Slouching Toward The End Of The Semester

There's exactly two weeks (6 classes) left to the semester, and I have a little more than two chapters of material to cover. I actually have three chapters to cover, but since we're only taking parts of them, it works out to about 2 1/2 chapters. So, there's a bit of a time crunch. But there always seems to be at the end, so nothing new here.

I still have hopes of getting a paper out to a journal by the end of the semester. Stuff submitted just before the break always seems to take longer to get a referee report back on, but if I wait until we get back for the spring semester it'll be even longer. So I might as well punch it out and get it situated on some editor's desk (so he can get it on a reviewer's desk).

While I'm finishing up the edits, here are some links to keep y'all busy:

The Wall Street Journal has a piece titled "The November Effect"that says that the stock prices of big winners (and losers) reverse course in November. I'm not aware of any academic research that shows this, but I'm more of a corporate guy. Still, it's interesting.

Matthew Goldstein of Thestreet.com is reporting on leveraged private-equity backed IPOs (or LIPOs, as they're commonly known). PE-backed IPOs accounted for 42% of all offereings this year, so they've become a significant part of the IPO market.

This week's Carnival of the Capitalists is up at Blueprint For Financial Prosperity. My pick of the week is the post by gongol.com that claims that responding to penny-stock internet spam may be unwittingly funding terrorism.

The Wall Street Journal online has a piece on Information networks.
It seems that there are now companies that pay industry "consultants" to gain superior information about the firms (or industries). Larry Ribstein says it's the inevitable consequence of Reg FD.

Eszter Hargittai gives a primer on how to send emails to academics correctly. If you're a reporter or someone trying to get help from one of my tribe read it - it's got some very good info.

Marketwatch.com reports on "Fundamental etf's" - ETFs that base portfolio wieghts not on market cap, but on factors like sales, market-book, market share, and so on.

Enough bloggery - back to work.