The Effects of Funding Costs and Risk on Banks' Lending Rates

After falling for over a decade, the major banks' net interest margins appear to have stabilised in a relatively narrow range in recent years. In the early part of the financial crisis, margins fell to the bottom of this range, reflecting an increase in debt funding costs. Margins have since recovered a little, to around the middle of the range, as a result of some repricing of lending rates relative to these costs. In addition to the increase in the cost of debt funding, there have been other drivers of the rise in lending rates relative to the cash rate. First, the banks have increased their equity funding, which is more costly than debt finance. Second, risk margins on loans have risen to account for higher expected losses.funding costs; lending rates; interest rates; risk pricing

Passive MIMO Radar Detection

Passive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar is a sensor network comprised of multiple distributed receivers that detects and localizes targets using the emissions from multiple non-cooperative radio frequency transmitters. This dissertation advances the theory of centralized passive MIMO radar (PMR) detection by proposing two novel generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detectors. The first addresses detection in PMR networks without direct-path signals. The second addresses detection in PMR networks with direct-path signals. The probability distributions of both test statistics are investigated using recent results from random matrix theory. Equivalence is established between PMR networks without direct-path signals and passive source localization (PSL) networks. Comparison of both detectors with a centralized GLRT for active MIMO radar (AMR) detection reveals that PMR may be interpreted as the link between AMR and PSL sensor networks. In particular, under high direct-path-to-noise ratio (DNR) conditions, PMR sensitivity and ambiguity approaches that of AMR. Under low-DNR conditions, PMR sensitivity and ambiguity approaches that of PSL. At intermediate DNRs, PMR sensitivity and ambiguity smoothly varies between that of AMR and PSL. In this way, PMR unifies PSL and AMR within a common theoretical framework. This result provides insight into the fundamental natures of active and passive distributed sensing

WASP - Wireless Analog Sensor Platform

WASP’s goal is to augment and eventually replace the bulky, costly, and complex data acquisition systems used for vibrational reliability tests on satellites. As a mechanism to guarantee that a spacecraft is mechanically durable and strong enough to withstand the acceleration forces experienced on the vessel during launch, companies conduct vibrational experiments on their spacecrafts by subjecting them to high G-force events. Using wired accelerometers connected to obstructive cables, the mounting process and test setups required to perform such experiments are expensive, laborious, and have the potential to generate measurement inaccuracies. We developed a low-cost, battery-powered module, designed for engineers, to replace the current sensors and data acquisition systems with a wireless solution. This will enable precise testing of conditions on a smaller time frame and at a lower cost and help eliminate the disadvantages of a wired system. A custom circuit board has been fabricated containing the critical measurement and processing components required to realize this objective, as well as a complete software solution to facilitate data transmission to a wireless router over WiFi

Towards register allocation of SSA-form programs

In this technical report, we present an architecture for register allocation on the SSA-form. We show, how the properties of SSA-form programs and their interference graphs can be exploited to develop new methods for spilling, coloring and coalescing. We present heuristic and optimal solution methods for these three subtasks

On a geometrical notion of dimension for partially ordered sets

The well-known notion of dimension for partial orders by Dushnik and Miller allows to quantify the degree of incomparability and, thus, is regarded as a measure of complexity for partial orders. However, despite its usefulness, its definition is somewhat disconnected from the geometrical idea of dimension, where, essentially, the number of dimensions indicates how many real lines are required to represent the underlying partially ordered set. Here, we introduce a variation of the Dushnik-Miller notion of dimension that is closer to geometry, the Debreu dimension, and show the following main results: (i) how to construct its building blocks under some countability restrictions, (ii) its relation to other notions of dimension in the literature, and (iii), as an application of the above, we improve on the classification of preordered spaces through real-valued monotones

Majorization requires infinitely many second laws

In statistical mechanics, the possibility of spontaneous transitions between the different states of an isolated system are usually characterized by the increase of entropy via the second law of thermodynamics. However, a stronger criterion that holds for systems obeying a master equation, the so-called principle of increasing mixing character, has also been proposed to describe these transitions. This principle relies on a more fundamental notion of disorder, which is described through the majorization preorder. Here, we show that, when replacing entropy by disorder, one requires a countably infinite family of entropy-like functions in order to obtain the corresponding second law of thermodynamics. Hence, regarding complexity, disorder goes well beyond the second law of thermodynamics. Furthermore, we prove an analogous result holds for the transitions of a system that is coupled to a heat bath

