What are the driving factors behind the rise of spreads and CDSs of Euro-area sovereign bonds? A FAVAR model for Greece and Ireland

This paper examines the underlying dynamics of selected euro-area sovereign bonds by employing a factor-augmenting vector autoregressive (FAVAR) model for the first time in the literature. This methodology allows for identifying the underlying transmission mechanisms of several factors; in particular, market liquidity and credit risk. Departing from the classical structural vector autoregressive (VAR) models, it allows us to relax limitations regarding the choice of variables that could drive spreads and credit default swaps (CDSs) of euro-area sovereign debts. The results show that liquidity, credit risk, and flight to quality drive both spreads and CDSs of five years’ maturity over swaps for Greece and Ireland in recent years. Greece, in particular, is facing an elastic demand for its sovereign bonds that further stretches liquidity. Moreover, in current illiquid market conditions spreads will continue to follow a steep upward trend, with certain adverse financial stability implications. In addition, we observe a negative feedback effect from counterparty credit risk

CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT LOAN REQUEST. A CASE STUDY

With malls and shopping centers a dominant venue of merchandising, the case deals with a company seeking to finance the construction and development of a strip shopping center in Romania. With this kind of financing a demanding type of commercial real estate credit, the case aims to highlight the structure and pricing of construction and development lending, the requisite financial information and the critical role of other aspects of the project. The credit decision process calls for evaluating the merits of the loan request and assessing the bank’s risk exposure.debt service coverage ratio, London Interbank Offered Rate or LIBOR, private equity investment firm, real estate investment and property development, retail park, underwriting standards.

Helicobacter pylori In Uninvestigated Dyspepsia In Primary Cares In Abakaliki, Nigeria

There is paucity of information on the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Nigeria. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the prevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to H. pylori in 262 consecutive patients (aged 5.5-56 years) presenting with dyspepsia in primary health cares in Abakaliki, Nigeria. Sixty-nine (26.3%) of the patients had IgG antibodies to H. pylori. Significantly higher prevalence of H. pylori was recorded in older patients than in those ≤ 20 years [29% vs11% (95%CI: 0.072-0.288%)]. Infection was comparable between males and females [28% vs 25%, (95% CI: - 0.078 – 0.138)] but inversely related to the socio-economic status of patients [30.5% vs 14%. (95% CI: 0.054-0.28) and 30.3% vs 8.3% (95% CI: 0.053-0.391) between lower and middle and between lower and upper class respectively]. The high endemicity of H. pylori infection in this study needs confirmation in different settings and/or in the general population

Heat energy from a shallow geothermal system in Glasgow, UK: performance evaluation design

This study reports on the actual energy and economic performances of a water source heat pump recently installed and operated at a Glasgow Subway station in the UK using subsurface water ingress to provide heating and domestic hot water. This follows from a previous publication that detailed the empirical measurements and design of a heating system designed on the basis of a 15-month monitoring period of the water flow and temperature. The perennial water flow at a relatively high temperature enabled the system to operate more efficiently than a typical heat pump system with boreholes or trenches. The performance of the water source heat pump has been monitored for a 4-month period, and the coefficient of performance as well as the energy saving is reported in the present study. The findings of this study not only indicate the energy, carbon dioxide and financial benefits of the heating system, but also highlight key issues during the operation in such a demanding underground environment. Further renewable heat potentials for the rest of the subway network and opportunities to commercialise the excess heat energy output are explored. </jats:p

Future constraints on halo thermodynamics from combined Sunyaev-Zel'dovich measurements

