An SVAR Analysis of Monetary Policy Dynamics and Housing Market Responses in Australia

This paper examines the impact of monetary policy and a range of sector-specific and macroeconomic shocks on the Australian housing market using quarterly data for a period of 1974-2008. The paper develops a structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) model based on contemporaneous restrictions to analyse the dynamics of these shocks. The results indicate that supply of new houses in Australia rises with higher real house prices; and that house prices rise and fall with higher inflation rate and interest rate, respectively. Dynamics of the impulse responses reveal significant effect of monetary policy on new house constructions, real house prices, material costs and inflation. Results also suggest that housing output, real house prices and interest rates respond significantly to shocks to housing supply, housing demand and to a number of other variables. These results are expected to shed some lights on the current policy environment pertaining to the Australian housing sector.Monetary transmission, Housing market, Structural VAR

Development and testing of markers for genotyping of 'Entamoeba histolytica'

Only one in ten Entamoeba histolytica infections is invasive but they are responsible for an annual death toll of up to 100,000 people. A key question in amoebiasis is, therefore, what is responsible for the variable outcome of infection. To investigate whether it is linked to the genotype of the infecting strain, we developed 6 pairs of species-specific primers for genotyping after investigating 46 potentially polymorphic short tandem repeat loci adjacent to tRNA genes that were identified during the E. histolytica genome project. We tested the primers using E. histolytica samples from Bangladesh and 11 other countries. Results revealed that the genotypes present in 3 different clinical populations - asymptomatic, diarrhoeal/dysenteric and liver abscess - were different from each other. A few individual genotypes also showed links to the outcome of infection although their sample coverage was low and therefore they had little predictive value. Although the loci used as polymorphic markers are unlikely to be directly responsible for the outcome of infection, the results do suggest that parasite genetic factors are at least partly responsible. Our multilocus genotyping method is simple and reliable as it amplifies DNA extracted from axenic or xenic culture, stool samples, and liver abscess pus samples. We believe that these markers will help in studying the patterns of transmission of this important disease and the epidemiological links between individual infections

Oil price volatility and sectoral returns uncertainties: evidence from a threshold based approach for the Australian equity market

This paper examines the existence of a non-linear relationship between oil price volatility andequity market uncertainty. The study specifically analyses the pattern of effects of oil pricevolatility on the broader equity market as well as the sectoral equity returns volatility withinAustralian Economy. We use a logistic transition based autoregressive model (LSTR) developedby Teräsvirta and Anderson (1992) and Teräsvirta, (1994). We find that the hypothesis oflinearity between oil price volatility and equity market uncertainty is rejected for six out of 10sectors of the Australian economy. The retention of LSTR model suggests that the oil returnvolatility has high and low regimes that affect equity markets differently across the sectors. Thetransition functions suggest that switching of oil price volatility from low to high regime isabrupt for consumer discretion, financial and material sectors while such transition is smoothfor consumer staple, energy, and industrial sectors. The results also show that some sectors arequicker in responding to heightened volatility. From the VAR framework, the impulse responsefunctions show that a one period increase or a shock in oil price volatility raises volatility ofequity in consumer discretion, consumer staple, finance, industry, telecom and consumer staplesectors. Of these, equity volatility in industries and financial sectors seem to exhibit a prolongedpositive response following the oil price volatility shock. Also, equity volatility of industriesseems to rise by much larger proportion compared to the equity volatility response of othersectors. These findings are helpful as a guide for sectoral rotation strategies. In view of theincreased volatility of oil prices due to a negative impact of oil price shock and the resultantsurge of uncertainty, Australian firms could formulate their short and long run investment plansbased on volatility threshold level. Firms in consumer discretion, financial and industrial sectorcould consider postponement of investment if the volatility in oil price exceeds certain threshold.Also, firms in the consumer staple, energy and materials industry need to make prudent businessdecisions in situations where oil price volatility falls within the threshold range as identified bythe LSTR2 models. Based on the findings, there is a need for public policy formulation to reducethe adverse impacts of increased oil price uncertainties on the Australian economy duringperiods of unforeseen random events including depressions and crises

Market based performance : do ownership structures, or firm policy choice matter?

