The information content of institutional trades on the London Stock Exchange

We construct a unique data set that includes all reported institutional block trades on the London Stock Exchange and analyze the market reaction to buy and sell trades. We find that the type of investors behind the trade and the combination of the trade's size and the trader's resulting level of ownership are the major determinants of the information effects and the asymmetry between price impacts of buy and sell trades. In particular, large trades undertaken by fund managers, the most active investors in our sample, have strong information content, while, for the remaining trades, we report limited support for the information and the price impact asymmetry hypotheses. These results hold even after accounting for trade complexity and volatility effects in the regressions

An examination of the relationship of governance structure and performance: Evidence from banking companies in Bangladesh

Corporate governance has become increasingly important in developed and developing countries just after a series of corporate scandals and failures in a number of countries. Corporate governance structure is often viewed as a means of corporate success despite prior studies reveal mixed, somewhere conflicting and ambiguous, and somewhere no relationship between governance structure and performance. This study empirically investigates the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and financial performance of listed banking companies in Bangladesh by using two multiple regression models. The study reveals that a good number of companies do not comply with the regulatory requirements indicating remarkable shortfall in corporate governance practice. The companies are run by the professional managers having no duality and no ownership interest for which they are compensated by high remuneration to curb agency conflict. Apart from some inconsistent relationship between some corporate variables, the corporate governance mechanisms do not appear to have significant relationship with financial performances. The findings reveal an insignificant negative impact or somewhere no impact of independent directors and non-independent non-executive directors on the level of performance that strongly support the concept that the managers are essentially worthy of trust and earn returns for the owners as claimed by stewardship theory. The study provides support for the view that while much emphasis on corporate governance mechanisms is necessary to safeguard the interest of stakeholders; corporate governance on its own, as a set of codes or standards for corporate conformance, cannot make a company successful. Companies need to balance corporate governance mechanisms with performance by adopting strategic decision and risk management with the efficient utilization of the organization’s resources

Risk-shifting Through Issuer Liability and Corporate Monitoring

This article explores how issuer liability re-allocates fraud risk and how risk allocation may reduce the incidence of fraud. In the US, the apparent absence of individual liability of officeholders and insufficient monitoring by insurers under-mine the potential deterrent effect of securities litigation. The underlying reasons why both mechanisms remain ineffective are collective action problems under the prevailing dispersed ownership structure, which eliminates the incentives to moni-tor set by issuer liability. This article suggests that issuer liability could potentially have a stronger deterrent effect when it shifts risk to individuals or entities holding a larger financial stake. Thus, it would enlist large shareholders in monitoring in much of Europe. The same risk-shifting effect also has implications for the debate about the relationship between securities litigation and creditor interests. Credi-tors’ claims should not be given precedence over claims of defrauded investors (e.g., because of the capital maintenance principle), since bearing some of the fraud risk will more strongly incentivise large creditors, such as banks, to monitor the firm in jurisdictions where corporate debt is relatively concentrated

A Low-Mass Planet with a Possible Sub-Stellar-Mass Host in Microlensing Event MOA-2007-BLG-192

We report the detection of an extrasolar planet of mass ratio q ~ 2 x 10^(-4) in microlensing event MOA-2007-BLG-192. The best fit microlensing model shows both the microlensing parallax and finite source effects, and these can be combined to obtain the lens masses of M = 0.060 (+0.028 -0.021) M_sun for the primary and m = 3.3 (+4.9 -1.6) M_earth for the planet. However, the observational coverage of the planetary deviation is sparse and incomplete, and the radius of the source was estimated without the benefit of a source star color measurement. As a result, the 2-sigma limits on the mass ratio and finite source measurements are weak. Nevertheless, the microlensing parallax signal clearly favors a sub-stellar mass planetary host, and the measurement of finite source effects in the light curve supports this conclusion. Adaptive optics images taken with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) NACO instrument are consistent with a lens star that is either a brown dwarf or a star at the bottom of the main sequence. Follow-up VLT and/or Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations will either confirm that the primary is a brown dwarf or detect the low-mass lens star and enable a precise determination of its mass. In either case, the lens star, MOA-2007-BLG-192L, is the lowest mass primary known to have a companion with a planetary mass ratio, and the planet, MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb, is probably the lowest mass exoplanet found to date, aside from the lowest mass pulsar planet.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Scheduled for the Sept. 1, 2008 issu

Multiple agency perspective, family control, and private information abuse in an emerging economy

Using a comprehensive sample of listed companies in Hong Kong this paper investigates how family control affects private information abuses and firm performance in emerging economies. We combine research on stock market microstructure with more recent studies of multiple agency perspectives and argue that family ownership and control over the board increases the risk of private information abuse. This, in turn, has a negative impact on stock market performance. Family control is associated with an incentive to distort information disclosure to minority shareholders and obtain private benefits of control. However, the multiple agency roles of controlling families may have different governance properties in terms of investors’ perceptions of private information abuse. These findings contribute to our understanding of the conflicting evidence on the governance role of family control within a multiple agency perspectiv

Agricultural R&D, technology and productivity.

