Stable Investment Research Articles

Growth of clonal modules on Agropyron michnoi in the Songnen Plain of Northeast China

Spatial expansion of clonal plants and growth of their modules are of concern in the field of plant ecology. After measuring a large number of samples, we analyzed the module components and the growth patterns of vegetatively propagated Agropyron michnoi clones in the Songnen Plain on Northeast China. The results showed that the plasticity of clonal growth was large; the coefficients of variation of both extensive areas and the quantitative characters of modules were more than 20%. The numbers of ramets, seedlings, and buds and the cumulative length of the rhizomes showed exponentially and linearly increasing patterns with increases of the area and the total number of modules. The biomass of each module, total number of modules and total biomass showed an allometric growth pattern, which was best described by power functions. For A. michnoi, there was a relatively stable investment to sexual reproduction; it showed a priority for allocating biomass to reproductive ramets, and also to rhizomes and buds formation.

Capitalism's renaissance? The potential of repositioning the financial ‘meta-economy’

This paper examines whether the prevailing model of capitalism with its hallmark financial markets is the most productive and stable investment system to underpin the global economy into the future. It returns to the creation of the stock market in 1602 to examine the stock market's origin without the presumption of its respectability. Often considered the genesis of modern corporations and contemporary financial markets, its venerable status is questioned. The instability of the system, established incidental to the Dutch East India Company's solution for financing East Indies voyages and never intended as a model for global capitalism, is found to be insurmountable. Rather than extrapolating the current trajectory of capitalism, an alternative future based on the expansion of productive primary economic activity, is considered. A movement that is evolving spontaneously around innovative lending to expand business enterprises in the primary economy offers the possibility of this alternative future with goals other than amassing capital, more akin to the economic model that originally funded the Renaissance.

A trend based investment decision approach using clustering and heuristic algorithm

This paper proposes a stock price trend clustering and trend investment decision model by using a genetic algorithm to search for optimal solutions and the best investment strategies for different stock price trends. The new price trend clustering model identifies three types of stock price movements: uptrends, sideways trends, and downtrends. Unfortunately, trends discovered through stock price movements or technical indicator graphs are typically subjective and unquantifiable. This paper takes daily stock prices and trading volume data from the China Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index (SSECI) from January 2, 1997 to August 31, 2012, to examine the performance of the proposed trend clustering model. The proposed model is also compared to other popular stock market investment strategies to verify its validity. Research result shows that the proposed trend clustering model correctly identifies three different trends in the stock market. Furthermore, the trend investment strategy model developed by using genetic algorithm methodology performs better than other investment strategies, namely, Granville's rule, the KD indicator strategy, the buys and holds strategy, and GMA rules, in both bull and bear market periods. Research results prove the proposed new model to be a stable and valid investment strategy.

Do International Investment Agreements Attract Foreign Direct Investment into Developing Countries?

The study is concerned with answering a question: what is the role of international investment agreements (IIAs) in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing countries? It reviews the literature on the impact of IIAs on the size of FDI into developing countries to the extent, to which such literature exists. This is the case for bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and regional integration agreements, but less so for bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), nowadays including also investment provisions. In the absence of the literature the study relies on the conceptual discussion of possible impacts. Needless to say the literature, especially that on the impact of BITs on FDI, is not only far from reaching definite conclusions but also has come to conflicting findings. The study offers an own assessment of these findings and of the likely impact of IIAs on FDI. As regards the impact of BITs, the study concludes that there is evidence that BITs have played a role in a number of individual FDI projects, thus increasing FDI, but apparently these increases have not been large enough to be captured in aggregated flows of FDI used in most econometric studies. But in their rather narrow responsibilities, BITs constitute one of the most solid, although quite small, components of a coherent, transparent, predictable and stable investment framework of developing countries. Other agreements, and notably regional integration agreements, including investment and trade provisions, lead to new FDI. The impact is more evident in the case of FDI from outside of the economic grouping. EIIAs can also stimulate some intra-regional FDI. The latter impact can be strong when EIIA membership includes both developed and developing or transition countries.

Application of Data Envelopment Analysis to Operating Performance Evaluation of Financial System

Banking departments have been the focus of domestic financial system and played the critical role in the economic development process. Nevertheless, since the financial liberalization policy in the end of 1980, banks have encountered great challenges. Inspecting the brief situations of domestic banks in the past decade, the profits have been reduced and the operating efficiency is gradually decreasing. The risks of loans are increasing that it becomes a primary issue for the general deposit account and shareholders of banks knowing the operating problems of banks earlier and selecting the accurate and stable investment to ensure the personal profits.Based on the operation investigation of native banks in Taiwan in 2010-2012, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Malmquist Productivity Analysis are combined to measure Total Efficiency (TE), Pure Technical Efficiency (PTE), and Scale Efficiency (SE) of 16 native banks in Taiwan for the reference of further improvement of operating efficiency. The empirical results show Bank of Taiwan and Taishin Bank being relatively efficient, as the operating efficiency achieves the ideal state, while the rest 14 native banks appear comparatively lower operating efficiency. Besides, it is found that merely Bank of Taiwan and Taishin Bank present improvement on the technical change in two periods, while the rest do not improve.

