Bank ownership, lending relationships and capital structure: Evidence from Spain

This paper analyses the influence of bank ownership and lending on capital structure for a sample of listed and unlisted Spanish firms in the period 2005–2012. The results suggest that bank ownership allows banks to obtain better information and reduce the agency costs of debt, as it has a positive relationship with the maturity of debt and a negative relationship with the cost of debt. These results are consistent with the predominance of the monitoring effect in bank ownership over the expropriation effect. The role of banks as shareholders and lenders also contributes to reduce agency cost of debt, as it reduces debt cost. JEL classification: G32, Keywords: Bank ownership, Bank lending, Debt, Debt maturity, Debt cos

Reversal of the amplitude difference of kHz QPOs in six atoll sources

AIMS: For six neutron-star atoll sources (4U 1608-52, 4U 1636-53, 4U 0614+09, 4U 1728-34, 4U 1820-30 and 4U 1735-44) we investigate the relationship between the observed fractional rms amplitudes of the twin kHz QPOs. We discuss whether this displays features that could have a physical meaning in terms of the proposed QPO models. METHOD: We consider the difference in rms amplitude between the upper and lower kHz QPOs, as a function of the frequency ratio R. We compare two data sets. Set I is a collection taken from published data. Set II has rms amplitude values obtained by automatic fitting of continuous segments of RXTE-PCA observations. RESULTS: For each of the six sources, we find that there is a point in the R domain around which the amplitudes of the two twin kHz QPOs are the same. We find such a point located inside a narrow interval R=1.5 +-3%. Further investigation is needed in the case of two sources to explore this finding, since we have not determined this point in Set II. There is evidence of a similar point close to R = 1.33 or R = 1.25 in the four sources. We suggest that some of these points may correspond to the documented clustering of the twin kHz QPO frequency ratios. CONCLUSIONS: For the sources studied, the rms amplitudes of the two kHz peaks become equal when the frequencies of the oscillations pass through a certain ratio R, which is roughly the same for each of the sources. In terms of the orbital QPO models, with some assumptions concerning the QPO modulation, this finding implies the existence of a specific orbit at a common value of the dimensionless radius, at which the oscillations corresponding to the two peaks come into balance. In a more general context, the amplitude difference behaviour suggests the possible existence of an energy interchange between the upper and lower QPO modes.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, proofreaded versio

Planetary nebulae in the elliptical galaxy NGC 821: kinematics and distance determination

Using a slitless spectroscopy method with the 8.2 m Subaru telescope and its FOCAS Cassegrain spectrograph, we have increased the number of planetary nebula (PN) detections and PN velocity measurements in the flattened elliptical galaxy NGC 821. A comparison with the detections reported previously by the Planetary Nebula Spectrograph (PN.S) group indicates that we have confirmed most of their detections. The velocities measured by the two groups, using different telescopes, spectrographs and slitless techniques, are in good agreement. We have built a combined sample of 167 PNs and have confirmed the keplerian decline of the line-of-sight velocity dispersion reported previously. We also confirm misaligned rotation from the combined sample. A dark matter halo may exist around this galaxy, but it is not needed to keep the PN velocities below the local escape velocity as calculated from the visible mass. We have measured the m(5007) magnitudes of 145 PNs and produced a statistically complete sample of 40 PNs in NGC 821. The resulting PN luminosity function (PNLF) was used to estimate a distance modulus of 31.4 mag, equivalent to 19 Mpc. We also estimated the PN formation rate. NGC 821 becomes the most distant galaxy with a PNLF distance determination. The PNLF distance modulus is smaller than the surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) distance modulus by 0.4 mag. Our kinematic information permits to rule out the idea that a shorter PNLF distance could be produced by the contamination of the PNLF by background galaxies with emission lines redshifted into the on-band filter transmission curve.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 16 figure