Do analysts know but not say? The case of goingconcern opinions

This study explores whether security analysts recognize firms’ going-concern problems and report appropriately to investors. We find that analysts signal their anticipation of the publication of a going-concern modified (GCM) audit report in two ways: 1) they downgrade more aggressively stock recommendations of GCM firms than stock recommendations of control firms as the event date approaches; 2) they are more likely to cease coverage of a GCM firm than a control firm over the one-year period prior to the GCM date. We further show that analysts react to the publication of an actual GCM audit report by stopping coverage of such firms immediately subsequent to the event disclosure. Our results suggest that analysts know that the future viability of GCM firms is jeopardized but do not say it clearly to retail investors, who constitute the main clientele of these firms. Consistent with the SEC concerns about analyst recommendations, we conclude that investors cannot rely solely on analyst recommendations since they are reluctant to report negatively (i.e, “underperform” or “sell”) even in this extreme bad news domain. We further conclude that analyst relative pessimism and coverage cessation is likely to be associated with negative expectations about firms’ future prospects.Analyst behaviour, stock recommendations, bad news announcements, goingconcern reports.

Flow and air-entrainment around partially submerged vertical cylinders

In this study, a partially submerged vertical cylinder is moved at constant velocity through water, which is initially at rest. During the motion, the wake behind the cylinder induces free-surface deformation. Eleven cylinders, with diameters from $D=1.4$ to 16 cm, were tested at two different conditions: (i) constant immersed height $h$ and (ii) constant $h/D$. The range of translation velocities and diameters are in the regime of turbulent wake with experiments carried out for $4500<Re<240 \,000$ and $0.2<Fr<2.4$, where $Re$ and $Fr$ are the Reynolds and Froude numbers based on $D$. The focus here is on drag force measurements and relatively strong free-surface deformation up to air-entrainment. Specifically, two modes of air-entraiment have been uncovered: (i) in the cavity along the cylinder wall and (ii) in the wake of the cylinder. A scaling for the critical velocity for air-entrainment in the cavity has been observed in agreement with a simple model. Furthermore, for $Fr>1.2$, the drag force varies linearly with $Fr$

Visible-IR Colors and Lightcurve Analysis of Two Bright TNOs: 1999 TC36 and 1998 SN165

We report on observations of two bright Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) - 1999 TC36 and 1998 SN165}- during two observational campaigns, as part of the Meudon Multicolor Survey of Outer Solar System Objects. V-J color was measured for 1999 TC36 (V-J=2.34+/-0.18), which combined with previous measured colors in the visible, indicate a red reflectivity spectrum at all wavelengths. Photometric V-band lightcurves were taken for both objects over a time span of around 8 hours. We have determined a possible rotational period of P=10.1+/-0.8 h for 1998 SN165, making it the seventh TNO with an estimated period. From its lightcurve variation of Dm=0.151(+0.022/-0.030), we have inferred an asymmetry ratio of a/b >=1.148(+0.024/-0.031). For 1999 TC36, we did not detect any rotational period or periodic signal variation within the uncertainties, but the analysis of its lightcurve hints to a slight systematic magnitude decrease.Comment: Accepted for publication in New Astronomy (13 pages, inc. 4 figures

Transition to turbulence in slowly divergent pipe flow

The results of a combined experimental and numerical study of the flow in slowly diverging pipes are presented. Interestingly, an axisymmetric conical recirculation cell has been observed. The conditions for its existence and the length of the cell are simulated for a range of diverging angles and expansion ratios. There is a critical velocity for the appearance of this state. When the flow rate increases further, a subcritical transition for localized turbulence arises. The transition and relaminarization experiments described here quantify the extent of turbulence. The findings suggest that the transition scenario in slowly diverging pipes is a combination of stages similar to those observed in sudden expansions and in straight circular pipe flow.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Effect of the number of vortices on the torque scaling in Taylor-Couette flow

Torque measurements in Taylor-Couette flow, with large radius ratio and large aspect ratio, over a range of velocities up to a Reynolds number of 24 000 are presented. Following a specific procedure, nine states with distinct number of vortices along the axis were found and the aspect ratio of the vortices were measured. The relationship between the speed and the torque for a given number of vortices is reported. In the turbulent Taylor vortex flow regime, at relatively high Reynolds number, a change in behaviour is observed corresponding to intersections of the torque-speed curves for different states. Before each intersection, the torque for a state with larger number of vortices is higher. After each intersection, the torque for a state with larger number of vortices is lower. The exponent, from the scaling laws of the torque, always depends on the aspect ratio of the vortices. When the Reynolds number is rescaled using the mean aspect ratio of the vortices, only a partial collapse of the exponent data is found.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Identifying Protein Interaction Networks for MeCP2 using Proximity Labelling

