Do all firms have the same degree of information asymmetry? why or why not?
398847
No. Some companies operate with a lot more transparency, take a used car dealership which exists pretty much on information asymmetry and an honest stock broker who will not be able to make his sale without disclosing as much as he can about the issue he is pitching...
22516
Unfortunately, all the accounting catches in the world don't prevent someone from having a duplicate set of data, which is the most common way to "cook the books".  If you could interface between their books and the actual stock price, and you had some serious computing power, you might be able to tell that something fishy was going on, but you'd have to have access to the data.
9001
Public companies are not required to disclose that type of information.  More often than not when a growing company signs a big deal with a major supplier there's a press release.  Do some research into the press releases of the companies that you are trying to analyze.
1168836
Theory of competitive advantage
1009186
If you don't know, then no.  Single-stock investment really works best with thorough due diligence and a match of that company to your investment strategy (are you a value investor, playing short-term cycles, etc.)  \n\nEvery person I know that makes money consistently in direct stock investment do so because of thorough understanding of their risks, companies they're working with, etc.
87029
By nature, accounting is based on historical information.  I'd say the biggest problem with relying on any accounting information is that it gives you only what has happened, but doesn't take into account any non-quantifiable or forward looking factors in your business environment.
88725
If your state does not have a law providing this information then my understanding it is up to the company. Most usually do, but I have heard of some companies that will not.
407599
It is not a competitive advantage any longer. It is a matter of survival. The competitive advantage ended in the 70's. A modern enterprise can not be properly managed or run without an information system. The days of the rooms full of people with green eye shades is over.  Even individuals rely on information systems today. Quicken, MS Money, spread sheets. I have a gross of spread sheets. \n\nLet us take for example of just one business, the grocery store. Actually, today it is called the supermarket.  30 years ago, they had scores of clerks stamping prices on cans of beans, etc. Then they had scores of clerks keying those prices into cash resisters and other scores of clerks going through the isles trying to determine what they needed to restock. Then they had scores of clerks typing up purchase orders for more beans. Informations systems have eliminated all of that. The bar code on the product, tells the information system the product that was just bought. The information system calculates the price, deducts the item from inventory, and checks against the reorder point, and if that is reached issues an order for more of that item from the vendor and transmits the order to the vendors computer. \n\nDo you think that a company such as Walmart could even exist today without information systems?
752463
No not at all, remember you are numerate and analytical you can spin it that way. Consultency or reserch firms to the pharma industry is a good bet there is the big five, IMS and many other market reserch firms. Being specific to the pharma to begin with will help you cut your business teeth then the whole world is up for grabs.
862392
In his book "Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Next Generation," David Dreman does a good job of explaining his rationale for a low P/E stock selection strategy.  On average, over long periods of time, low P/E stocks have outperformed high P/E stocks.  There has been much debate over why this is, but I'd summarize Mr. Dreman's theory of why this works as the following.  Analysts tend to be systematically too optimistic when forecasting companies' future growth rates.  Therefore, they are willing to pay a high multiple of current earnings for these stocks.  When it turns out they were wrong, the market strongly penalizes the prices of these high P/E stocks.  There appears to be an asymmetric payoff  between high P/E and low P/E stocks.  When high P/E stocks report a positive earnings surprise, they don't go up as much as they decline when they report a negative surprise.  The opposite is, on average, true of low P/E stocks.  It is this effect that may explain why value portfolios often outperform growth portfolios.  Turning to academia, a recent paper in the journal Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting concludes, "Value portfolios outperform because of systematic errors in forecasting earnings growth rates."
559336
In my opinion...\n\nCommon size is most useful when comparing one company to another (or one part of a company to another part within the same company). I look at a lot of financials, and I don't have much use for common size - mainly because it's difficult to get true apples to apples when comparing one company to another.\n\nI suppose if one was comparing a bunch of different companies in the same industry, it could be useful for some limited comparisons - say like GP %, EBITDA/sales, or whatever is most meaningful in the industries you're looking at
18202
Depending on which industry you are in, legal and regulatory risks can have a major impact on your success or failure.  For example, with identity theft cases increasing, states are enacting new laws that force businesses to dislose information security breaches that affect customers' personal information, or else face stiff penalties.  With more companies becoming "information-based", I think this is a risk that most businesses need to understand.
786048
Ithink your question is do conglomerates have no synergy? If so this isn't a correct statement Conglomerates basically represent a multitude of aquired companies working under a corporate entity. Each company operates seperately , however the parent conglomerateor Corporation is answerable to shareholders and reports results and staements on behalf of the entities. Each entity has its own synergy requirements and there is an aspect of financial and operational synergy between the CEO/ CFO,s and the corporation.
96609
Nothing has been announced.  It's up to the company whether or not they split.  Keep in mind that a split is just an accounting measure and a non-event.  What matters is whether or not the company can continue the trend of increasing revs and EPS and beating estimates.
607060
Yes, especially new projects or greatly changed existing projects.\n\nReview Benifits vs Cost, Resources required, expected Return on Investments, Marketing Analysis Expectations, Safety Considerations, Technology Use, Mfg Local, Industrial vs Commercial vs Military.\n\nKinda Like taking Murphys Law and turning it upside down or inside out to assure success in the short term as well as in the long term.
181623
Sounds like the world we live in - the so-called 'information society'.  Massive amount of information is available (information rich), but finding the right information or valid information becomes more challenging (information poor).\n\nYahoo Answers is a perfect example of this dichotomy!\n\nGood luck with whatever your intend is with this question.
237701
It depends upon company to company.