Hedge funds and systemic risk.

A hedge fund is a privately offered investment vehicle that pools the contributions of investors in order to invest in a variety of assets, such as securities, futures, options, bonds and currencies. Hedge funds have attracted growing attention from policy makers, financial market participants and the general public due to their rapid growth and substantial scale, their importance to banks as clients and the impact of their trading activity on global capital markets. Because of their rapid growth and the market disruptions caused by Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) in 1998, some analysts believe that hedge funds pose systemic risks. However, this is unlikely. A thorough review of the avenues through which hedge funds could cause systemic problems indicates that, although a major disruption emanating from the hedge fund sector is possible, it would be diffi cult for the sector to be highly disruptive to fi nancial markets. Post-LTCM, regulatory authorities have encouraged banks to monitor their hedge fund clients through constraints on their leverage. This has thus far proven effective, as the recent failure of Amaranth demonstrates. That failure, the largest yet, caused hardly a ripple in the wider financial markets. Hedge funds support the robustness of markets in many ways. They provide attractive investment alternatives and improve economy-wide risk sharing. In addition, they promote fi nancial market stability by assuming risks that other market participants are unwilling or unable to bear; by providing liquidity; and by placing trades that move mispriced assets toward their “fundamental” values. Of course, hedge funds could raise problems through their dominant role in some markets, active trading strategies, use of leverage and relative lack of transparency. Counterparties must therefore be cognizant of the risks they bear from hedge funds. Also, regulators must continue to promote better hedge fund risk management and transparency through their regulation of counterparties while remaining vigilant about potential systemic risks emanating from the sector. On balance, however, hedge funds enhance market stability and are unlikely to be the source of a systemic failure.

DISAPPEARANCE AND UPTAKE OF [\u3csup\u3e125\u3c/sup\u3eI]FSH IN THE RAT, RABBIT, EWE AND COW

Follicle-stimulating hormone (NIH-FSH-S8) was labelled with 125I to determine its disappearance rate after a single intravenous injection and to determine the level of circulating [125I]fsh in the blood after a single intramuscular or subcutaneous injection in the rat, rabbit, ewe and cow. There was a difference in the disappearance and uptake rates among the four species, but the shape of the curve for rate of loss and uptake of labelled fsh was similar in all species. The disappearance of radioactivity occurred at two rates; the first from 1 to 8 min and the second from 16 to 96 min. The half-life, calculated from the total decay curve in each species was 94±21, 118±16, 334±41 and 301±23 min for the rats, rabbits, ewes and cows, respectively. Intramuscular injections resulted in an average of 56% higher [125I]fsh blood levels than subcutaneous injections for all species

Increasing Pregnancy Rate in Beef Cattle by Clitoral Massage During Artificial Insemination

Clitoral massage (stimulation) at the time of artificial insemination (AI) has been reported to increase pregnancy rate in lactating beef cows, but not to increase pregnancy rate in heifers. These reports have been limited to studies conducted at one location in the U.S. (Miles City, Montana), and the efficacy of clitoral massage on AI pregnancy rates of beef cattle at other geographic locations has not been reported. To our knowledge, there are no reports in the literature indicating a negative effect of clitoral stimulation on pregnancy rate of cows. The following experiment was conducted to test the effects of clitoral massage on pregnancy rate to artificial insemination in beef cattle and to define the effects of age, postpartum interval, and technician on pregnancy responses to clitoral massage performed at the time of artificial inseminatio

Race–Gender Differences in the Impact of History of Heavy Drinking on Current Alcohol Consumption during the Transition to Adulthood

American youth transitioning to adulthood consume more alcohol than in any other period of the life course. This high level of consumption can result in serious consequences, including lost productivity, death and disability, sexual assault, and addiction. Nevertheless, relatively little is known, especially by race and gender, about how prior history of heavy drinking (e.g., in late adolescence) impacts drinking in young adulthood. Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1994-2004) for African Americans, Latinos, and Whites (N = 2,300), we found that Whites and Latinos drink more than African Americans, and men report drinking more than women. However, accounting for a history of heavy drinking introduces considerable variation in current drinking patterns by race–gender status. A history of heavy drinking more than doubles the number of drinks consumed by African American women, putting their drinking levels on par with African American men and White women and raising their level of drinking above Latinas. Further, African American women\u27s probability of heavy drinking becomes indistinguishable from that of African American men and White women, once accounting for a prior history of binge drinking. For Latinas with a history of heavy drinking, the probability of being a current binge drinker is equal to Latinos and White men and higher than African Americans and White women

