M&AS performance in the European financial industry

This paper looks at the performance record of M&As that took place in the European Union financial industry in the period 1998-2002. First, the paper reports evidence on shareholder returns from mergers. Merger announcements brought positive excess returns to the shareholders of the target company around the date of the announcement, with a slight positive excess return in the 3-month period prior to announcement. Returns to shareholders of the acquiring firms were essentially zero around announcement. One year after the announcement, excess returns were not significantly different from zero for either targets or acquirers. The paper also provides evidence on changes in operating performance for the subsample of mergers involving banks. M&As usually involved targets with lower-than-average operating performance for their sector. The transactions resulted in significant improvements in the target banks' performance, beginning on average two years after the transaction was completed. Return on equity of the target companies increased by an average of 7%, and the same firms also experienced efficiency improvements.mergers and acquisitions; financial industry;

Value creation in European M&As.

This paper looks at the value generated to shareholders by the announcement of mergers and acquisitions involving firms in the European Union. Target firm shareholders receive on average a statistically significant excess return of 9%. Acquirers' excess returns are null on average. Excess returns differ significantly depending on whether the merger involves two firms from the same European country or is a cross-border transaction. Cross-border transactions generate less total value than national mergers. Furthermore, when a cross-border merger occurs in an industry in which governments historically have been actively involved, the transaction results in a net destruction of value to shareholders.Cross-border mergers; shareholder returns; value creation; regulation

Effect of Planting Date, Clipping Height, and Cultivar on Forage and Grain Yield of Winter Wheat in Argentinean Pampas

In Argentinean Pampas, new wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars are routinely introduced to farmers for dual-purpose production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of planting date, clipping height on forage, and grain yield for wheat cultivars. Treatments were arranged as a 3 × 3 × 3 factorial distributed in a split-split plot within a randomized complete block design. Main plots were planting date (March, April, and May); split-plots were clipping height (3 cm, 7 cm, and no clipping); and split-split plots were a facultative cultivar Pincen, and two nonfacultative cultivars Charrua and Bordenave 223 (Bve223). In 1995 and 1996 forage yield decreased in response to a delayed planting date from March to May, whereas in 1997 it was not affected by planting date. The 3-cm clipping height yielded 21% more forage than plots clipped at 7 cm. Bve223 and Charrua produced significantly more forage than Pincen each year. Grain yield increased as planting date progressed from March to May. Clipping at 3 cm reduced grain yield compared with no clipping, while during 2 to 3 yr, 7 cm produced no significant change in grain yield compared with no clipping. In all years Bve223 produced more grain than Charrua or Pincen. Forage yield lost in response to later planting date ranged between 0 and 81% during the 3 yr; whereas grain yield increased from 40 to 190% for wheat planted in May compared with March. In conclusion, dual-purpose wheat planted during April had both good forage and grain production, and its success was influenced by cultivars.Fil: Arzadún, M. J.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Asuntos Agrarios; ArgentinaFil: Arroquy, Jose Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Laborde, Hugo Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; ArgentinaFil: Brevedan, Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentin

On the use of probabilistic model-checking for the verification of prognostics applications

Prognostics aims to improve asset availability through intelligent maintenance actions. Up-to-date remaining useful life predictions enable the optimization of maintenance planning. Verification of prognostics techniques aims to analyze if the prognostics application meets the design requirements. Online prognostics applications depend on the data-gathering hardware architecture to perform correct prognostics predictions. Accordingly, when verifying prognostics requirements compliance, it is necessary to include the effect of hardware failures on prognostics predictions. In this paper we investigate the use of formal verification techniques for the integrated verification of prognostics applications including hardware and software components. Focusing on the probabilistic model-checking approach, a case study from the power industry shows the validity of the proposed framework

ADEPS: a methodology for designing prognostic applications

Prognostics applications predict the future evolution of an asset under study, by diagnosing the actual health state and modeling the future degradation. Due to rapidly growing interest in prognostics, different prediction techniques have been developed independently without a consistent and systematic design. In this paper we formalize the prognostics design process with a novel methodology entitled ADEPS (Assisted Design for Engineering Prognostic Systems). ADEPS combines prognostics concepts with model-based safety assessment, criticality analysis, knowledge engineering and formal verification approaches. The main activities of ADEPS include synthesis of the safety assessment model from the design model, prioritization of the system failure modes, systematic prognostics model selection and verification of the adequacy of the prognostics results with respect to design requirements. By linking system-level safety assessment models and prognostics results, design and safety models are updated with online information about different failure modes. This step enables system-level health assessment including prognostics predictions of different failure modes. The end-to-end application of the methodology for the design and evaluation of a power transformer demonstrates the benefits of the proposed approach including reduced design time and effort, complete consideration of prognostics algorithms and updated system-level health assessment