The improving sensitivity of measurements of the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect opens a new window into the thermodynamic properties of the baryons in halos. We propose a methodology to constrain these thermodynamic properties by combining the kinetic SZ, which is an unbiased probe of the free electron density, and the thermal SZ, which probes their thermal pressure. We forecast that our method constrains the average thermodynamic processes that govern the energetics of galaxy evolution like energetic feedback across all redshift ranges where viable halos sample are available. Current Stage-3 cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments like AdvACT and SPT-3G can measure the kSZ and tSZ to greater than 100$\sigma$ if combined with a DESI-like spectroscopic survey. Such measurements translate into percent-level constraints on the baryonic density and pressure profiles and on the feedback and non-thermal pressure support parameters for a given ICM model. This in turn will provide critical thermodynamic tests for sub-grid models of feedback in cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. The high fidelity measurements promised by the next generation CMB experiment, CMB-S4, allow one to further sub-divide these constraints beyond redshift into other classifications, like stellar mass or galaxy type.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, Accepted to JCA

The performance of an ASHP system using waste air to recover heat energy in a subway system

In this short communication, we demonstrate that the performance of a typical air source heat pump (ASHP), exploiting a relatively stable air temperature within a subway environment, is high, even during the peak heating months. After a nine-month operational run, the coefficient of performance is demonstrated to be 3.5. The design and installation difficulties are stated together with the lessons learnt following this trial. The actual energy and carbon savings are discussed

On Tone and Morphophonology of the Akan Reduplication Construction

Reduplication in Akan has received some discussion in the literature but all the studies have concentrated on some aspects of segmental processes that operate on the base to generate the output. In this paper, we study the morphological, segmental and tonal processes related to reduplicative construction in Akan. We demonstrate that on the basis of tonal perturbations which bases and reduplicative templates undergo, and the output tone melody of the reduplicated form vis-à-vis the tone melody of the base, we are able to tell the base from the reduplicant in the Akan reduplicative structure. We argue in the central portions of this paper that the reduplicant in Akan could be either prefixed or suffixed to the base and, in the course of further reduplication construction, it could be sited within the two constituent tokens of the original reduplicative output which serves as an unmarked base for further reduplication. This piece of information counterexemplifies the assertion in the existing literature that in the Akan reduplication construction, the reduplicant is invariably prefixed to the base. In this paper, we study reduplication of verbs, adjectives, nouns, and lexical reduplication and demonstrate that words belonging to the same class behave tonally the same

Waste Water Transformed into Heat Energy

This study investigates the feasibility of utilising ground water ingress into the Glasgow Subway system. At present this unused excess water is being discharged into the city’s drainage system as waste. This valuable resource could be channelled through a Water Source Heat Pump (WSHP) to produce heat energy for domestic or public use (heating and domestic hot water). A study has been carried out in order to calculate the heat contained in the water. Water flow and water temperature have been recorded over a ten month period (since May 2014) at fifteen different points within the network of underground tunnels. Water sampling has also been undertaken at all of these points, with chemical analysis results for six of them already obtained. The measurements will continue for at least seven more months to have readings for an 18 months period. A feasibility study to review the number of support factors (i.e. Renewable Heat Incentive) that could profit the subway system has been undertaken as well. Options have been discussed and a selection of a site inside the tunnels for a pilot system has been decided and is due to be installed in June 2015. The findings of this study are expected to develop an appropriate renewable solution through a cost effective heat pump system design. This waste water will be collected and used as renewable energy. During this process energy will be produced from a waste product using a sustainable and environmental friendly method. A similar approach ought to be transferable to many other subway systems around the world, some of which experience ground water ingress

Heat recovery from air in underground transport tunnels

The performance of a typical air source heat pump could be increased dramatically by a relatively stable air temperature with a high humidity, even during the peak heating months. In this short communication we show such conditions exist in the underground transport tunnels of the Glasgow Subway system, where we had conducted an annual survey of air flow, air temperature and relative humidity at thirty different points within the subway network. We found relatively stable temperatures and sufficient air movement inside the twin tunnels (average temperature during winter = 15 °C, annual variation = 2.6 °C; average air flow = 16.47 m3/h) indicating higher system efficiency compared to a conventional air source heat pump installation. Potential energy and carbon savings are discussed