The Rise of Computerized High Frequency Trading: Use and Controversy

Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic shift in how securities are traded in the capital markets. Utilizing supercomputers and complex algorithms that pick up on breaking news, company/stock/economic information and price and volume movements, many institutions now make trades in a matter of microseconds, through a practice known as high frequency trading. Today, high frequency traders have virtually phased out the dinosaur floor-traders and average investors of the past. With the recent attempted robbery of one of these high frequency trading platforms from Goldman Sachs this past summer, this rise of the machines has become front page news, generating vast controversy and discourse over this largely secretive and ultra-lucrative practice. Because of this phenomenon, those of us on Main Street are faced with a variety of questions: What exactly is high frequency trading? How does it work? How long has this been going on for? Should it be banned or curtailed? What is the end-game, and how will this shape the future of securities trading and its regulation? This iBrief explores the answers to these questions

Four Dimensions of Diamond T: Combination Trade Marks of Colours And Shapes

This article examines the relatively new fields of colour and shape trade marks. It was initially feared by some academics that the new marks would encroach on the realms of patent and copyright.  However, the traditional requirements of trade mark law, such as functionality and descriptiveness, have meant that trade marks in colour and shape are extremely hard to acquire if they do not have factual distinctiveness. As colour and shape trade marks have no special restrictions, it is proposed that the combination trade mark theory and analysis from the Diamond T case should be used as a way to make them more accessible. The combination analysis can be easily applied because every product has a three dimensional shape and a fourth dimension of colour

Effects of Prior Land Use, Carbon Availability, and Hydrology on Nitrogen Cycling in Created Freshwater Wetlands

Freshwater wetlands are a critical feature of the landscape, providing important ecosystem services such as nutrient removal. However, created wetlands often fail to meet functional performance criteria, frequently due to shortcomings in management of key functional drivers, especially hydrology and soil quality. In natural wetlands, hydrology, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) availability play an important role in nutrient cycling. However, controls on the relative importance of denitrification and N fixation, and release of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O ) are poorly understood in created wetlands. The tradeoff between these processes and the mechanisms for improved management are are imperative to achieving functional equivalence. C addition can potentially alleviate the poor organic matter and nutrient levels in created wetlands that limit biogeochemical processes such as denitrification and N fixation. The goal of this project was to determine how hydrological regime and manipulation of organic matter availability affect N cycling in two created wetlands with differing hydrology in Western New York. Hydrological differences between sites significantly influenced potential denitrification, which was significantly higher at the wetter site. The addition of municipal leaf litter compost as a management technique successfully increased soil organic matter, C, N, and moisture content, promoting a 50% increase in potential denitrification without increasing N2O release. N fixation was not measurable at either site, even with the addition of organic matter. Multiple regression modeling identified different drivers of potential denitrification between sites, with C limiting at the wetter site, and N limiting at the drier site. These results suggest that readily available leaf compost is a viable option to enhance wetland function without also increasing undesirable N2O emissions, but that simultaneous management of hydrology must occur to ensure maximum N removal

A View from the Inside: James Cameron’s Avatar

This is a review of Avatar (2009)

Molecular regulators of smoltification and viral infection management tools for salmon aquaculture

Accurate smoltification and disease management in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are key issues for the aquaculture industry. Due to their anadromous lifecycle the transfer of salmon from fresh water (FW) to seawater (SW) is crucial to their survival; too early can cause mortality, too late can cause desmoltification and long-term health problems. Both scenarios can increase susceptibility to four viral diseases: Salmon alphavirus (SAV), Infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV), orthoreovirus (PRV), and Piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV). They all show similar clinical and histopathological symptoms and can easily spread throughout farms. Understanding the initial innate immune response to these viruses may provide biomarkers that could help identify and monitor infections. An in house and onsite Na+/K+ ATPase (NKA) qRT-PCR assay was developed for the salmon biomarker ATPase to test smoltification readiness in salmon smolts. Tested against NKA enzymatic assays it showed a similar success rate over 3 years: NKA qRT-PCR (57%), NKA activity assay (60%). Onsite tests confirmed that the ATPase mRNA transcript is a useful biomarker for smoltification detection. An in-lab and mobile multiplex qRT-PCR assay was developed for detection of SAV, PRV and PMCV. The analytical sensitivity of the SAV (86.5% SE 0.11), PRV (90.94%, SE 0.09) and PMCV (100.46%, SE 0.19) assays was 102 copies for PMCV and 103 for SAV and PRV. Initial results suggest individual assays could be run on site at farms. Addition of an internal control, probit analysis and viral positive tests are still required for multiplex assay integration. Salmon erythrocytes were infected with ISAV, SAV and Poly I:C to investigate whether they induce and up-regulate innate immune response genes. All genes were expressed at low levels in all parameters investigated including non-infected control erythrocytes. These findings suggest erythrocytes act as an initial buffer to viral infections and may help stimulate the innate immune response

