuals. Research Design Research Question What is the power of male centric framework in Indian Society? What are the reasons of sex disparity in the Society like India? That it is so difficult to form sex equity point of view of Indian Society? Speculations It is difficult to form sexual orientation a sex correspondence point of view of a nation like India where male centric framework is emphatically followed It isn't so difficult to form sex a sexual orientation equity point of view of a nation like India where male centric framework is firmly followed Test So as to direct the examination, 50 male residents and 50 female residents of Indian Society will be chosen. These respondents will be approached inquiries for social affair data with respect to sexual orientation disparity. Techniques So as to gather pertinent data, both auxiliary and essential information assortment techniques will be chosen. From auxiliary information assortment, different valid diaries, books and site will be chosen. Despite what might be expected, in essential information assortment strategy, quantitative method will be utilized for straightforwardly reaching with the respondents. Among the exploration methodologies, meeting and overview strategy will be picked. In quantitative information assortment method, respondents will be given overview questions and they will give data dependent on those study questions. Likelihood testing will be picked for gathering data from the respondents whenever it might suit them (Keenan, van Teijlingen and Pitchforth 2015). Online study addresses will be given to the respondents. Diagnostic Technique Diagnostic methods are received for changing over general data of the respondents to explicit data (King and Mackey 2016). Factual logical instruments will be embraced with the end goal of quantitative information examination. In this area, the accumulated data will be assessed dependent on mean, middle, mode and standard deviation. It will change over the general data to explicit data in a compelling way. Aside from that, different perspective of the respondents over the subject of research will be assemble from such logical methods. It will improve the nature of research yield. Reference List Batra, R. what's more, Reio, T.G., 2016. Sexual orientation imbalance issues in India.Advances in Developing Human Resources,18(1), pp.88-101. Bidner, C. furthermore, Eswaran, M., 2015. A sexual orientation based hypothesis of the inception of the position arrangement of India.Journal of Development Economics,114, pp.142-158. Emran, M.S. furthermore, Shilpi, F., 2015. Sexual orientation, Geography, and Generations: Intergenerational Educational Mobility in Post-Reform India.World Development,72, pp.362-380. Hughes, C., Bolis, M., Fries, R. furthermore, Finigan, S., 2015. Ladies' monetary imbalance and abusive behavior at home: investigating the connections and engaging women.Gender Development,23(2), pp.279-297. Keenan, K.F., van Teijlingen, E. furthermore, Pitchforth, E., 2015. The investigation of subjective research information in family arranging and conceptive wellbeing care.Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care,31(1), pp.40-43. Ruler, K.A. also, Mackey, A., 2016. Research Methodology in Second Language Studies: Trends, Concerns, and New Directions.The Modern Language Journal,100(S1), pp.209-227. Mohammad, Y.J. what's more, Jan, R., 2015. Network Based Midwives Practice in Patriarchal Social System.Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM),2(2), pp.62-73. Rao, S. what's more, Finnoff, K., 2015. Marriage Migration and Inequality in India, 19832008.Population and Development Review,41(3), pp.485-505.

Investigation On Lastminute Coms Ipo And Subsequent Performance Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

The short-run underpricing and long-run underperformance of initial public offerings (IPOs) are the best documented anomalies in finance. This paper investigates if these anomalies exist in the aftermarket performance of the IPO of an internet-based company, Lastminute.com plc. Further analyses are then carried out to explain the performance results. Evidence are presented that the companys IPO exhibits positive abnormal returns on the first day of trading. There are several theories of underpricing do not apply in explaining the short-run performance of the company. The long-run underperformance of IPO, which found in previous research, is not supported by the evidence of this study. The main problem of the long-run performance investigation is the difficulty of justifying systematic long-run underperformance in a reliable manner, especially during the bubble period. Numerous studies have documented two well-known anomalies in initial public offerings (IPOs). One is that the IPOs provide large positive abnormal returns in the initial days of trading (Ritter, 1987; Levis 1990). This anomaly has been observed in almost every finance markets of the world. The other puzzle is IPOs appear to be overpriced in the long run. For example, Ritter (1991) provides evidence that US IPOs significantly underperform in the 3 years following the offering. However, the international evidence on the long-run performance of IPOs are less extensive and unanimously conclusive than the one on underpricing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the short-run as well as the long-run performance of an internet-based company, Lastminute.com plc which floated before dot-com bubble burst by using the event study methodology on IPOs. Besides, this clinical study provides further analyses and possible explanations for the observed results of the analysed firm based on the theoretical models in academic literature. I use market adjusted abnormal returns (MAARs) to measure short-run performance and the intercept from Fama-French (1993) three-factor model, i.e. Jensens alpha ( to measure average monthly abnormal return for different periods in the long run. These returns are adjusted by different benchmarks. Moreover, buy-and-hold abnormal returns (BHARs) are computed as a complementary analysis for the results from the Fama-French three factor model. To summarize the empirical findings of this paper, first, the results provide evidence supporting the general robustness of the prior finding with regard to the short-run underpricing of the Lastminute.coms IPO. There is significant and abnormally high first day return for the studied firm regardless the selection of benchmark. The short-run performance appears to be best explained by the high speculation level over the issue. The Rock (1986) model, the signalling hypothesis and the underwriter prestigious hypothesis are not the appropriate elucidations for the abnormal initial return results. Second, unlike previous research, the interesting finding is an inverse relationship between the periods after the firm floated and its poor post-IPO performance. The results from Fama-French three-factor model are not consistent with the initial prediction based on the academic literature. I find that Lastminute.com outperforms the market indices in the long run in spite of the signs of underperformance in the first year of trading. Results also show that the company performs better than other technology companies when the period tested is longer than 1 year. These results, nevertheless, are all statistically insignificant and therefore it concludes that the company of interest does not exhibit abnormal performance in the long run. Furthermore, the earnings management analysis does not indicate that there are accounting manipulations in the firm prior to the flotation. The dot-com bubble period, 1999-2000 period is extraordinary for the simple fact that both valuations and underpricing of firms simultaneously skyrocketed. It is important to note that Ljungvist and Wilhelm Jr. (2002) provide some evidence for the unique firm characteristics and aberrant pricing behaviour during the period. This paper, however, does not intend to examine the effect of the bubble on asset pricing and investor behaviour. I leave this for other researchers. The rest of my paper is arranged as follows. Section 2 provides the background for the studied firm. Section 3 reviews the IPO academic literature on short-run underpricing and long-run underperformance. Section 4 describes the data, methodology and hypothesis used in the investigation. Section 5 set out the short-run results and analysis. Section 6 set out the long-run results and analysis. Section 7 discusses the limitations and possible future research for the paper. Section 8 concludes the paper. 