Supply chain dynamics after the Covid-19 pandemic and stock market performance: Evidence from the US

Supply chain risk is a strategic issue for managing multinational companies, and Covid-19 has shown the relevance of this type of risk for the firm's survival probability. The market may perceive the choice of replacing some of the main customers or suppliers as an increase or a decrease of the risk based on the features of the new supply chain members, and markets tend to penalize companies that increase their exposure to unaffordable events. During the pandemic, many supply chains suffered from glitches and companies were obliged to redefine their network by selecting their new strategic customers and/or suppliers. The paper evaluates the supply chain composition strategies of a set of multinational companies based in the US during the last decade. It highlights the differences in supply chain management behavior before and during the pandemic. Data collected allow testing the impact on the stock market performance of modifying the supply chain network by adding new members that may have a different level of risk. Results show that the market reaction to supply chain updates changed after the Covid-19, and nowadays there is greater attention on the credit risk of the new companies entering the supply chain

Cross-border banking and foreign branch regulation in Europe

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relevance of cross-border activity in the European banking sector, evaluating the role of differences in regulation to explain the level of interest in entering foreign markets. Design/methodology/approach The sample considers all banks in the European Union (EU 28) existing at year-end 2017, and information about the ultimate owners’ nationality to classify local and foreign banks is collected. The analysis provides a mapping of regulatory restrictions for foreign banks and evaluates how they impact the role of foreign players in the deposit and lending markets. Findings Results show that the lower are the capital adequacy requirements, the higher are the amounts of loans and deposits offered by non-European Economic Area banks and, additionally, the higher the probability of having a foreign bank operating in the country. Originality/value This paper provides new evidence on regulatory arbitrage opportunities in the EU and outlines differences among EU countries not previously studied

Efficacy of 8 weeks elbasvir/grazoprevir regimen for naïve-genotype 1b, HCV infected patients with or without glucose abnormalities: Results of the EGG18 study

Background and aim: Direct Acting Antivirals(DAAs) achieve the highest rate of sustained viral response(SVR) in patients with genotype-1b(G1b) Hepatitis C virus(HCV) infection. Reducing treatment duration can simplify the management and improve adherence of therapy. Patients and methods: The study evaluates the efficacy of 8 weeks of elbasvir/grazoprevir regimen in 75 treatment-naïve(TN), G1b patients with mild-moderate fibrosis(Liver Stiffness by Fibroscan® <9.0 kPa). Viral load(VL) has been evaluated by Roche TaqMan RT-PCR(LLOQ<15 IU/ml). Results: Mean age was 61.0 ± 14.2 years, 44% were male, mean LS by Fibroscan® was 6.1 ± 1.8 kPa. Twenty-eight patients(37.3%) had an HOMA>2.5. Two patients were excluded from analysis(one dropped out and the other one had diagnosed genotype 2c at genotyping by sequencing performed after relapse). At 8 weeks(EOT), 71 out of 73 patients(97.3%) had undetectable HCV-RNA, while in two cases HCV-RNA was detectable but with VL<15 IU/ml. Both of them achieved SVR. Two G1b patients relapsed at 12 weeks of follow-up, both with baseline VL>800,000 IU/ml and HOMA score 1.3 and 3.8 respectively. Both had undetectable HCV VL at 4th week and at the EOT. Modified intention-to-treat SVR12 for G1b patients was 71/73(97.3%). Conclusion: In naïve, genotype-1b HCV-infected patients with mild/moderate liver fibrosis, short course of 8 weeks of EBR/GZR appears to achieve high efficacy regardless of features of insulin resistance

Investigation of fluidized bed behaviour using electrical capacitance tomography

The temporal and cross‐sectional distributions of particles in a 127 mm diameter fluidized bed have been obtained using a new generation, high‐speed electrical capacitance tomography. Two planes of eight electrodes were used and mounted at 160 mm and 660 mm from the gas distributor which was a 3 mm thick porous plastic plate (maximum pore size of 50 μm‐70 μm). 3 mm diameter, nearly‐spherical polyethylene granules made up the bed. Experiments at sampling frequencies of 200‐2000 cross‐sections per second and gas superficial velocities from just below the minimum fluidization to 83% above minimum fluidization velocities were used. The time series of the cross‐sectional average void fractions have been examined both directly and in amplitude and frequency space. The last two used probability density functions and power spectral densities. The information gathered shows that the fluidized bed was operating in the slugging mode, which is not surprising given the size of the particles. It has been found that an increase in the excess gas velocity above the minimum fluidization velocity resulted in an increase in the mean void fraction, an increase in the length and velocity of the slug bubbles as well as the bed height, and a slight decrease in the slug frequency. The results are presented in a level of detail suitable for comparison with later numerical simulation

