Among banking industries and insurance and security sectors, systemic risk and information uncertainty can generate negative consequences. By developing solutions to address such issues, financial regulation initiatives can be optimized. Value Relevance of Accounting Information in Capital Markets is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly research on the importance of information asymmetries and uncertainties and their effects on the overall regulation of financial industries. Featuring extensive coverage on a wide range of perspectives, such as financial reporting standards, investor confidence, and capital flows, this publication is ideally designed for professionals, accountants, and academics seeking current research on the effects of the underlying elements in investing.

The ending of the decade of the seventies and the dawning of the eighties can be characterized as a period of great uncertainty with prospects for economic political instability. High inflation and fluctuating exchange rates in the de veloped Western world have served to strengthen the forces of disequilibrium in the fmancial markets, leading to an investment situation with several unusual but significant factors. Capital spending by business, leading to the creation of new jobs, has not been reduced substantially during this period of uncertainty, as happened in similar periods in the past. This is shown in part by the continuing low unemployment rates in evidence during the period, which are in contradic tion to the trend exhibited in similar past periods. The expanding financing re quirements resulting from high price inflation have led to an increase in the capital intensity of firms, and thus to enhanced sensitivity of their income streams to economic fluctuations. At the same time, the record high interest rates that companies have had to pay to acquire this inflated amount of capital have caused a deterioration in the safety or quality indica tors by which the creditworthiness of the firms is judged. These developments tend to increase vii viii INTRODUCTION the stakes involved in business decision making. One important repercussion of this is that greater attention is now being focused on improving the quality of investment decisions.

Updated with a new chapter that draws on behavioral finance, the field that studies the psychology of investment decisions, the bestselling guide to investing evaluates the full range of financial opportunities.

As an emerging global phenomenon, Islamic economics and the financial system has expanded exponentially in recent decades. Many components of the industry are still unknown, but hopefully, the lack of awareness will soon be stilled. The Handbook of Research on Theory and Practice of Global Islamic Finance provides emerging research on the latest global Islamic economic practices. The content within this publication examines risk management, economic justice, and stock market analysis. It is designed for financiers, banking professionals, economists, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students interested in ideas centered on the development and practice of Islamic finance.

Well-functioning capital markets rely on a complex set of institutions and participants that ensure capital is allocated to its best possible use, and that information flows between firms receiving capital and the investors who provide it. In this manuscript, we endeavor to understand whether, how, and under what circumstances sell-side research contributes to the functioning of capital markets. We review major findings in the literature, address significant regulatory and technological changes, and offer suggestions for future research.