Mutations in methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) have been attributed as the cause of Rett syndrome (RTT). RTT is an X-linked neurological disorder affecting approximately 1/10000 females. MeCP2 is a ubiquitously expressed protein and its main function is to act as a transcriptional repressor via association with NCoR/SMRT complex. However, MeCP2 has various reported functions and interacting partners. For this reason, the exact role of MeCP2 in RTT, its function and acting mechanism are not yet fully known. In order to address this, the aim of this thesis was to shed light on the protein interactions of MeCP2 in a novel way, using proximity labelling (PL). Here, two promiscuous ligases, TurboID and miniTurbo, were fused to the C-Terminus of MeCP2 to enable biotinylation of proximal proteins. Mouse fibroblast cells were transfected with MeCP2-TurboID and MeCP2-miniTurbo and exposed to biotin. The high affinity of biotin to streptavidin allows biotinylated proteins to be isolated and identified. Firstly, I have shown that fusion in the C-Terminus of MeCP2 does not affect its ability to localise to the nucleus. Additionally, supplementation with biotin allowed the visualisation of biotinylated proteins in mouse fibroblast cells. I have confirmed that protein biotinylation using the named ligases can occur in as little as 10 minutes. More exogenous biotinylation occurred in TurboID transfected cells than miniTurbo transfected cells. A cell line has been produced of MeCP2- TurboID. Overall, PL appears to be a promising avenue of research for identifying protein partners of MeCP2. In the future, this will aid more detailed insights into molecular mechanisms of MeCP2 and, indeed, implications on RTT

O contributo das humanidades para o ensino do jornalismo

Durante décadas, uma considerável parte da discussão sobre o ensino do Jornalismo em Portugal focou-se, sobretudo, em aspetos que diziam respeito, por um lado, à antítese prática / teoria e, por outro lado, à necessidade de adaptação tecnológica dos curricula, a fim de responderem à acelerada mudança das tecnologias da informação e da comunicação. Neste artigo, defende-se o valor das Humanidades na formação dos jornalistas, atendendo aos desafios que atualmente se colocam à profissão. Ora, uma formação universitária em Jornalismo tem de estar preparada para conseguir precisamente dotar os estudantes de um conjunto de saberes e competências que lhes permitam respeitar as questões éticas e deontológicas inerentes à profissão; perceber que o mundo multicultural, multilinguístico e, sobretudo, multimédia, implica novos desafios éticos e realidades mais complexas que exigem uma estrutura de pensamento mais sólida e, sobretudo, a capacidade de pensar e resolver problemas mais complexos e sensíveis.For decades, a considerable part of the discussion on the journalism education in Portugal focused mainly on aspects that concerned, on the one hand, the antithesis practice / theory and, on the other hand, the need for technological adaptation of curricula, in order to respond to the rapid change of information and communication technologies. In this article, we defend the value of the humanities in the training of journalists, in view of the challenges that the profession currently faces. Now a university education in journalism must be prepared to provide students with a set of knowledge and skills to meet the ethical issues inherent to the profession; realize that the multicultural world, multilingual and, above all, multimedia, involves new ethical challenges and more complex realities that require a more solid structure of thought and, above all, the ability to think and solve most complex and sensitive issues

The intraindustry effects of going concern audit reports

This paper investigates the effect of a going concern opinion (GCO) on the equity value of the announcing firm’s competitors. On average, GCOs increase the value of a value-weighted portfolio of rivals by 0.37% at the event date. This positive effect is significantly larger when the announcing firm is relatively more profitable, the industry is more concentrated, and when rivals and event firms have distinct assets in place and growth opportunities. Additional tests reveal that such competitive effect is not a mere short-term phenomenon as investors can earn up to 1.54% on a risk-adjusted basis over the first postGCO month. This finding is especially interesting as we show that for the industry rivals the one-year and six-month preGCO riskadjusted equity returns are, on average, strongly negative. Our results highlight the impact of mandatory accounting information on market prices at both the firm and industry levels.Audit reports; Going concern; Competitive effect; Contagion effect.