2. Background of the clinical study The company under investigation, Lastminute.com plc is an online travel agency and e-tailer which specialises in selling inventory such as package holidays, flights and consumer products at cut-rate prices to website customers. It was founded by Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman in 1998. The site became an instant hit with internet travelers, garnering enough business and rapid growth to allow the company to offer stock on the London Stock Exchange in March 2000. The purpose of the offering, according to its prospectus, was to raise approximately 113.5 million. Half of the amount would be used to increase sales and marketing activities, and the remaining for product development and expansion such as broadening supplier base, potential acquisition in UK and internationally. In addition, the company acknowledged in the prospectus that it was not profitable and expected to incur future losses. The major risk factors were reliance on third parties, intense competition and e-commerce uncertainties. Lane Fox and Hoberman became the icon of UK internet business entrepreneurs during the British dot-com boom. The company timed its launch to perfection and floated at the peak of the internet bubble. The issues received high interest of public and the share price spiralled as high as 555p from the offer price 380p on the first day of trading. Following the bubble burst, subsequently, Lastminute.coms stock sank and lost nearly half of its value within three weeks. Lastminute.com, however, unlike hundreds of other first-wave internet companies, it survived the bubble burst and stock market clash in 2001. Moreover, it continues to thrive and grow through expansion and shows reducing loss in its financial accounts. Lastminute.com is still considered as one of the few successful internet-based businesses in the relatively unstable world of internet. 3. Literature review 3.1. Empirical evidence and theories of short-run IPO underpricing A number of studies indicate the mispricing of IPOs which tend to yield substantial returns in the days immediately following issue. Stoll and Curley (1970) are the avant-garde to show the systematic abnormal first-day returns of IPOs. Substantial international evidence show that IPO underpricing has become a worldwide phenomenon. For British IPOs, the studies of Dimson (1979), Buckland, Herbert and Yeomans (1981), the Bank of England (1990), Jenkinson and Mayer (1988) and Levis (1993) exhibit average first day returns ranging from 8.6% to 17%. Ritter (1987), Welch (1989), Ibbotson, Sindelar and Ritter (1994) and Rajan and Servaes (1997) provide evidence suggesting that the existence of average initial returns of up to 16% has been a regular feature of the US new issue market. Lee, Taylor and Walter (1994), Jacquillat (1986), Kaneko and Pettway (1994) and Ljungqvist (1997) among others provide evidence of abnormal returns of up to 14% in the developed markets of the world such as Aus tralia, France, Japan and Germany. The literature abounds with a variety of conjectures that purport to explain the observed underpricing in IPOs based on the economic realities in the marketplace. Rock (1986) model provide a fundamental and convincing explanation for IPO performance by applying winners curse hypothesis to the new issue market. The model classifies investors as either informed or uninformed. The former are those who spend to assess the potential performance of the new issue, whereas the latter do not spend resources on the evaluation of the stock. Informed investors tend to crowd out uninformed investors for the underpriced and possibly lucrative issues. Consequently, uninformed investors hold a disproportionately large amount of overpriced IPOs, as informed investors may not subscribe. Uninformed investors would leave the market as they would systematically make losses. In order to keep the uninformed investors in the IPO market and to compensate their expected losses, the investment bankers have to offer the securities at discounts from their expected after-market prices. The studies by Koh and Walter (1989), Keloharju (1993), and Levis (1990) produce results that are consistent with and thus add further weight to the Rock model. Some theories propose the underpricing as a signalling mechanism of the firm quality. Allen and Faulhaber (1989) conclude that IPO underpricing is a credible indication of a firms post issue prospects. It is assumed that the underpricing in the firms initial offering is an immediate loss to the initial owners and companies with favourable position and performance in the after-market will be able to recoup the loss. These good companies underprice their IPO, because by doing so they direct investors to a favourable subsequent dividend results. Nevertheless, the assumption that company directors are willing to accept the initial loss on the IPO and renounce larger potential funding is doubtful in practical realities of market. Ritter (1984) suggested that gross underpricing may be a result of the monopsony power of the investment bankers in underwriting common stocks of small speculative firms. These investment bankers intentionally underprice the securities and only are allocated to favoured large customers who regularly buy a variety of investment services from the investment bank and thus pay unusually high brokerage fees. Tinic (1988), however, found evidence that the monopsony power hypothesis is not adequate for explaining underpricing behaviour. Johnson and Miller (1988) advance another explanation for underpricing. They analyse the prestige of underwriters and the level of underpricing. The finding is that the greater the underwriter prestige, the lower the degree of underpricing and it also works in the opposite way. This suggests the more prestigious banks require less underpricing to attract investor interest because they deal with lower risk issues. Beatty and Welch (1996) challenge the underwriter prestige hypothesis and show the inverse relation recently reversed for small firms. Muscarella and Vetsuypens (1989) find that investment banks themselves that go public are underpriced as well. The speculative bubble hypothesis claims that large excess returns of the IPOs are attributed to the investors who could not get allocations of the oversubscribed new issues from the underwriters at the offering prices. The speculative appetites of these investors then speculate temporarily inflating the price of the new issues in the aftermarket. When speculative demand diminishes, this speculative bubble should burst and negative excess returns are expected on the post-IPO share. Tests on aftermarket returns by Ritter (1984) and Tinic (1988) could find no evidence supportive of this hypothesis. Tinic (1988) and Hughes and Thakor (1992) argue that IPO underpricing used as a form of insurance to reduce legal liability by both issuers and underwriters. This theory implies that a greater degree of underpricing occur to prevent investors experiencing significant losses on IPOs, as a result they are willing to neglect small errors such as omission of data, inadequate nature of data supplied for the disclosure requirement and thus not led to legal actions. However, Drake and Vetsuypens (1993) criticize and reject this hypothesis by showing evidence that underpriced IPOs are just as likely to be sued as overpriced IPOs and that there is no significant difference in underpricing between sued and non-sued firms. 