Modern methods for hedging the market risk

The 2008 financial crisis is affecting millions of companies (from small ones up to big corporations) and is one of the hottest topics in all TV deadlines and step by step it starts to be part of our daily reality. The daily reality can be called as “Market instability”: The recent market instability was caused by many factors, chief among them a dramatic change in the ability to create new lines of credit, which dried up the flow of money and slowed new economic growth and the buying and selling of assets. The weapon against market instability is only one and can be defined in generic terms as “Hedge”. In finance, a hedge is a position established in one market in an attempt to offset exposure to the price risk of an equal but opposite obligation or position in another market — usually, but not always, in the context of one's commercial activity. The study presents a set of innovative hedging products that can be built based on the instruments traded by commercial banks allowing the customers to hedge efficiently the underlying risks of adverse movements of market parameters (especially FX rate and interest rates). These structures are also more accessible for customers in relationship with the commercial banks than the instruments traded across different stock exchanges.market risk, hedging, financial crisis, bank, options

EVA – Advanced method for performance evaluation in banks

EVA (Economic Valued Added) is a modern financial measurement tool that determines if a business is earning more than its true cost of capital. Including a cost for the use of equity capital sets EVA apart from more popular measures of bank performance, such as return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), net banking income and the efficiency ratio, which do not consider the cost of equity capital employed. As a result, these measures may suggest a bank is performing well, when in fact it may be diminishing its value to its shareholders. EVA is a tool that focuses on maximizing shareholder wealth. EVA is an appropriate tool for motivation system and in this way it motivates managers to think like owners; and provides a common language within the corporate culture. The EVA application in banks is relatively new (it started to be implemented in U.S. in 1994) and is not as well known as other measures of bank performance. As in the Romanian Banking system this measurement method is not familiar or used, the purpose of this study is to introduce EVA and its advantages compared to other performance indicators and based on this study to try to implement it in one of the Romanian banks.performance measures, EVA, shareholder value, banks, motivation system

Project manager’s pocket guide

Today, organizations are becoming leaner, extra layers of middle managers are requiring specialists from marketing, engineering, accounting, and other departments to work together in ad-hoc project teams. Having no full-time, dedicated managers, these teams are often led by one of these specialists who may excel at his or her specialty, but does not necessarily have management experience. Typically, such team leaders must simultaneously make project contributions in their specialty while they try to manage the project. These “instant” project managers need help defining the project; initiating, planning, executing, and controlling project events; and figuring out how to bring project events to a timely conclusion. And they can't stop working for the many weeks it would take to acquire extensive management training.project, project team, project management, project cycle, project plan, key success indicators, quality, deliverable, deadlines, communication, feedback, scope.

Smart Thermoresponsive Surfaces Based on pNIPAm Coatings and Laser Method for Biological Applications

Various applications within last decades such as bacterially resistant surfaces, soft robotics, drug delivery systems, sensors and tissue engineering are poised to feature the importance of the ability to control bio-interfacial interactions. An enhanced attention is dedicated to designing smart stimuli-responsive interfaces for DNA, drug delivery, protein and cell based applications. Within this context, the thermoresponsive materials, especially poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) have been intensively used in tissue engineering applications for a controlled detachment of proteins and cells with a minimum of invasive effect on protein and cell structural conformation. The properties of smart bio-interfaces can be controlled by its composition and polymer architecture. Therefore, appropriate methods for obtaining controlled coatings are necessary. Laser methods were successfully used in the last decades for obtaining controlled organic and inorganic coatings for various types of applications, from electronics to tissue engineering. Among these, Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) technique bring us a step forward to other laser methods by avoiding damage and photochemical decomposition of materials. In this chapter we describe materials and approaches used for design of smart bio-interfaces aimed at controlling protein and cells behavior in vitro, focusing MAPLE method for tuning coatings characteristics in relation with biological response

Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid Intakes Modulate the Association of FADS2 Gene Polymorphism rs526126 with Plasma Free Docosahexaenoic Acid Levels in Overweight Children

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are involved in a wide variety of biological functions. Linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid are two essential fatty acids that the body cannot synthesize. The conversion rates in the body depend on FADS2 genetic variants. Certain variations in this gene are directly responsible for the low levels and poor conversion efficiency of the delta-6 desaturase enzyme, resulting in low circulating levels of docosahexaenoic acid. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the rs526126 FADS2 gene polymorphism on fatty acid levels in a group of two hundred children (n = 95 males, n = 105 females) aged 7–18 years, with obesity defined by BMI > +2 SD. Fatty acid quantification was performed by LC-MS/MS while genotyping for genetic variants was performed using a custom-made hotspot sequencing panel of 55 SNPs. Our results suggest that rs526126 FADS2 gene polymorphism specifically impacts the plasma levels of free n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Finally, the presence of the minor allele G of rs526126 could have beneficial effects, as it was associated with higher levels of free docosahexaenoic acid in plasma, especially in children with low n-3 intakes