The performance of Islamic versus conventional stocks during the COVID-19 shock: Evidence from firm-level data

In this study, we extend the recently heated debate that compares the performance of Shariah compliant equities with their non-Shariah compliant counterparts especially during the Covid-19 shock. Unlike the existing literature, which uses stock market index level data to reach controversial conclusions, we use firm-level stock returns data to find robust evidence that Shariah compliant stocks outperformed their conventional counterparts during the Covid-19 market meltdown. More specifically, we find that the prices of Shariah compliant stocks reacted to the increase in Coronavirus confirmed cases and government social distancing measures with lower negative returns than the prices of non-Shariah compliant stocks. Overall, our findings imply that Shariah compliant stocks fared better during the Covid-19 crisis episode

Implementation of a Modula 2 subset compiler supporting a \u27C\u27 language interface using commonly available UNIX tools

Modula 2 has been proposed as an appropriate language for systems programming. Smaller than PASCAL but more structured than \u27C\ Modula 2 is intended to be relatively easy to implement. A realization of a subset of Modula 2 for the MC68010 microprocessor is presented. Widely available UNIX tools and the \u27C language are used for the implementation. A mechanism for calling \u27C language functions from Modula 2 (and vice versa) is suggested. Critical source code, grammar, and an extensive bibliography pertinent to the implementation are included as appendices

Are Investors’ Attention and Uncertainty Aversion the Risk Factors for Stock Markets? International Evidence from the COVID-19 Crisis

In this paper, we examine the impact of investors’ attention to COVID-19 on stock market returns and the moderating effect of national culture on this relationship. Using daily data from 34 countries over the period 23 January to 12 June 2020, and measuring investors’ attention with the Google search volume (GSV) of the word “coronavirus” for each country, we find that investors’ enhanced attention to the COVID-19 pandemic results in negative stock market returns. Further, measuring the national culture with the uncertainty avoidance index (the aspect of national culture which measures the cross-country differences in decision-making under stress and ambiguity), we find that the negative impact of investors’ attention on stock market returns is stronger in countries where investors possess higher uncertainty avoidance cultural values. Our findings imply that uncertainty avoidance cultural values of investors promote financial market instability amid the crisis

Corporate Dividend Policies during the COVID-19 Pandemic

: In this paper, we examine the changes in corporate dividend policies during the COVID-19 shock. For empirical analysis, we employ annual data of 360 companies from the Pakistan Stock Exchange over the period 2015–2020. Using descriptive analysis and Logit regression models, we find that firms were more likely to either omit or reduce dividend payments during the pandemic year of 2020 as compared to the trends in pre-COVID-19 years of 2015–2019. Further, firms with higher profitability, asset turnover and size were less likely to opt for dividend omissions. On the contrary, dividend omissions were more likely among firms with higher debt ratios. The findings of this study helps to understand firm dividend policies during crisis periods

Sensing the heat: Climate change vulnerability and foreign direct investment inflows

We investigate whether climate change vulnerability determines foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. We reason that multinational firms foresee a higher climate change vulnerability of host-country a locational disadvantage while making FDI allocation decisions. Utilizing annual data from 152 countries spanning the period 1996–2019 and employing the panel pooled ordinary least square regressions, we evidence that FDI inflows are lower in countries more vulnerable to climate change. We also observe that FDI inflows are only sensitive to climate-related risks in high- and middle-income countries, but not in low-income countries where the market size is a primary driver of FDI inflows. Moreover, we also find that host countries may weaken the adverse effects of climate change vulnerability on FDI inflows by strengthening the economic, institutional, and social environment

Ordinal-Level Phylogenomics of the Arthropod Class Diplopoda (Millipedes) Based on an Analysis of 221 Nuclear Protein-Coding Loci Generated Using Next-Generation Sequence Analyses

Background The ancient and diverse, yet understudied arthropod class Diplopoda, the millipedes, has a muddled taxonomic history. Despite having a cosmopolitan distribution and a number of unique and interesting characteristics, the group has received relatively little attention; interest in millipede systematics is low compared to taxa of comparable diversity. The existing classification of the group comprises 16 orders. Past attempts to reconstruct millipede phylogenies have suffered from a paucity of characters and included too few taxa to confidently resolve relationships and make formal nomenclatural changes. Herein, we reconstruct an ordinal-level phylogeny for the class Diplopoda using the largest character set ever assembled for the group. Methods Transcriptomic sequences were obtained from exemplar taxa representing much of the diversity of millipede orders using second-generation (i.e., next-generation or high-throughput) sequencing. These data were subject to rigorous orthology selection and phylogenetic dataset optimization and then used to reconstruct phylogenies employing Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood optimality criteria. Ancestral reconstructions of sperm transfer appendage development (gonopods), presence of lateral defense secretion pores (ozopores), and presence of spinnerets were considered. The timings of major millipede lineage divergence points were estimated. Results The resulting phylogeny differed from the existing classifications in a number of fundamental ways. Our phylogeny includes a grouping that has never been described (Juliformia+Merocheta+Stemmiulida), and the ancestral reconstructions suggest caution with respect to using spinnerets as a unifying characteristic for the Nematophora. Our results are shown to have significantly stronger support than previous hypotheses given our data. Our efforts represent the first step toward obtaining a well-supported and robust phylogeny of the Diplopoda that can be used to answer many questions concerning the evolution of this ancient and diverse animal group