Published versio

Polymerization-dependent activation of porcine γδ T-cells by proanthocyanidins

Plant-derived proanthocyanidins (PAC) have been promoted as a natural method of improving health and immune function in livestock. It has previously been shown that PAC are effective agonists for activating ruminant γδ T-cells in vitro, however effects on other livestock species are not yet clear. Moreover, the fine structural characteristics of the PAC which contribute to this stimulatory effect have not been elucidated. Here, we demonstrate activation of porcine γδ T-cells by PAC via up-regulation of CD25 (IL-2Rα) and show that 1) activation is dependent on degree of polymerization (DP), with PAC fractions containing polymers with mean DP >6 significantly more effective than fractions with mean DP <6, whilst flavan-3-ol monomers (the constituent monomeric units of PAC) did not induce CD25 expression and 2) both procyanidin and prodelphinidin-type PAC are effective agonists. Furthermore, we show that this effect of PAC is restricted to the γδ T-cell population within porcine peripheral mononuclear cells as significant CD25 up-regulation was not observed in non γδ T-cells, and no activation (via CD80/86 up-regulation) was evident in monocytes. Our results show that dietary PAC may contribute to enhancement of innate immunity in swine via activation of γδ T-cells

Network modelling for road-based Faecal Sludge Management

Improvements in the collection and treatment of sewage are critical to reduce health and environmental hazards in rapidly-urbanising informal settlements. Where sewerage infrastructure is not available, road-based Fecal Sludge Management options are often the only alternative. However, the costs of fecal sludge transportation are often a barrier to their implementation and operation and thus it is desirable to optimise travel time from source to treatment to reduce costs. This paper presents a novel technique, employing spatial network analysis, to optimise the spatio-topological configuration of a road-based fecal sludge transportation network on the basis of travel time. Using crowd-sourced spatial data for the Kibera settlement and the surrounding city, Nairobi, a proof-of-concept network model was created simulating the transport of waste from the 158 public toilets within Kibera. The toilets are serviced by vacuum pump trucks which move fecal sludge to a transfer station from where a tanker transports waste to a treatment plant. The model was used to evaluate the efficiency of different network configurations, based on transportation time. The results show that the location of the transfer station is a critical factor in network optimisation, demonstrating the utility of network analysis as part of the sanitation planning process

Guidelines of the Brazilian Association of Studies on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ABEAD) for diagnoses and treatment of psychiatric comorbidity with alcohol and other drugs dependence

Recently, several studies have focused on comorbity psychiatric disorders with alcohol and other substance dependence. The Brazilian Association of Studies on Alcohol and Other Drugs proposed the Brazilian Guidelines project. This study review diagnostic and therapeutic criteria to the most prevalent psychiatric comorbidities. Randomized clinical trials, epidemiological, animal studies and other forms of research are reviewed. The main psychiatric comorbidities are studied based on guidelines adopted by other countries and the literature data resumed. Epidemiological aspects, diagnoses, integrated treatment and service organization, as well as specific psychotherapic and pharmacological treatment are discussed. The Brazilian Association of Studies on Alcohol and Other Drugs Guidelines reassures the importance of adequate diagnoses and treatment regarding alcoholic and drug dependent patients suffering of comorbid psychiatric disorders.O diagnóstico e tratamento de comorbidade psiquiátrica e dependência de álcool e outras substâncias tem sido objeto de inúmeros estudos nos últimos anos. A Associação Brasileira de Estudos do Álcool e Outras Drogas desenvolveu o projeto Diretrizes. Este trabalho visa o desenvolvimento de critérios diagnósticos e terapêuticos atualizados para as comorbidades psiquiátricas mais prevalentes. Ensaios clínicos randomizados, estudos epidemiológicos, com animais e outros estudos são revisados. As principais comorbidades psiquiátricas são estudadas e os dados de literatura resumidos, tendo como referência diretrizes adotadas em outros países. São abordados aspectos epidemiológicos, critérios diagnósticos, tratamento integrado e organização de serviço especializado, assim como especificidades do tratamento psicoterápico e farmacológico. As Diretrizes da Associação Brasileira de Estudos do Álcool e Outras Drogas reforçam a importância da abordagem adequada do dependente químico portador de comorbidade psiquiátrica.Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Núcleo de PsiquiatriaInstituto de Psiquiatria de Santa CatarinaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Unidade de Pesquisa em Álcool e DrogasSanta Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo Unidade de Álcool e DrogasUniversidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das ClinicasCentro de Atendimento Médico e SocialHospital de Clínicas de Porto AlegreHospital Israelita Albert EinsteinSanta Casa do Rio de Janeiro Setor de Dependência QuímicaUniversidade Gama FilhoUNIFESP, Unidade de Pesquisa em Álcool e DrogasSciEL

Robust transport planning: conceptualising the citp and iptn plan under deep uncertainty

The transport planning profession is becoming increasingly aware of how uncertain the future is. The level of uncertainty in transport planning and decision-making has intensified ‒ as it has in a number of spheres of policy ‒ in the face of climate change, political and economic instability, technological innovation, and changing consumer preferences (Lyons, 2016). COVID-19 has accelerated many innovative and disruptive transitions, expanding the set of plausible futures and compounding the ‘deep’ uncertainty that we have about planning for a future that is decades, and many crises, away from the present (UN-Habitat, 2020). Conventional transport planning practices conceal uncertainty by relying heavily on historic cause-effect relationships, and result in misplaced confidence in our predictive abilities (Marsden & McDonald, 2019). This presentation outlines the development of the Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan (CITP) and Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN) plan in the City of Cape Town using new transport planning practices that try to grapple with the deep uncertainty we’re facing in long-term transport planning in South Africa. The new approach brings together new techniques from the climate adaptation, Decision-Making under Deep Uncertainty (DMDU), and sustainability transitions research fields into transport planning. This development process has resulted from a unique knowledge co-production arrangement between academia and local government that was started in 2017. The lessons from developing this new transport planning approach together, which still meets the established CITP and IPTN plan requirements, will be relevant to those cities across South Africa, and many others in the Global South, who are looking to embed more resilience in their transport planning system in the post-covid era.Papers presented at the 40th International Southern African Transport Conference on 04 -08 July 202