The Long-Term Debt Ratios of US Multinationals and The Securities Laws in the Countries of Subsidiaries Dev Mishra and George Tannous * JEL Classifications: G32, F23 Key Words: International diversification; Capital structure; Securities laws; International Finance This is a preliminary version intended for presentation and discussion at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Northern Finance Association, September 5-7, 2008, Kananaskis Village, Alberta. Please do not quote without permission. Comments and suggestions are welcome and will be greatly appreciated. _________________________________________ * Mishra is Associate Professor of Finance (email: mishra@commerce.usask.ca , phone: 306 966 8457, Fax: 306 966-2515) and Tannous is Professor of Finance (email: tannous@commerce.usask.ca , phone: 306 966-6695, Fax: 306 966-2515), Department of Finance and Management Science, Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan, 25 Campus drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A7, Canada. May 2008