3.2 Empirical evidence and theories of long-run underperformance The long-run underperformance of IPOs is a well-known perplexity in IPO literature and has attracted much attention from either investors or academic researchers in recent years. From an investors viewpoint, the existence of price patterns may present opportunities for superior returns using active trading strategies. A finding of non-zero market performance would also call into question the informational efficiency of the IPO market which proposes after-market stock price should appropriately reflect the shares intrinsic value. Several authors have examined the returns on IPOs during the three years after going public for a number of countries. The international evidence of long-run underperformance is summarized in Table 1. Table 1 International Evidence on Long-run IPO Overpricing Country Reference Sample size Time period Total abnormal return Australia Lee, Taylor Walter (1996) 266 1976-89 -46.5% Austria Aussenegg (1997) 57 1965-93 -27.3% Brazil Aggarwal, Leal Hernandez (1993) 62 1980-90 -47.0% Canada Jog and Srivistava (1994) 216 1972-93 -17.9% Chile Aggarwal, Leal Hernandez (1993) 28 1982-90 -23.7% Finland Keloharju (1993) 79 1984-89 -21.1% Germany Ljungqvist (1997) 145 1970-90 -12.1% Japan Cai Wei (1997) 172 1971-90 -27.0% Korea Kim, Krinsky Lee (1992) 99 1985-88 +2.0% Singapore Hin Mahmood (1993) 45 1976-84 -9.2% Sweden Loughran, Ritter Rydqvist (1994) 162 1980-90 +1.2% United Kingdom Levis (1993) 712 1980-88 -8.1% United States Loughran Ritter (1995) 4,753 1970-90 -20.0% Sources: Ritter (1998) and various studies cited Notes: Total abnormal returns are measured as , where is the average total return (where a 50% return is measured as 0.5) on the IPOs from the market price shortly after trading commences until the earlier of the delisting date or 3 years; is the average of either the market return or matching-firm returns over the same interval. Theoretical explanations for the long-run underperformance of IPOs are less plenteous compared with IPO underpricing. Miller (1977) provides behavioural and expectation based explanation for the underperformance of new issues. He advances the divergence of opinion hypothesis and suggests that investors who are most optimistic about an IPO will be the buyers. If there is great uncertainty about the value of an IPO, the valuations of optimistic investors will be much higher than those of pessimistic investors. Over time, as the variance of opinions decreases, investors amend their initial share valuations downwards and the price will fall. In tune with this theory, Rajan Servaes (1997) shows that investors gain from initial underpricing suffer poor aftermarket performance. The difficulty of measuring the divergence of opinion, however, resulted in a number of criticisms of this theory. Jain and Kini (1994) provide explanation for the poor long-run performance using the agency costs hypothesis. They investigate the relation between the ownership structure and the long-run performance of IPO and conclude that new issues with greater equity retention by the original shareholders yield better long-run performance. Mikkelson, Partch and Shah (1997), however, show that post-IPO operating performance is not related to the ownership structure. Despite their opposing results, both studies demonstrate that long-run return performance is accompanied by poor financial accounting performance after IPO relative to pre-IPO performance. Teoh, Welch, and Wong (1998) document that IPOs underperformance is attributable to the unusually high discretionary accounting accruals in the IPO-year. They suggest that firms manage their earnings to look good when they conduct their IPO. However, firms find it hard to maintain such accounting manipulations for long periods because accruals reversed over the long run because sum of earnings must equal the sum of cash flows in the long term. Consequently, any higher-than-normal accruals in one period must be reversed. When pre-issue earnings levels not maintained in post- issue periods, the market revises its valuation down and cause a decline in post-issue returns. Risk-measurement hypothesis explains that underperformance caused by the failure to adjust returns for time-varying systematic risk. One of the problems is the choice of benchmark. Dimson and Marsh (1986), Ritter (1991), and Fama and French (1996) and others demonstrated that the measurement of the long-run performance of the IPOs is sensitive to the benchmark employed. These imply that imperfect benchmarking affect the possibility of long-run returns. Brav (1997), Barber and Lyon (1997) and Kothari and Warner (1997) point out that statistical inference conducted using traditional testing methods, such as t-tests is mis-specified. This is a problem for long horizon event studies. Brav (2000) attributes the misspecification to the potentially important violations of the underlying statistical assumptions.[1]A statistical approach to solve this problem is calendar time approach which has been advocated by Fama (1998) and other researchers. Meanwhile, Barber and Lyon (1997) and Brav (2000) and others support the characteristic-based matching approach and address this measurement bias by using size/book-to-market value matched portfolio as their benchmarks. 4. Data, methodology and hypothesis development 4.1 Data The main source of data for the study is the Datastream service. I obtain total return index for calculating the daily returns and month returns of the analysed company in this clinical study, the FTSE All-Share Index, and the FTSE techMARK All-Share Index from this database. Thomson ONE Banker is used to get the lists of historical constituents of FTSE All-Share Index and their respective market value. Besides, annual reports and prospectus of the company under consideration are also obtained from here. Information, news and press reports about the analysed company are generally retrieved from Factiva website. I also analyse the information such as the offer price, the underwriter and the amount raised on the issues from the London Stock Exchange statistical fact sheets.[2]Monthly Fama-French factors data in UK by Gregory, Tharyan and Huang (2009) are used to carry out the analysis of performance. 4.2. Selection of benchmarks There are some benchmarks selected to adjust the returns in tests. The main market index used is the FTSE All-Share Index, which should best represent the performance of London Stock Exchange market and it is used in many UK IPO studies. Furthermore, the FTSE techMARK All-share Index is chosen as the second market index to represent the performance of innovative and technology companies which are similar to the studied company.