International risk-based capital standard: history and explanation

In December the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System adopted final guidelines for the new Risk-Based Capital Standard. This article traces the evolution of the new standard, discusses how capital measures of the United States will change, and indicates how Fifth District banking organizations may fare under the new standard.Capital ; Risk ; Finance ; Federal Reserve District, 5th

International risk-based capital standard: history and explanation

In December the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System adopted final guidelines for the new Risk-Based Capital Standard. This article traces the evolution of the new standard, discusses how capital measures of the United States will change, and indicates how Fifth District banking organizations may fare under the new standard.Capital ; Risk ; Finance ; Federal Reserve District, 5th

Market Liquidity as a Sentiment Indicator

We build a model that helps explain why increases in liquidity - such as lower bid-ask spreads, a lower price impact of trade, or higher share turnover - predict lower subsequent returns in both firm-level and aggregate data. The model features a class of irrational investors, who underreact to the information contained in order flow, thereby boosting liquidity. In the presence of short-sales constraints, unusually high liquidity is a symptom of the fact that the market is currently dominated by these irrational investors, and hence is overvalued. This theory can also explain how managers might successfully time the market for seasoned equity offerings (SEOs), by simply following a rule of thumb that involves issuing when the SEO market is particularly liquid. Empirically, we find that: i) aggregate measures of equity issuance and share turnover are highly correlated; yet ii) in a multiple regression, both have incremental predictive power for future equal-weighted market returns.

Separation of oxidatively damaged DNA Nucleobases and Nucleosides on Packed and Monolith C18 Columns by HPLC-UV-EC

This study involves the incorporation of a commercially available Phenomenex Onyx C18 monolith column into the separation and detection of oxidative DNA damage. It includes thorough investigation of monolith performance and a comparison of the performance of monolith columns with a commercially available packed Restek reverse phase Ultra C18 column for the separation of DNA bases and nucleosides. The performance of the monolith was examined using efficiency, resolution, plate height, asymmetry and retention times, and in each case showed improved or at least comparable results in the separation of a mix of DNA bases and nucleosides. A 90% reduction, from just under 40 min. to just under 4 min., was obtained in the elution time of this separation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a fast monolith column separation successfully coupled to both a UV-vis and EC detector, which is especially useful for analysis of oxidative DNA damage. The determination of 8-oxoG and 8-OH-dG, oxidation products of guanine and 2’-deoxyguanosine, respectively, may be compromised by their ease of oxidation and therefore the fast separation, selective and sensitive detection, with no artifactual oxidation, detailed in this report, is ideal

Expanding the application of the Eu-oxybarometer to the lherzolitic shergottites and nakhlites: Implications for the oxidation state heterogeneity of the Martian interior

Experimentally rehomogenized melt inclusions from the nakhlite Miller Range 03346 (MIL 03346) and the lherzolitic shergottite Allan Hills 77005 (ALH 77005) have been analyzed for their rare earth element (REE) concentrations in order to characterize the early melt compositions of these Martian meteorites and to calculate the oxygen fugacity conditions they crystallized under. D(Eu/Sm)pyroxene/melt values were measured at 0.77 and 1.05 for ALH 77005 and MIL 03346, respectively. These melts and their associated whole rock compositions have similar REE patterns, suggesting that whole rock REE values are representative of those of the early melts and can be used as input into the pyroxene Eu-oxybarometer for the nakhlites and lherzolitic shergottites. Crystallization fO_2 values of IW + 1.1 (ALH 77005) and IW + 3.2 (MIL 03346) were calculated. Whole rock data from other nakhlites and lherzolitic shergottites was input into the Eu-oxybarometer to determine their crystallization fO_2 values. The lherzolitic shergottites and nakhlites have fO_2 values that range from IW + 0.4 to 1.6 and from IW + 1.1 to 3.2, respectively. These values are consistent with some previously determined fO_2 estimates and expand the known range of fO_2 values of the Martian interior to four orders of magnitude. The origins of this range are not well constrained. Possible mechanisms for producing this spread in fO_2 values include mineral/melt fractionation, assimilation, shock effects, and magma ocean crystallization processes. Mineral/melt partitioning can result in changes in fO_2 from the start to the finish of crystallization of 2 orders of magnitude. In addition, crystallization of a Martian magma ocean with reasonable initial water content results in oxidized, water-rich, late-stage cumulates. Sampling of these oxidized cumulates or interactions between reduced melts and the oxidized material can potentially account for the range of fO_2 values observed in the Martian meteorites

Central precocious puberty in a 3 year-old girl with Phenylketonuria: a rare association?

Background Central precocious puberty (CPP) and phenylketonuria (PKU) are two rare conditions, the latter being the rarer. To date, only one case featuring both these conditions has been reported, and hyperphenylalaninemia was assumed triggering CPP. Case presentation We present a 3.2 years old girl referred with a 12 months history of breast and pubic hair development, and vaginal discharge. Hyperphenylalaninemia had been identified by newborn screening and PKU subsequently confirmed by plasma amino acid and genetic analysis. Early dietary control of plasma phenylalanine had been excellent afterwards, resulting in phenylalanine concentrations consistently within the recommended range. Clinical scenario, hormonal assessment and imaging were in keeping with true idiopathic central precocious puberty. Treatment with long lasting gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue led to regression of secondary sexual characteristics. Conclusion We describe for the first time CPP in a girl affected with PKU but with persistently well controlled blood phenylalanine concentrations. This finding is in contrast to a previous report which suggested persistently high phenylalaninemia levels as potential trigger for CPP in PKU patients. Our report, together with the lack of evidence in published cohort studies of children with PKU, strongly suggests this rare association is coincidental and independent of the presence of severe hyperphenylalaninemia.</p

When Does the Market Matter? Stock Prices and the Investsment of Equity-Dependent Firms

We use a simple model to outline the conditions under which corporate investment will be sensitive to non-fundamental movements in stock prices. The key cross-sectional prediction of the model is that stock prices will have a stronger impact on the investment of firms that are “equity dependent†– firms that need external equity to finance their marginal investments. Using an index of equity dependence based on the work of Kaplan and Zingales (1997), we find strong support for this prediction. In particular, firms that rank in the top quintile of the KZ index have investment that is almost three times as sensitive to stock prices as firms in the bottom quintile. We also verify several other predictions of the model.