Finance

Fads models for stocks under asymmetric information in a purely continuous(GBM) market were first studied by P. Guasoni (2006), where optimal portfolios and maximum expected logarithmic utilities, including asymptotic utilities for the informed and uninformed investors, were presented. We generalized this theory to Lâevy markets, where stock prices and the process modeling the fads are allowed to include a jump component, in addition to the usual continuous component. We employ the methods of stochastic calculus and optimization to obtain analogous results to those obtained in the purely continuous market. We approximate optimal portfolios and utilities using the instantaneous centralized and quasi-centralized moments of the stocks percentage returns. We also link the random portfolios of the investors, under asymmetric information to the purely deterministic optimal portfolio, under symmetric information.

This study focused on the capital costs of the community college baccalaureate (CCB) institutions established in the Florida College System (FCS) from 2001 to 2010. This period spanned the entire history to date of the Florida CCB. The data analyzed included selected institutional, financial, and baccalaureate characteristics of the Florida CCBs and for comparison included corresponding institutional and financial characteristics for the non-CCB institutions in the FCS. The data analysis investigated the relationships between these characteristics and the baccalaureate capital costs reported by Florida's CCB colleges. From these relationships, the historic average of the baccalaureate start-up capital cost was derived. In addition, the total baccalaureate capital cost for the system and for each Florida CCB college was also determined. As part of the process of conducting this study, a number of additional relationships between CCB and non-CCB institutions were explored, reported, and described.

Public asset management is a critical component of the financial integrity of government. However, in practice, problems exist in the field of public asset management at different levels of government in the United States. This research explores the management of public fixed assets owned, controlled and used by state governments in America. It attempts to answer two major questions: (1) What are the characteristics of a modern public asset management system based on the available literature? and (2) How do public asset management practices at the U.S. state government compare to the system standard described in the first question? Based on systems theory and current research on public asset management and public procurement systems, this research develops an intellectual framework of a public fixed asset management system. This system is composed of six interdependent cornerstones, including legal and regulatory requirements, organization structure, management process throughout th e life cycle of assets, human capital strategies, information and technology resources, and monitoring, integrity, and transparency. Each cornerstone consists of a number of components that reveal the underlying working principles of the relevant cornerstone and together determine the standards of fixed asset management in the relevant area. Survey results demonstrate that state governments fundamentally satisfy the standards identified in the fixed asset management system. However, certain problems obviously exist in the area of each cornerstone. In addition, survey results reveal that the six cornerstones of fixed asset management system are interrelated with one another. In most states, when a management element in the area of one cornerstone is widely implemented, the relevant management elements in areas of other cornerstones are employed and vice versa.

The determinants of attendance at Australian Football League (AFL) games have become increasingly important due to a rise in international recognition of the sport and recent structural changes in the AFL. Scheduling has received little attention in the sports economics literature as a determinant of demand. This paper estimates the effect of day-of-the-week scheduling on attendance demand using OLS regressions on panel data gathered from the 1985 to 2008 AFL seasons. One implication of this study is that attendance, and thereby revenue, could be increased by scheduling certain fixtures on specific days and times.