Fluid pressure balanced seal

A seal which increases in effectiveness with increasing pressure is presented. The seal's functional capability throughout both static and dynamic operation makes it particularly useful for sealing ball valve ports. Other features of the seal include the ability to seal two opposed surfaces simultaneously, tolerance of small misalignments, tolerance of wide temperature ranges, ability to maintain positive sealing contact under conditions of internal or external pressurization, and ability to conform to slight irregularities in seal or surface contours

Pressure responsive seal handles static and dynamic loads

Ported ball valves are sealed under both static and dynamic load conditions by a line-pressure responsive double-acting seal. The top of the seal engages the ported ball at the outer circumferential edge of the seal upper end, and the bottom of the seal seats on a flat circular land with a continuous wall

The effect of lenders’ credit risk transfer activities on borrowing firms’ equity returns

Although innovative credit risk transfer techniques help to allocate risk more optimally, policymakers worry that they may detrimentally affect the effort spent by financial intermediaries in screening and mo-nitoring credit exposures. This paper examines the equity market’s response to loan announcements. In common with the literature it reports a significantly positive average excess return – the well known ‘bank certification’ effect. However, if the lending bank is known to actively manage its credit risk ex-posure through large-scale securitization programmes, the magnitude of the effect falls by two thirds. The equity market does not appear to place any value on news of loans extended by banks that are known to transfer credit risk off their books.bank loans; credit derivatives; bank certification

Using HINODE/Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer to confirm a seismologically inferred coronal temperature

The Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer on board the HINODE satellite is used to examine the loop system described in Marsh et al. (2009) by applying spectroscopic diagnostic methods. A simple isothermal mapping algorithm is applied to determine where the assumption of isothermal plasma may be valid, and the emission measure locii technique is used to determine the temperature profile along the base of the loop system. It is found that, along the base, the loop has a uniform temperature profile with a mean temperature of 0.89 +- 0.09 MK which is in agreement with the temperature determined seismologically in Marsh et al. (2009), using observations interpreted as the slow magnetoacoustic mode. The results further strengthen the slow mode interpretation, propagation at a uniform sound speed, and the analysis method applied in Marsh et al. (2009). It is found that it is not possible to discriminate between the slow mode phase speed and the sound speed within the precision of the present observations

Technology Changes in the U.S. Beef and Pork Sectors

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

IMPACTS OF THE URUGUAY ROUND TRADE AGREEMENT ON U.S. BEEF AND CATTLE PRICES

The Uruguay Round trade negotiations completed in April 1994 reduced beef trade barriers. Trade barriers for beef products have historically been significant. The Uruguay Round essentially converts many nontariff barriers (quotas) to tariffs (tariffication), includes safeguards for import surges, establishes minimum access commitments, reduces domestic subsidy supports, and provides special tariff allowances for developing countries. These provisions, commensurate with a growing world demand for animal source proteins, will likely increase U.S. fed beef exports and ground beef imports. The United States is a major world producer as well as exporter of beef. In 1996, the United States represented 35 percent of world beef production (ranked first) and 28 percent of world beef exports (ranked second to Australia). U.S. quantity share of the annual world beef export market averaged 5.9 percent between 1980 and 1994 but has increased in recent years. In terms of beef and veal, the United States exports primarily higher-value beef cuts. The United States is the largest single-country beef importer. The U.S. annual quantity share of the world fresh beef import market averaged 16.5 percent between 1980 and 1994. U.S. beef imports primarily consist of lower-quality, manufacturing-grade (ground) beef which is primarily used by the fast-food service industry. The Uruguay Round Agreement will reduce trade restrictions gradually over an implementation period (1995–2000). Specifically, Japan is to reduce its beef tariffs and South Korea will increase its beef import quota by the year 2000. In 2001, South Korean import quotas will be replaced by a tariff. The European Union has agreed to reduce quantities of subsidized exports. In 1995, the United States replaced import quotas with a tariff and a tariff-rate quota. The reduction in trade barriers will increase U.S. beef imports and exports. Because U.S. beef imports are primarily ground beef and exports are primarily table cut beef, beef trade liberalization will have different impacts on producers and consumers of these products. In general, increased imports decrease the price of ground beef and increase per capita ground beef consumption. However, increased beef imports reduce nonfed cattle prices and slaughter. Increased exports cause the prices of table cut beef, fed cattle, and feeder cattle to increase. Per capita consumption of table cut beef declines slightly, and fed cattle slaughter and feeder cattle production both increase. Researchers have estimated that the Uruguay Round Agreement could increase U.S. beef imports by 6–19 percent and U.S. beef exports by 10–75 percent over 1990–1994 average levels. For example, the ground beef price could decline by $0.01–$0.04/lb from average 1990–1994 levels because of increased imports. Thus, the price of nonfed cattle (which generally produce ground beef) could decline by $0.71–$2.55/cwt. Conversely, because the United States exports primarily table cut beef, the table cut beef price in the United States could increase by $0.01–$0.09/lb. Increased foreign demand for table cut beef would cause the price of boxed beef to increase by $0.05–$0.10/lb and the price of fed cattle to increase by $0.62–$5.46/cwt relative to average prices received during the 1990–1994 period. B extension, increased demand for fed cattle would increase feeder cattle price by $0.61–$5.40/cwt over average prices received during the 1990–1994 period.GATT, beef trade, cattle prices, Q0, International Relations/Trade, Demand and Price Analysis,

