Blockchain-based Framework for Reducing Fake or Vicious News Spread on Social Media/Messaging Platforms

With social media becoming the most frequently used mode of modern-day communications, the propagation of fake or vicious news through such modes of communication has emerged as a serious problem. The scope of the problem of fake or vicious news may range from rumour-mongering, with intent to defame someone, to manufacturing false opinions/trends impacting elections and stock exchanges to much more alarming and mala fide repercussions of inciting violence by bad actors, especially in sensitive law-and-order situations. Therefore, curbing fake or vicious news and identifying the source of such news to ensure strict accountability is the need of the hour. Researchers have been working in the area of using text analysis, labelling, artificial intelligence, and machine learning techniques for detecting fake news, but identifying the source or originator of such news for accountability is still a big challenge for which no concrete approach exists as of today. Also, there is another common problematic trend on social media whereby targeted vicious content goes viral to mobilize or instigate people with malicious intent to destabilize normalcy in society. In the proposed solution, we treat both problems of fake news and vicious news together. We propose a blockchain and keyed watermarking-based framework for social media/messaging platforms that will allow the integrity of the posted content as well as ensure accountability on the owner/user of the post. Intrinsic properties of blockchain-like transparency and immutability are advantageous for curbing fake or vicious news. After identification of fake or vicious news, its spread will be immediately curbed through backtracking as well as forward tracking. Also, observing transactions on the blockchain, the density and rate of forwarding of a particular original message going beyond a threshold can easily be checked, which could be identified as a possible malicious attempt to spread objectionable content. If the content is deemed dangerous or inappropriate, its spread will be curbed immediately. The use of the Raft consensus algorithm and bloXroute servers is proposed to enhance throughput and network scalability, respectively. Thus, the framework offers a proactive as well as reactive, practically feasible, and effective solution for curtailment of fake or vicious news on social media/messaging platforms. The proposed work is a framework for solving fake or vicious news spread problems on social media; the complete design specifications are beyond scope of the current work and will be addressed in the future.

Impact on Stock Market across Covid-19 Outbreak

This paper analysis the impact of pandemic over the global stock exchange. The stock listing values are determined by variety of factors including the seasonal changes, catastrophic calamities, pandemic, fiscal year change and many more. This paper significantly provides analysis on the variation of listing price over the world-wide outbreak of novel corona virus. The key reason to imply upon this outbreak was to provide notion on underlying regulation of stock exchanges. Daily closing prices of the stock indices from January 2017 to January 2022 has been utilized for the analysis. The predominant feature of the research is to analyse the fact that does global economy downfall impacts the financial stock exchange. Keywords: Stock Exchange, Matplotlib, Streamlit, Data Science, Web scrapping.

News at the Bell and a Level Playing Field

We provide initial evidence that stock exchange procedures around closing auctions advantage speed traders at the expense of auction participants. We show that, on Nasdaq and NYSE Arca, 4:00 pm earnings releases result in informed trading in the continuous regular-hour session in the short window between 4:00 pm and the closing auction; this trading subsequently moves closing prices in the direction of the earnings news. The ability of speed traders to submit 4:00 pm-news orders to the auction through the continuous session earns them up to 1.5% profit and creates an unlevel playing field because most auction participants are not allowed to cancel their orders. When stock exchanges recommended that firms delay disclosures until after the market close, those with higher institutional ownership were more likely to do so voluntarily. Our study has implications regarding the timing of information releases and the design of the closing process.

GENDER DIVERSITY ON BOARD AND ITS RELEVANCE TO FIRM PERFORMANCE: A STUDY ON PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH

The study tries to examine the relationship between gender diversity on the Board and firms' profitability in Bangladesh's Pharmaceutical industry. The study employs a panel data approach with all the Pharmaceutical companies listed under Dhaka Stock Exchanges. The sample period covers eight years from 2012-2019. To conduct the study, Return on Equity and Tobin's Q was taken as a proxy of accounting measure of profitability and market measure of profitability, respectively. The proportion of women on board structure was taken as a proxy for gender diversity. Some other variables: board size, firm age, leverage, and firm size, were incorporated to control the effect of these variables on profitability. The study reveals that gender diversity shows a positive but insignificant relationship with the firm's performance in terms of ROE. The R square of this model was 11.67%. In terms of Tobin's Q, gender diversity exhibited a significant positive relationship with firm performance. The R square of this model was 17%. This implies that the market ascribes a great value to the inclusion of women in board structure since it increases the board structure's independence and profitability.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stock Exchanges

The current world health crisis is characterized by the speed of its spread and its scale, and causing a direct global destructive economic impact that is present in every area of the globe. In this context of high uncertainty, the financial markets, especially the stock exchanges, have witnessed a decline in double figures in a very short period of time. In this chapter, the authors analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts all variables of significant interest to financial economists, market regulators, and investors. This impact will be examined taking into account measures taken by governments, such as cities lockdown, border closures, canceling public events, and stopping public transport in order to slow down and stop the pandemic.

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on International Stock Exchanges

It is possible to define the concept of risk in various ways. Risk is the deviation possibility of the realized value from the expected value. It has two components, nonsystematic risk and systematic risk. Despite this, pandemics are risk factors that cannot be anticipated. They have deeply affected economies and financial markets under every condition. The importance of the detection of the COVID-19 pandemic comes from the selection of monetary and fiscal policies to be applied by governments during the rehabilitation process of economies. Equity share markets provide important information regarding the future of a company or economy. The reason for this is that the current value of an equity share is dependent on the deducted calculation of the cash flows of the equity share to be provided in the future. The actual price of the equity share is determined according to supply and demand under market conditions.

