Bank profits rebound as loss set-asides ease

Banks across the U.S., including the Eleventh Federal Reserve District, appear to be recovering from the financial crisis that began in mid-2007. The news is welcome because a healthy banking sector spurs economic growth by providing financing for businesses to expand investment spending and for consumers to purchase goods and services. ; Data for 2010 show strong profit growth, with banks across the nation rebounding from a net loss in 2009 and those in the Dallas-based Eleventh District almost doubling their profits. There was also good news regarding asset quality: Problem loans are starting to moderate. And there are indications that the banking industry has grown more efficient, supporting more operations at lower cost. ; However, concerns linger about the sustainability of profits because the recent improvement can be attributed almost entirely to a reduction in what banks set aside to cover future loan losses. Banks refer to this as their provision expense, and it usually falls as asset quality improves. But there is a limit to how far it can decline and contribute to profitability.Business conditions ; Profit

PREFERENCE AMONG RISKY PROSPECTS UNDER CONSTANT RISK AVERSION

Risk analyses often require a measure of individual risk aversion. Here a procedure is presented to calculate risk aversion parameter ranges wherein individuals would exhibit preference among a set of risky prospects.Risk and Uncertainty,

Regional lending in a world of interstate banking

Bank loans ; Banks and banking - Texas

GENERALIZED STOCHASTIC DOMINANCE: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION

Use of generalized stochastic dominance (GSD) requires one to place lower and upper bounds on the risk aversion coefficient. This study showed that breakeven risk aversion coefficients found assuming the exponential utility function delineate the places where GSD preferences switch between prospects. However, between these break points, multiple, overlapping GSD intervals can be found. Consequently, when one does not have risk aversion coefficient information, discovery of breakeven coefficients instead of GSD use is recommended. The investigation also showed GSD results are insensitive to wealth and data scaling but are sensitive to rounding.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Kantian Cosmopolitanism. Tradition and Perspectives

La revista Con-Textos Kantianoscumple sus primeros cinco años con CTK 10, dado que su número cero vio la luz en noviembre de 2014. Y lo hace con una monográfico sobre El cosmopolitismo kantiano: Tradición y perspectivas, tema que fue programado en realidad para uno de sus primeros número y que cuenta con ocho artículos procedentes de Alemania, Estados Unidos e Italia, bajo edición de Angelo Cicatello (Univ. de Palermo, Italia). Su lectura se puede ver bien complementada, entre muchas otras posibilidades, con un reciente volumen colectivo editado en español por Carlos Mendiola(Univ. Iberoamericana, Mexico), en el que participan varios miembros del equipo editor de CTK, cuyo título es En busca de la comunidad ideal: Notas sobre cosmopolitismo