Rule of law and economic growth

Public policy

Foreign exchange volatility is priced in equities

This paper finds that standard asset pricing models fail to explain the significantly positive delta hedging errors from writing options on foreign exchange futures. Foreign exchange volatility does influence stock returns, however. The volatility of the JPY/USD exchange rate predicts the time series of stock returns and is priced in the cross-section of stock returns. Foreign exchange volatility risk might be priced because of its relation to foreign exchange level risk. ; Earlier title: Is foreign exchange delta hedging risk priced?Foreign exchange ; Assets (Accounting) ; Prices

Reflections

Much of my artistic inspiration comes from my walks in nature. I explore the many different textures of stones, wood chips, tree bark, water ripples, lily pads, birds\u27 feathers, and webbed feet. I find that the reflections on the surface of a pond, and the shadows and highlights on my subjects, are most beautifully captured as they are veiled by the dusk sunset. Sometimes I prefer to capture an image more inclusive of the environment. Other times I am more intrigued by the up close view of a subject, sometimes abstracting it. Through photography I can capture the quiet moments in nature, whether shooting an image of the graceful gaze in a goose\u27s eye, or the ripples created on a pond\u27s surface after a duck glides by. The colors of nature are quite beautiful, but often add an extra element of distraction in photos. Soft black and white nature images are my way of providing a quiet contrast to the everyday hustle and bustle we have all become so accustomed to

Market timing with aggregate and idiosyncratic stock volatilities

Guo and Savickas [2005] show that aggregate stock market volatility and average idiosyncratic stock volatility jointly forecast stock returns. In this paper, we quantify the economic significance of their results from the perspective of a portfolio manager. That is, we evaluate the performance, e.g., the Sharpe ratio and Jensen's alpha, of a mean-variance manager who tries to time the market based on those two variables. We find that, over the period 1968-2004, the associated market-timing strategy outperforms the buy-and-hold strategy, and the difference is statistically and economically significant.Stock exchanges

Assessing Feeding Damage from Two Leaffooted Bugs, Leptoglossus clypealis Heidemann and Leptoglossus zonatus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Coreidae), on Four Almond Varieties.

Leaffooted bugs (Leptoglossus spp; Hemiptera: Coreidae) are phytophagous insects native to the Western Hemisphere. In California, Leptoglossus clypealis and Leptoglossus zonatus are occasional pests on almonds. Early season feeding by L. clypealis and L. zonatus leads to almond drop, while late season feeding results in strikes on kernels, kernel necrosis, and shriveled kernels. A field cage study was conducted to assess feeding damage associated with L. clypealis and L. zonatus on four almond varieties, Nonpareil, Fritz, Monterey, and Carmel. The objectives were to determine whether leaffooted bugs caused significant almond drop, to pinpoint when the almond was vulnerable, and to determine the final damage at harvest. Branches with ~20 almonds were caged and used to compare almond drop and final damage in four treatments: (1) control branches, (2) mechanically punctured almonds, (3) adult Leptoglossus clypealis, and (4) adult Leptoglossus zonatus. Replicates were set up for eight weeks during two seasons. Early season feeding resulted in higher almond drop than late season, and L. zonatus resulted in greater drop than L. clypealis. The almond hull width of the four varieties in the study did not influence susceptibility to feeding damage. The final damage assessment at harvest found significant levels of kernel strikes, kernel necrosis, and shriveled almonds in bug feeding cages, with higher levels attributed to L. zonatus than L. clypealis. Further research is warranted to develop an Integrated Pest Management program with reduced risk controls for L. zonatus