In recent years, the validity of the weak form efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been called into question as several studies have uncovered evidence that technical trading rules have predictive ability with respect to both developed and emerging stock market indices. This study analyses the forecasting power of 2 of the most popular trading rules using index data for a selection of 11 European stock markets over the January 1991 to December 2000 period. The findings indicate that the emerging markets included in this paper are informationally inefficient; these markets displayed some degree of predictability in their share returns, although the developed markets did not. Furthermore, the results point to large differences in the performance of the rules examined; while small size filters consistently outperformed the buy-and-hold strategy in the emerging markets examined even after the consideration of transaction costs, the performance of the moving average rules was erratic and varied dramatically from market to market.Trading rules, emerging markets, market efficiency,

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to: examine the value relevance of financial instruments disclosure (FID) provided by Jordanian listed companies under International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 7) as compared to that supplied under IAS 30/32; provide evidence about the value relevance of high vs low levels of FID; and investigate which components of FI-related information are more value relevant. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 70 Jordanian listed companies is used in this monograph. A disclosure index checklist was constructed to measure FI information provided by the sample companies. In addition, a valuation model is employed to test the association between FID and market value. Findings Although evidence is provided that FI information was value relevant over the two periods of investigation, the information supplied after the implementation of IFRS 7 was more strongly associated with market values. An analysis of the sub-components of FID reveals that the details about balance sheet, fair value and risk information matter when valuing equity. Overall, the results indicate that investors value FI-related information when making their equity pricing decisions. The result suggests that compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements does produce relevant financial statements. Research limitations/implications The results of the current study have a number of implications for policy makers. First, they provide a great deal of insight for the IASB about the relevance of its standards to countries outside the western context. In addition, the findings provide valuable insights for policy makers in Jordan who are concerned about the implications of mandatory disclosures. Originality/value The analysis of FID in developing countries in general, and in Jordan in particular, has been overlooked by the extant literature and therefore this study is the first of its kind to examine this research issue for a sample of Jordanian firms.

This article investigates the weak form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) for the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). In particular, it tests whether share returns on the KSE exhibit patterns which may be used to predict future share price changes. Ten filter rules are tested on weekly data for 42 firms over the period 1998–2011. The results suggest that the KSE was not weak-form efficient because patterns and trends were present in security prices. In addition, the results are consistent with the substantive literature which has argued that emerging stock markets are informationally inefficient, such as Fifield, Power and Sinclair (2005, 2008) and Xu (2010) and particularly those early studies of Al-Shamali (1989) and Al-Loughani and Moosa (1999) that looked at trading rules for the KSE.

This paper investigates the extent to which global and local economic factors explain returns in emerging stock markets (ESMs). The economic factors are determined using principal components analysis. The results suggest that the local economic variables included in this study can be summarized by GDP, inflation, money and interest rates, while the selected global variables can be sufficiently characterized by world industrial production and world inflation. These components are then used as inputs into a regression analysis in order to explain the index returns of 13 ESMs over the period 1987-96. The analysis indicates that while world factors are significant in explaining ESM returns, local factors may also play a crucial role.

