Concert recording 2013-04-27c

[Track 01]. Prelude and fugue no. 15 in G major / J.S. Bach -- [Track 02]. Piano sonata no. 17, op. 31, no. 2, Tempest. Largo - Allegro ; [Track 03]. Adagio ; [Track 04]. Allegretto / L. v. Beethoven -- [Track 05]. Ballade no. 1 in G minor, op. 23 / Frederic Chopin -- [Track 06]. Vingt regards sur l\u27enfant-Jesus. Premiere communion de la vierge (The virgin\u27s first communion) / Olivier Messiaen

Development of the Sonata

Program: Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) Sonata in d minor K. 9 Sonata in E Major K. 20 Sonata in A minor K. 54 Sonata in A Major K. 24 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Sonata in C Major I. Allegro II. Andante III. Scherzo: Allegro molto e con fuoco IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco Intermission--------------------------------- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Sonata in D Major Op. 28 I. Allegro II. Andante III. Scherzo-Trio: Allegro vivace IV. Rondo: Allegro ma non Troppo Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) Sonata in f minor Op.

The Risk-Return Profiles Of Global Portfolios: Some Evidence From Asia-Pacific And European Equity Markets

As world financial markets are integrated, national stock markets tend to move together. Empirical evidence on correlations among equity markets worldwide suggests an increasing interdependence between most national markets in recent years. This is disconcerting, to say the least, to investors and portfolio managers seeking risk diversification via global equity investing. The objective of this study is to investigate whether there is still room for global portfolio diversification from the U.S. perspective. Specifically, this research examines the statistical significance and magnitude of diversification benefits arising from equity investments in Asia-Pacific (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) and Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) over the period of November 1998 through October 2006. The study provides insights about the extent to which the U.S. investors need to allocate their equity investments in Asia/Pacific and European stock markets so as to benefit from global diversificatio

Global Risk Diversification: An Empirical Investigation From The U. S. Perspective

The case for global risk diversification has been built on correlations between the U.S. and international stock markets. Now that we witness how tightly the world stock markets are correlated, especially after the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, does it still make sense to diversify globally? Can the investments in global equity portfolios be protected in today’s volatile markets? These questions have preoccupied a growing number of portfolio managers in recent years, as well as many of us who invest in stock markets. Since gold/silver and bonds tend to move inversely with the stock markets, a hedging strategy of combining them with stock portfolios should protect the equity investments during global market downturns. The study explores the risk-return profiles of various global portfolios and provides insights about the extent to which the U.S. investors need to allocate their investments in Asia/Pacific, European stock markets, and across other investment vehicles, such as gold/silver and bonds. The findings from this research have practical implications for both investors and portfolio managers interested in going global

Using MSN Money To Perform Financial Ratio Analysis

In today’s information technology world, real time financial data is readily available via many financial websites, such as MSN Money, Google Finance, Yahoo Finance, etc. The incorporation of computer technology in finance classes has become more popular than ever in this information technology rich environment. Mediated classrooms have rapidly grown in numbers throughout the universities worldwide. Based on my experience as a finance professor, I have summarized this teaching note to demonstrate an alternative pedagogical tool in performing financial ratio analysis. The class assignment presented hereinafter is designed to help students learn how to assess the company’s overall operations and current financial standing via an on-line database available in MSN Money website. It can be used in any corporate finance class. I collected student feedback on the assignment, and the vast majority of the survey participants perceived the assignment as a very good learning experience

Standardized Unexpected Earnings In The U. S. Technology Sector

Earnings surprise occurs when the firm’s reported earnings per share deviates from the street estimate. This study shows that earnings surprises are useful in identifying portfolios that yield excess returns in the U.S. tech sector. The tech portfolios with the most positive earnings surprises outperformed the tech portfolios with the most negative earnings surprises in terms of both mean and median returns in the U.S. stock market. The study demonstrates that arbitrage profits could be generated if investors bought (short sold) the tech stocks with the highest earnings surprises (the lowest) two or three months after the end of the quarter. The study demonstrates that this trading strategy is most effective when fewer rather than more financial analysts follow the firms

Polymorphic Aβ42 fibrils adopt similar secondary structure but differ in cross-strand side chain stacking interactions within the same β-sheet.

Formation of polymorphic amyloid fibrils is a common feature in neurodegenerative diseases involving protein aggregation. In Alzheimer's disease, different fibril structures may be associated with different clinical sub-types. Structural basis of fibril polymorphism is thus important for understanding the role of amyloid fibrils in the pathogenesis and progression of these diseases. Here we studied two types of Aβ42 fibrils prepared under quiescent and agitated conditions. Quiescent Aβ42 fibrils adopt a long and twisted morphology, while agitated fibrils are short and straight, forming large bundles via lateral association. EPR studies of these two types of Aβ42 fibrils show that the secondary structure is similar in both fibril polymorphs. At the same time, agitated Aβ42 fibrils show stronger interactions between spin labels across the full range of the Aβ42 sequence, suggesting a more tightly packed structure. Our data suggest that cross-strand side chain packing interactions within the same β-sheet may play a critical role in the formation of polymorphic fibrils

Concert recording 2013-04-09a

[Track 01]. Violin sonata op. 82. I ; [Track 02]. II ; [Track 03]. III / Edward Elgar -- [Track 04]. Lark ascending / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 05]. Violin sonata L. 140. I ; [Track 06]. II ; [Track 07]. III / Claude Debussy

Risk Diversification In World Stock Markets

The benefit of risk diversification refers to the reduction in the portfolio risk when different stocks are combined into a portfolio. This risk reduction benefit exists because not all stocks are moving together through time; this is presumably true for stocks from different countries. The smaller the degree of co-movements in the world stock markets (i.e., the less the correlation between the markets), the greater is the risk reduction effect. Thus, it makes sense for a US investor to invest globally as long as the foreign stock markets are not highly correlated with the U.S. market. Nevertheless, recent evidence shows that the correlations between the U.S. and various foreign stock markets are evolving through time due to the integration of world capital markets and international capital flows. Now that we witness the increased interdependence of the world stock markets, does it still make sense to diversify globally? In this paper, we address the question of global risk diversification from the US perspective