[3] A reference portfolio matched by size is chosen as the additional benchmark and it is selected from the main market. The reference portfolio selected from the FTSE techMark was attempted but abandoned due to the unavailability of data before April 2001. A matched stock will not be chosen because there is likely to be a large error in any one application (the variation of actual returns around expected returns is typically very large) and therefore it is not appropriate in this clinical study (Strong 1992). I obtain the constituent list of FTSE All-Share Index on the day of the IPO occurred and reconstruct the index by excluding those firms which delisted before the trading day exactly one year from the IPO. Moreover, I exclude the company of interest from the index. (reason?) As in Fama and French (1993), the June market value of common equity (shares outstanding multiplied by June closing price) is measured as the firm size in each year. Size rankings based on market value of equity in year t are then used from year t through year t + 1. Companies without the market capitalization data in June of year t are deleted from the analysis.[4]The companies are then ranked based on their June market capitalization and 10 deciles of equal number of companies are created. In other words, tenth of those companies in the index with lowest market capitalisation are categorised into first decile, the second decile is the next tenth of companies with lowest market capitalization and so forth. The decile portfolio to which studied company would have belonged based on its size in June of the year is selected as its size reference portfolio. This size reference portfolio is changed every year using the same method; i.e. a new reference portfolio is reselected at the trading day exactly one year from the IPO based on the June market value of equity of the year. The monthly return of the size reference portfolio is calculated by averaging the monthly returns across all securities in a particular size decile. The calculation of the size-benchmark return is equivalent to a strategy of investing in an equally weighted size decile portfolio with monthly rebalancing. (Barber and Lyon 1997) 4.3. Short-run performance measurement The initial post-IPO abnormal returns will be calculated as in Khurshed and Mudambi (1999). Firstly, the daily returns of analysed companys stock () and of its benchmarks () are calculated based on their daily total return index (RI) as: ; Where and are the total return index of companys stock and of its benchmarks on the tth day of trading, and are the total return index of companys stock and of its benchmarks on the t 1th day of trading respectively. Using these two returns, the market adjusted abnormal return for the IPO on tth day of trading is computed as: The measure of MAAR does not take into account of the systematic risk associated with the issue. It assumes the systematic risk of the IPO under consideration is the same as that of the benchmark, i.e. beta of the IPO average to unity. Therefore, if the beta of the new listed firm is not equal to one, MAAR is a upward-biased estimate of the IPOs initial performance. However, Khurshed and Mudambi (1999) state that the assumption is unlikely to affect the essence of the results. 4.4. Long-run performance measurement The monthly returns of analysed company and its benchmarks are computed in an analogous manner stated, based on monthly total return index. Cross-dependence problem, as mentioned in Section 3 is considered before the long-run test is carried out. The Fama-French three factor model that will be employed, is a Jensen-alpha approach which is immune to the bias because of the use of calendar-time portfolios. 4.4.1. The Fama-French three factor model The long-run event study tests will be carried out with the use of three-factor model developed by Fama and French (1993). The model is applied by regressing the post-event monthly excess returns for the company of interest on a market factor, a size factor, and a book-to-market factor: Where is the monthly return on the stock of IPO firm, is the one month return on UK Treasury Bills, is the return on the value weighted market index.[5]is the return on a value-weighted portfolio of small stocks less the return on a value-weighted portfolio of big stocks, is the return on a value-weighted portfolio of high book-to-market stocks less the return on a value-weighted portfolio of low book-to-market stocks.[6] Parameter estimates of , , , are obtained using regression analysis, represents the error term in the regression. The parameter of interest is the intercept, (Jensens alpha) which signifies the average monthly abnormal return of the firm over the period. In other words, a positive intercept indicates that the firm has performed better than expected after controlling for market, size and book-to-market factors. Inferences about the abnormal performance are on the basis of the estimated and its statistical significance. 4.4.2. Buy-and-hold abnormal returns (BHARs) Despite the succinctness and the popularity in event studies, Fama-French three factor model is not without weakness. First, Ritter and Welch (2002) point out that the Fama-French three factors are contaminated especially in periods of high IPO issuing, which is the period of this clinical studies. Second, the regression approach assumes that a firms market, size and book-to-market characteristics are stable over time. In contrary, matching portfolio approach allows a firms portfolio assignment to be changed once every year. The method of buy-and-hold abnormal returns in Barber and Lyon (1997) will be adopted as a complementary analysis of the abnormal performance of the company of interest. The return is calculated as the difference between the return on a buy-and-hold investment in the firm under consideration and the return on a buy-and-hold investment in the benchmark with an appropriate expected return: The BHAR approach is more corresponding to the regular investor behaviour. It represents the return of investing in the company under analysis compared to the benchmark stated. Nonetheless, when this approach is used in clinical studies, i.e. a single analysed company only, the statistical significance cannot be tested because the underlying distribution is not clear. Ergo, the results will only be interpreted without statistical test. 4.4.3. Earnings Management Analysis The earning management analysis will be computed as in Toniato (2007) to investigate the earnings management of the company of interest prior to and after the year of IPO. The total accruals for a firm in year t ( comprise of non-discretionary and discretionary portions, it can be derived using the formula: The expectations model for total accruals to control for changes in the economic circumstances of the firm is: Where = change in revenue from year t-1 to year t; = gross property plant and equipment in year t for firm; = total assets in year t-1 for firm; and = residual term in year t for firm. The level of accruals in year t is calculated using the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates from the regression above as: Knowing that , the prediction error from the OLS regression denotes the level of discretionary accruals for the company. It also represents the proxy for the level of earning management of the company in certain period. 