Brian P. Miller

The Effects of Reporting Complexity on Small and Large Investor Trading

This study examines the effects of financial reporting complexity on investors’ trading behavior. I find that more complex longer and less readable filings are associated with lower overall trading, and that this relationship appears due to a reduction in small investors’ trading activity. Additional evidence suggests that the association between report complexity and lower abnormal trading is driven by both cross-sectional variation in firms’ disclosure attributes and variations in disclosure complexity over time. Given regulatory concerns over plain English disclosures and the trend toward more disclosure, my investigation into the effects of reporting complexity on small and large investors should be of interest to regulators concerned with reporting clarity and leveling the playing field across classes of investors.

Initial Evidence on the Market Impact of the XBRL Mandate

In 2009, the SEC mandated that financial statements be filed using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The SEC contends that this new search-facilitating technology will reduce informational barriers that separate smaller, less-sophisticated investors from larger, more-sophisticated investors, thereby reducing information asymmetry. However, if some larger investors are able to leverage their superior resources and abilities to garner greater benefits from XBRL than smaller investors, information asymmetry is likely to increase. Using a difference-in-difference design, we find evidence of higher abnormal bid-ask spreads for XBRL adopting firms around 10-K filings in the initial year after the mandate, consistent with increased concerns of adverse selection. We also find a reduction in abnormal liquidity and a decrease in abnormal trading volume, particularly for small trades. Additional analyses suggest, however, that these effects may be declining somewhat in more recent years. Collectively, our evidence suggests that a reduction in investors’ data aggregation costs may not have served its intended purpose of leveling the informational playing field, at least during the initial years after mandatory adoption.

Ocular blood flow and oxygen delivery to the retina in primary open‐angle glaucoma patients: the addition of dorzolamide to timolol monotherapy

Purpose:  To assess the effects of adding dorzolamide to timolol monotherapy on ocular haemodynamics and retinal oxygen saturation in patients with primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG).

Managerial Ability and Credit Risk Assessment

Research on the credit rating process has primarily focused on how rating agencies incorporate firm characteristics into their rating opinions. We contribute to this literature by examining the impact of managerial ability on the credit rating process. Given debt market participants’ interest in assessing default risk, we begin by documenting that higher managerial ability is associated with lower variability in future earnings and stock returns. We then show that higher managerial ability is associated with higher ratings (i.e., lower assessments of credit risk). To provide more direct identification of the impact of managerial ability, we examine CEO replacements and document that ratings increase (decrease) when CEOs are replaced with more (less) able CEOs. Finally, we show that managerial ability also has capital market implications by documenting that managerial ability is associated with bond offering credit spreads. Collectively, our evidence suggests that managerial ability is an important factor that bond market participants impound into their assessments of firm credit risk.

Differential in Maximal Aerobic Capacity by Sex in Collegiate Endurance Athletes Consuming a Marginally Low Carbohydrate Diet

ABSTRACT Purpose: Although current sports nutrition recommendations advocate for a high carbohydrate (CHO) intake among endurance athletes, recent research has suggested that training with low CHO availability may augment adaptations to aerobic training. The purpose of this study was to observe the dietary habits of collegiate distance runners and to investigate the effects of habitual CHO intake on aerobic performance [VO2max(post)] during a competitive season.Methods: During an 8-week trial period, 12 (N = 12) collegiate track athletes recorded their self-selected dietary intake via 24-hour recall. Analysis of CHO intake was conducted by a registered dietitian. Pre [VO2max (pre)] and post [VO2max (post)] season aerobic capacity assessments were performed using a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with 2 covariates controlling for VO2max (pre) and CHO intake compared to the variance in VO2max (pre) and VO2max (post) by sex.Results: The average CHO was 4.11 ± 1.03 g/kg body mass (BM), with only one female athlete meeting dietary recommendations, consuming ≥ 6 g/kg BM. Male distance runners on average had a lower CHO than females. After adjusting for VO2max (pre) and CHO, there were statistically significant differences between VO2max (post) group means by sex with a difference of 12.62 ml/kg/min (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.12–23.12, p = 0.02), with CHO accounting for 18% of the variance in VO2max (post).Conclusion: Collegiate distance runners exhibited marked improvements in maximal aerobic capacity during the in-season while consuming a marginally low-CHO diet, with a predominant effect in males. Therefore, CHO intakes below current recommendations for endurance athletes might not be detrimental to aerobic training adaptations.