The Halloween Effect Anomaly: Evidence from Some Arab Countries Equity Markets

This paper examines the existence of the Halloween effect for some Arab countries equity markets. The data set used in this study constitutes of daily stock prices for 9 Arab equity markets in the Middle East region. Following Bouman and Jacobsen (2002), we use regression analysis with dummy variables to test for the existence of the Halloween effect in some Arabian equity markets; which is equivalent to a simple mean test. A highly significant Halloween effect documented for 7 out of 9 Arabic equity markets in the Middle East region even after adjustments have been made for January effect

The efficiency of Arab stock markets: its interrelationships and interactions with developed and developing stock markets

In an efficient market, prices adjust instantaneously toward their fundamental values; as a consequence prices should always reflect all available information. Here we consider market efficiency for new emerging markets in the Middle East region. Emerging markets are typically characterized by illiquidity, thin trading, and possibly non-linearity in returns generating process. Firstly, we adjust observed daily indices for nine Arab stock markets for infrequent trading, while the logistic map has been used to determine whether non-linearity exists in returns generating process. Next we used several econometric models to test for market efficiency. The results of runs test, variance ratio, serial correlation, BDS, and regression analysis indicate that we can reject the hypothesis that lagged price information cannot predict future prices. In other words, prices do not follow random walk properties; even after correction for thin trading. We next analyze volatility structure using GARCH models. The results of GARCH (1,1) model indicate that volatility clustering still seems to characterize some markets. While in three markets (Egypt, Kuwait, and Palestine) volatility seems to be persistent. Moreover, the results of EGARCH (1,1) model show that four markets (Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, and Oman) exhibit signs of leverage effect and asymmetric shocks to volatility. Compared with other emerging and international markets; Arab stock markets display relatively low rate of excessive volatility as indicated by Schwert model. Furthermore, the dependence in the second moment found to be quite enough to characterize the non-linear structure in the time series. Finally, we find that seasonality and calendar effects exist in Arab markets with three forms; day-of-the-week effect, month-of-the-year effect and the Halloween indicator. We conclude that Arab stock markets under examination are not efficient in the week form sense of efficient market hypothesis. There is a large body of empirical evidence that financial markets become highly integrated. According to modern portfolio theory, gains from international portfolio diversification are related inversely to the correlation of equity returns. The results of multivariate cointegration techniques, structural vector autoregression (SVAR) and vector autoregression (VAR) models indicate that, there is no cointegrating relation between Arab and international stock markets. The results of SVAR show that the linkage between international