Foreign Direct Investment in the Banking Sector: A Transitional Economy Perspective

In this paper we use new statistics on Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Transitional Economies (TEs) to analyze the issue of foreign ownership in the banking sector, examining the implications for the host banking sector. After considering the potential benefits and risks associated with foreign investment on the banking sector, and on the basis of some empirical results, we reach the conclusion that foreign direct investment is associated with higher profitability; however a substantial foreign ownership is necessary if there is to be a positive effect on cost efficiency. We also analyze the determinants of FDI location choices in TEs providing new empirical evidence, and distinguishing among different levels of foreign partnership.FDI, banking sector, transitional economies.

Properly pricing country risk: a model for pricing long-term fundamental risk applied to central and eastern European countries

The private sector has used proxies such as sovereign credit ratings, spreads on sovereign bonds and spreads on sovereign credit default swaps (CDS) to gauge country risk, even though these measures are pricing the risk of default of government bonds, which is different from the risks facing private participants in cross-border financing. Under normal market conditions, the CDS spreads are a very useful source of information on country risk. However, the recent crisis has shown that the CDS spreads might lead to some underpricing or overpricing of fundamentals in the case of excessively low or excessively high risk aversion. In this paper we develop an alternative measure of country risk that extracts the volatile, short-term market sentiment component from the sover eign CDS spread in order to improve its reliability in periods of market distress. We show that adverse market sentiment was a key driver of the sharp increase in sovereign CDS spreads of central and eastern European (CEE) countries during the most severe phase of the crisis. We also show that our measure of country risk sheds some light on the observed stability of cross-border bank flows to CEE banks during the crisis.country risk, credit default swaps, credit ratings, cross-border flows, financial crisis, central and eastern Europe, foreign-owned banks

EU challenges, investment in the EU and the role of the European Investment Group

Since the financial crisis, Europe has made tremendous progress. Countries have adjusted macroeconomic policies and implemented structural reforms, while economic policy co-ordination has been strengthened. A modest economic recovery is underway, but uncertainty is high and productivity growth and competitiveness are still weak, affecting the medium-term growth outlook. Following the recession triggered by the sovereign debt crisis, the recovery began in most EU member states in early 2013. It started as an export-driven upswing but has been increasingly supported by domestic demand, particularly consumption. Growth of domestic demand has been sustained by falling oil prices and overall inflation, as well as by a very accommodating monetary policy and the phasing-out of fiscal retrenchment. Against this backdrop, and when compared with past recoveries, this rally is disappointing. It also appears vulnerable given the downside risks and limited policy space. While monetary policy is close to the limits of what it can achieve, consensus on a more active fiscal policy is still lacking. Indeed, on the political front, Europe stands at something of a crossroads, facing growing social, economic and political challenges. Efforts are now focused on pragmatically advancing on key common priorities. The urgency and ambition with which this cooperation proceeds will be critical to success

EIB Working Papers 2019/02 - How energy audits promote SMEs’ energy efficiency investment (Volume 2019/2)

Energy audits play an important role in promoting energy-efficiency measures in SMEs. This paper uses EIB Investment Survey data about energy audits and energy-efficiency investments of some 12,500 signatures from EU28 Member States per year. It suggests that: Energy audits are a useful tool for overcoming the information barriers and facilitating investments in energy-efficiency measures They are more important for small firms and for investments in things such as such as lighting, wall insulation etc. than in production processes such as the replacement of machinery and equipment The beneficial impact of energy audits ceases to exist, however, when firms are finance constrained Information campaigns are one of the most efficient available instruments among other instruments (regulatory, financial and voluntary agreements) for promoting energy audits in SMEs

Identification of an antigenic domain near the C terminus of human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and its spatial localization.

The goal of this study was to map an epitope on the human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) at its C terminus, a region whose integrity is fundamental in maintaining the normal function of this molecule. Residues including the fourth alpha-helix (D, 103-116) were analyzed for their role in the interaction with antibodies (Abs) raised against the protein. Five peptides homologous to different segments of the C terminus of hGM-CSF were synthesized. Peptide-(102-121) included the same residues of the alpha-helix D and the next five amino acids toward the C terminus; peptide-[E108A]-(102-121) introduced the mutation E108A in order to verify the role of acidic residues; peptide-[C96A](93-110) encompassed the beta-sheet 2 and half of the alpha-helix D; peptide-[C121A]-(110-127) included the second half of the alpha-helix D and the C terminus of hGMCSF; peptide-(13-31)-Gly-Pro-Gly-(103-116) included both the alpha-helices A and D connected by the tripeptide Gly-Pro-Gly, which allows the original antiparallel orientation of the two alpha-helices to be maintained. Both anti-protein and anti-peptide-(102-121) antibodies, capable of neutralizing the stimulatory activity of hGMCSF in the bone marrow colony-forming assays, recognized a specific epitope in the C terminus of hGM-CSF. Molecular modeling estimated the surface accessibility of hGM-CSF and the stability of the synthetic peptides in aqueous solution. Altogether, our results showed that the immunogenic region includes part of the alpha-helix D and the residues 116-120, which are external to this helix and particularly exposed on the protein surface, confirming the feasible participation of this region in antibody binding