The impact of policy responses on stock liquidity

The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 marked the peak of a financial crisis that is affecting the entire world of finance. This period is characterized by increasing fear of further defaults by corporations (including banks) or even by countries. In reaction, investors began shifting their assets to more stable and secure investments and this resulted in stock market crashes. Various policy interventions were initiated to restore stability. In this article, we analyse the impact of these interventions on stock liquidity, proxied by a new liquidity measure. The interventions, which we consider, are published by the Federal Reserve Bank (FED) in the form of a crisis timeline. Here, they are further combined to the following categories: bank liability guarantees, liquidity and rescue interventions, unconventional monetary policy and other market interventions. The results indicate that the market reacts positively to liquidity and rescue interventions, whereas bank liability guarantees reduced stock liquidity. In addition, we show that international events have a significant impact on the domestic market. By analysing the spreads of different trading volumes, an asymmetric effect can be detected, where the impact on lower trading volumes is substantially more pronounced compared to higher trading volumes.

Concentrating solar power/alternative fuel hybrid plants: Annual electricity potential and ideal areas in Australia

Australia's extensive solar resource is underexploited especially in the CSP (concentrating solar power) arena because of the high investment and lack of stable investment incentives. CSP hybrid plants provide an option to improve returns from CSP installations because of lower specific investment. This paper investigates the generation potential and most prospective regions for 5–60 MWe CSP hybrids using forestry residues, bagasse, stubble, wood waste and refuse derived fuels in locations with a direct normal irradiance >18 MJ/m2/day. Different plant efficiencies are used to identify the overall electricity potential for single and multiple feedstocks systems. The EfB (energy from biomass) or EfW (energy from waste) components of the hybrid plants considered are assumed to allow base load operation with the CSP components providing additional capacity during the day.The total CSP-EfB & EfW hybrid potential in Australia, within 50 km of existing transmission and distribution infrastructure, is 7000 MWe which would require an investment of AU$ 39.5b to annually generate 33.5 TWh. This is equivalent to 12.8% of all electricity generated in 2008–2009 or 74% of Australia's 2020 renewable energy target. The CO2 abatement potential of CSP-EfB & EfW hybrids is up to 27 Mt or 4.8% of all 2009–10 CO2 emissions.

Caught in a Trap: Zambia's Mineral Tax Reforms

Any investment that involves unrecoverable costs relies on the good faith of the government not to raise taxes after costs have been incurred. Unfortunately, features inherent within the political economy of natural resource industries, and particularly within poor countries, makes a stable investment environment difficult to achieve. Indeed, some suggest that countries may fall into a trap in which one episode of instability breeds the conditions for future instability, creating a vicious circle that prevents a country fully benefiting from its mineral wealth. The recent rise in commodity prices is one feature that has influenced reforms in mineral industries around the world. While the general determinants are becoming better understood, each country may offer new insights into this problem. This paper focuses on Zambia’s experience to understand what determined the tax reforms there. In addition, it explores the successes and failures of the mechanisms used to ensure a stable investment environment in Zambia. The paper finds that contract clauses between mining companies and the Zambian government provided some stability, even if no arbitration has so far occurred. In addition, certain tax structures imposed so far have not provided any protection. This paper suggests a better enabling environment, including greater diversification and government administrative capacity, may make these strategies more successful in the future.

IPTC Highlights the Importance of Technology and Collaboration in Unlocking Future Resources

