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This paper aims to investigate the pricing of discretionary earnings in South Africa. This is a unique setting, as South African listed firms also report mandatory non-GAAP earnings (“headline earnings”).

Results are based on multivariate regression analyses for South African firms that report from 2010 to 2019.

Findings show that the value-relevance of discretionary earnings exceeds that of both GAAP earnings and headline earnings. In addition, placement of discretionary earnings reconciliations communicates information about the decision-usefulness of earnings.

Discretionary earnings remain the most value-relevant earnings measure, despite the divergent decision-useful characteristics offered by headline earnings and GAAP earnings. Therefore, the most decision-useful earnings reflect unique industry or firm characteristics rather than the assurance arising from regulation.

Because systemically important banks' takeovers in the US were expected to contain the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) but were found to have imposed large cost on shareholders, this paper examines the effectiveness of these acquisitions during the GFC and investigates what went wrong with the market for corporate control of large banks.

This paper presents a model of the disciplinary takeover based on the efficient market hypothesis which provides appropriate measures for it to examine the financial performance of acquiring banks after takeover.

The results indicate that the takeover market for large banks was ineffective in two aspects: the market did not distinguish strong banks from weak banks before the crisis and acquirers performed worse after takeover. Such ineffectiveness reflects the fundamental deficiencies of large bank takeovers arising from some key distinguishing characteristics of large banks.

The sample size of systemically important banks' takeovers is small so large-sample standard statistical inferences cannot be used.

The deficiencies of large bank takeovers need to be rectified in order to aid in resolving future crises.

This paper provides rare and detailed insight based on case studies of large US bank takeovers during the GFC.

The study aims to identify whether international financial reporting standards (IFRS) or local generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) reporting provides investors and senior management of acquirer banks with superior information on target banks under post-merger bank performance.

The authors examine the claim that IFRS improves corporate transparency and increases financial reporting quality in European Bank merger and acquisitions (M&As). The authors compare the financial performance of merged banks where the target and acquirer banks employed the same reporting system (up to 305 merged banks) to the performance of a control group of banks not engaged in M&A activity (up to 1,690 European banks).

Local GAAP reporting allows a more transparent assessment of financial performance using traditional indicators, making it a superior tool for assessing potential acquisition targets.

Overall, the empirical findings are consistent with prior studies and indicate a significant relationship between local GAAP and post-merger performance, while IFRS does not contribute to post-merger bank performance.

The study is one of the very few studies to investigate the relationship between bank performance, M&A activity and accounting standards in EU-28 countries. The primary contribution the finding of poor performance of IFRS reporting merged banks compared to local GAAP banks in EU-28 countries in line with prior results of Huian (2012). In addition, several deal- and bank-specific characteristics that affect accounting standards influence M&A transactions in European banks.

This study delves into the nuanced implications of short-sale constraints on stock prices within the context of stock market efficiency. While existing research has explored this relationship, inconsistencies persist in their findings. The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive review of literature to elucidate the reasons behind these disparities.

A systematic review of existing theoretical and empirical studies was conducted following the PRISMA method. The analysis centered on discerning the factors contributing to the divergence in projected stock prices due to these constraints. Key areas explored included assumptions related to expectations homogeneity, revisions, information uncertainty, trading motivations and fluctuations in supply and demand of risky assets.

The review uncovered multifaceted reasons for the disparities in findings regarding the influence of short-sale constraints on stock prices. Variations in assumptions related to market expectations, coupled with fluctuations in perceived information uncertainty and trading motivations, were identified as pivotal factors contributing to differing projections. Empirical evidence disparities stemmed from the use of proxies for short-sale constraints, varied sample periods, market structure nuances, regulatory changes and the presence of option trading.

This study emphasizes the significance of not oversimplifying the impact of short-sale constraints on stock prices. It highlights the need to understand these effects within the broader context of market structure and methodological considerations. By delineating the intricate interplay of factors affecting stock prices under short-sale constraints, this review provides a nuanced perspective, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding in the field.