What is Different about Government-Controlled Acquirers in Cross-Border Acquisitions?

We examine the motives for and consequences of 5,317 failed and completed cross-border acquisitions constituting $619 billion of total activity that were led by government-controlled acquirers over the period from 1990 to 2008. We benchmark this activity at the aggregate country level and also at the deal level with cross-border acquisitions involving corporate acquirers over the same period. We find that government-led deal activity is relatively more intense for geographically-closer countries, but also relatively less sensitive to differences in the level of economic development of the acquirer’s and target’s home countries, in the quality of their legal institutions and accounting standards, and to how stringent are restrictions on FDI flows in their countries. Government-led acquirers are more likely to pursue larger targets with greater growth opportunities and more financial constraints. But, the share-price reactions to the announcements of such acquisitions are not different. Among those deals involving government-controlled acquirers, we do find important differences involving sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). SWF-led acquisitions are less likely to fail, they are more likely to pursue acquirers that are larger in total assets and with fewer financial constraints, and the market reactions to SWF-led acquisitions, while positive, are statistically and economically much smaller. We discuss policy implications in terms of recent regulatory changes in the U.S. and other countries that seek to restrict foreign acquisitions by government-controlled entities.Government-controlled Acquirers, Cross-Border Acquisitions

Heterogeneity in susceptibility dictates the order of epidemiological models

The fundamental models of epidemiology describe the progression of an infectious disease through a population using compartmentalized differential equations, but do not incorporate population-level heterogeneity in infection susceptibility. We show that variation strongly influences the rate of infection, while the infection process simultaneously sculpts the susceptibility distribution. These joint dynamics influence the force of infection and are, in turn, influenced by the shape of the initial variability. Intriguingly, we find that certain susceptibility distributions (the exponential and the gamma) are unchanged through the course of the outbreak, and lead naturally to power-law behavior in the force of infection; other distributions often tend towards these "eigen-distributions" through the process of contagion. The power-law behavior fundamentally alters predictions of the long-term infection rate, and suggests that first-order epidemic models that are parameterized in the exponential-like phase may systematically and significantly over-estimate the final severity of the outbreak

Pericardial Effusion Worm-Like Strands on Transthoracic Echocardiogram

Background: Fibrinous Pericardial Effusion is the accumulation of excess fluid in the pericardial fibroelastic sac. It can be a symptom of any pathological process that affects the pericardium from acute pericarditis to systemic disorders. This broad differential poses a diagnostic challenge in the setting of acute fluid accumulation. Case Presentation: A 50-year-old male with a past medical history of extensive intravenous drug use complicated by bacteremia and left ankle abscess formation presented to the Emergency Department complaining of mild-moderate chest pain for four days. Within the last month, he presented to the Emergency Department three times for similar symptoms; however, he eloped each time before receiving proper medical treatment. Chest x-ray revealed an enlarged cardiac silhouette, and follow-up computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated a large transudative pericardial effusion, bilateral lower lobe consolidation, and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. Prior to pericardiocentesis, a transthoracic echocardiogram was performed that revealed intrapericardial adhesions with a larva-like appearance. His clinical course was complicated by a concurrent left ankle abscess managed by podiatry. He received a pericardial window procedure one week later. Blood cultures from both procedures were negative, and the etiology was determined to be idiopathic. Subsequently, the cardiothoracic surgery team signed the patient off to the primary medical team for further medical management. Discussion/Conclusions: This case illustrates that imaging results can create a disproportionately severe clinical picture. Additionally, even in the case of explained systemic disease, the idiopathic nature of this patient presentation complicates the post-pericardiocentesis management of this patient. The extent of intrapericardial adhesion density and clinically severe appearance is not indicative of a pericardial effusion’s etiology. Transthoracic echocardiogram alone does not have a significant role in the formulation of a differential diagnosis for the treatment of fibrinous pericardial effusion

Triangulating Abuse Liability Assessment for Flavoured Cigar Products Using Physiological, Behavioural Economic and Subjective Assessments: A Within-subjects Clinical Laboratory Protocol

Introduction In the USA, Food and Drug Administration regulations prohibit the sale of flavoured cigarettes, with menthol being the exception. However, the manufacture, advertisement and sale of flavoured cigar products are permitted. Such flavourings influence positive perceptions of tobacco products and are linked to increased use. Flavourings may mask the taste of tobacco and enhance smoke inhalation, influencing toxicant exposure and abuse liability among novice tobacco users. Using clinical laboratory methods, this study investigates how flavour availability affects measures of abuse liability in young adult cigarette smokers. The specific aims are to evaluate the effect of cigar flavours on nicotine exposure, and behavioural and subjective measures of abuse liability. Methods and analyses Participants (projected n=25) are healthy smokers of five or more cigarettes per day over the past 3 months, 18–25 years old, naive to cigar use (lifetime use of 50 or fewer cigar products and no more than 10 cigars smoked in the past 30 days) and without a desire to quit cigarette smoking in the next 30 days. Participants complete five laboratory sessions in a Latin square design with either their own brand cigarette or a session-specific Black & Mild cigar differing in flavour (apple, cream, original and wine). Participants are single-blinded to cigar flavours. Each session consists of two 10-puff smoking bouts (30 s interpuff interval) separated by 1 hour. Primary outcomes include saliva nicotine concentration, behavioural economic task performance and response to various questionnaire items assessing subjective effects predictive of abuse liability. Differences in outcomes across own brand cigarette and flavoured cigar conditions will be tested using linear mixed models

A new method for imaging nuclear threats using cosmic ray muons

Muon tomography is a technique that uses cosmic ray muons to generate three dimensional images of volumes using information contained in the Coulomb scattering of the muons. Advantages of this technique are the ability of cosmic rays to penetrate significant overburden and the absence of any additional dose delivered to subjects under study above the natural cosmic ray flux. Disadvantages include the relatively long exposure times and poor position resolution and complex algorithms needed for reconstruction. Here we demonstrate a new method for obtaining improved position resolution and statistical precision for objects with spherical symmetry

Direct and cross elasticities for freight distribution access charges

The interest in reform of road user charges for freight distribution in many countries continues unabated, linked to a desire to improve economic efficiency as well as recognition of the declining revenue base from traditional sources, especially fuel excise. A critical input into the assessment framework used to identify the impact of alternative access charges on freight vehicle utilisation, by vehicle class, is a suite of direct and cross elasticities. This paper uses data collected in Australia in 2010- 11 on alternative access charge regimes obtained from a stated choice experiment, used in estimation of mixed logit models calibrated on vehicle market shares, to derive matrices of direct and cross access charging elasticities that represent the relationship between an access charge (defined by combinations of distance, mass, and location), vehicle class choice, total kilometres, and tonne-kilometres carried in the vehicle class segments. The elasticities can be used to estimate the response of heavy vehicle operators (and shippers) to price signals under the different access charging schemes