Conference review Technology, research, and project best practices critical for producing the next generation of energy resources was the focus of panel discussions and technical paper presentations at the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC), held 20–22 January in Doha, Qatar. The seventh edition of IPTC attracted more than 6,000 attendees representing 523 companies from 63 countries, including top executives from both national and international oil companies. The largest multisociety, multidisciplinary oil and gas event in the Eastern Hemisphere, IPTC was hosted by Qatar Petroleum, with ExxonMobil as cohost. The conference was sponsored by SPE, the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Andrew Swiger, senior vice president and principal financial officer for ExxonMobil and IPTC executive committee cochairperson, said that the event has become an important global forum for highlighting the research and innovation that will shape the exploration and production (E&P) industry’s future. The speakers and attendees at the event, agreeing that the era of easy oil is over, said that now is the time to deploy all technical capabilities to unlock future resources. The theme of the conference was “Unlocking Energy Through Innovation, Technology, and Capability.” Qatar’s prime minister and interior minister, Abdullah Bin Naser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, said during the conference opening ceremony that Qatar was eager to host and sponsor this event because of the importance of the energy sector in the prosperity and the development of the country. Meanwhile, Qatar’s minister of energy and industry, Mohamed bin Saleh Al-Sada, said that Qatar’s success in developing its natural resources and exploiting them wisely comes mainly from its long-term strategy that involved creating a well-developed infrastructure and a solid and diversified economy, as well as offering a stable investment climate. A New Outlook At ITPC’s plenary session, panelists described a world in which the conventional wisdom of yesteryear has been supplanted with a new outlook for the future, ushered in by a wave of new technologies. The speakers, representing six international and national oil companies, spoke about the challenges facing the industry with optimism based on the industry’s increasing success in tapping into complex resources to produce them safely and more efficiently.

Trade Openness and Real Investment in Jordan : An ARDL Bound Testing Approach

This paper investigates the relationship between trade openness and real investment in Jordan, over the period 1976-2010. An Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach is employed in order to explore the association between investment and trade openness by estimating an investment function for the Jordanian economy and incorporating trade openness as a determinant of investment. The Empirical results provide strong evidence on the presence of a long-run stable investment function. In the short-run, trade openness has a positive and significant effect on real investment; a consistent result with the literature. Therefore, the results confirm the significant impact of trade openness on real investment found in the previous literature using a cointegration technique. This finding emphasises the importance of the trade liberalisation effects on real investment especially in the case of Jordan.

Why preeclampsia still exists?

Preeclampsia (PE) is a deadly gestational disease affecting up to 10% of women and specific of the human species. Preeclampsia is clearly multifactorial, but the existence of a genetic basis for this disease is now clearly established by the existence of familial cases, epidemiological studies and known predisposing gene polymorphisms. PE is very common despite the fact that Darwinian pressure should have rapidly eliminated or strongly minimized the frequency of predisposing alleles. Consecutive pregnancies with the same partner decrease the risk and severity of PE. Here, we show that, due to this peculiar feature, preeclampsia predisposing-alleles can be differentially maintained according to the familial structure. Thus, we suggest that an optimal frequency of PE-predisposing alleles in human populations can be achieved as a result of a trade-off between benefits of exogamy, importance for maintaining genetic diversity and increase of the fitness owing to a stable paternal investment.

Determinants of Debt and Equity Mutual Fund Flows in India

The analysis of debt and equity mutual fund flows identifies the presence of seasonality factors. The expected flows indicate stable investment interplay by mutual funds whereas the unexpected flows identify the presence of short-term volatility. The examination of whether positive feedback process is at work in the market reveals that equity funds are influenced by lagged returns while debt funds are not influenced by current or lagged returns. Examination of the equity fund flows identifies positive and negative feedback mechanism at work. In addition, lagged equity mutual fund withdrawals are seen in the long term analysis. There is outflow of funds when the market returns are negative but it is not causing spiralling effect on the market. In the debt market there is a one-way causation where the sale of funds has influenced a bearish market. High market volatility and market volume have influenced the mutual fund flows. Market volumes also has positively influenced equity flows but has resulted in reduced activity in the bond flows. International influence is exhibited by equity fund flows through withdraw from the market on international market dominance. Investor sentiment, call market rate and dividend yields have also influenced the flow of mutual funds.

Corporate Governance and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: A Study of Oil Companies in the Niger Delta Region

This research work investigates the relationship between corporate governance structures and sustainabledevelopment of oil companies in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The research is based on a survey carriedand on a representative sample of five major oil prospecting firms in the region. Questionnaires were used basedon 5 point likert scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. The result shows that, good corporategovernance will enable companies place priority to technological innovation that will not impair theenvironment and provide basic amenities and welfare to the communities of operation. It is recommended thatgovernment should provide stable investment rules and regulatory incentives for companies to foster sustainabledevelopment in the Niger Delta.

Sustainable Investment Means Energy Independence From Fossil Fuels

CalPERS is only one of many investors who face major challenges in finding and evaluating truly sustainable investments. Cheap fossil fuels create a strong monetary bias against stable secure steady-state investment in basic needs, while aggravating the climate change which makes sustainability a key goal. Cheap fossil fuels also offer unprecedented size and power to large, hierarchical, centralized, and authoritarian organizations that are ill-suited to human nature and historical culture. Some innovative perspectives, approaches and criteria for success in meeting these challenges are described and discussed, along with several specific examples.

