The impact of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment on financial performance of top empowered companies listed on the JSE in South Africa

This dissertation aims to provide insight into the relationship between Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) compliance and the financial performance of top empowered companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa. This study is similar to two previous studies; the first is on the impact of corporate governance on JSE listed companies for the period 2003 until 2006 and on a sample of 97 JSE listed companies (Abdo & Fisher, 2007). The second is on the contribution of BBBEE on the financial performance on a sample of 49 JSE listed companies from 2005 until 2008 and 2008 until 2010 (van Heerden, 2011). This empirical study was initially on a sample of 100 JSE listed companies from 2009 until 2012 that was derived from JSE listed companies which featured in the annual Financial Mails Top Empowerment Survey Publication from 2009 until 2012. The sample was reduced to 64 units due to delisting, corporate name changes and data unavailability for the period. Corresponding company financial data (share price, price to earnings ratio, price to book value) were obtained for the period 2008 until 2012 from McGgregor BFA database and correlated to BBBEE compliance ratings as published by Financial Mail. JSE indices were obtained from I-Net Bridge. Based on the types of companies, they were grouped into 10 JSE economic sectors such that the performance of each sector could be correlated to the total average BBBEE compliance ratings, financial metrics and JSE indices. For each sample unit, the average BBBEE rating was calculated for the period 2009 until 2012. This was then correlated to the annualised share price return for the same period and to price to earnings ratio and price to book value for 2012. The findings suggest there was a negative and weak relationship between share price and BBBEE compliance rating. There is a positive and weak relationship between price to earnings and price to book value. The cluster of companies with high BBBEE compliance ratings achieved higher and lower annualised share price returns than the respective JSE sector indices. The cluster of companies with low BBBEE compliance ratings also achieved higher and lower annualised share price returns than the respective JSE sector indices. It was also observed that high BBBEE rated companies achieved higher and lower share price returns than low BBBEE rated companies. Companies with high BBBEE compliance ratings achieved both higher and lower price to earnings than the respective JSE indices. Companies with low BBBEE compliance ratings also achieved higher and lower price to earnings than the respective JSE indices. Companies with low and high BBBEE compliance ratings achieved profit to book values below the respective JSE sectors. Of the seven BBBEE compliance indicators five positively correlated to the annualised share price return i.e. employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise development and socio- economic development. Ownership, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise development, socio- economic development positively correlated to the price to earnings ratio. Skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise development, socio- economic development positively correlated to the price to book value ratio

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years