This paper investigates the compensation for risk in the context of the Swedish stock market with a special focus on downside risk. Using daily market data collected from the A-list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange between the years 1983 and 2005 the purpose is to answer the question whether Swedish investors are compensated for holding stocks with high downside risk, measured as downside beta. Using panel data analysis it is shown, in accordance with most previous evidence in international research, firstly that stocks with high beta values on average experience higher returns than stocks with low beta values, and secondly that stocks with high downside beta values experience higher returns than stocks with high beta values in general. On the other hand, cross-sectional regression methodology using a bivariate regression approach shows that downside beta does not explain excess returns very well. Instead, regression analysis suggest that high upside beta does a much better job in explaining excess return over this time period compared to downside beta.

SummaryThe purpose of this thesis is to examine what effect the IFRS 2 has on earnings, equity, financial strength and return on equity for listed Swedish companies with active stock option plans. The purpose is further to investigate the companies? attitudes towards IFRS 2 and to find out if companies tend to deviate from stock option plans due to the changed accounting rules. We also want to examine the view of IFRS 2 from an auditor?s perspective.We have used a deductive approach and a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods with a view to get a completely clear picture within the field of study.

This thesis adresses the subject of stormwater management and the problematic with stormwatermanagment and landuse in the compact city. The thesis research different solutions in stormwater managment and how to implement them in the context of the compact city. And at the same time preserve and make good recreaational places and keep quality green land per capita. The thesis also analyses risks and problems that could effect the environment with focus on stormwater managment and hov to minimize these problematic factors an create a good environment. In an urban context where the water has a natrual place, and is used as a asset.

The aim of this study is to examine the market reaction when information about a company?s foreign direct investment is announced and how that affects the shareholder?s value. Also of interest is whether the market reacts differently depending on which country the investment is established in and which mode of entry is used. This will be achieved by using an event study approach. The selection that was used consisted of 206 companies registered on the Nasdaq OMX Nordic homepage, which had during a time period stretching from 1999 to 2009 established a foreign direct investment in the regions BRIC, Europe or the USA using the mode of organic growth, joint venture or acquisition.

Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning är att göra en komparativ studie mellan Sverige-och global aktiefonder för att vidare analysera vilka aktiefonder som ger högst avkastning.Metod: Uppsatsen bygger på en statistisk analys vilket sekundärdata ligger till grund för våra beräkningar. Genom tillämpning av kvantifierbar hård data där bland annat historiska aktiekurser ingår, så har en kvantitativ studie använts. Befintliga teorier och modeller har tillämpats.Slutsats: Studien visar i stort sett att högre risk ger en högre avkastning. Under period 1 presterade Latin Amerika fonderna bäst varefter Sverige fonder presterade bättre under period 2. Dessa marknader kan vara väldigt oberoende av varandra och tenderar därmed inte att följa varandras kursutveckingen.

Introduction: This thesis is about how the accounting entry provisions are linked to corporate market value. By statistically examining accounting and share data for 56 companies listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, the question of whether accounting information regarding provisions are value relevant for investors is studied. Listed companies shall follow the rules of IAS 37 ? Provisions, Contingent liabilities and Contingent assets, when preparing financial statements.Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between reported information about provisions and investors assessment of listed companies that comply with IFRS-regulations, by statistically testing the value relevance of the accounting entry.Method: The study is based on a quantitative, deductive methodological approach. The value relevance of provisions is examined by statistically testing the collected empirical data based on the two models that is described in the reference frame.Results: The conclusion to be drawn from the study is that reported provisions have no statistically significant association with return on shares and thus is not value relevant.

I denna studie undersöks det hur begreppet integrerad kommunikation definieras i teorin i jämförelse medhur de praktiker som säger sig arbeta med termen definierar och använder den. Vidare lyfter studien framde barriärer som står framför en praktisk implementering av begreppet, samt möjligheterna till kommaförbi dessa. Syftet är att öka förståelsen för begreppets innebörd samt för hur det kan utnyttjas till sin fullapotential.Konsulter vid Stockholms ledande PR-byråer intervjuades i detta syfte och till grund för diskussionenligger även en omfattande presentation av teorin bakom integrerad kommunikation. Resultaten visar attintegrerad kommunikation i praktiken används på en abstrakt snarare än en konkret nivå, och att barriärernaför en konkretisering kan sammanfattas inom fyra områden: revirtänkande, ekonomiskt system,mätbarhet och nya medier. Samtidigt visar studien på hur dessa barriärer kan vändas till möjligheter i syftetatt förbättra den integrerade kommunikationen.Slutsatsen blir att för att anpassa teorin till verklighetens förutsättningar, och på så sätt möjliggöra praktiskapplicering av teorin, bör man börjar tala om integrerat varumärke istället för integrerad kommunikation.Begreppsväxlingen förenklar arbetet med att förankra integrationssynsättet på ledningsnivå och sedanimplementera arbetet ute i organisationen.Nyckelord: Kommunikation, Public Relations, marknadskommunikation, konvergensmodellen, integreradkommunikation, synergi, identitet, organisationskultur, varumärke, varumärkesplan, Return ofInvestement, Return on Communications, integrerat varumärke..

The purpose of this essay is to test for significance between TED- spread and four different macrovariables, housing prices, Federal funds rate, Asset Backes Securities and mortgage volume. Multiple regression has been used to search for significance between the dependent and the four independent variables. Our data consist of quarterly reports from January 1998 to June 2008. Our conclusion is that all of the four variables show a significant relation with TED- spread. The model explains 76 percent of the variation in TED- spread..

AbstractTitle: How has IAS 38 affected accounting in small and large companies?A study of the differences in the accounting of financial ratios between small and large companies.Authors: Jasmine Choudrey & Rana QadriMain Course: Business EconomicsThe aim of this study is to make a comparative examination between small and large companies in Sweden and to analyse how accounting of intangible assets has been affected or changed due to the introduction of the new accounting recommendations and IAS 38.Main theory: There are no theories available on these type of researches due to the fact that the introduction of the IFRS is relatively new. Instead the essay discusses facts about the financial ratios and IFRS as a starting point for the study.Method: The examination will be a combination of both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The quantitative part will be based on statistics and financial ratios from the different companies annual reports. These financial ratios will be analyzed by performing a confidence interval.

Companies have in the past decades changed fromtraditional manufacturing organizations into serviceorganizations. For these service organizationsinformation and competence have become animportant resource. The traditional view oninformation is that an employee use and search forinformation to reduce uncertainty for their decisionmaking. Even though information is strategicallyimportant for organizations, information is not valuedin any way. Hence, this thesis aims to valueinformation in terms of the utility it brings to theorganization.The conclusion is that four factors are important whenvaluing information in terms of utility.

Does goodwill affect the cost of capital? Goodwill is an asset which is characterized by much uncertainty regarding both what it is and how much it is really worth. Based on economic theory about information risk and principal-agent problems as well as theory regarding the cost of capital we test for the hypothesis that debt and equity investors perceive goodwill as something risky and hence demand compensation for taking on this extra risk. The proxies used for the cost of capital are cost of debt, beta and the EP-ratio. On a general level we find that increasing the level of goodwill seems to result in higher cost of capital as represented by the three proxies.

Vattenfall hedge its future electricity production in order to decrease fluctuations in theresult. Hedging can in a simplified way be described as selling the future electricity deliveriesin long-term contracts so that the future price of the delivery becomes fixed. The contractsused are electricity forwards traded at the Nordic electricity market Nord Pool. Animbalance between buyers and sellers can lead to a situation where the forward price notequals the expected spot price. The difference between the forward price and the expectedspot price is referred to as the market risk premium.

Background: Investors have several options to choose from when the goal is to achieve the highest yield at the lowest cost and risk. Stocks are a common investment options, but is also associated with risks. Portfolios are usually constructed with several different assets to reduce the unsystematic risk of investment. Funds are similar to composite stock portfolios, the big difference is that they dealt with in their entirety and investors may not affect the fund's content. The problem remains that whether you choose stocks or mutual funds there is still uncertainty as to how the future will unfold.

Background: What is a share and what determines the value of a company? This is a constant issue that many in the financial world are facing. Many argue that there has been some decoupling between stock valuation and how the company in question is developing operationally after the financial crisis that the world faced during 2008-2009.Problem: It is important to distinguish between the company and the share. A company that is good and well maintained may not be worth buying only because of it. The share is judged by other elements also.

Background and problem: Since the new law took place in 1999, it has been illegal towash a car with substances that can damage the environment on a paved street or on a driveway through a garage. This has conveyed to a new industry where more and more self-service car wash facility have opened around the country. Vetlanda Vägkrog AB has since 2012 been planning to install manual self-service car wash facility at the back of their restaurant business. The authors mission was to make an analysis in order to examine whether an investment of carwashes are lucrative enough for Vetlanda Vägkrog AB.Aim: The study's main objective was to analyze the profitability of an investment in a self-service car wash facility at Vetlanda Vägkrog AB, based on given data. The authors sub-aim was to clarify which factors in general that had played the greatest part in the establishment of a self-service car wash facility.Method: The authors have used an abductive approach in order to fulfill the aim of the study.