Financial consolidation and monetary policy

Paper for a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York entitled Financial Innovation and Monetary TransmissionBank mergers ; Monetary policy

Profits and balance sheet developments at U.S. commercial banks in 1997

U.S. commercial banks had another excellent year in 1997. Their return on equity remained in the elevated range that it has occupied for five consecutive years, and their return on assets reached a new high. Banks maintained their profitability while also adding significantly to assets. The year's strong economic growth increased the demand for credit; banks more than met that demand, gaining market share. In addition, banks departed from the pattern of recent years by sharply increasing their holdings of securities. Compared with 1996, banks earned a somewhat lower average rate on their interest-earning assets and paid a bit more on their liabilities, but these developments were more than offset by higher fee income and increased efficiency. Loan losses remained low relative to loans.Banks and banking - Accounting ; Bank assets

Value innovation modelling: Design thinking as a tool for business analysis and strategy

This paper explores the use of multiple perspective problem framing (English 2008) as a tool to reveal hidden value and commercial opportunity for business. Creative thinking involves the interrelationship of parameters held open and fluid within the cognitive span of the creative mind. The recognition of new associations can create new value that can lead to innovation in designed products, intellectual property and business strategy. The ‘Ideas-lab’ process is based on the proposition that a company’s capacity for innovation is dependent on the way the business is able to see its problems and opportunities. In this process the attributes of a company and the experience of the researchers are considered as the parameters of a design problem. It is therefore important to acknowledge the commercial experience of the project researchers, all of whom have a proven track record in helping businesses develop, exploit and protect their know how. Semi structured interviews were carried out with key individuals in 34 companies. The resulting data was assessed on a company-by-company basis through a process of multiple perspective problem framing, enabling key nodes, patterns and relationships to be identified and explored. A ‘Cornerstones of Innovation’ report was prepared to inform each company of the observations made by the researchers. The paper describes the methods adopted and summarises the feedback from participating companies. Case studies are highlighted to demonstrate ways in which the process influenced the actions of particular businesses, and the commercial outcomes that resulted. Finally the researchers reflect on the structure of the Ideas-lab process

Recent changes to the Federal Reserve's survey of terms of business lending

The Federal Reserve's quarterly Survey of Terms of Business Lending, which has been conducted for more than twenty years, collects information on interest rates and other characteristics of commercial bank business loans. The survey has been changed from time to time to recognize innovations in bank lending practices and to improve the measurement of the desired information. The most recent changes took effect with the May 1997 survey. The major improvement was the addition of an item measuring loan risk. In addition, the reporting panel, which had been limited to domestically chartered commercial banks was expanded to include a sample of U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, which now account for a significant proportion of business lending to U.S. firms. This article discusses the most recent changes made to the survey and presents some information now available from the new items being reported. It also summarizes information about the use of loan risk ratings from consultations conducted with a sample of the survey respondents during the process of planning the revisions to the survey.Commercial loans

Direct investment: a doubtful alternative to international debt

The paper considers a model in which private foreign investors make direct long-lived capital investments in a small developing country that is subject to stochastic shocks to production. Depending upon the preferences of the host country, we find that expropriation can occur because of either desperation or opportunism. We show that under reasonable assumptions, increased investment makes expropriation less likely to occur and that the level of investment chosen by atomistic foreign investors may be nonoptimal.International finance ; Developing countries

Long-term post-harvest field storage of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris)

The post-harvest storage of the sugar beet crop in Sweden occurs in the field. The harvest of roots generally ends along with the month of November, but the processing campaign can continue into February. The loss of quality of the stored roots during this period is economically important. This thesis groups the main mechanisms that results in loss of quality during post-harvest storage in two categories: plant health, and the storage environment. It focuses on the plant health dimension of mechanical properties, and the storage environment dimensions of moisture and temperature. The relationship between key agronomic inputs and mechanical properties and storability of sugar beet roots was investigated. Growing season available nitrogen and water were found to have little impact on mechanical properties. The storability of roots was found to decrease significantly when irrigation gave an optimal soil water availability throughout the season. This is likely a result of an interaction with an unspecified dimension of plant health. The quantification of sugar beet root mechanical properties with a traditional handheld penetrometer applied in-field was found to be reliable. It was also found that the methods used in the analysis of mechanical properties could be expanded to include the apparent modulus of elasticity and that fall-tests can be used to assess dynamic impacts. The use of a short, intense period of forced ventilation of a sugar beet bulk was found to lead to dehydration of sugar beet roots in a predictable manner. This resulted in increases to sucrose concentrations that would lead to greater gross income. Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling of the temperature within a clamp proved to be possible and insightful. The fluid dynamics within the clamp are important to include in such modelling

An analysis of the modes of proof in Robert S. Kerr's Senate speeches on conservation

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Oklahoma, 1964.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-116

Alien Registration- English, William L. (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/24375/thumbnail.jp