International Order and Global Swing States

The rise of four powerful democraciesBrazil, India, Indonesia, and Turkeypresents one of the most significant opportunities for U.S. foreign policy in the early 21st century. The democracies that have newly emerged on the global stage collectively possess the capability and the legitimacy to bolster the interlocking web of norms, institutions, rules, and relationships that has for six decades preserved peace among the great powers, fostered economic prosperity, and facilitated the spread of freedom. This global order now confronts numerous challenges, some emanating from China's rise and others from a diverse set of international developments. If these challenges eventually fragment the international order, the United States, its allies, and all other countries that depend upon an open and stable world will suffer the consequences. Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Turkey offer great potential as partners to extend the global order. Though separated by location and historical experience, these countries share not only a common commitment to democratic institutions but also possess large and growing economies while inhabiting strategic locations in their respective regions. And critically, the precise global role of each is in flux. These four rising democracies might be termed ''global swing states.'' 1 In the American political context, swing states are those whose mixed political orientation gives them a greater impact than their population or economic output might warrant. This applies to Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Turkey. The choices they makewhether they take on new responsibilities, free-ride, or obstructwill, in aggregate, decisively influence the trajectory of today's world.

Measuring Stable Value Risk Structures -- A New Scoring System

Since 2008 there has been a major disruption in the stable value market with a Synthetic GIC shortage, with older forms of stable value coming back from the 90’s and 80’s. What is needed is a way to measure the structural risk differences of the wrap or insurance segments of stable value investment options in 401(k) s and related U.S. defined contribution plans. We do have credit ratings on the pieces of the insurance structure, and a rating on the underlying securities, but they do not get to the real distinctions of risk between the newer and older stable value options. There are three basic categories of stable value: (1) The original General Account or traditional GIC, (2) the Insurance Company Separate Account GIC and (3) the Synthetic GIC, sometimes known as a wrap. What has never been done is to quantify the risk difference between all of these categories, and then the effects of diversification within these categories, and even mixing and matching different structures within the same stable value fund. This new scoring system fills this gap.

Institutional Investor Portfolio Stability and Post-IPO Firm Survival: A Contingency Approach

This study examines the influence of institutional investor portfolio stability on the survival of 379 IPO firms that went public in 1997. I find a negative relationship between the amount of stable institutional investment in and newly public firms and post-IPO firm failure. Consistent with multiple agency theory I also find that outside director board control weakens the influence of stable institutional investment on post-IPO firm failure. These results provide support for multiple agency theory and highlight the importance of differences among and between principals and agents in the post-IPO setting.

Astrobiology in Brazil: early history and perspectives

AbstractThis review reports the Brazilian history in astrobiology, as well as the first delineation of a vision of the future development of the field in the country, exploring its abundant biodiversity, highly capable human resources and state-of-the-art facilities, reflecting the last few years of stable governmental investments in science, technology and education, all conditions providing good perspectives on continued and steadily growing funding for astrobiology-related research. Brazil is growing steadily and fast in terms of its worldwide economic power, an effect being reflected in different areas of the Brazilian society, including industry, technology, education, social care and scientific production. In the field of astrobiology, the country has had some important landmarks, more intensely after the First Brazilian Workshop on Astrobiology in 2006. The history of astrobiology in Brazil, however, is not so recent and had its first occurrence in 1958. Since then, researchers carried out many individual initiatives across the country in astrobiology-related fields, resulting in an ever growing and expressive scientific production. The number of publications, including articles and theses, has particularly increased in the last decade, but still counting with the effort of researchers working individually. That scenario started to change in 2009, when a formal group of Brazilian researchers working with astrobiology was organized, aiming at congregating the scientific community interested in the subject and to promote the necessary interactions to achieve a multidisciplinary work, receiving facilities and funding from the University de Sao Paulo and other funding agencies.

Institutional Investor Portfolio Stability and Post-IPO Firm Survival: A Contingency Approach

stable institutional investment in newly public firms and post-IPO firm failure. Consistent with multiple agency theory I also find that outside director board control weakens the influence of stab...

Development in China’s Natural Gas Industry Regulation

With the growing interest in clean energy, and the natural gas market maturity in China, there is a strong need to introduce as soon as possible a regulation system covering the mid- and downstream natural gas business to ensure a harmonized approach to gas industry development. Adopting a consistent regulation system for the mid- and downstream natural gas industry that establishes the fundamental rights, obligations and regulatory principles would provide a clear legal expression of the government’s policy and strategy for gas industry development and the ground rules for the operation of the gas industry. Such a regulation system would, therefore, help create a more stable investment and operating environment, reduce uncertainty and investment risk, and consequently lower the cost of capital.