Discrete Scale Invariance and the "Second Black Monday"

Evidence is offered for log-periodic (in time) fluctuations in the S&P 500 stock index during the three years prior to the October 27, 1997 "correction". These fluctuations were expected on the basis of a discretely scale invariant rupture phenomenology of stock market crashes proposed earlier.Comment: LaTeX file, 4 pages, 2 figure

Rev. Billy vs. the market:a sane man in a world of omnipotent fantasies

This paper presents a case study of anti-consumerism activist William 5 Talen, aka Reverend Billy, who founded the Church of Stop Shopping. Rev. Billy’s radical critique of the worship of markets and money complements his creation of a vibrant Earth-loving community. The case is reviewed in light of Nietzsche’s vision of ‘the madman in the marketplace’. The analysis suggests that the dream of an infinitely©expanding world market is a fantasy of 10 omnipotence that acts as maladaptive defence against feelings of powerlessness. This fantasy of market omnipotence is in practice endangering human existence. Rev. Billy teaches us to rediscover our reverence for the Earth, and set ecological sustainability as our supreme goal (rather than financial growth)

The Evolution of Securitization in Multifamily Mortgage markets and Its Effect on lending Rates

Loan purchase and securitization by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and private-label commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) grew rapidly during the 1990s and accounted for more than one-half of the net growth in multifamily debt over the decade. By facilitating the integration of the multifamily mortgage market into the broader capital markets, securitization helped to create new sources of credit as some traditional portfolio investors—savings institutions and life insurers—reduced their share of loan holdings. A model of commercial mortgage rates at life insurers, expressed relative to a comparable-term Treasury yield, was estimated over a twenty-two-year period. The parameter estimates supported an option-based pricing model of rate determination; proxies for CMBS activity showed no significant effect.

A PRICE-SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR FARM COMMODITIES

Agricultural Finance,

Gravitational Analogues of Non-linear Born Electrodynamics

Gravitational analogues of the nonlinear electrodynamics of Born and of Born and Infeld are introduced and applied to the black hole problem. This work is mainly devoted to the 2-dimensional case in which the relevant lagrangians are nonpolynomial in the scalar curvature.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, included a detailed discussion of "non-trace" field equation

. . . Skepticism But Not Cynicism : Chancellor Allen\u27s Scrutiny of Special Committees

This Essay is part of a tribute issue that was compiled in honor of William T. Allen, Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, after he announced his intention not to seek reappointment

Mergers and Acquisitions: The Quintessence of Change

I wrote a book in the mid-\u2770\u27s entitled ANATOMY OF A MERGER, a guide to handling negotiated acquisitions. Looking back from the vantage point of a decade later, I was struck by the tremendous changes that had taken place in terms of how acquisitions of public companies are accomplished. Today, the hostile takeover has so permeated the public company acquisition scene that it has entirely altered the way that lawyers and others who ply this trade accomplish their goals

. . . Skepticism But Not Cynicism : Chancellor Allen\u27s Scrutiny of Special Committees

This Essay is part of a tribute issue that was compiled in honor of William T. Allen, Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, after he announced his intention not to seek reappointment

Is there a gap in the market, and is there a market in the gap?:how advertising planning performs markets

This paper explores the performative role of marketing knowledge in advertising planning. It is based on an ethnography within the account planning department of a London advertising agency as it worked closely with a client and a market research agency to develop a new energy/health drink for launch in the United Kingdom. The case provides detailed support for the idea that marketing (and other) theories help perform or bring into existence that which they purport to describe. It also shows how such theories are hybridised and streamlined in the iterative battleground of a creative process, framed by the need to create plausible consumption and competitive relations. The main contribution of this article is to show how the performative power of marketing knowledge is ultimately determined not by its ?truth value?, but by its ability to produce compelling stories that stabilise the reflexive relationships between product attributes, consumer profiles and competitive relations