Newsroom

2009

Department chair Praveen Kumar, who is the Texas Bank of Commerce/ Tenneco Professor and executive director of the University of Houston Global Energy Management Institute, was the featured speaker for the Houston Energy Risk Managers group during an October meeting. Kumar discussed carbon trading, which is the topic of a course he teaches to graduate students with Professor Craig Pirrong, director of energy markets for UH-GEMI, and Distinguished Scholar Victor Flatt.

Along with Pirrong and Flatt, Kumar led “Cutting through Cap and Trade,” a conference presented by UH-GEMI and the Center for Environment, Energy and Natural Resources (EENR) in July. The three spoke about the intersection of climate change, environmental law, and emissions and commodity trading, and answered questions from an audience that included graduate students and members of the industry.

Faculty had 19 top-tier publications (published or accepted) in 2008-2009, placing the department in the highest tier of finance departments internationally in terms of faculty research productivity. The following papers are forthcoming in the top finance and management journals — “Stapled Finance” by Professor Paul Povel with R. Singh, in the Journal of Finance; “Time-Varying Short-Horizon Predictability” by Assistant Professor Federico Nardari with Samuel Henkel and J. Spencer Martin, in the Journal of Financial Economics; “Managerial Agency and Bond Covenants” by department chair Praveen Kumar and Dean Arthur Warga, with S. Chava, in the Review of Financial Studies; “The Shape and Term Structure of the Index Option Smirk: Why Multifactor Stochastic Volatility Models Work So Well” by Professor Kris Jacobs, with P. Christoffersen and S. Heston, for Management Science; “Are Emerging Markets More Profitable? Implications for Comparing Weak and Semi- Strong Form Efficiency” by Assistant Professor Federico Nardari, with John Griffin and Patrick Kelley, for the Review of Financial Studies; “Voluntary Disclosures and Analyst Feedback” by Assistant Professor Nisan Langberg and Bauer Endowed Chair of Accounting K. Sivaramakrishnan, for the Journal of Accounting Research; “Lemons or Cherries? Growth Opportunities and Market Temptations in Going Public and Private” by Assistant Professor Hadiye Aslan and department chair Praveen Kumar, for the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis; “Option Valuation with Conditional Heteroskedasticity and Non- Normality” by Professor Kris Jacobs, with P. Christoffersen, R. Elkamhi and B. Feunou, for the Review of Financial Studies; “A Resolution of the Distress Risk and Leverage Puzzles in the Cross Section of Stock Returns” by Professor Thomas George, with Chuan-Yang Hwang, for the Journal of Financial Economics; and “Bootstrap Refinements of Microstructure Tests,” by Professor Thomas George, with Chuan-Yang Hwang and Tavy Ronen, for the Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting.

The department welcomed Professor Kris Jacobs to its faculty this fall. Jacobs previously was on the faculty at McGill University and received his Ph.D. in finance from the University of Pittsburg. His research interests include investments, derivatives, credit risk, volatility and asset pricing.

Three finance seniors — Brenda Guzman, Michelle Mai and Fiza Khalid — received scholarships from Houston Marine Insurance during a reception in November. Research assistant Jonathon Carrasco was also awarded the Clay and Lucy Carter Teaching Excellence Award during the luncheon.

C. T. Bauer Professor of Finance Thomas George and Associate Dean of Programs and Administration Latha Ramchand spoke to a group of high net worth women during a presentation organized by Merrill Lynch at Greenway Plaza. They discussed the basis of financial planning, including savings rates and investment horizons, types of investments, elements of risk, and the impact of taxes and management fees. Ramchand also spoke in December at the Industry Forecast Forum, an event held by Gulf Publishing Company.

2008

Bauer students took first and second place in the annual NYMEX Open Outcry Competition. Ana Lucia Chaverria won first place and an all expense paid internship with NYMEX in New York, and Rieza Marukto took second place. Click here to read the full story.

Bauer’s Cougar Fund stock analysis team, which included John Keeton, Joe Corkin, Quyen Nguyen and Mauricio Franco won the National title at the Chartered Financial Analysis Institute’s Global Investment Research Challenge and placed third in international competition. Click here to read the full story.

Through her connections with Bauer and the Rockwell Career Center, Finance graduate Ann Mandzuk received a prestigious invitation to a Shell Drilling and Production Camp. Click here to read the full story.

Houston PBS producers look to UH Bauer College for experts in the energy industry to discuss oil and the environment. Click here to read the full story.

UH Bauer College’s Finance Department continues to bring in national victories and honors. Click here to read the full story.

2007

Finance and Accounting senior Saeeda Jamaluddin placed first in the NYMEX Open Outcry Competition, and she was awarded an all expense paid internship with NYMEX in New York. Five of the finalists were Bauer students.