The systematic interest rate risk of the returns on Australian bank shares

This paper examines the relationship bank share returns have with interest rate changes. Specifically, what is the systematic interest rate risk of Australian bank share returns. The reasons why bank shares and interest rates possibly have a relationship with interest rates are numerous, interrelated and complicated. Shares and interest rates generally have a relationship because of the comparison made between interest bearing securities and dividend paying shares. However, the relationship is compounded with banks, because of their exposure to interest rate risk. This paper involves two separate analyses. The firp.t part involves attempting to measure a bank share\u27s interest rate sensitivity. This will be achieved using a two index market model, which will give a measure of a banks systematic interest rate risk. The second part attempts to discover the reasons for this relationships existence. This involves a survey of banking analysts. The two index market model was applied to the ANZ Banking Group (ANZ); National Australia Bank (NAB), and; Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC). In addition the Australian Bank Accumulation Index (Bank Index) was used to gain an indication of the general relationship between bank shares and interest rates. The results indicate that the relationship between interest rate changes and a shares return is strongest and inverse for NAB. At various times WBC and the Bank Index showed a significant relationship. However, this was unstable, and varied in both strength and direction over time. At no time was a relationship found for the ANZ. The survey gave reasons for these results. A general relationship was thought to exist mainly because of the comparison made by investors between interest bearing securities and dividend paying shares. The analysts did not believe the operating aspects of banks played a major role in determining this relationship. With rega1d to the differences bank to bank, NAB has a stronger relationship because it is not hampered to the same extent as ANZ and WBC are by poor asset quality. Therefore, interest rate changes are allowed to play a more important role in determining the return on NAB shares. Whereas, for ANZ and WBC, their shares return are affected by other factors which are considered more important than interest rate changes

Evaluation of supply control options for beef

End of project reportThe incomes of Irish cattle farmers benefited greatly from the reform of the CAP for beef and cereals in 1992 and more recently under Agenda 2000. In both of these reforms the institutional support prices were reduced and direct payments (DPs) were used to compensate farmers for the price reduction

Television and the Cultivation of Authoritarianism: A Return Visit From an Unexpected Friend

The 2016 Presidential election brought a surprise: the rise of Donald Trump as a viable candidate for the Republican nomination. What started as a seeming publicity stunt morphed into something more. Trump raised fears of authoritarianism—and even fascism—that were thought to be mostly confined to other countries. This study uses a national sample to examine television viewing\u27s relationship to authoritarian values. We find that heavy viewers of television are more likely to be authoritarian, and that authoritarians are more likely to support Trump. We find an indirect relationship between amount of viewing and Trump support through authoritarianism. These findings have implications for current political debates as well as for media effects theory

Shorting ethos?: Aristotelian ethos in the context of corporate reputation, persuasion and shared values

Corporate ethics is a complex field of study that focuses on the sources and role of moral expectations among modern corporate stakeholders. While there has been significant theoretical development and adoption by practitioners on the topic over the past thirty years in the field, ethical scandals persist, almost at unprecedented levels. The pressure to meet short term shareholder financial targets, the lack of consistency and clarity of moral expectations among stakeholders, the corporation as an imperfect social environment, all contribute to the status quo where corporate ethics can be a familiar but elusive goal. At the same time, there have been fundamental changes in the flow of information recently. Information now flows as speeds and volumes unimaginable thirty years ago. More importantly, it now flows through very decentralized patterns such as social media which have changed the ability of corporations to manage their reputation and brand. This paper focuses on one concept within the broader field of ethics, virtue, in an attempt to better understand the role that it currently plays, but also could play, in business ethics by studying its application in persuasion. Chapter I provides an overview of the concept of ethos which can be roughly translated as moral character, and positions it in the context of the modern corporation. Corporate moral character is evidenced through the decisions a company makes via its decision-makers and actors, which often have an impact on the various stakeholders including customers, clients, the government etc. Chapter II traces the relationship between virtuous conduct and corporation reputation management. It proposes that virtue, through its role in ethos can be intrinsically beneficial to a corporation and a competitive advantage in the marketplace in terms of corporate reputation, which is increasingly viewed as a valuable asset. According to Aristotle, Ethos has three components; virtue, practical wisdom and goodwill towards others (Arist. Rhet I.2,1356a). Ethos is a critical element to persuasion along with pathos (use of emotion) and logos (use of logic); speakers that embrace all three in a message will be more persuasive. Corporations routinely rely on persuasion to be effective and successful, from advertising to sales, to employee relationships. Chapter III then proposes corporate virtue as a form of Shared Value (SV), a theory proposed by Porter and Kramer (2011). While Shared Value has received critical acclaim over the years as an economic theory effectively and efficiently promoting the interests of the broader society at the same time as the interests of the modern corporation, the theory has been challenged more recently for its lack of clear definition and ability to be implemented properly. This chapter argues that corporate virtue meets the qualifications of Shared Value, and should be promoted within corporations in view of its influence on persuasion, positively benefitting the company, and the positive effects that virtue has on corporate stakeholders like society, employees, government etc. Chapter IV explores the concept of persuasion at a higher level, particularly as it can be related to organizational communications and organizational rhetoric. Persuasion is a concept that has likely existed as long as there has been communication.. The study of persuasion can be traced back to ancient Greece where Aristotle put structure to the process as a means of creating an educated citizen, an element critical to emerging democracies. The chapter is framed around the notion that persuasion as a means of attitude change can be developed in a more instrumental manner characterized by one way communication such as traditional marketing and public relations efforts. The chapter proposes that persuasion can also be developed in a more deliberative manner, which is supported in the etymological root persuadere, emphasizing a more ethical discourse including two way communication and more equal bargaining position. It then looks at how persuasion is developed in the organizational context today, including advances in the social sciences to better understand the mechanisms of persuasion including the Elaboration Likelihood Model, inoculation theory model and expectancy value theory, suggesting that persuasion in a deliberative manner is underdeveloped in organizational rhetoric. Lastly, Chapter V describes the advent and implications of corporate reputation risk through the case study of Goldman Sachs in 2008. Reputation risk develops when actual corporate behaviour deviates from the reputation that the corporation has among its stakeholders in regards to any particular trait. To the degree there is a difference between a corporation’s reputation or how it is perceived in regards to a particular topic such as product quality, timeliness, altruism, truthfulness, and its actual behaviour, then reputational risk may develop to the degree that its reputation, an increasingly valuable asset to companies today, may be devalued. To the degree that ethical or virtuous conduct is a component of a corporate brand, which is critical particularly in service industries such as banking, any lack of consistency with actual conduct could have significant financial implications. Collectively these chapters demonstrate how virtue and its role in persuasion serves as a common denominator in business ethics, and a valuable vehicle to promote ethical conduct in a complicated social environment called capitalism

