Exchange Rates and Portfolio Balance

An open economy portfolio balance model, describing allocation among money, a domestic bond, and a traded foreign currency bond is developed for a world of many countries. A special role is attributed to the dollar, namely that all internationally traded bonds are denominated in that currency. It is shown that in the short run with real variables exogenous and expectations static, stability requires that all countries except the U.S. be net creditors in dollar-denominated bonds. What data are available on inter-country claims suggest that some countries may well be net debtors abroad in foreign currency. In particular, if one excludes direct investment claims, private claims on the rest of the world by Japan and Canada have been negative over the period of floating rates since 1973. However, some preliminary reduced-form regression equations for the dollar exchange rates of these two countries do not support the implications of the portfolio balance model in the debtor case. On the other hand, an equation for a composite of Western European currencies (by our calculations, this group of countries is a net creditor) gives more promising results.

The challenge of integrating non-continuous processes-milk powder plant case study

The integration of non-continuous processes such as a milk powder plant present a challenge for existing process integration techniques. Current techniques are generally based on steady and continuous operation which for some industries is not the case. Milk production varies considerably during the year as dairy cows in New Zealand are grazed on pasture, which affects the scheduling and operation of plants on site. The frequency and duration of cleaning cycles and non-productive operating states can have a major affect on energy demand and the availability of heat sources and heat sinks. In this paper the potential for indirect heat transfer between the several plants using a heat recovery loop and stratified tank at a typical New Zealand dairy factory is investigated. The maximum amount of heat recovery is calculated for a range of recirculation loop temperatures. The maximum amount of heat recovery can be increased considerably if the temperature of the hot fluid in the recirculation loop is varied depending on which condition the site is operating under

Routine characterization and interpretation of complex alkali feldspar intergrowths

Almost all alkali feldspar crystals contain a rich inventory of exsolution, twin, and domain microtextures that form subsequent to crystal growth and provide a record of the thermal history of the crystal and often of its involvement in replacement reactions, sometimes multiple. Microtextures strongly influence the subsequent behavior of feldspars at low temperatures during diagenesis and weathering. They are central to the retention or exchange of trace elements and of radiogenic and stable isotopes. This review is aimed at petrologists and geochemists who wish to use alkali feldspar microtextures to solve geological problems or who need to understand how microtextures influence a particular process. We suggest a systematic approach that employs methods available in most well founded laboratories. The crystallographic relationships of complex feldspar intergrowths were established by the 1970s, mainly using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, but such methods give limited information on the spatial relationships of the different elements of the microtexture, or of the mode and chronology of their formation, which require the use of microscopy. We suggest a combination of techniques with a range of spatial resolution and strongly recommend the use of orientated sections. Sections cut parallel to the perfect (001) and (010) cleavages are the easiest to locate and most informative. Techniques described are light microscopy; scanning electron microscopy using both backscattered and secondary electrons, including the use of surfaces etched in the laboratory; electron-probe microanalysis and analysis by energy-dispersive spectrometry in a scanning electron microscope; transmission electron microscopy. We discuss the use of cathodoluminescence as an auxiliary technique, but do not recommend electron-backscattered diffraction for feldspar work. We review recent publications that provide examples of the need for great care and attention to pre-existing work in microtextural studies, and suggest several topics for future work

Integrating heat recovery from milk powder spray dryer exhausts in the dairy industry

Heat recovery from milk powder spray dryer exhausts has proven challenging due to both economic and thermodynamic constraints. Integrating the dryer with the rest of the process (e.g. evaporation stages) can increase the viability of exhaust recovery. Several potential integration schemes for a milk powder plant have been investigated. Indirect heat transfer via a coupled loop between the spray dryer exhaust and various heat sinks were modeled and the practical heat recovery potential determined. Hot utility use was reduced by as much as 21% if suitable heat sinks are selected. Due to high particle loading and operating temperatures in the particle sticky regime, powder deposition in the exhaust heat exchanger is perhaps the greatest obstacle for implementing heat recovery schemes on spray dryers. Adequate cleaning systems are needed to ensure continuous dyer operation

Are U.S. CEOs Paid More than U.K. CEOs? Inferences from Risk- Adjusted Pay (CRI 2009-003)

We compute and compare risk-adjusted pay for US and UK CEOs, where the adjustment is based on estimated risk premiums stemming from the equity incentives borne by CEOs. Controlling for firm and industry characteristics, we find that US CEOs have higher pay, but also bear much higher stock and option incentives than UK CEOs. Using reasonable estimates of risk premiums, we find that risk-adjusted US CEO pay does not appear large compared to that of UK CEOs. We also examine differences in pay and equity incentives between a sample of non-UK European CEOs and a matched sample of US CEOs, and find that risk-adjusting pay may explain about half of the apparent higher pay for US CEOs

The Helper-Therapy Principle Applied to Weight Management Specialists

One hundred twenty applicants to a weight management specialist training program were studied over a 33-month period. Following a nine-month training period, Specialists (N = 29; those leading at least one posttraining weight management group) were compared to Contact Controls (N = 31; persons participating in the weight management program, but not in the helper role) and No Contact Controls (N = 60; those not accepted into the training program and whose only contact with the program was for data collection purposes) in a test of the helper-therapy principle. The major question was, What are the long-term physical, psychological, and behavioral effects on overweight and formerly overweight individuals involved in helping other persons manage their weight? Data gathered at 12 and 24 months posttraining revealed few differences between the total group of specialists and persons in the two control groups. However, when the data were analyzed by the amount of commitment to the specialist role, it was found that the Higher Involved Specialists (N = 16; those who led two or more weight management groups in the year posttraining) were significantly more likely to lose additional weight (or maintain earlier weight losses), to be more consistent in their adherence to the eating and activity levels advocated by the program, to feel better about themselves and their bodies, and to maintain their levels of general well-being than control subjects or the Lesser Involved Specialists. These latter individuals (N = 13) were significantly the worse for having gone through specialist training, but not fully carrying out the specialist role

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: Abnormal splitting of ethyl groups due to molecular asymmetry

Nuclear magnetic resonance (n.m.r.) spectroscopy provides an excellent means for qualitative identification of ethyl groups by use of the familiar three-four pattern of spin-spin splitting (1). It has been observed previously (2) that the methylene protons of systems of the type R-CH2-CR1R2R3 (where R1 can be the same as R or different) may be magnetically nonequivalent and display AB rather than A2-type spectra (3). We now wish to report several examples of this type of behavior with ethyl groups, particularly ethoxy groups, knowledge of which could be important to anyone using n.m.r. for organic qualitative analysis

Martian Dust Devil Detection with the Beagle 2 Wind Sensor

Beagle 2 is a Mars lander expected to land on December 26th 2003. The Beagle 2 wind sensor utilizes an ultrasonic technique, which is unique to planetary landers, and with other sensors will identify, and characterise dust devils