Integración y consolidación en el sistema financiero europeo

Este artículo ofrece un panorama de la evolución de la actividad de fusiones y adquisiciones en el sector financiero europeo en el período transcurrido desde la introducción de la moneda única y analiza sus implicaciones sobre el grado de integración del sistema financiero europeo y sobre la rentabilidad, evaluada a distintos horizontes, de las empresas involucradas en los procesos de fusión. La actividad de fusiones y adquisiciones se ha caracterizado por un claro predominio de las operaciones de consolidación de carácter nacional, de modo que, hasta fechas recientes, han sido muy escasas las grandes operaciones de reestructuración transfronteriza. El análisis de la reacción del mercado ante los anuncios de fusión no revela una generación de valor neta alrededor de los anuncios. Sí se detecta, sin embargo, una transferencia de valor desde los accionistas de las empresas compradoras a los de las empresas adquiridas. Tampoco se aprecia una diferencia significativa en la creación de valor entre operaciones nacionales e internacionales, lo que sugiere que aun cuando la existencia de diversas barreras a las operaciones de consolidación internacional ha podido disuadir de su realización en algunos casos, las que finalmente se han anunciado no han sido, en promedio, peor valoradas por el mercado que las operaciones de carácter nacional.Fusiones y adquisiciones; Sistema financiero; Operaciones transfronterizas;

Nitrogen fertilization of wheat for forage and grain production in the south west of Buenos Aires province (Argentina)

Cuando del cultivo de trigo (Triticum aestivum) se obtiene forraje y grano, i.e. cultivo doble propósito (DP), la disponibilidad de nitrógeno puede ser un aspecto clave para la expansión de esta alternativa. Se comparó la respuesta al N en trigo DP fertilizado en abril (DPF), en agosto (DPG), en ambas fechas (DPFG) y en el cultivo para grano (TC) en un experimento factorial con las dosis de N: 0, 40, 80, 120, y 160 kg ha-1, aplicado como urea al voleo. Se determinó el rendimiento de forraje y de grano y el contenido de N en cada producto. El rendimiento de forraje se incrementó en promedio en 10,3 kg MS kg-1 de N aplicado, hasta la dosis de 120 kg ha-1. El rendimiento de grano fue menor en los DP, pero tuvo una mayor respuesta a N, incrementándose en 8,3, 7,3, 4,7, y 4,7 kg kg-1 de N aplicado para DPG, DPFG, DPF y TC respectivamente. La eficiencia agronómica de la respuesta a N en el rendimiento de grano fue superior en los manejos de DP y estos resultados muestran una mayor conveniencia de la fertilización nitrogenada en estos que en TC.When forage and grain are obtained from a wheat crop, (Triticum aestivum), i.e. a dual purpose crop (DP), the availability of N can be a key factor for the expansion of this alternative system. The response to nitrogen fertilization of a DP crop fertilized in April (DPF), in August (DPG), in both dates (DPFG) and in wheat grown only for grain (TC) was compared in a factorial experiment with the N levels 0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 N kg ha-1, applied as broadcast urea. Forage and grain yield and N content of each product were determined. Forage yield increased, on average, 10.3 kg dry matter per kg of applied N, up to the 120 kg ha-1 level. Grain yield was lower in DP than TC but had a higher response to N, increasing on average 8.3, 7.3, 4.7, and 4.7 Kg per kg applied N, for DPG, DPFG, DPF and TC respectively. The agronomic efficiency of the response to N in grain yield was higher in DP than in TC and these results show that N fertilization in DP is more convenient than in TC.Fil: Arzadun, M.. Chacra Experimental Coronel Suárez; ArgentinaFil: Laborde, H.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Arroquy, Jose Ignacio. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Santiago del Estero; Argentin