ValueWalk– This study investigates whether investors see through materially misstated earnings, and whether they anticipate earnings restatements.
Finance
Plan Sponsors Act Defensively in Making Investment Decisions
Plan Advisor – Newly published research finds that plan sponsors’ expectations of performance are driven by past performance, investment consultants’ recommendations, and soft factors which they identify in their asset managers, such as having a consistent investment philosophy, clear decisionmaking processes and capable investment professionals.
Researchers Howard Jones, from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and Jose Martinez, from the University of Connecticut School of Business, say the partial dependency of expected performance on past performance and soft factors is not, in itself, irrational. Investors could use such variables as signals of future performance. However, what they did find irrational is that past performance is relied upon when it is uninformative about future performance, and the same was true for soft factors.
Enterprise Risk Management and its Diverse Challenges Are Subject of Conn Risk Conference on March 20
The University of Connecticut School of Business and Law School will co-host the third annual Connecticut Risk Management Conference on March 20 at the UConn Stamford campus. Continue Reading
The Connecticut Economic Outlook: February 2015
UConn economists at The Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis predicted strong economic progress and growth for the state in a report released Wednesday.
One model predicts Connecticut’s gross domestic product would grow 4.85 percent in 2015 and in 2016, but a second model predicted even more robust growth. The group also anticipates strong progress in the jobs market, from the current level of 1.69 million jobs in December 2014 to 1.73 million by the end of 2016.
The economists urged state government to invest in education, transportation and high-speed communications systems to enable long-term economic and job growth. The same organization also warned that extensive government ‘belt tightening’ could damage the state’s robust recovery and thwart its chance at sustained employment growth.
Downtown North Project in Hartford to Break Ground This Month
Report Finds “Conflicts of Interest” Have No Effect on FDA Advisory Committee Votes
Policy and Medicine – Stringent conflicts-of-interest policies keep many experts off of FDA advisory committees. A new study suggests that the fear of pro-industry bias underlying these policies may be misplaced, and also serves to keep highly qualified candidates off of these committees.
James C. Cooper, director of research and policy at the Law and Economics Center at George Mason Law School and Joseph Golec, professor of Finance of the University of Connecticut, who conducted the study, sought to compare conflicted members’ voting patterns with objective criteria. They found that decisions by advisory committees with conflicted members to recommend drugs were more likely to be consistent with both the ultimate FDA decision as well as stock market predictions than non-conflicted advisory committees and members.
Numbers Are In: High Hopes For 2014 Connecticut Home Sales Went Unfulfilled
Hartford Courant – A new report from Connecticut Realtors shows that the promise early in 2014 for a third year of gains in home sales fizzled by the end of the year. “They are being cautious and more conservative before they make a big purchase like a home,” said Jeffrey P. Cohen, associate professor of real estate and finance at the University of Connecticut’s Center for Real Estate in Storrs.
Builders See Promise in Homes for the Aging Set
ctpost.com – “The over-55 group needs to sell their current homes before they can think about buying into an over-55 community, so I see the market for existing homes as an indicator as to the future of over-55 home construction,” said Katherine Pancak, professor-in-residence of finance and real estate at the University of Connecticut School of Business.
Biotech and Biopharma Industry Get Boost from Business Community
CT News Junkie – The new [Connecticut Bioscience Growth Council] is forming at a time when bioscience is gaining momentum in the state, said Fred Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut.
UConn Women’s Basketball Game CREW Event
The Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) of Connecticut and the Center for Real Estate will host the first annual CREW CT UConn Women’s Basketball Event on Tuesday, February 3, 2015. Students and professionals from CREW will have an opportunity to network at a reception to be held from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at McCarter English LLP, 36th Floor, CityPlace, 185 Asylum St., Hartford, Conn.
Following the reception, the UConn Women will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats at the XL Center at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $26.00 and available through the registration link.
To register for this event and purchase tickets click here.