Analysis of Herding Behavior in Developing Countries

When faced with market uncertainty and high volatility in financial markets, the potential for herding behavior in the stock market is likely to increase. This will cause instability in the financial market and also the economy of a country. The purpose of this study is to analyze herding behavior in the stock markets of developing countries including China, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Taiwan and Thailand. This type of research is quantitative research and the population in this study is stocks listed on the Stock Exchanges of all developing countries with a time period from January 2016 to December 2020. The sampling method used is purposive sampling. The data used are monthly stock index data, VIX, world oil prices and the fed funds rate. Data analysis was performed through panel data regression, which is a combination of cross section and time series using the Eviews program. The results showed that there was no herding behavior in developing countries. The result of this research is that the fed fund rate has a significant effect on herding behavior in developing countries, especially in Indonesia. Keywords: Herding, Market Volatility, Oil Price, Fed Fund Rate.

The Reasoning of a Responsible Investment Position in the Structure of the Stock Exchange Market

Purpose: To substantiate the place and role of the responsible investment in the structure of the stock exchange market. Methods: Structure-functional in order to form an idea of the structure of the stock exchange market, determining the place and role of responsible investment elements in the stock market organization; systematic analysis to identify current trends and patterns in the functioning of the socially responsible investment segment by geographical regions of the world; statistical and graphical methods for quantitative and visual presentation of the results of the stock market sectors analysis, represented by responsible investment elements. Findings: The definition of «responsible investment» and «stock market» has been clarified; a number of subjects, objects and forms of responsible investment, which are elements of the stock market, are singled out and substantiated; the generalization of activities of stock exchanges in the field of responsible investing is carried out; the dynamics of stock market sector indicators, which are represented by elements of responsible investment, are analyzed; key reporting standards used by stock exchanges in disclosing ESG issues are analyzed. Theoretical Implications: A comprehensive assessment of the functioning of socially responsible investment segment as part of the stock market is carried out, the place and role of responsible investing in the stock market structure are substantiated, which creates a basis for the development of effective measures to increase the stock market efficiency of Ukraine and its transformation into an effective and stable source of investment resources. Future Research: The results can be used in the context of further study of the stock market transformation in Ukraine on the basis of a socially responsible trajectory and fractal analysis. Paper Type: Theoretical. The study was performed within the state budget research «Fractal model of the stock market transformation in Ukraine: socially responsible investment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals» № 0121U100473.

Methodological Foundations of the Risk of the Stock Markets of Developed and Developing Countries in the Conditions of the Crisis

The development of a methodology for the growth of the stock market through a deep transformation of the economic development system and introduction of digital technologies. The article is devoted to the study of the development of stock markets’ actual problems that affect the redistribution of capital between sectors of the economy by using tools and mechanisms between the financial and stock markets. The purpose of the study is to improve the regulatory segment of the stock market in order to further develop stock exchanges, integrate them into the global economic system, and attract investment in the economy. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were performed: the development of the London Stock Exchange was analyzed and the profit growth was determined; a comparative capitalization of the main stock instruments was carried out; internal factors of influence on the stock market were determined. The problem of the international stock market in all countries with emerging markets, first of all, lies in the improvement of the institutional environment, which is a prerequisite for the stability of the stock market. To analyze the development of stock markets, natural technical sciences were used to identify objective patterns, and determine the state and motives, using various methods and techniques: logic, generalizations, specific methods of cognition, comparison, and graphics. In the development of the stock market, the economy establishes certain natural actions in the real sector of the economy through a regulatory system of measures, and the needs of investments in the real sector of the economy, methods, and tools are used to achieve the desired results. Statistical, analytical, and dynamic methods were used. The essential foundations of the importance of stock markets and the economy are revealed; we discuss the penetration of knowledge and the conduction of a deep transformation through the introduction of digital technologies in all spheres of the economy, including the transformation of the development of the stock and financial markets nowadays. Results. The assessment of the state of securities markets in developed and developing countries is made on the example of the largest stock exchanges in Brazil and the United Kingdom. The features of the effective functioning of stock markets are revealed. The hypothesis is put forward about the insufficiency of research on the stock market of developed and developing countries and the mechanisms used having an insufficient impact on the development of the economy. From this point of view, an analysis of the dynamics of the current state of the issuers’ number and the dynamics of profitability of developed markets is carried out, the comparative capitalization volumes of the stock markets of Great Britain and Brazil are evaluated, and the weaknesses of their functioning are identified. Conclusions. The conducted research shows that countries, where stock markets are successfully functioning and developing, are catalysts for economic development and the accumulation of funds. Each country applies models of stock market development and a strategy for its regulation in accordance with the concept of a functioning market and its maturity.

Corruption News and Corporate Investment: Evidence from China

We examine whether corporate corruption scrutiny affects corporate investment in China. A corruption news index (CNI) containing firm-specific measures of corruption scrutiny was developed by tracking all articles in the press about corruption for all firms trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges between 2000 and 2016. We found that a standard deviation increase in CNI is associated with a modest and short-lived decline in investment, ranging from 2 to 10 percent, with a stronger effect among SOEs. We explore two channels that can explain the CNI-investment effect: (i) a shift in the cost of external finance and (ii) a rise in political uncertainty connected with corporate corruption scrutiny. Our results indicate that CNI lowers the cost of external finance, pointing to a beneficial aspect of corruption cleanup. However, the effect of CNI on investment is amplified in the presence of provincial political turnover, providing support for the political uncertainty channel. The results also indicate that the negative effect of CNI on investment has significantly declined since 2013, supporting the proposition that the long-term benefits of corruption cleanup outweigh the short-term costs associated with policy uncertainty.