5,678 research outputs found
The 2001 survey of commercial banks in the Tenth Federal Reserve District : changes and challenges
Periodically, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City surveys District bankers for their views on a variety of matters. In February 2001, we solicited banker opinion on a number of topics pertaining to deposit and loan competition, management and staffing challenges, Internet banking activities, funding options, operational issues, the effects of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and near-term prospects. ; This essay briefly discusses the Tenth District’s geography, economics, and demographics and thereby provides context for the survey responses we received. It introduces subsequent articles that describe in more detail responses to survey topics. It also sets out the survey methodology and describes the applicability of survey results to the entire population of Tenth District banks. Broadly speaking, survey results can be generalized for all Tenth District banks. ; We also review what bankers told us about their environment, competition, and future challenges. The representative bank in the District is family owned and locally controlled. The economic and competitive environment that District banks face depends, in part, on growth prospects and diversification opportunities of the bank's communities. The most intense loan and deposits competitors are other community banks. Problems that most challenge survey respondents involve basic aspects of successfully managing a bank: funding, income sources, and meeting competition. Despite identifying many problems, all but a few bankers expect their banks will remain in business and succeed.Federal Reserve District, 10th ; Banks and banking
Examining the PM6 semiempirical method for pKa prediction across a wide range of oxyacids
The pK~a~ estimation ability of the semiempirical PM6 method was evaluated across a broad range of oxyacids and compared to results obtained using the SPARC software program. Compound classes under consideration included acetic acids, alicyclic and aromatic heterocyclic acids, benzoic acids, boronic acids, hydroxamic acids, oximes, peroxides, peroxyacids, phenols, α-saturated acids, α-saturated alcohols, sulfinic acids, α-unsaturated acids, and α-unsaturated alcohols. PM6 accurately predicts the acidity of acetic and benzoic acids and their derivatives, but is less reliable for alicyclic and aromatic heterocyclic acids and phenols. α-Saturated acids are reliably modeled by PM6 except for polyacid derivatives with α-alcohol moieties. α-Saturated alcohols only appear to yield reliable PM6 results where an α-hydroxy or α-alkoxy moiety is absent. Carboxylic acids with simple α-alkene unsaturation are well approximated by PM6 except where alkyne α-unsaturation or α-carboxylation are also present. The PM6 and SPARC methods exhibit approximately equal pKa prediction performance for the acetic, alicyclic, and benzoic acids. SPARC outperforms PM6 on the peroxides, peroxyacids, phenols, and α-saturated acids and α-saturated alcohols. pKa values for boron, nitrogen, and sulfur oxyacids do not appear to be reliably estimated by either the PM6 or SPARC methods. The findings will help guide the potential appropriateness of results from the PM6 pK~a~ estimation method for waste treatment and environmental fate investigations
Extending the semi-empirical PM6 method for carbon oxyacid pKa prediction to sulfonic acids: Application towards congener-specific estimates for the environmentally and toxicologically relevant C1 through C8 perfluoroalkyl derivatives
A positive bias in the semi-empirical PM6 method for estimating pKa values of sulfonic acids was corrected by a correlation developed between non-adjusted PM6 pKa values and the corresponding experimentally obtained/estimated acidity constants for a range of representative alkyl, aryl, and halogen substituted sulfonic acids. Application of this correction to PM6 values allows for extension of this computational method to a new acid functional group
A Spherical Plasma Dynamo Experiment
We propose a plasma experiment to be used to investigate fundamental
properties of astrophysical dynamos. The highly conducting, fast-flowing plasma
will allow experimenters to explore systems with magnetic Reynolds numbers an
order of magnitude larger than those accessible with liquid-metal experiments.