SPECIFIC BINDING OF NERVE GROWTH FACTOR (NGF) BY MURINE C 1300 NEUROBLASTOMA CELLS

Murine C 1300 neuroblastoma cells bind with high avidity on their membrane surface the nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein capable of inducing differentiation of sympathetic nerve cells. The total binding capacity of NGF by the cells was quantitatively measured by a radioimmunoassay technique, using 125I-labeled NGF. An average number of about 106 molecules of NGF could be bound, at saturation, by each cell with an average relative association constant of about 107 liters/mol. Using synchronized cells, it was found, however, that either the number of molecules of ligand bound or the avidity of the binding interaction between NGF and cells varied depending upon their growth cycle, the maximal-binding occurring during the G1 and early S phase. Binding of [125I]NGF was suppressed by trypsin treatment of the cells, however new receptor sites were rapidly replaced onto the membrane surface within 1–2 h. Cells exposed to 3 M KCl released into the supernate a protein product exhibiting similar high avidity for NGF. Acrylamide gel electrophoresis suggested a restricted molecular heterogeneity of this product, with a major component in the 52,000 mol wt region. Antibodies made specific to this protein were capable, in the absence of the complement, of inhibiting the binding of [125I]NGF by the cells and in the presence of the complement they killed them

How policymakers can support EU cohesion in the post-pandemic environment

Support for economic, social, and territorial cohesion has been at the heart of the EU since its inception. However, the Covid-19 pandemic risks deepening inequalities between citizens and territories across the EU. Patricia Wruuck, Julie Delanote, Peter McGoldrick, Emily Sinnott and Debora Revoltella use a unique combination of survey data from businesses and municipalities to identify investment needs and gaps across EU regions. They suggest that a combination of finance, capacity support for project planning, and the implementation and lowering of investment barriers will be key to helping regions catch up following the pandemic

EIB Working Paper 2022/01

During the COVID-19 crisis, the European corporate ecosystem avoided major disruptions, and corporate bankruptcy rates even declined. This outcome mostly resulted from the strength of support from monetary, financial supervisory and fiscal policies. Using the 2021 vintage of the EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS) matched with balance sheet data on firms' profits and losses, this paper investigates what has driven the allocation of fiscal policy support and the impact of this support during the investment recovery. It finds that support was largely directed towards firms that were most affected by the crisis in terms of lost sales, and was not tilted firms already weak before the crisis. It also shows that the firms that benefitted from this support tend to be more optimistic in their investment plans, especially with regard to digital technologies

Bovine lymph nodes as a source of Escherichia coli contamination of the meat

Ground beef contamination with Escherichia coli is usually a result of carcass faecal contamination during the slaughter process. Carcasses are contaminated when they come into contact with soiled hides or intestinal leakage content during dressing and the evisceration processes. A more recent and compelling hypothesis is that, when lymph nodes are present in manufacturing beef trimmings, they can be a potential source of Enterobacteriaceae contamination of ground beef. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of E. coli in lymph nodes from beef carcasses used for ground meat production, in six slaughter plants situated in central Italy A total of 597 subiliac (precrural) lymph nodes were obtained from 597 cattle carcasses and screened for E. coli by culture. Furthermore, E. coli isolates (one per positive carcass) were tested for stx1, stx2 eaeA and hlyA genes that are commonly used to identify and characterise shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). In addition, the E. coli isolates were profiled for antimicrobial susceptibility. A proportion of 34.2% (204/597) carcasses were positive for E. coli. PCR revealed that 29% (59/204) of E. coli possessed stx1 or stx2 which corresponded to 9.9% of the cattle sampled. Moreover, a combination of stx1 or stx2 and eaeA was found in in 4 isolates (2% among E. coli positive samples and 1% among cattle sampled) and a combination of stx1 or stx2 and eaeA and hly in 1 isolate (0.5% and 0.2%). More than 95% of isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, ceftriaxone, cyprofloxacin and cefotaxime while high rates of resistance were recorded for cephalotin, ampicillin, tetracycline, tripe sulfa and streptomycin. The multivariate analysis identified “age” as the factor most closely related to E. coli positivity (either generic E. coli or STEC) in bovine lymph nodes. In conclusion, subiliac lymph nodes represent a source of E. coli for ground beef. These results are of major importance for risk assessment and improving good manufacturing practices during animal slaughter and ground meat production.Data for: Cross-sectional study to identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of Escherichia coli in bovine lymph nodes at slaughter. DOI: 10.17632/4v6dcg4j2d.1 available at https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/4v6dcg4j2d/1European Food Safety Authorityhttp://www.elsevier.com/ locate/ijfoodmicroParaclinical Science