Secured Debt and the Likelihood of Reorganization

Theory suggests that secured creditors may increasingly oppose a debtor’s reorganization as the value of their collateral approaches the amount of their claims. If reorganization occurs and the value of the firm appreciates, the secured creditor receives only part of the gain. But if the firm’s value depreciates, the secured creditor bears all of the cost. Secured claimants, thus, often have more to lose than to gain in reorganizations. This study of Finnish reorganizations filed in districts that account for most of the country’s reorganizations finds that creditor groups most likely to be well-secured are most likely to oppose reorganization. We also find a negative correlation between how well-secured banks and other institutional lenders are and the likelihood of a confirmed reorganization plan. Limiting the priority of secured debt might stimulate reorganizations

Secured Debt and the Likelihood of Reorganization

Theory suggests that secured creditors may increasingly oppose a debtor’s reorganization as the value of their collateral approaches the amount of their claims. If reorganization occurs and the value of the firm appreciates, the secured creditor receives only part of the gain. But if the firm’s value depreciates, the secured creditor bears all of the cost. Secured claimants, thus, often have more to lose than to gain in reorganizations. This study of Finnish reorganizations filed in districts that account for most of the country’s reorganizations finds that creditor groups most likely to be well-secured are most likely to oppose reorganization. We also find a negative correlation between how well-secured banks and other institutional lenders are and the likelihood of a confirmed reorganization plan. Limiting the priority of secured debt might stimulate reorganizations

The Fate of Firms: Explaining Mergers and Bankruptcies

Using a uniquely complete data set of more than 50,000 observations of approximately 16,000 corporations, we test theories that seek to explain which firms become merger targets and which firms go bankrupt. We find that merger activity is much greater during prosperous periods than during recessions. In bad economic times, firms in industries with high bankruptcy rates are less likely to file for bankruptcy than they are in better years, supporting the market illiquidity arguments made by Shleifer and Vishny (1992). At the firm level, we find that, among poorly performing firms, the likelihood of merger increases with poorer performance, but among better performing firms, the relation is reversed and chances of merger increase with better performance. Such a changing relation has not been detected in prior merger studies. We also find that low-growth, resource-rich firms are prime acquisition targets and that firms’ debt capacity relates negatively to the likelihood of a merger. Debt-related variables, leverage and secured debt, play an especially prominent role in distinguishing between which firms merge and which firms go bankrupt

Funktionell familjeterapi (FFT) på ett socialkontor : En kvalitetsgranskning och en forskningsutvärdering.

Studien omfattade 124 ungdomar, 68 flickor och 56 pojkar, medelålder 15,3 år, som behandlades med FFT på ett socialkontor. Studien hade en pre – post - post design. Terapin pågick i 5 - 7 månader med i genomsnitt 13 sessioner, 89 % fullföljde behandlingen. Terapeuterna fick kontinuerligt handledning och certifierades flera gånger. De bedömdes därför vara programföljsamma. Mödrar och fäder samt ungdomarna fyllde i självsvarsskalor (CBCL respektive YSR) om psykosociala symtom före och efter behandlingen samt 6 månader efter dess slut. Formulären består av 118 frågor om psykosociala beteende symtom. Svaren delas in i åtta syndrom varav två är samlingsskalorna inåtvända och utagerande problem. Summan av alla frågorna ger total symtombelastning. Vid terapistarten rapporterade flickorna mer inåtvända problem än pojkarna. Flickorna låg stat. sign. över kliniskt gränsvärde (jf med en normalgrupp) beträffande total symtombelastning, inåtvända och utagerande problem. Pojkarna gjorde det beträffande total symtombelastning och utagerande problem. Mödrarna rapporterade att flickorna hade mer ångest/depression och pojkarna mer uppmärksamhetsstörning, antisociala beteende och aggressivitet. Detsamma ansåg fäderna beträffande pojkarna men de rapporterade även att dessa hade mer tankeproblem. Både mödrar och fäder rapporterade att åtminstone mer än hälften av ungdomarna oavsett kön och problematik låg över det kliniska gränsvärdet vid terapistarten. Vid avslutningen av terapin rapporterade både flickor och pojkar stat. sign. symtomminskningar på både inåtvända, utagerande problem och total symtombelastning. Effektstorleken var moderat (d > 0,50) till stor ( d > 0,80). Även mödrarna rapporterade stora (d > 0,80) till mycket stora ( d > 1,20) symtom minskningar på dessa tre mått. Fäderna rapporterade likadant men angav moderat ( d > 0,50) eller stor effekt (d > 0,80). Vid uppföljningen 6 månader efter avslutad terapi rapporterade drygt hälften av ungdomarna och deras föräldrar ett lyckat behandlingsförlopp. Samtliga ansåg att resultatet kvarstod. Vi konstaterar även att ungdomarna och deras föräldrar rapporterade utagerande psykosociala problem. Ungefär hälften av ungdomarna rapporterade kriminell aktivitet och/eller bruk av alkohol/narkotika samt relationssvårigheter med föräldrarna. Eftersom FFT utvecklades för familjer med denna typ av problem förefaller studien omfatta rätt målgrupp. Det är också viktigt att notera att ungdomarna även hade många inåtvända problem som också minskade efter behandlingen

Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase/AmpC-Producing E Coli in Dogs Treated with Antimicrobials in Surgical Wards

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and carriage of Extended Spec - trum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) and AmpC- producing strains of E. coli and Klebsi - ella spp in hospitalized dogs treated with antimicrobials. Tissue and fecal samples from 66 dogs were analyzed for presence of AmpC or ESBL producing bacteria. The dogs had to have been admitted to the surgical ward for at least 24 hours and have received antimicrobial treatment. Samples were plated onto bovine blood agar and after incubation for 24 + 24 h, five colonies morphologically consistent with E.coli and Klebsiella spp , were selected and recultured onto media containing antimicrobials. Dogs carrying ESBL/AmpC- producing bacteria were retested for rectal colonisation at 3-6 months intervals for up to 16 months. Five (7.6%) dogs carried bacterial strains posi - tive for ESBL/AmpC- producing- genes in feces. All tissue samples were negative. One dog, previously positive for bla CMY-2 , carried ESBL genotype bla TEM-52 , in the second sample. Four dogs remained posi - tive throughout the testing. None of the dogs had signs of infection or symptoms associ - ated with the carriage of ESBL or plasmid mediated-AmpC- producing bacteria. Seven unique MLVA-types were identified. The results from this study show fecal car - riage for as long as 16 months of ESBL/ AmpC- producing E.coli in dogs treated with antimicrobials. Although clonal spread could not be verified in this study, the risk of dissemination of multiresistant bacteria in animal hospitals and in the community must be considered

Long-term decline in northern pike (Esox lucius L.) populations in the Baltic Sea revealed by recreational angling data

In the Baltic Sea, the large predatory fish northern pike (Esox lucius L.) is important for both recreational fisheries and ecosystem functioning. As existing fishery-independent surveys do not adequately monitor pike populations, a general lack of knowledge on population status and trends poses challenges for management. Here we use recreational angling data as an alternative method to describe pike population development along the Swedish Baltic Sea coast from 1938 onwards and assess the change over time in potential mortality factors by estimating harvest by fisheries and consumption by large predators. Data from a Swedish national register on trophy-sized pike (>12 kg) showed that numbers and maximum sizes peaked in 1990-1995, after which declines in both metrics are evident. In logbooks from a sport fishing club in the Stockholm archipelago, a simultaneous decrease in maximum sizes of pike was observed, together with a decrease in the total number of pike caught per fishing day. Jointly, these data indicate a decline in the abundance of large pike since around 1990. While commercial pike fisheries in the Baltic Sea have decreased continuously since the 1950s, recreational fishing increased after 1985, when Swedish coastal waters were made open access to anglers. The declines in large pike starting in the 1990s could, thus, have been driven by an increase in mortality from recreational fisheries, which at the time primarily practiced catch and kill. Since the 2000s, bag and slot length limits, spawning closures, and a general increase in catch-and-release fishing has reduced the landings of pike in recreational fisheries. Despite these fisheries regulations and higher release rates the decline in catches of large pike has continued, indicating an effect of other mortality factors. The strong growth of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) populations suggest that predation pressure on pike has increased over time. In the Stockholm archipelago these two predators were estimated to remove 5-18 times (range based on different diet composition estimates) more pike biomass than total fisheries landings in 2014-2017. To improve the situation for northern pike in the Baltic Sea managers need to consider both fisheries restrictions and measures to decrease predation pressure and increase recruitment. Catch data from recreational fisheries may be used to evaluate such management efforts by providing information on the population development of this keystone species

Beståndsstatus för torsk i Ålands hav 2022

Jämförelser mellan torsk i Ålands hav och i södra Östersjön för 2021 och 2022 visar att torsken i Ålands hav växer snabbare, har bättre kondition och blir större och äldre än torsken i södra Östersjön. Journalföringen visar att fångst per ansträngning för 2022 under april–juni är den näst högsta under hela tidsserien 2000–2022. Trots förekomst av parasiter i levern, påverkas inte torskens konditionsindex (Fulton K) i Ålands hav, men antalet levermaskar ökar med ålder, längd, vikt och levervikt. Endast ett fåtal torskar var angripna av muskelparasiter. Analys av maginnehållet visade att torsken i Ålands hav främst äter ishavsgråsugga men även sillartade fiskar och pungräkor

On Self-Similar Global Textures in an expanding Universe

We discuss self-similar solutions to $O(4)$ textures in Minkowski space and in flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker backgrounds. We show that in the Minkowski case there exist no solutions with winding number greater than unity. However, we find besides the known solution with unit winding number also previously unknown solutions corresponding to winding number less than one. The validity of the non-linear sigma model approximation is discussed. We point out that no spherically symmetric exactly self-similar solutions exist for radiation or matter dominated FRW cosmologies, but we find a way to relax the assumptions of self-similarity that give us approximative solutions valid on intermediate scales.Comment: 12 pages (LaTeX) + 1 postscript figure. To appear in Phys. Lett