Ohio Senate Race 2012 Sherrod Brown vs. Josh Mandel Case Study

Ohio Senate Race 2012 Sherrod Brown vs. Josh Mandel - Case Study Example The key issue that the candidates are asking voters to consider is the recently passed health care law, popularly known as â€Å"Obamacare.† On one hand, Brown, just as a majority of Democrats, likes the law and supported its passage. On the other hand, Mandel wants this law repealed (Torry, â€Å"Healthcare†). Indeed, the healthcare issue has been divisive not only amongst Ohioans, but also across the entire nation. This issue is important because Ohioans will identify the candidate who will support their preferred choice for healthcare. The two candidates are asking voters to consider the issue of abortion, which is another issue that draws emotions in the American society with people being either pro-choice or against abortion. This issue is crucial, especially amongst women voters, since they need to make a decision regarding the candidate who will support their needs. In addition, the recent global financial crisis is another issue that the candidates are asking vo ters to consider. In line with this, voters will want to know the candidate who will bring measures that reduced the States federal debt while improving the economy of the state (Torry, â€Å"Federal Debt†). On one hand, Brown portrays himself as a defender of the middle class and  a supporter of the rights of women. ... Conversely, Mandel projects Brown’s pro-choice image as views of an extremist (Sewell). Through campaign ads, debates, and public rallies, the candidates are able to get their messages out to the voters. In fact, the Ohio Senate race is the most expensive race this election year (Davidson). Hence, various people and groups have spent money on ads in this campaign since the stakes are high. The candidates have tried hard to avoid any gaffes and controversies that might cost them the race due to the thin margin in the opinion polls. However, Mandel’s gaffe of calling Mourdock a â€Å"gentleman† and his remarks about abortion a â€Å"class act† might influence the voting patterns amongst women (Sewell). Nonetheless, Mandel indicated that he did not agree with Mourdock’s statement and the media failed to highlight this issue. The media’s coverage of the race is faultless. In this case, the local media and the national media have been instrumental in highlighting the issues that these two candidates propose to the voters. In addition, the analysis and the reporting have been fair since each candidate appears to have equal airplay by the media covering the race. Brown’s message to the voters regards the improvement of the State’s economy, and he provides specifics on the issue of taxes. On the other hand, Josh’s main message to the voters on tax opposes Brown’s message on tax extensions. However, the two candidates do not provide the specifics that lay a plan on reducing the deficit that the State is currently facing (Torry, â€Å"Federal Debt†). Thus, the media  are  not distorting the messages from these two candidates as the two candidates failed to provide a clear approach of dealing with the

Impact of Announcing Dividends on Share Prices of Corporations Listed Dissertation

Impact of Announcing Dividends on Share Prices of Corporations Listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange - Dissertation Example In the past, research tended to confirm the absence of impact of dividend announcements on shareholders’ value on condition that taxes and market imperfections are not present. For this reason, companies would prefer to invest its excess funds (which are not needed for business operations or expansion) in positive net present value projects available to it, in lieu of a dividend payout. It is also generally accepted that market valuation of stocks is dependent upon future earnings – when future earnings are lacklustre, the stock’s market value would go down or remain flat. Should companies pay out all its earnings, therefore, funds that may be reinvested for future productive undertakings are depleted, creating a dampener for new dividend declarations. Also, if dividends were taxable, shareholders may put off the declaration of additional dividends in order for their tax liabilities to be prevented from increasing. Despite these disadvantages to dividend declarat ions, however, companies continue to resort to cash dividends in order to signal information about future earnings (Uddin & Chowdhury, 2008). What is interesting in Saudi Arabian situation is that Saudi Arabia is a non-tax economy, and one would tend to believe that market imperfections are kept to a minimum. The country therefore presents some interesting possibilities towards confirmation of certain principles espoused by Modigliani and Miller, particularly concerning the signalling theory of dividends. This therefore leads to the objective of the study, stated below. 1.1 Objective of the research study The objective of the study is to determine the impact of dividend announcements on the share prices of corporations that are listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange. The purpose is to determine the degree to which informational content is conveyed by unexpected announcements of dividends, as discerned from the stock price changes beyond levels ordinarily expected. This information would be important to all participants in the stock market, including regulators, policy formulators and investors. 1.2 Statement of the problem The study addresses the problem of how market efficiency may be determined through stock price movements in relation to their corresponding market-moving announcements – that is, the release of announcement of dividends other than that already expected by investors. Knowing how this may be determined, the study shall also apply this method in assessing the efficiency of the Saudi Arabian stock market in factoring in the information content of these announcements. 1.3 Main research question The main research question may be stated thus: How efficiently does the announcement of dividends get factored into the prices of stocks trading in the Saudi Arabian stock market? 1.4 Research subquestions The study proposes to answer the main research question by seeking answers to the following subquestion: Q1: How may extraordinary stock price fluctu ations be reliably measured? Q2: By what criteria may unexpected dividend announcements be determined, vis-a-vis expected dividend declarations? Q3: Having distinguished extraordinary stock price fluctuations from regular movements, and unexpected divide