and Arab markets is very weak. Next we investigate the dynamic relationships among Arab markets them selves, and how do other factors; such as oil prices, affect the performance of these markets especially for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets. To do that, Arab markets have been divided into two sub-groups: oil production countries (GCC countries) and non-oil production countries (Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine). The results indicate the existence of long-run relation between markets, however, the short-run linkages still very weak. Non-oil countries’ markets can offer diversification benefits for rich GCC investors. Moreover, oil prices found to have a significant effect on GCC markets and dominate the long-run equilibrium. Oil prices play a significant role in affecting GCC markets’ volatility. While after the raise in oil prices; especially during the last two years, linkages between oil prices and GCC markets increased. Four GCC markets have predictive power on oil prices, with two markets to be predicted by oil prices. We conclude that Arab stock markets can offer diversification potentials for regional and international investors. Oil prices have a significant effect on GCC markets. Finally, we suggest a strategic plan to improve these markets based on two main broad goals, improving market efficiency and increasing market liberalization. To achieve these goals we identify specific targets and strategies that could be realized through tactical programs and activities.Σε µια αποτελεσµατική αγορά οι τιµές προσαρµόζονται στιγµιαία στα µακροχρόνια επίπεδα ισορροπίας τους. Κατά συνέπεια, οι τιµές πρέπει κάθε στιγµή να αντανακλούν όλη τη διαθέσιµη πληροφόρηση. Η παρούσα µελέτη υποθέτει αποτελεσµατικότητα της αγοράς για τις αναπτυσσόµενες αγορές της περιοχής της Μέσης Ανατολής. Οι αναπτυσσόµενες αγορέςχαρακτηρίζονται συνήθως από έλλειψη ρευστότητας και βάθους συναλλαγών και πιθανότατα µηγραµµικότητα της διαδικασίας παραγωγής αποδόσεων. Πρώτα, λοιπόν, προσαρµόζονται οιηµερήσια παρατηρούµενοι δείκτες για εννέα αραβικές χρηµατιστηριακές αγορές ως προς τηνσποραδικότητα των συναλλαγών, ενώ χρησιµοποιήθηκε ο λογιστικός χάρτης για τον εντοπισµότης ύπαρξης µη γραµµικότητας στην διαδικασία παραγωγής αποδόσεων. Έπειτα µε τη χρήσηδιαφόρων οικονοµετρικών µοντέλων διερευνήθηκε η υπόθεση της αποτελεσµατικότητας τηςαγοράς. Τα αποτελέσµατα των ελέγχων που διεξάχθηκαν (λόγος διακύµανσης, σειριακήαυτοσυσχέτιση, BDS και ανάλυση παλινδρόµησης) δείχνουν ότι µπορεί να απορριφθεί ηυπόθεση ότι η πληροφόρηση σε ό,τι αφορά τις τιµές µε υστέρηση δεν µπορεί να συντείνει στηπρόβλεψη µελλοντικών τιµών. Με άλλα λόγια, οι τιµές δεν ακολουθούν ιδιότητες τυχαίουπεριπάτου (random walk), ακόµα και µετά από διόρθωση για τη ρηχότητα των συναλλαγών.Ακολούθως, αναλύεται η δοµή της µεταβλητότητας µε χρήση των µοντέλων GARCH. Τα αποτελέσµατα του µοντέλου GARCH (1,1) εισηγούνται ότι φαινόµενα συγκέντρωσηςµεταβλητότητας φαίνεται να χαρακτηρίζουν ακόµα κάποιες αγορές. Παράλληλα σε τρεις αγορές(Αίγυπτος, Κουβέιτ και Παλαιστίνη) η µεταβλητότητα (αστάθεια) φανερώνεται ανθεκτική.