Classification of preordered spaces in terms of monotones -- Filling in the gaps

Following the recent introduction of new classes of monotones, like injective monotones or strict monotone multi-utilities, we present the classification of preordered spaces in terms of both the existence and cardinality of real-valued monotones and the cardinality of the quotient space. In particular, we take advantage of a characterization of real-valued monotones in terms of separating families of increasing sets in order to obtain a more complete classification consisting of classes that are strictly different from each other

Overview: Solar Electric Propulsion Concept Designs for SEP Technology Demonstration Mission

JPC presentation of the Concept designs for NASA Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration mission paper. Multiple Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Missions were developed to assess vehicle performance and estimated mission cost. Concepts ranged from a 10,000 kg spacecraft capable of delivering 4000 kg of payload to one of the Earth Moon Lagrange points in support of future human-crewed outposts to a 180 kg spacecraft capable of performing an asteroid rendezvous mission after launched to a geostationary transfer orbit as a secondary payload

EXPERIMENTAÇÃO E JOGOS NO ENSINO DE FÍSICA: UMA EXPERIÊNCIA DIDÁTICA SOBRE CINEMÁTICA EM UMA TURMA DE 1º ANO DO NOVO ENSINO MÉDIO

Este trabalho foi desenvolvido na disciplina de Estágio Supervisionado III, do curso de Licenciatura em Física do Instituto Federal Catarinense - Campus Concórdia. As intervenções didáticas tiveram como objetivo utilizar a experimentação e os jogos didáticos em uma turma de 1º do Novo Ensino Médio, acerca do conteúdo de Cinemática, na Escola de Educação Básica Professor Mansueto Boff, localizada no município de Concórdia - SC. A experimentação no ensino é uma abordagem pedagógica que enfatiza o aprendizado por meio de experiências e investigações. Ela envolve a realização de experimentos, atividades de laboratório, projetos práticos e outras formas de aprendizado. Ao envolver os alunos em atividades práticas, a experimentação proporciona uma aprendizagem mais significativa, uma vez que os alunos têm a oportunidade de vivenciar os conceitos teóricos de forma concreta. Já a utilização de jogos didáticos no ensino possui um importante significado no processo de ensinar e aprender. Eles são naturalmente envolventes e divertidos, fornecem um ambiente de aprendizagem interativo e estimulante, deste modo, os alunos se sentem mais motivados a participar de maneira ativa, buscando soluções. Assim, os jogos podem fornecer contextos e situações que permitem aos alunos aplicarem conceitos e habilidades de forma prática. Isso facilita a compreensão dos conceitos, uma vez que conseguem fazer conexões entre o conteúdo aprendido e sua aplicação no jogo. Tendo como base esses dois eixos, trabalhamos durante dois meses em um total de oito encontros, sendo eles, uma observação de classe, seis aulas e uma oficina didática. As aulas foram desenvolvidas embasadas na realização de experimentos e jogos didáticos. Esta abordagem foi adotada desde a primeira aula e se mostrou eficaz no sentido de engajar os alunos nas práticas de sala de aula. Pudemos perceber que a maioria dos alunos aceitaram a proposta, participando de forma ativa e colaborando nas intervenções realizadas durante o estágio

Teaching Biblical Studies Online

In this edited transcript of a panel at the Society of Biblical Literature (November 23, 2009, Boston, Massachusetts), five Bible scholars give brief presentations on various challenges and opportunities encountered when teaching academic biblical studies courses online in both undergraduate and theological education contexts. Each presentation is followed by questions from the audience and discussion. Topics include: a typology of different approaches to online teaching, advantages and disadvantages of online compared to face-to-face classrooms (for both students and faculty), opportunities for imaginative exercises online, the advantages of online threaded discussions, and the joys and pitfalls of bringing your course into an online environment for the first time