4.5. Hypothesis development There are 2 hypotheses to be tested for the performance of company in relation to the IPO anomalies. First, based on the evidence in section 3 that IPOs are on average underpriced, and the dot.com bubble exacerbates the effect, I test whether the studied companys IPO is underpriced and it performs significantly better than the benchmarks on the first day of issue. The null Hypothesis 1 states that the MAAR of the IPO company is equal or below zero on the 1st day of trading. Second, consider that some business news report that the studied company is a relatively successful internet business, but numerous international evidence demonstrate the long-run underperformance of IPOs, I will study whether the company under analysis over perform or underperform the market within the period of first, second and three years of trading. In other words, I test if there are significant abnormal returns generated over or below those captured by the three factors. The null Hypothesis 2 posits that there is no abnormal performance and the intercept (average monthly abnormal return) is zero. In addition, I expect that the BHAR will be directly related to the results in Fama-French model. However, this method does not allow for a suitable statistical test in clinical study. Therefore, it is merely a supplementary result for the analysis of long-run performance. 4.6. Test statistics To test the null hypothesis that the 1st day MAAR of the IPO firm is equal to zero, I employ the Patell Standardised Residual (PSR) Test by Patell (1976). The parameters are estimated from the observations outside the testing period, i.e. estimation period (EP).[7]The abnormal returns are prediction errors rather than true residuals and should be standardised. A Student t-statistic is calculated using the following formula: Where is an estimate of the variance of the residuals during the EP; reflects the increase in variance due to prediction outside the EP; T = the number of observations in the EP; and The test statistics used in the regression analysis in Fama-French three factor model is based on the time-series variability of the portfolio return residuals and this is obtained from the output of regression test. 5. Short-run results The results of short-run analysis, using measure of 1st day MAAR against different benchmarks are presented in Table 2. Table 2 Short-run performance results Benchmark selection FTSE All-Share Index FTSE techMARK All-Share Index Size Refrence Portfolio (%) 28.00 (4.30)* 28.48 (4.38)* 28.17 (4.33)* t-statistics are presented in parentheses. * Significant at 1%, using a one-tailed test The analysed IPO company, Lastminute.com produces return of about 28% adjusted by all benchmarks in the first trading day. These results are significant at the 1% confidence level. The firm outperforms FTSE techMark All-Share Index slightly higher than the size reference portfolio and FTSE All-Share Index. Overall, the numerical agreements among the 3 sets of results are close and thus the use of different benchmarks does not lead to significant differences in the returns. I conclude that Lastminute.com IPO exhibits positive significant abnormal return on the first day of trading and the return is robust to the choice of benchmarks 5.1 Analysis and discussions for short-run results The results verify the firms IPO underpricing and null Hypothesis 1 is rejected. This implies that Lastminute.com generates substantial returns to its new issue buyer on the first day of listing. Furthermore, we can get different perceptions of the results based on the theoretical models. This single firm example, however, exhibits a quite contradictory result to the Rock (1986) model. As stated in its own prospectus, Lastminute.com has limited operational history and it is difficult for investors to evaluate its business and future prospect.[8]Hence, it is less possible for an informed investor relatively to acquire more information than an uninformed investor. In the absence of the information differential between investors, the firm should have shown a less impressive initial over-performance. The signalling theory provides a mixed support in this study. The firm which experienced underpricing in its new issues, had poor financial and share price performance afterwards. It made millions of losses in following years and its share has never regained the first day high in London Stock Exchange market. Nonetheless, Lastminute.com managed to survive the internet bubble burst and global downturn in the tourism market in 2001 due to the terrorist attack. The company is indeed a successful internet business in the post-bubble period. The Lastminute.com new issues underwriter, Morgan Stanley, is an investment bank which has occupied a leading role in high-quality securities underwriting in the years since the Securities Act of 1933 and garners the highest Carter-Manaster rank of nine.[9]It was expected that a less significant initial return results to be yielded when a top prestigious investment banker would not underprice IPO too much. The high underpricing observed is therefore, inconsistent with the underwriter prestigious hypothesis. The results of underpricing, seems like to be more associated with the level of speculation over the issue in internet bubble period. The interesting finding is the underwriter prestigious hypothesis and the Rock (1986) model work reversely in my studied company. Significant pricing exists even the underwriter is considerably prestigious. The firm with less operational history and therefore less informational differential between informed and uninformed investors generates impressively substantial underpricing instead. It could be best explained by the uncertainty and high level of speculations inflate the share price of the IPO firm. 6. Long-run results Table 3 reports the results of the Fama-French (1993) three-factor time-series regressions. It shows the average monthly abnormal returns of Lastminute.com in 1, 2 and 3 years following its issue. Table 3 Fama-French (1993) Three-factor Time-series Regressions Market Index 1: FTSE All-Share Index 12 months observations -0.09 (-0.81) 3.44 (1.35) 3.49 (1.07) 0.92 (0.40) 0.15 24 months observations -0.01 (-0.15) 2.80 (1.64)** 3.19 (1.77)** 0.20 (0.14) 0.33 36 months observations 0.04 (0.82) 1.20 (1.39) 2.67 (2.16)* -0.87 (-0.90) 0.26 Market Index 2: FTSE techMARK All-Share Index 12 months observations -0.12 (-1.12) 2.95 (1.96)** 4.90 (1.57)** 3.00 (1.17) 0.30 24 months observations 0.004 (0.05) 1.17 (1.25) 3.78 (2.11)* 0.15 (0.11) 0.30 36 months observations 0.05 (0.85) 0.59 (0.99) 2.82 (2.26)* -0.86 (-0.87) 0.24 t-statistics are presented in parentheses. * Significant at 5%, using two-tailed test ** Significant at 10%, using two-tailed test Notes: The 12 months testing period is from April 2000 to March 2001; the 24 months testing period is from April 2000 to March 2002 and the 36 months testing period is from April 2000 to March 2003, using 12, 24 and 36 observations respectively. The intercepts reported in Table 2 are measures of abnormal performance. An intercept of 12 months observations, -0.09 is minus 9 basis points per month, or about -1.11% per year. This implies that Lastminute.coms underperform both All-Share Index and techMark Index about -1.11% and -1.41% respectively in the 12-months period. The company continue to show underperformance nearly at 0.27% against main market index but outperform other technology companies about 0.10% in the first 24-months of