Step-wise evolution of complex chemical defenses in millipedes: a phylogenomic approach

With fossil representatives from the Silurian capable of respiring atmospheric oxygen, millipedes are among the oldest terrestrial animals, and likely the first to acquire diverse and complex chemical defenses against predators. Exploring the origin of complex adaptive traits is critical for understanding the evolution of Earth’s biological complexity, and chemical defense evolution serves as an ideal study system. The classic explanation for the evolution of complexity is by gradual increase from simple to complex, passing through intermediate “stepping stone� states. Here we present the first phylogenetic-based study of the evolution of complex chemical defenses in millipedes by generating the largest genomic-based phylogenetic dataset ever assembled for the group. Our phylogenomic results demonstrate that chemical complexity shows a clear pattern of escalation through time. New pathways are added in a stepwise pattern, leading to greater chemical complexity, independently in a number of derived lineages. This complexity gradually increased through time, leading to the advent of three distantly related chemically complex evolutionary lineages, each uniquely characteristic of each of the respective millipede groups

Lack of effect of lowering LDL cholesterol on cancer: meta-analysis of individual data from 175,000 people in 27 randomised trials of statin therapy

<p>Background: Statin therapy reduces the risk of occlusive vascular events, but uncertainty remains about potential effects on cancer. We sought to provide a detailed assessment of any effects on cancer of lowering LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) with a statin using individual patient records from 175,000 patients in 27 large-scale statin trials.</p> <p>Methods and Findings: Individual records of 134,537 participants in 22 randomised trials of statin versus control (median duration 4.8 years) and 39,612 participants in 5 trials of more intensive versus less intensive statin therapy (median duration 5.1 years) were obtained. Reducing LDL-C with a statin for about 5 years had no effect on newly diagnosed cancer or on death from such cancers in either the trials of statin versus control (cancer incidence: 3755 [1.4% per year [py]] versus 3738 [1.4% py], RR 1.00 [95% CI 0.96-1.05]; cancer mortality: 1365 [0.5% py] versus 1358 [0.5% py], RR 1.00 [95% CI 0.93–1.08]) or in the trials of more versus less statin (cancer incidence: 1466 [1.6% py] vs 1472 [1.6% py], RR 1.00 [95% CI 0.93–1.07]; cancer mortality: 447 [0.5% py] versus 481 [0.5% py], RR 0.93 [95% CI 0.82–1.06]). Moreover, there was no evidence of any effect of reducing LDL-C with statin therapy on cancer incidence or mortality at any of 23 individual categories of sites, with increasing years of treatment, for any individual statin, or in any given subgroup. In particular, among individuals with low baseline LDL-C (<2 mmol/L), there was no evidence that further LDL-C reduction (from about 1.7 to 1.3 mmol/L) increased cancer risk (381 [1.6% py] versus 408 [1.7% py]; RR 0.92 [99% CI 0.76–1.10]).</p> <p>Conclusions: In 27 randomised trials, a median of five years of statin therapy had no effect on the incidence of, or mortality from, any type of cancer (or the aggregate of all cancer).</p&gt

Tinea capitis in children: a systematic review of management

Background Tinea capitis is the most common cutaneous fungal infection in children. Objectives This review aims to evaluate the differences that exist between medications for the treatment of tinea capitis, to determine whether there are any significant adverse effects associated and to define the usefulness of sample collection methods. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search of available papers using the databases PubMed, OVID, Cochrane Libraries and ClinicalTrials.gov. Twenty‐one RCTs and 17 CTs were found. Results Among the different antifungal therapies (oral and combination thereof), continuous itraconazole and terbinafine had the highest mycological cure rates (79% and 81%, respectively), griseofulvin and terbinafine had the highest clinical cure rates (46% and 58%, respectively) and griseofulvin and terbinafine had the highest complete cure rate (72% and 92%, respectively). Griseofulvin more effectively treated Microsporum infections; terbinafine and itraconazole more effectively cured Trichophyton infections. Only 1.0% of children had to discontinue medication based on adverse events. T. tonsurans was the most common organism found in North America, and hairbrush collection method is the most efficient method of sample collection. Additionally, using a hairbrush, toothbrush or cotton swab to identify the infecting organism(s) is the least invasive and most efficient method of tinea capitis sample collection in children. Conclusions Current dosing regimens of reported drugs are effective and safe for use in tinea capitis in children