Επιπλέον, τα αποτελέσµατα του υποδείγµατος EGARCH (1,1) δείχνουν ότι τέσσερις αγορές(Μπαχρέιν, Ντουµπάι, Κουβέιτ και Οµάν) εκδηλώνουν σηµάδια επίδρασης µόχλευσης καιασύµµετρων σοκ στην µεταβλητότητα. Σε σύγκριση µε άλλες αναπτυσσόµενες και διεθνείςαγορές, οι αραβικές κεφαλαιαγορές επιδεικνύουν σχετικά χαµηλό ρυθµό ακραίαςµεταβλητότητας όπως επισηµάνθηκε στο υπόδειγµα του Schwert. Επίσης, η εξάρτηση στη ροπήδευτέρου βαθµού βρέθηκε να είναι αρκετή, ώστε να χαρακτηρίζει µια µη γραµµική δοµή τωνχρονοσειρών. Τέλος, βρέθηκε ότι η εποχικότητα και οι ηµερολογιακές επιδράσεις είναι υπαρκτέςστις αραβικές αγορές σε τρεις µορφές: επίδραση της ηµέρας-της-εβδοµάδας, επίδραση του µήνατου-έτους και δείκτης Halloween. Συµπερασµατικά, οι αραβικές κεφαλαιαγορές υπό εξέταση δενείναι αποτελεσµατικές υπό την έννοια της ασθενούς µορφής της αποτελεσµατικότητας τηςαγοράς. Ένα µεγάλο σώµα εµπειρικών µελετών στοιχειοθετεί ότι οι χρηµατοοικονοµικές αγορέςκαθίστανται σε µεγάλο βαθµό ολοκληρωµένες. Σύµφωνα µε τη σύγχρονη θεωρία χαρτοφυλακίου, τα κέρδη από τη διαφοροποίηση του διεθνούς χαρτοφυλακίου σχετίζονται αντιστρόφως ανάλογα µε τη συσχέτιση των αποδόσεων των µετοχών. Τα αποτελέσµατα των πολυµεταβλητών τεχνικών συνολοκλήρωσης, των διαρθρωτικών αυτοπαλινδροµούµενων διανυσµατικών συστηµάτων (SVAR) και αυτοπαλινδροµούµενων διανυσµατικών συστηµάτων (VAR), υποδεικνύουν ότι δεν υπάρχει καµία σχέση συνολοκλήρωσης ανάµεσα στις αραβικές και τις διεθνείς κεφαλαιαγορές. Τα αποτελέσµατα του SVAR δείχνουν ότι ο σύνδεσµος ανάµεσα στις διεθνείς και τις αραβικές αγορές είναι πολύ χαλαρός. Έπειτα, διερευνάται η δυναµική σχέση ανάµεσα στις ίδιες τις αραβικές αγορές και πως άλλοι παράγοντες, όπως οι τιµές του πετρελαίου, επηρεάζουν τις επιδόσεις αυτών των αγορών και ιδιαιτέρως τις χρηµατιστηριακές αγορές του Συµβουλίου Συνεργασίας του Περσικού Κόλπου (GCC). Για το σκοπό αυτό, οι αραβικές αγορές διαιρέθηκαν σε δύο υποοµάδες, τις πετρελαιοπαραγωγές χώρες (χώρες του GCC) και τις µη πετρελαιοπαραγωγές χώρες (Ιορδανία, Αίγυπτος και Παλαιστίνη). Τα αποτελέσµατα υποδεικνύουν την ύπαρξη µακροχρόνιας σχέσης ανάµεσα στις αγορές, αν και ο βραχυχρόνιος σύνδεσµος µεταξύ τους παραµένει ακόµα πολύ χαλαρός. Οι αγορές των µη πετρελαιοπαραγωγών χωρών µπορούν να προσφέρουν οφέλη διαφοροποίησης για τους πλούσιους επενδυτών των χωρών του GCC. Επιπροσθέτως, οι τιµές του πετρελαίου βρέθηκε να έχουν σηµαντική επίδραση στις αγορές του GCC και να κυριαρχούν στην µακροχρόνια ισορροπία. Οι τιµές του πετρελαίου παίζουν, επίσης, ένα σηµαντικό ρόλο επίδρασης της µεταβλητότητας (αστάθειας) των αγορών του GCC. Ταυτόχρονα, µετά από την άνοδο της τιµής του πετρελαίου, κυρίως τα δύο τελευταία χρόνια, η εξάρτηση ανάµεσα στις τιµές του πετρελαίου και τις αγορές του GCC έχει αυξηθεί. Τέσσερις αγορές του GCC διαθέτουν προβλεπτική ικανότητα στις τιµές του πετρελαίου, µε τις δύο από αυτές να µπορούν να προβλεφθούν από τις τιµές του πετρελαίου. Το συµπέρασµα είναιότι οι αραβικές χρηµατιστηριακές αγορές µπορούν να προσφέρουν προοπτικές διαφοροποίησηςσε τοπικούς και διεθνείς επενδυτές. Επίσης, οι τιµές του πετρελαίου έχουν σηµαντική επίδρασηστις αγορές του GCC. Τέλος, προτείνεται ένα στρατηγικό σχέδιο για την βελτίωση αυτών των αγορών, βασιζόµενο σε δύο κύριους και απώτερους σκοπούς, την βελτίωση της αποτελεσµατικότητας των αγορών και την αύξηση της απελευθέρωσης των αγορών. Για να επιτευχθούν αυτοί οι σκοποί, προσδιορίζονται συγκεκριµένοι στόχοι και στρατηγικές που θα µπορούσαν να πραγµατοποιηθούν µέσα από προγράµµατα τεχνικών και δραστηριοτήτων

