Do Investors Still Gravitate to Preferred Habitats on the US Treasury Yield Curve?

The purpose of this study is to test the preferred habitat theory non-econometrically using interviews with the help of a questionnaire for self-guidance on a group of focused investors. Frequencies and simple percentages were used to analyze data. Though many generations of post-World War II economics and finance students were taught that the nature of the liabilities on the balance sheet and the desire to avoid mismatches against assets caused particular classes of investors to gravitate to a preferred habitat on the yield curve, our study based on the responses to questionnaires by a group of U.S. based bond traders and risk analysts shows that more than half of the respondents have no preference as to where on the curve they trade, whether the trade is on behalf of their customers or for the house, and that their arbitrage strategies are driven by opportunities for profit

Do Investors Still Gravitate to Preferred Habitats on the US Treasury Yield Curve?

The purpose of this study is to test the preferred habitat theory non-econometrically using interviews with the help of a questionnaire for self-guidance on a group of focused investors. Frequencies and simple percentages were used to analyze data. Though many generations of post-World War II economics and finance students were taught that the nature of the liabilities on the balance sheet and the desire to avoid mismatches against assets caused particular classes of investors to gravitate to a preferred habitat on the yield curve, our study based on the responses to questionnaires by a group of U.S. based bond traders and risk analysts shows that more than half of the respondents have no preference as to where on the curve they trade, whether the trade is on behalf of their customers or for the house, and that their arbitrage strategies are driven by opportunities for profit

Serum free thyroxine levels are positively associated with arterial stiffness in the SardiNIA study

OBJECTIVE: Thyroid dysfunction may accelerate atherosclerosis. Aortic pulse wave velocity is an early index of arterial stiffness and an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and might therefore be linked to changes in thyroid activity. We investigated the relationship between thyroid function and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, as an index of arterial stiffness. DESIGN: Cross-sectional cohort study. PATIENTS: Participants from the SardiNIA study. Those being treated for thyroid diseases were excluded, yielding a sample of 5,875 ages 14-102. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical parameters, blood tests including serum TSH and serum FT4, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity were measured. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, a direct and linear association between FT4 and pulse wave velocity was shown (multiple regression analysis). The model containing age, mean blood pressure, body mass index, heart rate, FT4, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia accounted for 55% of the variation in pulse wave velocity. CONCLUSIONS: Like several other known risk factors, serum FT4 levels are associated with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, suggesting that high FT4 levels have a detrimental effect on aortic stiffness and may contribute to aging process of the vascular system. This finding may help to understand the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and contribute to improve prevention therapy

Scienze del territorio. Rivista della Societ\ue0 dei territorialisti/e

La rivista, semestrale, esce con numeri monografici ("Ritorno alla terra", "Ricostruire la citt\ue0", "Ritorno alla montagna" etc.), in formato elettronico (http://www.fupress.net/index.php/SdT)