Impact of external debt on stock market performance and economic growth: Moderating role of capital formation

The main objective of this study is to ascertain the effect of external debt on economic growth and stock market performance in SAARC countries that included Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India for the period spanning from 1992 to 2017. This study examines the effect of capital formation as a moderator. Using panel least square recreation analysis, we find a negative and significant association between economic growth and external debts. The inclusion of interaction tea reveals a positive moderation effect of capital formation on the relationship of external debt and economic growth. Our study suggest that the external debt is less favourable for the SAARC countries and that greater emphasis should be increased on capital formulation. Moreover, policies that enhance the national treasury base, increase exports, and make environment conducive for foreign direct investment should be introduced in SAARC countries. The governments of SAARC countries should look for the alternates of external debt for financing the fiscal deficit

Spillover Dynamics in DeFi, G7 Banks, and Equity Markets During Global Crises: A TVP-VAR Analysis

Decentralized finance (DeFi) has become of significant interest for investors in both the financial and digital sectors. We use a time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) approach to estimate the static and dynamic connections between and within DeFi, G7 banking, and equity markets. We focus on critical events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the cryptocurrency bubble, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The results highlight interconnectedness and significant spillovers within and between the markets, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, there were significant spillover effects from the G7 banking and equity markets to Japan and DeFi assets. The findings demonstrate a robust connection between DeFi platforms, G7 banking, and stock markets throughout these tumultuous periods. Policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs are recommended to keep a close eye on changes in traditional banking and equity markets to adjust the risk of DeFi assets

Static and dynamic linkages between oil, gold and global equity markets in various crisis episodes: Evidence from the Wavelet TVP-VAR

Using the wavelet TVP-VAR approach, this study looks at the static and dynamic connectedness between oil, gold, and global equity markets during several crises episodes, i.e., US subprime crisis of 2007, the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, European debt crisis of 2009–2012, oil crisis of 2014, China stock market crash 2015–16, and the Covid-19. The findings reveal that the connectedness among these markets varies across short vs. long run horizons and across various financial crisis episodes. The connectedness is observed to be high during the crisis\u27s periods. We also perform the portfolio analysis for the pairs of oil, gold, and equity markets and find that gold and/or oil are useful for various equity markets for portfolio diversification and hedging in various market conditions and time horizons. We contend that the results will be valuable to investors, portfolio managers, and policy makers globally

Risk transmission between equity market of China and its trading partners: new evidence from various financial crises

Purpose: The authors examine the volatility connections between the equity markets of China and its trading partners from developed and emerging markets during the various crises episodes (i.e. the Asian Crisis of 1997, the Global Financial Crisis, the Chinese Market Crash of 2015 and the COVID-19 outbreak). Design/methodology/approach: The authors use the GARCH and Wavelet approaches to estimate causalities and connectedness. Findings: According to the findings, China and developed equity markets are connected via risk transmission in the long term across various crisis episodes. In contrast, China and emerging equity markets are linked in short and long terms. The authors observe that China leads the stock markets of India, Indonesia and Malaysia at higher frequencies. Even China influences the French, Japanese and American equity markets despite the Chinese crisis. Finally, these causality findings reveal a bi-directional causality among China and its developed trading partners over short- and long-time scales. The connectedness varies across crisis episodes and frequency (short and long run). The study\u27s findings provide helpful information for portfolio hedging, especially during various crises. Originality/value: The authors examine the volatility connections between the equity markets of China and its trading partners from developed and emerging markets during the various crisis episodes (i.e. the Asian Crisis of 1997, the Global Financial Crisis, the Chinese Market Crash of 2015 and the COVID-19 outbreak). Previously, none of the studies have examined the connectedness between Chinese and its trading partners\u27 equity markets during these all crises

Stock market comovements among Asian emerging economies: A wavelet-based approach.

Stock market, is one of the most important financial market which has a close relationship with a country's economy, due to which it is often called the barometer of the economy. Over the past 25 years, the stock markets have been affected by different global economic shocks. Various researchers have analyzed different aspects of these effects one by one, however, this study is an assessment of stock market interrelationship of emeriging Asian economies which include most of the East Asian, and Southeast Asian emerging economies with special focus on China for past decades during which different crisis occurred. We used Morgan Stanley capital international (MSCI) daily indices data for each stock market and compared Chinese stock market with the stock markets of India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. We analyzed the data through the individual wavelet power spectrum, cross-wavelet transform and wavelet coherence, to determine the correlation and volatility among the selected stock markets. These model have the power to analyze co-movements among these countries with respect to both frequency and time spaces. Our findings show that there are co-movement patterns of higher frequencies during the crises periods of 1997, 2008 and 2015. The dependency strength among the considered economies is noted to increase in the crisis periods, which implies increased short- and long-term benefits for the investors. From a financial point of view, it has been determined that the co-movement strength among the emerging economies of Asia may have an effect on the VaR (Value at Risk) levels of a multi-country portfolio. Furthermore, the stock market of China shows a high correlation with the other six Asian stock emerging markets in both high and low-frequency spectrums. The association of the south and east Asian stock market with Chinese stock markets show the interconnection of these economies with the economy of China since past two decades. These findings are useful for investors, portfolio managers and the policymaker around the globe