Concept Development of Weather Protection for a Payment Terminal

Behovet av smarta lösningar och automatisering av maskiner som kan recudera mänsklig arbetskraft för en förbättrad effektivitet och säkerhet har ökat i de senaste åren. För att idag få konkurrenskraftiga och hållbara produkter för den globala marknaden måste produkterna vara anpassade för olika väderförhållanden. Elektroniska produkter är en av mest de utsatta vid detta sammanhang.Detta examensarbete är resultatet av ett projekt utfört vid Malmö universitet i samarbete med Dover Fueling Solutions. Detta examensarbete beskriver en produktutvecklingsprocess med syfte att utveckla ett väderskydd för en fristående betalningsterminal. Målet med projektet är att ta fram tillverkningsunderlag och en prototyp. Omfattningen av detta projekt utökades vid senare skede till att även integrera ett insynsskydd i väderskyddet för att uppfylla ett insynskrav som är satt av Payment Card Industry Security Council.Det slutliga konceptet föreslår en ändring av den nuvarande betalningsterminalen. Ett valbart skydd framställs för att skydda kortläsaren och det numeriska tangentbordet samt ett skydd för att skydda urtaget för kvitto. De framtagna komponenterna är valbara och alla ändringar som har gjorts i betalningsterminalen är inte signifikanta och har inte påverkat den ursprungliga designen avsevärt. Skyddet för kortläsaren och det numeriska tangentbordet kan öppnas och stängas manuellt samt med hjälp av en elektromagnet.Resultatet av detta projekt visar att den befintliga betalningsterminalen kan vara väderskyddad med få justeringar av dess ursprungliga design tillsammans med ett väderskydd som är valbart.The demand of smart solutions and automation of machines that can reduce humanlabor for improved efficiency and safety has been increasing in the recent years. Inorder to obtain competitive and sustainable products for the global market today, theproducts must be adapted to withstand various weather conditions. The products containing electronics are one of the most vulnerable in this context.This bachelor thesis is the result of a project done at Malm¨o University in cooperationwith Dover Fueling Solutions. This thesis describes a product development processwith a purpose to develop a design concept for an optional weather protection fora freestanding payment terminal. The goal of the project is to produce manufacturingdocumentation and a prototype. Later on, the scope of the project was extended dueto an insight requirement governed by the Payment Card Industry Security StandardsCouncil that the payment terminal needed to fulfill.The final concept suggests a reformed design of the existing payment terminal andthe addition of new components. An optional protection has been added to protectthe card reader and the numeric keypad from rain, snow, moisture, salt spray, andgas fumes. A cover is also added to protect the receipt outlet from the mentionedweather conditions and chemicals. The developed components are optional, and thechanges that have been done to the payment terminal has not affected the originaldesign considerably. The cover to protect the card reader and numeric keypad canbe opened and closed manually. It can also stay open by an electromagnet and bereleased when the payment terminal is idle.The result of this project shows that the existing payment terminal can be weatherprotected with minor changes to its original design, and with the addition of the optionalprotection

Concept Development of Weather Protection for a Payment Terminal

Behovet av smarta lösningar och automatisering av maskiner som kan recudera mänsklig arbetskraft för en förbättrad effektivitet och säkerhet har ökat i de senaste åren. För att idag få konkurrenskraftiga och hållbara produkter för den globala marknaden måste produkterna vara anpassade för olika väderförhållanden. Elektroniska produkter är en av mest de utsatta vid detta sammanhang. Detta examensarbete är resultatet av ett projekt utfört vid Malmö universitet i samarbete med Dover Fueling Solutions. Detta examensarbete beskriver en produktutvecklingsprocess med syfte att utveckla ett väderskydd för en fristående betalningsterminal. Målet med projektet är att ta fram tillverkningsunderlag och en prototyp. Omfattningen av detta projekt utökades vid senare skede till att även integrera ett insynsskydd i väderskyddet för att uppfylla ett insynskrav som är satt av Payment Card Industry Security Council. Det slutliga konceptet föreslår en ändring av den nuvarande betalningsterminalen. Ett valbart skydd framställs för att skydda kortläsaren och det numeriska tangentbordet samt ett skydd för att skydda urtaget för kvitto. De framtagna komponenterna är valbara och alla ändringar som har gjorts i betalningsterminalen är inte signifikanta och har inte påverkat den ursprungliga designen avsevärt. Skyddet för kortläsaren och det numeriska tangentbordet kan öppnas och stängas manuellt samt med hjälp av en elektromagnet. Resultatet av detta projekt visar att den befintliga betalningsterminalen kan vara väderskyddad med få justeringar av dess ursprungliga design tillsammans med ett väderskydd som är valbart.The demand of smart solutions and automation of machines that can reduce human labor for improved efficiency and safety has been increasing in the recent years. In order to obtain competitive and sustainable products for the global market today, the products must be adapted to withstand various weather conditions. The products containing electronics are one of the most vulnerable in this context. This bachelor thesis is the result of a project done at Malm¨o University in cooperation with Dover Fueling Solutions. This thesis describes a product development process with a purpose to develop a design concept for an optional weather protection for a freestanding payment terminal. The goal of the project is to produce manufacturing documentation and a prototype. Later on, the scope of the project was extended due to an insight requirement governed by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council that the payment terminal needed to fulfill. The final concept suggests a reformed design of the existing payment terminal and the addition of new components. An optional protection has been added to protect the card reader and the numeric keypad from rain, snow, moisture, salt spray, and gas fumes. A cover is also added to protect the receipt outlet from the mentioned weather conditions and chemicals. The developed components are optional, and the changes that have been done to the payment terminal has not affected the original design considerably. The cover to protect the card reader and numeric keypad can be opened and closed manually. It can also stay open by an electromagnet and be released when the payment terminal is idle. The result of this project shows that the existing payment terminal can be weather protected with minor changes to its original design, and with the addition of the optional protection