A STATISTICAL MODEL OF THE PRIMARY AND DERIVED MARKET LEVELS IN THE U.S. BEEF INDUSTRY

An annual dynamic model of the primary and derived levels of the U.S. beef industry was estimated by rational distributed lags. Geometric rational lags at the retail level were instrumental in establishing prices in the dressed meat trade and the slaughter and feeder levels. Polynomial rational lags characterized primary inventory supply, which, along with cattle and corn prices, determined the production of fed and nonfed beef. The results suggest that the short- and long-term market behavior in the beef industry is better understood when higher and lower order market interactions are taken into account.Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

INTERTEMPORAL PRICE ADJUSTMENTS IN THE BEEF MARKET: A REDUCED FORM ANALYSIS OF WEEKLY DATA

An intertemporal reduced form model is estimated for boxed beef, carcass, and slaughter prices on a weekly basis. The results indicate that prices respond jointly to changes in economic information within weeks t and t – 1, supporting time-series studies showing farm and wholesale prices to be nearly instantaneously related. However, the existence of market uncertainty entails significant intertemporal lags, revealed by prices stabilizing 9-14 weeks subsequent to a market shock. The model results imply that postponing marketings of fed cattle to capitalize on expected price advantages would be risky and that selling cattle carcass grade and weight is more favorable when prices respond to increases in beef production.Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

Wholesale-Retail Marketing Margin Behavior in the Beef and Pork Industries

An econometric model is used to estimate real wholesale-retail marketing margins for beef and pork. From 1970 to 1998, these margins increased by 27% and 149%, while farm-wholesale margins declined. Wholesale-retail (WR) marketing margin increases have caused livestock producers to focus on the retail sector as a contributor to declining real livestock prices. Increases in WR margins may be related to increased demand and costs of value-added food products/services as well as increased market concentration in the retail grocery sector. Results indicate that retail factors, and to a lesser extent meat processing factors, significantly increased WR margins and decreased livestock prices.livestock prices, retail concentration, retail costs, wholesale-retail marketing margins, Demand and Price Analysis,

THE EFFECTS OF U.S. MEAT PACKING AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES ON MARKETING MARGINS AND PRICES

Real livestock prices and farm-wholesale marketing margins have steadily declined over the past 20 years. Studies examining the causes of these declines have generally failed to account directly for technological change in livestock production and red meat slaughtering. We estimate reduced-form models for beef and pork farm-wholesale marketing margins and cattle and hog prices that include specific measures of technological change. Empirical results indicate cost savings generated by improved meat packing technologies have reduced real margins and positively influenced real cattle and hog prices. However, technological change embodied in cattle production weights has led to substantial declines in real slaughter cattle prices. Nonetheless, the net effect of improved meat packing technology has been to increase cattle price by $1.75/cwt and reduce the farm-wholesale beef marketing margin by 22.8 cents/lb.Demand and Price Analysis,