Because of the direct access to cash and customer data, automated teller machines (ATMs) are the target of manifold attacks and fraud. To counter this problem, modern ATMs utilize specialized hardware security systems that are designed to detect particular types of attacks and manipulation. However, such systems do not provide any protection against future attacks that are unknown at design tim...

I explore the role of the Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory system in the increase of cash holdings among U.S. manufacturing firms. I first demonstrate the empirical importance of JIT in shaping cash policy. I then develop a model to analyze the mechanism through which JIT affects cash and quantify its impact. In the model, both cash and inventory can serve as working capital. As firms switch from t...

Merger intensity spikes in times of high market valuations (i.e., when average M/B ratios are at their highest). This is especially true for stock-based mergers, supporting recent theories by Rhodes-Kropf and Viswanathan (2002) and Shleifer and Vishny (2003). To explore whether this is the result of correlated valuation errors or behavioral mispricing we decompose M/B into three components: fir...