Concept Development of Weather Protection for a Payment Terminal

Behovet av smarta lösningar och automatisering av maskiner som kan recudera mänsklig arbetskraft för en förbättrad effektivitet och säkerhet har ökat i de senaste åren. För att idag få konkurrenskraftiga och hållbara produkter för den globala marknaden måste produkterna vara anpassade för olika väderförhållanden. Elektroniska produkter är en av mest de utsatta vid detta sammanhang.Detta examensarbete är resultatet av ett projekt utfört vid Malmö universitet i samarbete med Dover Fueling Solutions. Detta examensarbete beskriver en produktutvecklingsprocess med syfte att utveckla ett väderskydd för en fristående betalningsterminal. Målet med projektet är att ta fram tillverkningsunderlag och en prototyp. Omfattningen av detta projekt utökades vid senare skede till att även integrera ett insynsskydd i väderskyddet för att uppfylla ett insynskrav som är satt av Payment Card Industry Security Council.Det slutliga konceptet föreslår en ändring av den nuvarande betalningsterminalen. Ett valbart skydd framställs för att skydda kortläsaren och det numeriska tangentbordet samt ett skydd för att skydda urtaget för kvitto. De framtagna komponenterna är valbara och alla ändringar som har gjorts i betalningsterminalen är inte signifikanta och har inte påverkat den ursprungliga designen avsevärt. Skyddet för kortläsaren och det numeriska tangentbordet kan öppnas och stängas manuellt samt med hjälp av en elektromagnet.Resultatet av detta projekt visar att den befintliga betalningsterminalen kan vara väderskyddad med få justeringar av dess ursprungliga design tillsammans med ett väderskydd som är valbart.The demand of smart solutions and automation of machines that can reduce humanlabor for improved efficiency and safety has been increasing in the recent years. Inorder to obtain competitive and sustainable products for the global market today, theproducts must be adapted to withstand various weather conditions. The products containing electronics are one of the most vulnerable in this context.This bachelor thesis is the result of a project done at Malm¨o University in cooperationwith Dover Fueling Solutions. This thesis describes a product development processwith a purpose to develop a design concept for an optional weather protection fora freestanding payment terminal. The goal of the project is to produce manufacturingdocumentation and a prototype. Later on, the scope of the project was extended dueto an insight requirement governed by the Payment Card Industry Security StandardsCouncil that the payment terminal needed to fulfill.The final concept suggests a reformed design of the existing payment terminal andthe addition of new components. An optional protection has been added to protectthe card reader and the numeric keypad from rain, snow, moisture, salt spray, andgas fumes. A cover is also added to protect the receipt outlet from the mentionedweather conditions and chemicals. The developed components are optional, and thechanges that have been done to the payment terminal has not affected the originaldesign considerably. The cover to protect the card reader and numeric keypad canbe opened and closed manually. It can also stay open by an electromagnet and bereleased when the payment terminal is idle.The result of this project shows that the existing payment terminal can be weatherprotected with minor changes to its original design, and with the addition of the optionalprotection

