The effect of lipoprotein electrostatic properties on the catalytic regulation of hepatic lipase (HL) was investigated. Enrichment of serum or very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) with oleic acid increased lipoprotein negative charge and stimulated lipid hydrolysis by HL. Similarly, enrichment of serum or isolated lipoproteins with the anionic phospholipids phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidic acid, or phosphatidylserine also increased lipoprotein negative charge and stimulated hydrolysis by HL. Anionic lipids had a small effect on phospholipid hydrolysis, but significantly stimulated triacylglyceride (TG) hydrolysis. High density lipoprotein (HDL) charge appears to have a specific effect on lipolysis. Enrichment of HDL with PI significantly stimulated VLDL-TG hydrolysis by HL. To determine whether HDL charge affects the association of HL with HDL and VLDL, HL-lipoprotein interactions were probed immunochemically. Under normal circumstances, HL associates with HDL particles, and only small amounts bind to VLDL. PI enrichment of HDL blocked the binding of HL with HDL. These data indicate that increasing the negative charge of HDL stimulates VLDL-TG hydrolysis by reducing the association of HL with HDL. Therefore, HDL controls the hydrolysis of VLDL by affecting the interlipoprotein association of HL. Lipoprotein electrostatic properties regulate lipase association and are an important regulator of the binding and activity of lipolytic enzymes.

We document a positive relation between stock liquidity and firm value. We examine the mechanism through which stock market liquidity enhances firm value by dividing firm value, as measured by Tobin's Q, into three components, namely, operating income to price, leverage, and operating income to assets. Using the switch to broker anonymity as an exogenous shock to market liquidity, we show that the increase in liquidity around the shock leads to an increase in firm value. Our results suggest that higher firm value for more liquid stocks seems to stem from enhanced stock prices rather than from better operating performance. JEL Codes: G10; G20; G24 This study investigates whether stock market liquidity affects firm value of stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Stock liquidity can influence firm value through various channels. Operating performance-based theories assert that stock market liquidity affects firm performance and profitability and thereby affects firm value. Maug (1998) argues that liquidity allows investors to accumulate large amounts of stocks, become block holders, and capitalize on monitoring activities to boost firm performance. Admati and Pfleiderer (2009), and Edmans and Manso (2011) also propose that market liquidity can positively affect firm performance because in a liquid market, there is a strong 'threat to exit' from blockholders that puts firm managers under high pressure to perform in a diligent manner, especially if management compensation is linked with stock price. On the lines of feedback theories, Subrahmanyam and Titman (2001) and Khanna and Sonti (2004) assert that liquid market stimulates trading of informed investors, which makes prices more informative and facilitates * We are grateful to anonymous referee of the International Review of Finance. We gratefully acknowledge helpful comments from Robert Faff, and seminar participants at Deakin University. We are thankful to the Securities Industry Research Centre of Asia-Pacific (SIRCA) for providing the data used in our study. All remaining errors are our own.

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A microwave catheter can be designed to produce a circumferential thermal lesion on noncontact ablation and may have possible applications for pulmonary vein isolation.