Decimalization and market liquidity

This study examines the stocks of 1, 339 companies that began decimal trading on the NYSE on January 29, 2001. Using the price impact of a trade as a measure of liquidity, the author finds that decimalization typically led to an improvement in liquidity.Liquidity (Economics) ; Stock market ; Stocks

Earnings announcements, private information, and liquidity

In this article, the author examines how the price impact of a trade varies throughout the days surrounding public earnings announcements. The results indicate that public news releases correlate with a reduction in the price impact of a trade on the day of the announcementLiquidity (Economics) ; Securities ; Trade

Reduction of nitric oxide emissions from a combustor

A turbojet combustor and method for controlling nitric oxide emissions by employing successive combustion zones is described. After combustion of an initial portion of the fuel in a primary combustion zone, the combustion products of the primary zone are combined with the remaining portion of fuel and additional plenum air and burned in a secondary combustion zone under conditions that result in low nitric oxide emissions. Low nitric oxide emissions are achieved by a novel turbojet combustor arrangement which provides flame stability by allowing stable combustion to be accompanied by low nitric oxide emissions resulting from controlled fuel-lean combustion (ignited by the emission products from the primary zone) in a secondary combustion zone at a lower combustion temperature resulting in low emission of nitric oxide

Characterizing bean pod rot in Arkansas and Missouri

Green beans are an important crop grown for processing in both Arkansas and Missouri. Green beans are harvested mechanically using non-selective picking fingers. Harvested beans are then transported in bulk to processing plants that are located at various locations throughout the midSouth. Thus, the crop is managed for high quality, avoiding pod blemishes caused by insects and diseases. One of the consistent quality problems that affect Arkansas and Missouri green bean crops is pod rot. Two of the causal agents of pod rot that have been reported by researchers and vegetable companies alike are Pythium aphanidermatum and an unidentified Phytophthora sp. In this study, 15 growers’ fields were selected and soil samples (at planting), pod samples (at harvest), and environmental data were taken from each field. Disease incidence for field sites ranged from 0 to 7.3%. Pathogens associated with pod rot were Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Rhizoctonia solani, a Phytophthora sp., and Pythium spp. The two suspected causal agents for pod rot, Pythium and Phytophthora spp., were found in all but one of the 12 field sites assessed for pod rot. Pythium inoculum potential, as determined by a baiting technique, was not a good indicator of pod rot incidence. In addition, soil temperature and water were not associated with pod rot. Pods collected at harvest having symptoms of pod rot were either in direct contact with the soil, senescing leaf tissue, or other diseased pods

Detecting sequential structure

Programming by demonstration requires detection and analysis of sequential patterns in a user’s input, and the synthesis of an appropriate structural model that can be used for prediction. This paper describes SEQUITUR, a scheme for inducing a structural description of a sequence from a single example. SEQUITUR integrates several different inference techniques: identification of lexical subsequences or vocabulary elements, hierarchical structuring of such subsequences, identification of elements that have equivalent usage patterns, inference of programming constructs such as looping and branching, generalisation by unifying grammar rules, and the detection of procedural substructure., Although SEQUITUR operates with abstract sequences, a number of concrete illustrations are provided

Embodied carbon and construction cost differences between Hong Kong and Melbourne buildings

Limiting the amount of embodied carbon in buildings can help minimize the damaging impacts of global warming through lower upstream emission of CO2. This study empirically investigates the embodied carbon footprint of new-build and refurbished buildings in both Hong Kong and Melbourne to determine the embodied carbon profile and its relationship to both embodied energy and construction cost. The Hong Kong findings suggest that mean embodied carbon for refurbished buildings is 33-39% lower than new-build projects, and the cost for refurbished buildings is 22-50% lower than new-build projects (per square metre of floor area). The Melbourne findings, however, suggest that mean embodied carbon for refurbished buildings is 4% lower than new-build projects, and the cost for refurbished buildings is 24% higher than new-build projects (per square metre of floor area). Embodied carbon ranges from 645-1,059 kgCO2e/m2 for new-build and 294-655 kgCO2e/m2 for refurbished projects in Hong Kong, and 1,138-1,705 kgCO2e/m2 for new-build and 900-1,681 kgCO2e/m2 for refurbished projects in Melbourne. The reasons behind these locational discrepancies are explored and critiqued. Overall, a very strong linear relationship between embodied energy and construction cost in both cities was found and can be used to predict the former, given the latter

Mergers and risk

This paper examines the impact of mergers on default risk, finding that, on average, a merger increases the default risk of the acquiring firm. This is surprising for two reasons: risk reduction is among the reasons commonly cited for mergers, and asset diversification should reduce default risk unless the newly-merged firm takes some action to increase risk. We associate the risk increase with mergers satisfying one of a trifecta of conditions related to agency problems: mergers financed with stock, acquirers with a high market- to-book ratio, and acquirers with poor stock price performance prior to a merger announcement. We also demonstrate higher levels of default risk are not accompanied by higher post- merger returns.Bank mergers ; Risk management

Transfer function characteristics of super resolving systems

Signal quality in an optical storage device greatly depends on the optical system transfer function used to write and read data patterns. The problem is similar to analysis of scanning optical microscopes. Hopkins and Braat have analyzed write-once-read-many (WORM) optical data storage devices. Herein, transfer function analysis of magnetooptic (MO) data storage devices is discussed with respect to improving transfer-function characteristics. Several authors have described improving the transfer function as super resolution. However, none have thoroughly analyzed the MO optical system and effects of the medium. Both the optical system transfer function and effects of the medium of this development are discussed