This study examines whether the structure of share ownership or firm\u27s dividend and debt policies provide explanation for firm performances in Malaysia. Firm performance, measured as Tobin\u27s Q is modelled in a dynamic panel framework to estimate effects of director ownership, family ownership, foreign ownership, and firm\u27s dividend and debt policy. The generalised methods of moments (GMM) method is used to estimated the models for 80 CI components companies listed on Main Board of Malaysia observed from 1999 to 2002. The findings reveal strong evidence of positive impact of firm\u27s dividend and debt policy on firm performance. However, ownership structure seems to be less important for market based performance of Malaysian firms: These results are expected to provide guidelines to the investors regarding the significance of firm dividend policy, leverage policy and market to book value ratio as some of the key sources of value creation for Malaysian listed firms.<br /

External monitoring, managerial ownership and form performance in Malaysian capital market: a GMM based panel data approach

This study re-examines whether the structure of share ownership by both directors and institutional ownership provides explanation for firm performances. These relationships are modelled and estimated using GMM based dynamic panel data over a period from 1997 to 2001 with a sample of 100 CI components companies listed on Main Board of Malaysia. The findings provide strong evidence of simultaneity between firm performance and managerial ownership. Although an insignificant relationship between firm performance and institutional ownership is~ observed, the institutional holdings provide strong substitute for managerial ownership with a strong negative relationship between managerial ownership and institutional ownership. This is in line with the managerial incentive hypothesis, which suggests that manager\u27s share in the firm\u27s ownership leads to better performance and the monitoring substitute hypothesis, which suggests that managerial ownership could be effectively replaced by institutional ownership

Low voltage AC electroluminescence in silicon MOS capacitors

Low power silicon based light source and detector are attractive for on-chip photonic circuits given their ease of process integration. However, conventional silicon light emitting diodes emit photons with energies near the band edge where the corresponding silicon photodetectors lack responsivity. On the other hand, previously reported hot carrier electroluminescent silicon devices utilizing a reverse biased diode require high operating voltages. Here, we investigate hot carrier electroluminescence in silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors operating under transient voltage conditions. During each voltage transient, large energy band bending is created at the edge of the source contact, much larger than what is achievable at a steady state. As a result, electrons and holes are injected efficiently from a single source contact into the silicon channel at the corresponding voltage transient, where they subsequently undergo impact ionization and phonon-assisted interband recombination. Notably, we show low voltage operation down to 2.8 V by using a 20 nm thick high- κ gate dielectric. We show further voltage scaling is possible by reducing the gate dielectric thickness, thus presenting a low voltage platform for silicon optoelectronic integrated circuits

Diagnosing Balamuthia mandrillaris Encephalitis with Metagenomic Deep Sequencing

Objective Identification of a particular cause of meningoencephalitis can be challenging owing to the myriad bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that can produce overlapping clinical phenotypes, frequently delaying diagnosis and therapy. Metagenomic deep sequencing (MDS) approaches to infectious disease diagnostics are known for their ability to identify unusual or novel viruses and thus are well suited for investigating possible etiologies of meningoencephalitis. Methods We present the case of a 74-year-old woman with endophthalmitis followed by meningoencephalitis. MDS of her cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was performed to identify an infectious agent. Results Sequences aligning to Balamuthia mandrillaris ribosomal RNA genes were identified in the CSF by MDS. Polymerase chain reaction subsequently confirmed the presence of B. mandrillaris in CSF, brain tissue, and vitreous fluid from the patient's infected eye. B. mandrillaris serology and immunohistochemistry for free-living amoebas on the brain biopsy tissue were positive. Interpretation The diagnosis was made using MDS after the patient had been hospitalized for several weeks and subjected to costly and invasive testing. MDS is a powerful diagnostic tool with the potential for rapid and unbiased pathogen identification leading to early therapeutic targeting