Association of depression with dental caries and periodontal disease at a tertiary care hospital

Published in May - 202

Application of DNA Coding, the Lorenz Differential Equations and a Variation of the Logistic Map in a Multi-Stage Cryptosystem

The need for information security has become urgent due to the constantly changing nature of the Internet and wireless communications, as well as the daily generation of enormous volumes of multimedia. In this paper, a 3-stage image cryptosystem is developed and proposed. A tan variation of the logistic map is utilized to carry out deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) encoding in the first stage. For the second encryption stage, the numerical solution of the Lorenz differential equations and a linear descent algorithm are jointly employed to build a robust S-box. The logistic map in its original form is utilized in the third stage. Diffusion is guaranteed through the first and third encryption stages, while confusion is guaranteed through the application of the S-box in the second encryption stage. Carrying out both confusion- and diffusion-inducing stages results in encrypted images that are completely asymmetric to their original (plain) counterparts. An extensive numerical analysis is carried out and discussed, showcasing the robustness and efficacy of the proposed algorithm in terms of resistance to visual, statistical, entropy, differential, known plaint text and brute-force attacks. Average values for the computed metrics are: Information entropy of 7.99, MSE of 9704, PSNR of 8.3 dB, MAE of 80.8, NPCR of 99.6 and UACI of 33. The proposed algorithm is shown to exhibit low computational complexity, encrypting images at an average rate of 1.015 Mbps. Moreover, it possesses a large key space of 2372, and is demonstratd to successfully pass all the tests of the NIST SP 800 suite. In order to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed algorithm, a comparison with competing image encryption schemes from the literature is also provided

Microsoft Word - 30-1829_noted_.doc

In this study, effects of bovine somatotropin (bST) on libido, serum testosterone, haematological indices and serum biochemical metabolites in Sahiwal bulls were investigated. Bulls of the treatment group (n=3) were given bST @ 500 mg weekly, for 10 weeks, while control bulls (n=3) were injected with equal volume of normal saline. Reaction time of these bulls was recorded fortnightly. Blood samples collected fortnightly were analyzed for haematological parameters, while, serum samples were assayed for testosterone and biochemical metabolites. Results revealed that bST treatment of Sahiwal bulls significantly decreased reaction time (5.25±0.28 vs 7.50±0.42 sec) and increased serum testosterone concentrations (14.02±0.19 vs 12.55±0.44 ng/ml) compared to controls (P<0.05). Similarly, total leukocyte counts (10.49±0.83 vs 7.91±0.38 x 10 3 /ul) were increased, while PCV (36.78±0.64 vs 40.78±1.28%), MCV (51.02±0.47 vs 54.90±0.68fl) and MCH (16.20±0.10 vs 16.86±0.14 pg) decreased. Serum globulin (5.43±0.11 vs 5.17±0.04 G/dl) was higher and serum urea (12±0.47 vs 15.33±0.82 mg/dl) lower in treated bulls (P<0.05). However, bST had no effect on blood Hb, RBC counts, MCHC, ESR, DLC, platelets counts, serum total proteins, albumin, glucose and SGPT activity. Thus, treatment of bulls with bST improved libido, increased testosterone, total leukocyte counts and serum globulin, and decreased PCV, MCV, MCH and serum urea

COVID-19 and diet: efforts towards a balanced diet and sustainable nutrition among university students in Pakistan

Nutrition is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle for all individuals, including adolescents. The objective of this cross-sectional descriptive survey study was to investigate university students’ awareness of immunity enhancing foods, food nutritive values, and eating practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 839 university students from four different universities in Pakistan participated in the study from October 2021 to January 2022, 397 of which were male and 442 were female. A total of 419 students were studying in medical disciplines while 420 were non-medical students. The students had significant knowledge (p < 0.05) about COVID-19, and nutritional habits were seen in both medical and non-medical students. Results showed that medical students (n-201) were slightly more aware of immunity-enhancing foods and the nutritive values of foods compared to engineering students (n-79). However, eating practices were generally poorly adopted by all of the university students. Male and female students were not significantly different in their mean replies to questions on the nutritive value of food or in their eating habits. Healthy eating practices will aid university students in preventing illnesses connected to nutrition as well as enhancing their immune systems and nutritional well-being both during and post-pandemic. In light of these results, suggestions and implications for nutritional advice and education were explored