trading. Although evidence mentioned in section 3.2 show that IPOs are generally underpriced in the long-run period, an interesting finding is that when the longer period is considered, i.e. 36 months after IPO, the company performs better than both indices from 1.52% to 1.66%. Based on the t-statistics, however, all of the average monthly abnormal returns are not statistically significant. The abnormal returns are well adjusted and captured by those 3 factors, and a statistically significant SMB beta is observed for 12 and 24-months period. Hence, it is not appropriate to say that Lastminute.com shows significant underperformance or outperforms over the market in the long run. The adjusted R-squared for all regressions which are ranging from 15 to 30% also infer tolerably high explanatory power of these tests. Table 4 shows the abnormal return results computed by BHAR approach as complementary information to the Lastminute.com long-run performance results, Table 4 Buy-and-hold Abnormal Returns Benchmark Selection FTSE All-Share Index FTSE techMARK All-Share Index Size Reference Portfolio 12-month BHAR (%) -76.74 -47.37 -92.35 24-month BHAR (%) -71.03 -24.82 -31.75 36-month BHAR (%) -37.85 0.04 -12.28 In the absence of factor adjustments, the Lastminute.coms BHARs represent greater abnormal performance. All results underperformed 2 indices and its size reference portfolio except there is over-performance against techMark Index in 36-months period. The general trend observed is the companys performance against all benchmarks are improving as time goes on, this is consistent with the finding from Fama-French (1993) three-factor model. These results, however, cannot be analysed statistically. Besides, this measure ignores the risk of investment. 6.1. Analysis and discussions for long-run results The reverse results showed in the longer period of trading generally object the prediction of long-run underperformance albeit I obtain evidence of underperformance in the first year of trading. Nonetheless, the statistical significance of these results are inadequate to make the rejection of the null Hypothesis 2 that no underperformance or over-performance exist in the company under analysis in the long-run period. The divergence of opinion hypothesis by Miller (1977) does not offer explanation in this clinical study. Given no prior trading history and limited financial information, investors tend to hold different beliefs in the IPO value of firm with limited operational history like Lastminute.com and therefore the divergence of opinions is large. As time goes on, the company does not demonstrate larger underperformance. Earnings management analysis results summarize in Table 5 provide an opposing result to the accounting manipulation explanations by Teoh, Welch and Wong (1998). Lastminute.com exhibits positive discretionary accruals (DAs) in the IPO year but continue to present three years of positive DAs after that. The accounting accruals in the company do not reverse themselves in later periods as expected. Table 5 Earnings management analysis results Yearly Discretionary Accruals 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 -0.19 (-0.25) -0.15 (-0.10) -1.82 (-3.69) 0.89 -1.29 0.38 0.38 0.27 0.27 Discretionary accruals are computed as the ordinary least square (OLS) regression residuals, t-statistics are presented in parentheses. 7. Limitations and further research This study attempts to investigate and provide explanations for the observed results in the analysed company based on the theoretical models. Nonetheless, these explanations do not carry statistical significance. The signalling test proposed by Allen Faulhaber (1989) was considered but foregone due to the time and resources constraints. The test requires a sample of all companies that have floated in the London Stock Exchange market and the SEO issues for each company. Besides, the inaccessibility of issuer allocation process makes the winners curse test by Rock (1986) becomes impractical. The Fama-French three-factor model (1993) which employed to test the long-run performance of the company of interest has its limitation. The portfolio factor loadings, which are assumed constant, are likely to vary through time. Ritter and Welch (2002) point out that the asset-pricing literature itself has failed to provide an accepted model of risk-adjusted performance against which one can measure post-IPO performance, it still remains unclear how abnormal post-IPO performance is. They also point out that this model can produce very odd results for internet bubble burst period.[10] The BHARs and characteristic-matched portfolio approaches have been attempted in this study. The statistical test, however, cannot be carried out on BHAR results because there is only one analysed company. Thus, future research could be expanded to a large sample of IPO firms and separating them into technology and non-technology companies to investigate if the same performance behaviour applies to other technology companies and make comparisons of different sectors. The aberrant pricing and trading behaviour in the internet bubble has made it clear that even if there is systematic long-run underperformance, it is difficult or impossible to justify it in a reliable manner (Ritter and Welch, 2002). Still, further work is needed to tell us the appropriate way to assess the post-IPO performance of companies around that period, both in the United Kingdom and in other countries. 8. Summary and conclusions This paper empirically investigates and analyses the Lastminute.coms IPO in year 2000 from both short-run and long-run perspectives. It involves the examination of short-run and long-run performance of the company and the analysis of the theoretical models in academic literature to explain the performance behaviour. The results obtained confirm the IPO underpricing in Lastminute.com. Its initial return of the first trading day is ranging from 28% to 28.48% and exceeds all of the benchmarks selected. The high initial prices on the first day of listing may be due to the speculative bubble by investors which inflate the price of the internet company stocks. However, several other theories of IPO underpricing do not imply a prediction that fits into the companys short-run performance. The long-run performance results provide evidence that Lastminute.com does not perform as the international evidence on the long-run performance of IPOs indicate. Even though statistical insignificant results are found that the company performs better than market when longer period is considered, Lastminute.com does not underperform nor outperform the market in the long run. In addition, there is no evidence shows that the company manipulate earnings prior to IPO. The findings provide argument to the market efficiency hypothesis which is unlikely to explain the first-day returns of 28 percent. These results also challenge some theories which are widely accepted to explain IPO underpricing. Besides, share allocation has an impact on IPO underpricing and the lack of micro-level data on share allocation has limited the research field in finance. Long-run performance is the most controversial area of IPO research. The main caveat is that it is hard to exploit systematic long-run underperformance reliably in the bubble period. The results obtained from this study can provide important for the prospective investors in new issues of technology companies. This study, however, also suggests that long-term investors should always be cautious to analyse IPO firms.