The plasma is confined using a ring-cusp strategy and subject to a toroidal
differentially rotating outer boundary condition. As proof of principle, we
present magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the proposed experiment. When a von
K\'arm\'an-type boundary condition is specified, and the magnetic Reynolds
number is large enough, dynamo action is observed. At different values of the
magnetic Prandtl and Reynolds numbers the simulations demonstrate either
laminar or turbulent dynamo action
Variational Monte Carlo Calculations of H and He with a relativistic Hamiltonian - II
In relativistic Hamiltonians the two-nucleon interaction is expressed as a
sum of , the interaction in the rest frame,
and the ``boost interaction'' which depends upon the
total momentum and vanishes in the rest frame. The
can be regarded as a sum of four terms: , ,
and ; the first three originate from the
relativistic energy-momentum relation, Lorentz contraction and Thomas
precession, while the last is purely quantum. The contributions of and have been previously calculated with the
variational Monte Carlo method for H and He. In this brief note we
report the results of similar calculations for the contributions of and . These are found to be rather small.Comment: 7 pages, P-94-09-07
Percolation-induced exponential scaling in the large current tails of random resistor networks
There is a renewed surge in percolation-induced transport properties of
diverse nano-particle composites (cf. RSC Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Series,
Paul O'Brien Editor-in-Chief). We note in particular a broad interest in
nano-composites exhibiting sharp electrical property gains at and above
percolation threshold, which motivated us to revisit the classical setting of
percolation in random resistor networks but from a multiscale perspective. For
each realization of random resistor networks above threshold, we use network
graph representations and associated algorithms to identify and restrict to the
percolating component, thereby preconditioning the network both in size and
accuracy by filtering {\it a priori} zero current-carrying bonds. We then
simulate many realizations per bond density and analyze scaling behavior of the
complete current distribution supported on the percolating component. We first
confirm the celebrated power-law distribution of small currents at the
percolation threshold, and second we confirm results on scaling of the maximum
current in the network that is associated with the backbone of the percolating
cluster. These properties are then placed in context with global features of
the current distribution, and in particular the dominant role of the large
current tail that is most relevant for material science applications. We
identify a robust, exponential large current tail that: 1. persists above
threshold; 2. expands broadly over and dominates the current distribution at
the expense of the vanishing power law scaling in the small current tail; and
3. by taking second moments, reproduces the experimentally observed power law
scaling of bulk conductivity above threshold
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Essays in Financial Economics: Announcement Effects in Fixed Income Markets
ABSTRACT
ESSAYS IN FINANCIAL ECONOMICS: ANNOUNCEMENT EFFECTS IN FIXED INCOME MARKETS
PHD IN FINANCE MAY 2018
JAMES J FOREST
B.A., FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY
M.S., NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS – AMHERST
Directed by: Professor Hossein B. Kazemi
This dissertation demonstrates the use of empirical techniques for dealing with modeling issues that arise when analyzing announcement effects in fixed income markets. It describes empirical challenges in achieving unbiased and efficient parameter estimates and shows the importance of modelling a wide range of macroeconomic announcement effects to avoid omitted variable bias. Employing techniques common in Macroeconomics, financial market researchers are better able to provide meaningful results.
In “The Effect of Macroeconomic Announcements on Credit Markets: An Autometric General-to-Specific Analysis of the Greenspan Era,” I show that a congruent, parsimonious, encompassing model discovered using David Hendry’s econometric modelling approach overcomes the many inadequacies of the typical static models of US Treasury returns. The typical specification tends to fail most specification tests. Results suggest a place for general-to-specific modelling in financial economics, a place where it has only recently been employed.
In “A High-Frequency Analysis of Trading Activity in the Corporate Bond Market: Macro Announcements or Seasonality?” Here we explore whether factors that drive trading activity of US corporate bond market. Our main findings are that the thinly-traded market for corporate bonds is less affected by surprises in individual economic reports and that the market is dominated by day-of-week and time-of-day affects. We find that, unlike daily returns on the S&P 500, corporate bonds are sensitive to surprises in both labor market and inflation data. Trading activity is affected by absolute surprises in core CPI and nonfarm payrolls, but neither core PPI nor jobless claims affect order flow. Perhaps most interesting, however, is the presence of “behavioral seasonal” effects associated with the onset and incidence of seasonal affective disorder. This “winter blues” effect has been seen affecting activity in equity markets by Kamstra, M. J., L. A. Kramer and M. D. Levi (American Economic Review; 2000, 2003).
In “The Effect of Treasury Auction Results on Interest Rates: The 1990s Experience,” I examine the response of U.S. Treasury returns to auction announcements. Rate changes differ significantly on auction days for one-year bills. Surprises in the release of bid-to-cover ratios and noncompetitive bidding affect Treasury 30-year returns significantly. Other maturities, however, are relatively unaffected. The results complement the study by Lou, Yan and Zhang (2013) and show the benefits of controlling macroeconomic announcements when analyzing market responses to auctions
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