Innocence and experience: Two approaches to teaching reading to L2 learners

Today Swedish society is surrounded by the English language, more so the importance to know how to read English is therefore essential. Students in consequence need the support from teachers to find suitable strategies to master their reading. This degree project’s aim is to find out if teachers use different methods to teach reading, and if so, why. This paper will present the reader with the theories and literature on the definition of reading strategies. Initially, various researchers will be present the two most commonly used strategies, the cognitive and the metacognitive. Although different researcher claim different This study is based on interviews with two teachers in elementary school, grade 4-6. The results and conclusion of this study is that the combination of different methods and the teachers’ adaption to each class and individual is what provides the students with the confidence to learn. Not only does this make it easier for the students to reach the requirements set for them, but this also gives them a willingness to learn. Furthermore, the study provides information on if the teachers working experience does have an impact on the methods they using when teaching L2 learners reading strategies

An investigation of the effect of changes of planning criteria on power system expansion planning with a case study of the Jordanian power system

Many factors contribute to the planning process of power systems. In the context of expansion planning, focus is paid to selection criteria that enable the optimization of related factors that will result in the best performance. This is described as meeting demand whilst reducing costs and maintaining minimal risk in operation. In this paper, different criteria used in the planning of power system expansion studies are investigated with the objective of identifying their impact on the expansion plan. The results of these criteria on the expansion study of the Jordanian power system are presented. Results show good correspondence to the actual adopted solutions. The spinning reserve is the most influential planning criterion on the overall system expansion cost. This is followed by the peak load changes, and the forced outage rate of the candidate units used for capacity additions to meet future expected demand. Finally, the loss of load expectation and cost of energy not served have the least effect on the overall system expansion cost. These results highlight the importance to be placed on performing sensitivity analyses to determine the most cost effective and acceptable expansion plan of the electric power system. There is a need to continually update the planning criteria to cater for changes and developments in the power system and the economic situation. Finally, the methodology of this study can be generalized to other power systems.Power system expansion studies Planning criteria Reliability

Preparation of Poly(ethylene glycol)@Polyurea Microcapsules Using Oil/Oil Emulsions and Their Application as Microreactors

The development process of catalytic core/shell microreactors, possessing a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) core and a polyurea (PU) shell, by implementing an emulsion-templated non-aqueous encapsulation method, is presented. The microreactors’ fabrication process begins with an emulsification process utilizing an oil-in-oil (o/o) emulsion of PEG-in-heptane, stabilized by a polymeric surfactant. Next, a reaction between a poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) and a toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) takes place at the boundary of the emulsion droplets, resulting in the creation of a PU shell through an interfacial polymerization (IFP) process. The microreactors were loaded with palladium nanoparticles (NPs) and were utilized for the hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes. Importantly, it was found that PEG has a positive effect on the catalytic performance of the developed microreactors. Interestingly, besides being an efficient green reaction medium, PEG plays two crucial roles: first, it reduces the palladium ions to palladium NPs; thus, it avoids the unnecessary use of additional reducing agents. Second, it stabilizes the palladium NPs and prevents their aggregation, allowing the formation of highly reactive palladium NPs. Strikingly, in one sense, the suggested system affords highly reactive semi-homogeneous catalysis, whereas in another sense, it enables the facile, rapid, and inexpensive recovery of the catalytic microreactor by simple centrifugation. The durable microreactors exhibit excellent activity and were recycled nine times without any loss in their reactivity

Transitory and Permanent Volatility Components: The Case of the Middle East Stock Markets

Recent research has suggested that returns volatility may contain both short-run and long-run components due to the existence of heterogeneous information flows or heterogeneous agents (Andersen and Bollerslev 1997a, 1997b; Müller et al., 1997). This paper investigates the existence of such volatility decomposition in daily index returns data for nine emerging markets in the Middle East region using the permanent-transitory component variance model of Engle and Lee (1993). The existence of a component structure to volatility is supported by the existence of a transitory component to volatility and a permanent volatility that decays over a much longer horizon in three markets in the Middle East, namely Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The component model was able to capture all structure within the data for Saudi Arabia on the basis of residual tests. However, some structure in the residuals remains in the Oman and Jordan markets.