The Theoretical Background of Behavioral Finance and Analysis of Investor’s Behavior in capital market

تهدف هذه الورقة إلى تسليط الضوء على الانحرافات الظاهرة في أسواق رأس المال التي فشلت النماذج المالية التقليدية في تفسيرها، وكذا معرفة مدى قدرة النظرية المالية السلوكية في شرح وفهم ما يحدث في أسواق رأس المال، حيث تقدم هذه النظرية تفسيرا علميا جديدا، يعتمد على وجود تحيّزات سلوكية تؤثر على سلوك المستثمرين وتدفعهم إلى اتخاذ قرارات استثمارية لا تتسم بالرشد وتنعكس سلبا على أدائهم الاستثماري، خلصت الدراسة أن النظرية المالية السلوكية قدمت تفسيرات أكثر منطقية للانحرافات في التسعير، وفهم أكثر عمقاً لعمليات الاستثمار والتداول في أسواق رأس المال، غير أنه بالرغم من كل النتائج والتفسيرات التي قدمتها المالية السلوكية حول أسواق رأس المال، إلا أنه لا توجد نظرية موحدة حقيقية للمالية السلوكية فهي تحتاج إلى مزيد من الأدلة تجريبية ورياضية.This paper highlights on the anomalies in the capital markets, that the traditional financial models have failed to explain, and the extent to which behavioral financial theory (BFT) can explain and understand what is happening in capital markets. The BFT provides a new scientific explanation, on the behavior of investors and pushes them to make investment decisions are not rational and reflected negatively on their investment performance, The study concluded that the BFT provides more reasonable explanations for the anomalies in pricing and a deeper understanding of investment and trading processes in the capital markets. However, despite all the financial behavioral findings and interpretations of capital markets, there is no real uniform theory of behavioral finance, more empirical and mathematical tests

Towards construction of an investor sentiment index in the Arab stock markets

The investor sentiment index (ISI) is one of the main issues in behavioral finance on the global stock exchanges in general and the Arab stock markets in specially. This research paper proposes a model for measuring the ISI in the Arab stock markets on the one hand, and on the other, tests the relationship between proposed ISI and the volatility of returns. We used the principal component analysis for the ISI proposal and the DCC-GARCH for testing the relationship between the ISI and the volatility. This study includes three Arab stock markets: Saudi Stock Exchange, Abu Dhabi Securities Market and Qatar Stock Exchange. We use the monthly data for six variables as sentiment proxies and three macroeconomic variables during the period from 01-01-2007 to 31-12- 2017. We concluded that investors\u27 sentiment has a role in determining the returns and volatility of stocks. The study recommends the need to understand and know the most influential behavioral factors on the Arab stock markets, which enhancesthe level of efficiency and hence, positively affects the economy

Extent of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in whole muscle meat, meat products and seafood sold in Libyan market

Background: Whole muscle meat, meat products, and seafood contain different nutrients in adequate quantity providing a better environment for presence and replication of different microorganisms. There are underreporting and inaccurate estimation of foodborne diseases due to the lack of effective surveillance systems in Libya. Aim: To determine the extent of microbiological contamination of whole muscle meat, meat products and seafood. Methods: A total number of 731 samples of retail meat were collected from different stores in four cities in Libya. Samples were analyzed for aerobic plate count (APC), and subjected to microbiological enumeration and isolation techniques, followed by molecular identification by PCR and partially sequencing of 16S rDNA. Results: The results showed contamination of samples with enteric and spoilage bacteria. Fifteen genera of spoilage bacteria yielded 149 isolates were detected and identified by PCR and partially sequencing of 16S rDNA as: Proteus spp., Provedencia spp., Raouttella ornithinolytical, Citrobacter spp., Enterobacter spp., Morganella morgi, Shewanella algea, Rhodobacter capsulatus, Listonella pelagia, Kluyvera spp., Pectobacterium spp., Brenneria spp., Klebsiella spp., Acintobacter radioresistens, and Pantoea spp. While for pathogenic bacteria, 143 isolates distributed among nine genera were identified by PCR and partially sequencing of 16S rDNA as: Bacillus spp., Escherichia spp., Shigella spp., Enterococci spp., Cronobacter spp., Staphylococci spp., Salmonella spp., Aeromonas spp., and Vibrio spp.. Many isolated bacteria are zoonotic bacteria with high importance for public health. Conclusion: Excessive handling and processing of meat and meat products seems to be one of the poorest microbiological quality. These findings ought to be helpful in risk assessments and quality assurance of meat in order to improve food safety

Occurrence, characterization, and antibiogram of Staphylococcus aureus in meat, meat products, and some seafood from Libyan retail markets

Aim: The aim of the current investigation was to screen the presence of Staphylococci spp., especially S. aureus in meat, meat products of different animal species, and some seafood sold in some retail markets in Libya using cultural and molecular techniques, and to study their antibiotics resistance profiles. Materials and Methods: A total of 139 samples from red meat, meat products, and seafood were collected from many areas in Libya. Enumeration and isolation of Staphylococci spp. and S. aureus by normal cultural methods followed by molecular identification using molecular techniques by bacterial DNA extraction and partial sequencing of 16S rDNA. Results: Out of 139 samples, 112 (80.6%) were contaminated with different species of Staphylococci based on cultural characteristics of Staphylococci on Baird-Parker medium, for which S. aureus was detected in only 32 samples (23%). However, only six out of 18 (33.3%) isolates sent for sequencing were confirmed to be S. aureus using the molecular technique. The six identified isolates of S. aureus were tested for antimicrobial resistance against 24 most commonly used antibiotics. All isolates were resistant to only two antibiotics (cefotaxime and clindamycin). Among these six isolates, only one confirmed to be Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that food of animal origin could be a source of S. aureus with antimicrobial resistance characteristics that can be spread through the food chain, and raise the importance of these results for public health