Interest Rate Sensitivities of REIT Returns

In order to identify effective interest rate proxies for equity and mortgage REITs, this study analyzes seven different interest rate proxies that have been widely used in the REIT literature. They are the monthly holding period returns on long-term U.S. government bonds and high-grade corporate bonds, the percentage changes in yields for long-term U.S. government bonds and high-yield (Baa) corporate bonds, the difference between returns on long-term U.S. government bonds and T-bill rates, the spread between yields on high-yield (Baa) corporate bonds and returns on long-term U.S. government bonds, and the spread between returns on high-grade corporate bonds and returns on long-term U.S. government bonds. The overall OLS results suggest that mortgage REITs are sensitive to all proxies, while equity REITs are significantly affected by only changes in yields on long-term U.S. government bonds and high-yield corporate bonds. The time variation paths for sensitivities indicate that all interest rate sensitivities are time specific. Overall, the changes in yields on high-yield corporate bonds (Baa) has the strongest explanatory power for returns of equity and mortgage REITs for most of the 27-year sample period (1972 through 1998).

Test evaluation of fuel cell catalysts Final report

Carbides, bromides,nitrides,and alloys tested for catalytic characteristics for ammonia and carbon nonoxide in fuel cell electrolyte

The Sensitivity of Bank Stocks to Mortgage Portfolio Composition

Previous studies have found that bank stock returns are very sensitive to changes in real estate returns in general. But how the composition and quality of bank real estate portfolios affect the sensitivity of bank stocks to real estate returns has not been rigorously examined. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine this important question. The results indicate that commercial mortgages contribute the most to the sensitivity of bank stock returns. Farmland loans have a negative impact on bank real estate return sensitivity. Thus, farmland loans could play a diversification role in terms of reducing the sensitivity of banks to real estate returns, if used appropriately.

The Wealth Effects of Domestic vs International Joint Ventures: The Case of Real Estate

This study examines the wealth effect of international versus domestic real estate joint ventures on the U.S. participating firm's shareholders. This is done using traditional even study methodology for real estate joint venture announcements. The results suggest that domestic real estate joint ventures generally result in a significant increase in the firm's value, while international real estate joint ventures usually have a much less significant to nonsignificant wealth impact. This may be due to the immovability of real properties in foreign countries and the large amount of initial investment in real estate that increase both political and economic risks for international real estate joint ventures. This study also finds that hotel joint ventures generally have a weaker wealth effect than non-hotel real estate joint ventures.

A survey for redshifted molecular and atomic absorption lines - II. Associated HI, OH and millimetre lines in the z >~ 3 Parkes quarter-Jansky flat-spectrum sample

We present the results of a z>2.9 survey for HI 21-cm and molecular absorption in the hosts of radio quasars using the GMRT and the Tidbinbilla 70-m telescope. Previously published searches, which are overwhelmingly at redshifts of z<1, exhibit a 42% detection rate (31 out of 73 sources), and the inclusion of our survey yields a 17% detection rate (2 out of 12 sources) at z>2.5. We therefore believe that our high redshift selection is responsible for our exclusive non-detections, and find that at ultra-violet luminosities of >10e23 W/Hz, 21-cm absorption has never been detected. We also find this to not only apply to our targets, but also those at low redshift exhibiting similar luminosities, giving zero detections out of a total of 16 sources over z=0.24 to 3.8. This is in contrast to the < 10e23 W/Hz sources where there is a near 50% detection rate of 21-cm absorption. The mix of 21-cm detections and non-detections is currently attributed to orientation effects, where according to unified schemes of active galactic nuclei, 21-cm absorption is more likely to occur in sources designated as radio galaxies (type-2 objects, where the nucleus is viewed through dense obscuring circumnuclear gas) than in quasars(type-1 objects, where we have a direct view to the nucleus). However, due to the exclusively high ultra-violet luminosities of our targets it is not clear whether orientation effects alone can wholly account for the distribution, although there exists the possibility that the large luminosities are indicative of a changing demographic of galaxy types. We also find that below luminosities of ~10e23 W/Hz, both type-1 and type-2 objects have a 50% likelihood of exhibiting 21-cm absorption.Comment: 21 pages, accepted by MNRA

Unveiling Palomar 2: The Most Obscure Globular Cluster in the Outer Halo

We present the first color-magnitude study for Palomar 2, a distant and heavily obscured globular cluster near the Galactic anticenter. Our (V,V-I) color-magnitude diagram (CMD), obtained with the UH8K camera at the CFHT, reaches V(lim) = 24 and clearly shows the principal sequences of the cluster, though with substantial overall foreground absorption and differential reddening. The CMD morphology shows a well populated red horizontal branch with a sparser extension to the blue, similar to clusters such as NGC 1261, 1851, or 6229 with metallicities near [Fe/H] = -1.3$. From an average of several indicators, we estimate the foreground reddening at E(B-V) = 1.24 +- 0.07 and obtain a true distance modulus (m-M)_0 = 17.1 +- 0.3$, placing it about 34 kpc from the Galactic center. We use starcounts of the bright stars to measure the core radius, half-mass radius, and central concentration of the cluster. Its integrated luminosity is M_V = -7.9, making it clearly brighter and more massive than most other clusters in the outer halo.Comment: 25 pages, aastex, with 8 postscript figures; accepted for publication in AJ, September 1997. Also available by e-mail from [email protected]. Please consult Harris directly for (big) postscript files of Figures 1a,b (the images of the cluster

Generation and measurement of nonstationary random processes technical note no. 3

Generation and measurement of nonstationary stochastic processes related to Monte Carlo studies with analog compute

Real Estate versus Financial Asset Returns and Inflation: Can a P* Trading Strategy Improve REIT Investment Performance?

The ability of a financial or real asset to provide a rate of return above the rate of inflation is crucial to investors. The financial literature on the inflation-hedging effectiveness of various investments suggests that real estate acts as a hedge against inflation on a period-by-period basis, while financial assets do not. Given this, an investor who could accurately forecast changes in inflation, and therefore alter his/her investment portfolio between real estate and financial assets, should be able to significantly improve portfolio returns. Recently, a new method of measuring potential inflation has been developed by the Federal Reserve Board. Dubbed P*, it relates long-run spending in the economy to long- run output and gives an implied value for future inflation. In this study, the accuracy of P* in forecasting prices is compared to conventional forecasts of inflation. The P* variable is then used to generate a decision rule for investors in terms of holding financial assets (which performs well in periods of low or falling inflation) and real estate (which has been identified as an asset that behaves as an effective hedge against inflation). The results for this strategy are then contrasted with the performance of selected assets under a simple buy-and -hold strategy.