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They just assisted each other in every assignment. Most wouldnt think of this as cheating, but their clueless teacher saw it as such. Duncan closed his assignment window and immediately went to a flash game site. The big risk taker. If the teacher caught him playing online games, he would be kicked out of class immediately with the idiotic explanation of Its distracting or It takes up too much bandwidth. Both reasons were bullshit, though. But Thomas and Duncan were not ones to startRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pagesthe coliseum, or possibly in San Jose, CA. The A’s need the new stadium to turn around lagging attendance, which has been at or near the bottom among major league baseball clubs. —BBoA, 2009 COMPANY: NINTENDO Project: Next Generation Nintendo Wii Game Console According to Internet rumors, the new console will be based on entirely new hardware that will pump out HD visuals, contain expanded storage, and run using digitally distributed content rather than physical discs. The new console will expand

Comparing And Contrasting Christianity And Islam - 872 Words

Comparing and Contrasting Christianity and Islam Religion is a guide to live a life that offers a fixed set of morals, as well as something to hold onto in times of misfortune and remarkable miracles. It is something that one will always grasp for, obey, and learn from as they carry on with their everyday lives. Christianity, which stands as the most practiced religion in the world, and Islam, which stands second, both portray how something that starts off so small can grow to enormous proportions and bring abundant rejoice and enlightenment to ones life. Christianity and Islam differ from each other because one bases its beliefs on the Bible while the other focuses on the Qur’an. One also has seven layers of Hell, while the other does not. The two are similar because they have analogous outlines of how the human race should live; for Christianity it is the Ten Commandments and for Islam it is the Five Pillars. Another way they are similar is that both have judgment take place after death occurs. The writing of the Bible took many years and multiple authors to portray the teachings of God. On the other hand, Muhammad individually recorded the Qur’an — the holy book of Islam. Though Muhammad recorded the Qur’an, God was the one that told him what should be written. Having said this, the two differ immensely. Firstly, Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead after three days. Muslims, on the other hand, believe thatShow MoreRelatedComparing and Contrasting the Views of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism 1178 Words   |  5 Pagescomes to theism and the wold iew, one of the main questions that is asked by all is, â€Å"if there is a God or a devine spirit and if so what he or she like?† Out of the three main religions of the world Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all have different views on who God really is or isnt. So when comparing each of the worlds three main religions, it is best to start with looking at how each of these religions are similar before we focus on how different that they are. What each of the 3 main religionsRead MoreSimilarities Between Islam And Christianity997 Words   |  4 PagesIslam and Christianity are two largely wide spread religions in the world that have a great impact on their followers, especially in a spiritual manner. Because of originality, values, and unique believes in each religion, their believers respect and try to comprehend each other’s faith. With Christianity’s record 2.2 billion population and Islam’s impressive 1.6 billion population, they both form the bases of their countries laws and are recognized by governments all around the world. Even thoughRead MoreThe Effects Of Religious Persecution On The Middle Eastern Countries1353 Words   |  6 Pagesgoverned by the it’s original religious foundation. An example of this would involve, ISIS terrorizing smaller religious groups like the Yazidi people who practice a form of Islam, but then detoured from Islam’s original ways. Yazidi people are n ot the only ones; other various foreign religious groups like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are experiencing harsh blows of religious persecution as well. The negative effect that these religions-foreign to the Middle East- are experiencing isn’t quite theirRead MoreComparing Different Worldviews And Their Effect On Society1216 Words   |  5 PagesBefore comparing and contrasting different worldviews and their effect on society, it is important for us to understand what we are studying. What is a worldview? A worldview can be defined by many different definitions. But broadly, it is a way through which you see and interpret the world and the things around you. It is a mental mode of reality from which we develop ideas and theories about the world. It answers questions: What are humans? Why are we here? What is our purpose? What are your valuesRead MoreJudaism, Christianity, And Islam1016 Words   |  5 Pages cavemen. Religion is the factor that keeps many people going in life but at the same time, the same reason our world has so many problems and has been torn apart. Through studying the main tenets in call, Judaism, Christianity and Islam were analyzed for weeks. Christianity and Islam take the cake for the two biggest religions in today’s population however, Judaism plays the smallest role. These three religions, although different, are easily able to be compared and contrasted because of all ofRead MoreSimilarities Between Christianity And Islam1005 Words   |  5 Pages Compare and contrast ancient Christianity and Islam. Christianity and Islam are both closely related religions, because they are branched of Abraham and other patriarchs mentioned in Hebrew Scriptures. Examples of these books are the Old/ New testament and the Quran. These books serve as their spiritual ancestors and are also know as Abrahamic religions. Although these books have a massive amount in common the clash of these two religions has caused for a mass crimes and violence across humanityRead MoreNot For Ergun And Emir Caner, The Authors Of Unveiling Islam922 Words   |  4 Pagesworship services for as long as I can remember, and I have never looked back, or questioned my faith. Reading about these two mean and their conversion from Islam to Christianity was inspiring, and humbling. For someone like me, who is sure in what they believe, that process seems impossible. Not for Ergun and Emir Caner, the authors of Unveiling Islam. In addition to reading the book, I wanted more information on the lives of these authors, so I watched several interviews with them where they expandedRead MoreJudaism, Christianity And Islam995 Words   |  4 PagesFortunately, throughout history, different cultures and religions have created ways for the mourners to cope with the tragedy of losing a loved one. In this paper, I will be comparing th e advantages offered by religious traditions for the mourners, focusing on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In addition, I will be contrasting them with the benefits offered by our modern secular funeral services. To start, Judaism’s priorities are on community and on law. Therefore, Jewish traditions regarding proceduresRead MoreChristianity And The Religion Of Islam1180 Words   |  5 PagesChristianity and the religion of islam have many differences. I believe it’s time for someone to go into depth of how Christianity and Islam are similar and different. One thing to remember is that all this is based on Historical discoveries, and my opinions are based on my research. So, without further ado, let’s get started. Take in mind that I have never read the, â€Å"Qur’an†, or the, â€Å"Holy Bible†. I will try my best to make everything factual. The descendant - Christianity: All christians believeRead MoreComparing Islam And Christianity And Islam1731 Words   |  7 Pagesstill details that will be different due to preconceptions and fundamental beliefs. Comparing and contrasting Islam and Christianity, is a wonderful example of these differences based on fundamental beliefs. This concept is explored in the rest of this work through critically accessing Christian and Muslim views on the question of origin, identity, meaning and purpose, morality, and destiny. Islam and Christianity are in agreement that the origin of both living things and man were created by God