Purpose -The main aim of this paper is to investigate Financial Instrument (FI) disclosures provided by Jordanian listed companies under IFRS 7 as compared to those supplied under IAS 30/32.Design/methodology/approach -A sample of 82 Jordanian listed companies is used in this monograph. A disclosure index checklist was constructed to measure FI information provided by the sample companies.Findings -The study finds that a larger number of Jordanian listed companies provided a greater level of FI-related information after IFRS 7 was implemented. Specifically, the sample firms provided 47% of the disclosure index items after implementing IFRS 7 as compared to 30% under IAS 30/32. In addition, an analysis of FI disclosure by industry revealed that the highest level of disclosure was provided by firms in the banking sector.Moreover, the analysis of FI disclosure pre-and post-the implementation of IFRS 7 revealed specific aspects of usefulness. In particular, some components of FI disclosure (Balance Sheet and Fair Value) showed no significant differences within and across sectors post the implementation of IFRS 7 suggesting that the new standard may have enhanced the comparability of such information. Research Limitations/implications -The results of the current study have a number of implications for policy-makers. First, they provide a great deal of insight for the IASB about the relevance of its standards to countries outside the Western context. In addition, 2 the findings provide valuable insights for policy-makers in Jordan who are concerned about the implications of mandatory disclosures.Originality/value -The analysis of FI disclosure in developing countries in general, and in Jordan in particular, has been overlooked by the extant literature and therefore this study is the first of its kind to examine this research issue for a sample of Jordanian firms.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how investors and stockbrokers in Nigeria value shares and whether their approach to share valuation differs from that documented in other countries. In particular, the paper investigates whether the investors and stockbrokers use fundamental, technical and/or risk analysis differently to appraise investments. The information which investors and stockbrokers employ for share valuation purposes is also considered to see whether differences from developed market countries exist.Design/methodology/approachA series of semi‐structured interviews was conducted with eight stockbrokers and ten investors from Nigeria.FindingsThe main approach to share valuation employed by the Nigerian interviewees was fundamental analysis; investors and brokers forecast earnings for a company and multiplied this prediction by a P/E ratio to estimate the intrinsic worth of a share. This intrinsic value was then compared with the current share price to see if the equity was under‐ or over‐valued. Thus, Nigerian investors are similar to their counterparts in other countries in terms of the main approach to share valuation employed. Other company fundamentals considered in the valuation process included cash flows and dividend information. Technical and risk analyses were also undertaken to supplement any initial conclusions reached. Indeed, the findings suggest that there was a greater use of risk analysis by Nigerian investors in comparison to the results documented for other countries. Company financial statements and stockbroker reports were the main sources of information used by investors although qualitative information, such as that obtained from meetings with company executives, was also important. However, access to senior executives was not uniform across all interviewees.Practical implicationsInvestors and stockbrokers in Nigeria behave in a similar fashion to their counterparts in developed countries. However, political risk assumes a greater prominence in the equity valuation process within Nigeria; a reduction in this risk might help Nigerian equity values to increase.Originality/valueThe paper reports the views of senior stockbrokers and investors in Nigeria. To date, most work in this area has focused on developed markets; the current paper considers the case for an emerging market which is important in Africa. This market plays an important role in furthering the economic aims of the Government via their privitisation programmes. In addition, the market is attracting the attention of foreign investors who wish to invest in Nigerian equities.

Dr Dunne has published in a wide range of academic and professional journals on areas such as accountability, financial reporting, accounting standard setting, charity accounting and governance, international accounting, XBRL, treasury practice and control and corporate governance.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the technical methods that investors in the Kuwait Stock Exchange use to evaluate ordinary shares. The research examines the extent of investors' use of technical analysis, and the technical indicators and the sources of technical information employed by investors. Further, it compares the valuation methods and the sources of information employed by Kuwaiti investors with those used by investors in other developed and emerging stock markets. Design/methodology/approach -A semi-structured questionnaire guided the interviews with institutional investors, technical analysts and investment analysts in Kuwait. Findings -Technical analysis is commonly used among research participants, particularly when timing their entry and exit points. The participants use a mixture of trend and pattern seeking; the Moving Average Rule was heavily used in the market but the Filter Rule Approach was not. Interviewees believed that investors did not have complete information about Kuwaiti quoted companies. Investors in Kuwait behave like their counterparts in other developed and emerging stock markets; fundamental analysis is considered the main valuation method among research participants, while technical and risk analyses were ranked second and third, respectively. Practical implications -Interviewees in Kuwait paid more attention to technical analysis than did investors in developed countries; technical analysts looked at a company's fundamentals before they consulted graphs when deciding to purchase ordinary shares. Further, chartists followed trades of large investors to make profits. This topic needs to be investigated in emerging markets because these markets may be inefficient; trends and patterns may characterise the data from these markets and practitioners may use these techniques to exploit such patterns in returns. Further, the findings in this study may aid the regulators of these markets in their development of a framework that could improve efficiency by increasing the level of disclosure and transparency among listed firms. Originality/value -This is one of the first studies in Kuwait to report the views of technical analysts and institutional investors about technical approaches to equity investment that are used in the market. Most studies on this topic have been conducted in developed stock markets. The current study considers the case for an emerging stock market, which is important in the Gulf and Middle East region. Further, access to technical analysts has been limited in prior research but this was not an issue in the current investigation.