This paper analyzes the components of the bid-ask spread in the limit-order book of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). While the behavior of spread components in U.S. markets has been extensively studied, little is known about the spread components in a pure limit-order market. We find that both the adverse selection and order handling cost components of the TSE exhibit U-shape patterns independently, in contrast to the findings of Madhavan, Richardson, and Roomans (1997) for U.S. stocks. On the TSE, there does not exist an upstairs market that allows large trades to be prenegotiated or certified as on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This feature of the TSE provides a valuable opportunity to examine the relationship between trade size and spread components. Our results show that the adverse selection cost increases with trade size while order handling cost decreases with it.

It is now largely accepted that social and cultural factors have a significant impact on cognitive development in children. Piaget acknowledged the impact of social factors and peer interaction on cognitive development. However, there has been relatively little work on the impact of social and cultural factors on the development of metacognition in first-year university students. Using the Learning and study strategies inventory (LASSI) as a measure of metacognition, this study samples first-year undergraduates in Hong Kong (N = 1815) and identifies significant differences in metacognitive abilities between students living in their home environment and those who have moved away from their family and, in some cases, culture, to pursue undergraduate education.

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In this study, we find that seasonal return patterns differ from that implied by risk premiums in three emerging Asian markets; namely, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. Positive January seasonal returns are found in the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets, while positive February seasonal returns are also found in Taiwan. These findings suggest that investors should place their money in these markets during January but not for the months of June and December in Korea, and for the months of May and November in Taiwan. Corporate managers should also be aware of the need to adjust for such seasonal variations when they use market data to evaluate the risk premium or required rate of return for projects in these markets. The results also show that the size effect may also be priced in some of these markets.