Dynamics Technologies Network free essay sample

Whether used to provide better customer service, to be more eco-friendly or to gain more company memory, the virtualization technology of today offer many benefits to enterprising companies all over the world, creating innovative solutions to work based problems on a daily basis. Virtualization has not only captured the business world by storm with its innovative and creative solutions but it also offers proven advantages in several areas of industry, IT and service. Below is a list of a few of the advantages and solutions that virtualization technology can offer the enterprise around the globe. Virtual Desktops Many corporations and enterprises are looking to reduce their footprint and create more efficient operating systems. This can be done with one aspect of virtualization, virtual desktops. Virtual desktops have the ability to create more space within a desktop computer or on actual desk space through the use of software which expands a desktops environment beyond physical limits through virtualization. This can create a more eco-friendly environment with less computers using energy and lower operating costs as well as offering continuous transitions between multiple operating system. Enhanced System Security A fear of many enterprises considering virtualization in their business is that all the advantages of this technology will compromise the security of sensitive, private and legal company information. However, that is not the case; in fact virtualization in business provides enhanced security, making it more difficult for hackers to find key information. Unlike other security systems, virtualization has the ability to single out and trace requests. If a request seems fishy or unsuitable, virtualization security technologies will reroute hackers to another location, securing and keeping enterprising business information safe from harm. Better System Reliability Non-virtualized networks and systems are more prone to crashes and memory corruption due to software installments such as device drivers. Through virtualization, I/O resources can be isolated providing better security (see above,) reliability and even availability across devices for business purposes. Disaster Recovery Along the same lines as better system reliability, virtualization also provides enterprising businesses with better, faster and more secure disaster recovery. This is possible because this technology is able to take a virtual image or information and transfer it to another server in the instance that the original server may be crashing. This prevents information loss and provides a constant stream of secure and safe information. Space and Server Consolidation When an organization has a physical database, it can take up to ten machines to provide the same amount of workload to one virtual machine. This means that up to ten applications can be ran on a solitary virtual machine, consolidating physical space as well as server use, therefore saving energy usage, operating costs and server expenses. Scalability One advantage of virtualization technology is its unique ability to be scalable. What this means is that unlike purchasing X amount of computer memory or RAM for a company, the possibilities with virtualization are endless. The workload and space needed one month may change in the next and virtualization accommodates those changes by fluxuating to fit the needs of an enterprise at the time of use. This also saves on energy consumption and operating costs because virtualization service providers oft will only charge for what was used. Endless Memory and Accessibilities One aspect of scalability is virtualization’s advantage of seemingly endless memory. Enterprising businesses can take advantage of limitless memory to house business information, client details, invoices and financial records all in an accessible, crash protected and secure place. Virtualization is accessible anywhere there is an internet connection, allow for access to important company information anywhere in the world. This is great for traveling business owners, work from home employees or access away from work. This also allows companies to offer better customer service to clients because of the ease of access as well as the quick pull up of saved information stored in a limitless memory location. Many enterprising companies are looking for ways to better IT departments, improve business models and create lower operating costs, all of which can be accomplished with the modern marvel technology that is virtualization. Whether used to provide better customer service, to be more eco-friendly or to gain more company memory, the virtualization technology of today offer many benefits to enterprising companies all over the world, creating innovative solutions to work based problems on a daily basis. Return on Investment School of thoughts have argued in various platform about the huge capital investment return in virtualization, there are multiple factors which determine how to go about deciding what type of monitoring an Information Technology (IT) department should embark on. In order to properly evaluate a specific IT environment, one must first determine whether or not to virtualize. Virtualization can be stressed as a life saver for countless IT departments over the past few years. What first needs to be determined however, is if in fact an organization really needs to virtualize. Perhaps database, application servers, network services, etc don’t truly need to become virtualized, maybe they do. What we are trying to determine today is the Return on Investment (ROI) for virtualization. Technologist, Researchers and Students helps quantify virtualizing an IT infrastructure. If an organization is in the process of acquiring a new company (or being liquidated) and subsequently moving locations, they must first take a look in their server room*. If it is overcrowded, under powered or outdated, then yes†¦ virtualization is probably important. What everyone in the IT department wants to know then, is virtualization right for my organization and more importantly my department? [pic] The resources being saved on just power and hardware along are staggering. Keeping costs lower for the overall organization is obviously crucial, especially when it comes to things such as never having to redeploy application solutions*. This will save you time and subsequently money: no server hardware refreshing costs, limited annual server-related power costs*. The greater questions then arise, how much time will it take a department to make the complete switch? Will the ROI be worth the increased labor hours to become fluent with the virtualized world?