Who knows better in an Emerging Market? Performance of Institutions, Foreigners and Individuals.

We find that local investors do better than foreigners in terms of trading execution. However foreign investors obtain better returns than local individuals both in short and long term. Local institutions are the best group on both dimensions. Our result reconcile apparent contradictions in the international finance literature on who invests better in an emerging market. These contradictions disappears with a more careful formulation of the research question at hand. The traditional Locals vs Foreigners or Institutions versus Individuals is too simplistic because it doesn’t distinguish between the different dimensions of performance. Our study makes use of two unique databases of Colombian stocks and acts as out-of-sample test of previous findings. Moreover, we provide evidence that the better performance of Institutions and Foreigners is driven by information advantages

Growth, heavy metal uptake, and photosynthesis in 'Paulsen 1103' (Vitis berlandieri x rupestris) grapevine rootstocks inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi from vineyard soils with high copper contents

Soils in old vineyards in southern Brazil have high copper accumulation due to fungicide applications over the years, which can affect physiology and growth of young grapevine plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) alleviate toxic effects of metals and increase photosynthesis and plant growth. We evaluated whether inoculation with Rhizophagus clarus (Rh) from a mining area or with a trap-culture-enriched AMF community (Tc) isolated from a high-copper vineyard soil, improved growth and photosynthesis in grapevine rootstocks planted in young (< 10 years) and old (> 60 years) vineyards soils of Vale da Uva Goethe, SC, Brazil. Mycorrhizal colonization was higher in grapevines installed in young vineyard soil than those planted in old vineyard soil. Plants grew more in the old vineyard soil than in the soil from a young vineyard, and that was related to plant nutrient concentration in the soil. In both soils, Tc-inoculated grapevines had higher photosynthetic activity, while those inoculated with R. clarus had higher carbon assimilation. In conclusion, grapevines showed a positive response to AMF inoculation in different soil conditions, and the native AMF community from high copper soils are promising for inoculation of grapevines

Massive pre-main sequence stars in M17

The formation process of massive stars is still poorly understood. Massive young stellar objects (mYSOs) are deeply embedded in their parental clouds, they are rare and thus typically distant, and their reddened spectra usually preclude the determination of their photospheric parameters. M17 is one of the best studied HII regions in the sky, is relatively nearby, and hosts a young stellar population. With X-shooter on the ESO Very Large Telescope we have obtained optical to near-infrared spectra of candidate mYSOs, identified by Hanson et al. (1997), and a few OB stars in this region. The large wavelength coverage enables a detailed spectroscopic analysis of their photospheres and circumstellar disks. We confirm the pre-main sequence (PMS) nature of six of the stars and characterise the O stars. The PMS stars have radii consistent with being contracting towards the main sequence and are surrounded by a remnant accretion disk. The observed infrared excess and the (double-peaked) emission lines provide the opportunity to measure structured velocity profiles in the disks. We compare the observed properties of this unique sample of young massive stars with evolutionary tracks of massive protostars by Hosokawa & Omukai (2009), and propose that these mYSOs near the western edge of the HII region are on their way to become main-sequence stars ($\sim 6 - 20$ $M_{\odot}$) after having undergone high mass-accretion rates (${\dot{M}_{\rm acc}} \sim 10^{-4} - 10^{-3}$ $M_{\odot}$ $\rm yr^{-1}$). Their spin distribution upon arrival at the zero age main sequence (ZAMS) is consistent with that observed for young B stars, assuming conservation of angular momentum and homologous contraction.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Appendixes A and B have been truncated due to size limitations, the full version will be available on A&

Liquidez en los Mercados Accionarios Latinoamericanos: Estimando el efecto del Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano (MILA)

En este estudio se estiman los costos de transacción asociados a la liquidez intradiaria de acciones que pertenecen a seis mercados accionarios latinoamericanos (Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, México y Perú) durante un periodo de seis meses (Julio 2009 – Enero 2010). Se encontró que los países con mayor capitalización bursátil como Brasil, México y Chile poseen menores costos de transacción asociados a la liquidez que los de Perú, Argentina y Colombia. Más aun, mediante un modelo de datos de panel, se identificó que existe una relación negativa entre los costos de transacción asociados a la liquidez con la actividad bursátil y con la volatilidad de los rendimientos accionarios. Finalmente, se encontró que existen diferencias importantes entre los mercados bursátiles de Chile, Colombia y Perú que justifican su integración en el mercado integrado latinoamericano (MILA) y que el ahorro potencial en costos de transacción asociados con un incremento modesto del 10% en su actividad bursátil, estimado entre 10 y 36 millones de dólares.In this study one estimates transaction costs associated with intraday liquidity of shares belonging to six Latin American stock markets (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) during a period of six months (July 2009 - January 2010). We found that countries with higher market capitalization such as Brazil, Mexico and Chile have lower transaction costs associated with liquidity than Peru, Argentina and Colombia. Moreover, using a panel data model we identified that there is a negative relationship between transaction costs and trading activity and between transaction costs and the volatility of stock returns. Finally, we found that there are important differences between the stock markets of Chile, Colombia and Peru that justify their inclusion in the Integrated Latin American Market (MILA) and that the potential savings in transaction costs associated with a modest increase of 10% in trading activity ranges between 10 and 36 million of dollars for the three countries being the Chilean and Colombian’s markets the most benefited because they have transactions with a higher average value

A spatial econometrics application for analyzing extreme poverty in the municipalities of Antioquia Department

Este artículo comprueba la existencia de autocorrelación espacial al considerar la proporción de personas que viven en situación de miseria en los municipios del departamento de Antioquia, Colombia. Para ello se utiliza el test I de Moran y se propone un algoritmo para descartar la posibilidad de que la dependencia espacial sea espuria. Los resultados demuestran la necesidad de tener en cuenta la econometría espacial para determinar la asignación óptima del gasto social, destinado a intervenir en forma efectiva la situación de miseria en los municipios del departamento de AntioquiaThis article proves the existence of a spatial correlation when considering the per­centage of people living in extreme poverty in the municipalities of the Antioquia department. For this purpose, a Moran I test is used and an algorithm is proposed in order to discard the possibility of a spurious spatial dependency. Results prove that spatial econometrics must be bared in mind for an optima allocation of social expenditure, destined to effectively intervene extreme poverty in the Antioquia department.Neste artigo se comprova a existencia de auto correlação espacial ao considerar a proporção de pessoas que vivem em situação de miséria nos municípios do depar­tamento de Antioquia, Colombia. Para isso se utiliza o test I de Moran e se propõe um algoritmo para descartar a possibilidade de que a dependencia espacial seja espúria. Os resultados demostram a necessidade de ter em conta a econometria espacial para determina a designação ótima do gasto social, destinado a intervir em forma efetiva a situação de miséria nos municípios do departamento de Antioqui