Thin Film Ceramic Strain Sensor Development for High Temperature Environments

The need for sensors to operate in harsh environments is illustrated by the need for measurements in the turbine engine hot section. The degradation and damage that develops over time in hot section components can lead to catastrophic failure. At present, the degradation processes that occur in the harsh hot section environment are poorly characterized, which hinders development of more durable components, and since it is so difficult to model turbine blade temperatures, strains, etc, actual measurements are needed. The need to consider ceramic sensing elements is brought about by the temperature limits of metal thin film sensors in harsh environments. The effort at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) to develop high temperature thin film ceramic static strain gauges for application in turbine engines is described, first in the fan and compressor modules, and then in the hot section. The near-term goal of this research effort was to identify candidate thin film ceramic sensor materials and provide a list of possible thin film ceramic sensor materials and corresponding properties to test for viability. A thorough literature search was conducted for ceramics that have the potential for application as high temperature thin film strain gauges chemically and physically compatible with the NASA GRCs microfabrication procedures and substrate materials. Test results are given for tantalum, titanium and zirconium-based nitride and oxynitride ceramic films

The perception and management of risk in UK office property development

Risk is an ever-present aspect of business, and risk taking is necessary for profit and economic progress. Speculative property development is popularly perceived as a 'risky business' yet, like other entrepreneurs, developers have opportunities to manage the risks they face; techniques include phasing and joint ventures. The associated areas of investment portfolio risk, development risk analysis and construction risk management have all been addressed by research. This article presents new knowledge about how developers perceive risks and the means they subsequently adopt to manage them. The developers of office projects across the UK were sent questionnaires by post. Respondents were asked about their perceptions of risks at the first appraisal stage and currently and about the risk management techniques that they had adopted. In-depth interviews with a selection of respondents were then used to discuss and augment the findings. Developers were most concerned about market-based risks at both stages. Concern about production-orientated risks was lower and fell significantly between the two stages. A fixed price contract was the most common risk management technique. Risk management techniques were used more often outside London and the South East. Developer type affects both the perception and management of risk. While developers do manage risk, decisions are made on the basis of professional and business experience. These findings should help development companies manage risk in a more objective and analytical way

Leg disorders in broiler chickens : prevalence, risk factors and prevention

Broiler (meat) chickens have been subjected to intense genetic selection. In the past 50 years, broiler growth rates have increased by over 300% (from 25 g per day to 100 g per day). There is growing societal concern that many broiler chickens have impaired locomotion or are even unable to walk. Here we present the results of a comprehensive survey of commercial flocks which quantifies the risk factors for poor locomotion in broiler chickens.We assessed the walking ability of 51,000 birds, representing 4.8 million birds within 176 flocks.We also obtained information on approximately 150 different management factors associated with each flock. At a mean age of 40 days, over 27.6% of birds in our study showed poor locomotion and 3.3% were almost unable to walk. The high prevalence of poor locomotion occurred despite culling policies designed to remove severely lame birds from flocks. We show that the primary risk factors associated with impaired locomotion and poor leg health are those specifically associated with rate of growth. Factors significantly associated with high gait score included the age of the bird (older birds), visit (second visit to same flock), bird genotype, not feeding whole wheat, a shorter dark period during the day, higher stocking density at the time of assessment, no use of antibiotic, and the use of intact feed pellets. The welfare implications are profound. Worldwide approximately 261010 broilers are reared within similar husbandry systems.We identify a range of management factors that could be altered to reduce leg health problems, but implementation of these changes would be likely to reduce growth rate and production. A debate on the sustainability of current practice in the production of this important food source is required