A novel sensor measuring local voidage profile inside a fluidised bed reactor

Liquid-solid fluidisation is frequently encountered in drinking water treatment processes, often to obtain a large liquid-solid interfacial surface area. A large surface area is crucial for optimal seeded crystallisation in full-scale softening reactors. Due to crystallisation, particles grow and migrate to a lower zone in the reactor which leads to a stratified bed. Larger particles adversely affect the surface area. To maintain optimal process conditions in the fluidised beds, information is needed about the distribution of particle size, local voidage and available surface area, over the reactor height. In this work, a sensor is developed to obtain the hydraulic state gradient, based on Archimedes’ principle. A cylindrical heavy object is submerged in the fluidised bed and lowered gradually while its weight is measured at various heights using a sensitive force measuring device. Based on accurate fluidisation experiments with calcite grains, the voidage is determined and a straightforward empirical model is developed to estimate the particle size as a function of superficial fluid velocity, kinematic viscosity, suspension density, voidage and particle density. The surface area and specific space velocity can be estimated accordingly, which represent key performance indicators regarding the hydraulic state of the fluidised bed reactor. The prediction error for voidage is 5 ± 2 % and for particle size 9 ± 4 %. The newly developed soft sensor is a more time-effective method for obtaining the hydraulic state in full-scale liquid-solid fluidised bed reactors

La gestione del processo di risoluzione in Europa e il ruolo del Single Resolution Mechanism

Il Single Resolution Mechanism (Srm) rappresenta il secondo pilastro dell’Unione Bancaria che ha uniformato la procedura di gestione delle crisi bancarie tra i Paesi dell’Unione europea. La normativa ha previsto la creazione di un nuovo organismo sovranazionale (Single Resolution Board o Srb) che deve coordinarsi con le singole Autorità Nazionali (Nra) per la gestione del processo di risoluzione bancaria. Il contributo descrive l’evoluzione normativa che ha portato alla definizione del Srm e il ruolo dei singoli attori coinvolti nel processo di resolution. L’analisi si completa con un’analisi delle differenze tra gli intermediari vigilati dall’organo sovranazionale e da quelli nazionali ed esamina le caratteristiche degli interventi gestiti dall’avvio del Srm

L’evoluzione dell’attività ispettiva in Europa nel contesto del Single Supervisory Model

L’assetto della vigilanza a livello europeo sta attraversando una fase di cambiamento legata all’implementazione del Single Supervisory Model e al trasferimento di parte delle attività di vigilanza dalle Autorità nazionali alla Bce. L’adozione del nuovo modello di supervisione si differenzia rispetto alle pratiche adottate dalle Autorità nazionali visto che non esisteva uno standard omogeneo tra i diversi paesi membri. In tale contesto, la rilevanza delle ispezioni on-site e off-site si è rivelata storicamente molto eterogenea tra i diversi paesi Ue. I primi dati relativi al nuovo meccanismo di supervisione bancaria confrontati con le best practice dei principali paesi evidenziano come il nuovo meccanismo accentrato a livello europeo si dedichi prevalentemente a interventi sugli intermediari di dimensione rilevante e necessiti ancora di interventi volti a omogeneizzare le prassi operative

Crowdfunding REITs: a new asset class for the real estate industry?

Purpose The paper aims to study the performance of crowdfunding REITs with respect to traditional REITs in order to evaluate the differences in the risk–return profile and their usefulness for a diversification strategy within the indirect real estate investments. Design/methodology/approach The paper considers the crowdfunding REITs introduced after the JOBS act in the United States and evaluates their performance and risk during the time period 2016–2018. Performance achieved by crowdfunding REITs is compared with other types of REITs in order to evaluate their usefulness for constructing an optimal portfolio strategy based on a standard mean variance approach. Findings Results show that the performance of crowdfunding REITs is more stable over time with respect to other REITs and the lack of correlation with traditional REITs may be exploited for constructing a more efficient diversified portfolio of indirect real estate investments. Practical implications Crowdfunding REITs have different performance with respect to standard REITs and, especially individual investors, may benefit from including this new investment opportunity in their portfolio. Originality/value The paper is the first study on the performance of the crowdfunding REITs that is evaluating their usefulness for a diversification strategy within the real estate sector

Interaction between trade credit and debt: evidence from the Italian market

Trade credit and trade debt choices are strictly interconnected, and some drivers of one of these features are common. The literature looks prevalently at the main reason behind each choice while considering the credit and debt features separately. Only a few articles consider the two features jointly to focus on the correlation between the two types of decisions. Using an approach adopted in the literature to study other topics, we analyze the interaction between trade credit and debt to identify the primary driver of trade policy decision. This study considers the amount of credit and debt and the duration of credit and debt delays while looking at contemporaneous and one-year-lagged relationships. Looking at a worldwide leading market for trade credit (Italy), the paper points out that the relationship could not be clearly identified for the duration terms and that it lags by one year when the amount of credit is taken into account