Cohort Profile: The Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z-proso)

The Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z-proso) began in 2004 in response to the need for a better evidence base to support optimal child social development and prevent crime and violence. Since then, the study has tracked the development of a diverse sample of youths (N = 1,675 in the target sample; ~50% female) from age 7 (n = 1,360) to age 20 (n = 1,180), with primary data collection waves at ages 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, and 20. The study uses a multi-method, multi-informant design that combines teacher, youth, and parent reports with observational and behavioural measures, biosampling, functional imaging, and ecological momentary assessment. Analyses of the data have contributed important evidence to a diversity of topics in child and adolescent development, illuminating the developmental roots of crime and aggression, the impacts of exposure to different forms and combinations of victimisation, and trajectories of mental health and neurodevelopmental symptoms

B spectroscopy using all-to-all propagators

We measure the ground and excited states for B mesons in the static limit using maximally variance reduced estimators for light quark propagators. Because of the large number of propagators we are able to measure accurately also orbitally excited P, D and F states. We also present some results for Lambda_b.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures. Talk presented at Lattice '97 by J. Peis

The Role of Lattice QCD in Searches for Violations of Fundamental Symmetries and Signals for New Physics

This document is one of a series of whitepapers from the USQCD collaboration. Here, we discuss opportunities for Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (LQCD) in the research frontier in fundamental symmetries and signals for new physics. LQCD, in synergy with effective field theories and nuclear many-body studies, provides theoretical support to ongoing and planned experimental programs in searches for electric dipole moments of the nucleon, nuclei and atoms, decay of the proton, $n$-$\overline{n}$ oscillations, neutrinoless double-$\beta$ decay of a nucleus, conversion of muon to electron, precision measurements of weak decays of the nucleon and of nuclei, precision isotope-shift spectroscopy, as well as direct dark matter detection experiments using nuclear targets. This whitepaper details the objectives of the LQCD program in the area of Fundamental Symmetries within the USQCD collaboration, identifies priorities that can be addressed within the next five years, and elaborates on the areas that will likely demand a high degree of innovation in both numerical and analytical frontiers of the LQCD research.Comment: A whitepaper by the USQCD Collaboration, 30 pages, 9 figure

Suprascapular nerve block for shoulder pain in the first year after stroke: a randomized controlled trial

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policyBackground and Purpose: Shoulder pain is a common complication after stroke which can impede participation in rehabilitation and has been associated with poorer outcomes. Evidence based treatments for hemiplegic shoulder pain are limited. Suprascapular nerve block (SSNB) is a safe and effective treatment of shoulder pain associated with arthritic shoulder conditions, but its usefulness in a stroke population is unclear. Methods: We undertook a randomised controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of SSNB in a population of 64 stroke patients (onset < 1 year) with hemiplegic shoulder pain. The primary outcome was pain measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes were disability (Modified Rankin Scale, Croft Disability Index) and quality of life (EuroQol Health Questionnaire). All participants were assessed prior to randomisation, and at 1, 4 and 12 weeks post intervention. Both groups continued with routine therapy. Results: Whilst both intervention and control groups demonstrated reduction in pain score, participants who received SSNB consistently demonstrated superior, statistically significant pain reduction compared to placebo. Mean VAS reduction in the SSNB group was over 18mm greater than participants receiving placebo injection. The number needed to treat with SSNB to reduce one stroke survivor’s pain by 50% at four weeks is 4. No significant differences in function or quality of life were observed. No adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Suprascapular nerve block is a safe and effective treatment for patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain