The nature, causes and consequences of financial analysts’ forecasts in the UK

This thesis consists of three empirical chapters that investigate the nature, reasons and consequences of financial analysts’ forecasts in London Stock Exchange. The first empirical chapter examines the rationality and accuracy of financial analysts’ forecasts. Results show that analyst forecasts are overall optimistic, but not as extreme as the literature suggests. However, analysts seem to converge to a more rational position the closer they get to the announcement date. Despite no evidence of relationship is found between forecast error and prior year change in earnings per share, analysts are believed to be systematically revising their forecasts downwards as the time approaches the earnings’ announcement date. The second empirical chapter attempts to study the factors that contribute to the forecast error and in particular earnings management. Results show that earnings management positively affects the magnitude of the forecast error, that is, when earnings are manipulated the forecast error appears to be bigger. However, this positive impact appears to be driven by accruals earnings management and not by real earnings management. Moreover, forecasts seem to be more optimistic for companies that manage their earnings downwards through accruals. These findings reveal that analysts may not be as biased as the literature claim, instead, they are probably victims of earnings management. The third empirical chapter examines whether financial analysts’ forecast is a major component of market sentiment and tests how this contribution can affect cross sectional returns. Results confirm that analysts releasing higher than average earnings per share forecasts lead to higher sentiment levels. Inconsistent with previous literature, short term stock returns are significantly positively affected by sentiment levels, but growth stocks appear to be more sensitive to shifts in sentiment than value stocks

The current state of Egypt

Script and interviews about ana audio documentar

EMPLOYING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS TO REVITALIZE THE HISTORIC URBAN QUARTER OF AL-MUIZZ STREET, CAIRO, EGYPT

Historical preservation helps keep communities beautiful, vibrant and livable, and gives people a stake in their surroundings, for the fact that such historical and valuable places provide a sense of stability and a tangible link with the past (historichawaii.org Feb.2020). Historical places constitute a valuable front for cities with a well-known identity that lasted for centuries. Focusing on developing these places to ensure their sustainability and preserving their history constitutes a mission that has impact not only on the urban environment but also on people using it. Fundamentally, cities bring creative and productive people together helping them to do what they do best: exchange, create and innovate. Culture lies at the heart of urban renewal and innovation.(Culture: urban future: global report on culture for sustainable urban development, Unesco 2016). Al-Muizz Street, an urban space in Cairo, Egypt is the study of this research that aims, first, to assess the current situation of the case study and its physical conditions. Second, to employ new concepts of sustainability in order to revitalize and preserve the cultural heritage of Cairo city, and to propose sustainable design based on the field survey, in order to achieve the best development. Al-Muizz Street constitutes a history that is worth preserving and developing because of its importance in the city life cycle. By being the lifeline of Cairo, restoring life to it, helps ensure an active living and a healthy environment for people

Lay counselors experiences with counseling their peers; the impact of being a lay counselor and providing therapy to traumatized Sudanese refugees in Cairo

This research is a qualitative study into how lay counselors are affected by their training in and practice of a community-based lay counseling intervention. A group of refugees from a Sudanese refugee community in Cairo, Egypt were trained in Narrative Exposure Therapy and subsequently provided it to members of their community suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is a short-term psychotherapy based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure therapy and testimony psychotherapy. NET has been shown to be effective in relieving symptoms of PTSD in refugees. After completing the training and completing NET with one client, semi-structured interviews with the trained lay counselors were conducted to discover the impact of the training and provision of therapy to their peers on them. Background literature suggests that serving as a lay counselors may have one of two effects; the lay counselors may become psychologically empowered from the experience of helping their peers (Alexander, Mollink & Seabl, 2010), or they may suffer from the effects of secondary stress syndrome as a result of exposure to the traumatic memories of their peers (Peltzer, Matseke & Louw, 2014; Shah, Garland & Katz, 2007). Thematic analysis of interviews conducted with the lay counselors revealed that the experience of training and providing therapy was a largely positive one from which they emerged psychologically empowered and motivated. In addition, several other themes were identified. These include the suffering of Sudanese refugees, a strong sense of community, resilience and coping strategies and logistic challenges and cultural barriers to providing therapy in the community. Implications for future research as well as future community based lay counseling mental health interventions in the Sudanese refugee community in Cairo are discussed