Location, Location, Mis-Location: How Local Land Use Restrictions Are Dulling Halfway Housing\u27s Criminal Rehabilitation Potentia

Part I of this Article begins with a brief historical explanation of halfway houses as a model of criminal rehabilitation. Part II addresses why recidivism rates provide the most appropriate metric gauging halfway houses\u27 success and how they apparently have failed to improve recidivism rates. Part III then delves into the body of scholarship that explains how an individual\u27s likelihood of landing back behind bars is to some extent demonstrably tied to their location, meaning their surrounding cultural, economic, and criminogenic environment. Part IV discusses the sparse data on the sorts of neighborhoods where halfway houses ultimately end up and how local opposition typically relegates these facilities to disadvantaged neighborhoods. Finally, Part V wraps up the Article by calling on lawmakers to take steps to give corrections agencies the zoning exemptions they need to put halfway houses in neighborhoods more conducive to criminal rehabilitation--with or without, though optimally with, local blessings

Habitat assessment and subspecies identification of Sandhill Cranes wintering in Louisiana

The two biggest flocks of Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) wintering in Louisiana are located in Cheneyville and Holmwood, LA. Resident Sandhill Cranes were once located in Louisiana, but because of habitat loss and over harvest these residents were extirpated from Louisiana in the early 1900’s. In the 1960’s, migrating Sandhill Cranes had returned to LA and were wintering in Cheneyville. Observations and habitat characteristics were conducted on these two flocks in the winter of 2002 and 2003 because of the lack data on these flocks. The two flocks contained about 1,300 individuals with four other known flocks throughout Louisiana ranging from 16-400 individuals. There were an estimated 2,200 Sandhill Cranes wintering in Louisiana. Morphometric measurements for eight birds fell within the range of the Greater Sandhill Crane (G. c. tabida) subspecies. Middle toe imprint measurements in the winter of 2003 showed no difference in size of cranes in the two flocks during January and February, however there was a difference in middle toe size in December. One radio-marked bird was radio tracked to Cheneyville and Holmwood. Cranes selected roost sites in rice fields with water less than 20 cm deep. Cranes feeding in Cheneyville selected rice fields and corn fields, while the Holmwood birds used rice fields and pastures. Fecal analysis showed that nutsedge tubers (Cyperus spp.), rice (Oryza sativa), and corn (Zea maize) were the major foods consumed in Cheneyville, while the Holmwood birds used mostly nutsedge tubers and rice. Rice was found in feces earlier in the winter and nutsedge was found more frequently later in the winter

The classification of entities, and the meaning of "tax transparency", in United Kingdom tax law

The thesis begins by exploring the main UK tax law definitions of those legal persons which are relevant for direct tax purposes. In particular, it explores the law, practice and tax authority guidance (such as it is) for classifying entities formed outside the UK. In so doing, it considers in detail the distinction between a “partnership” and a “company” for UK tax purposes, and the problems this raises. The thesis then considers the UK criteria for defining certain kinds of trust for UK tax purposes, including non-UK entities with trust-like characteristics such as foundations. It then considers to what extent the UK direct tax regime treats trusts and similar non-UK arrangements as “transparent”. It also analyses the different kinds of “transparency” which may apply in relation to such trusts and arrangements for UK direct tax purposes. The next part of the thesis begins with a more general discussion of what “transparency” may mean in the context of taxation (not just direct taxation) and taking into account the new “transparent entities” provision in Article 1(2) of the OECD Model 2017, and the related OECD Commentary. It concludes that there is no single concept of “transparency” for tax purposes (a conclusion already foreshadowed in the first two chapters) and that it may legitimately mean different things in different contexts. This conclusion paves the way for a detailed analysis of the varying degrees to which “transparency” is a relevant concept in relation to UK taxes which are not taxes on income and gain (notably Inheritance Tax, VAT and Stamp Duty Land Tax). The fourth part of the thesis explores the concepts of tax “transparency” and entity classification as they relate to double tax treaties and EU law. It begins with a survey of the strengths and weaknesses of the new Article 1(2) of the OECD Model 2017. It then goes on to discuss how, from limited beginnings, UK treaty policy has attempted to tackle these issues since the 1980’s in its treaties relating to income and gain. It notes how the UK has been something of a follower, rather than a leader in this regard (see in particular the UK’s last two treaties with the US and the latest UK treaty with France). This section then explores a number of areas where UK double tax treaties still raise problems of entity classification which are not addressed by rules resembling Article 1(2) of the OECD Model 2017 (e.g. some of the issues surrounding the Employment Income Article). Suggestions are made for improvements. The largely unaddressed problems of entity classification and tax “transparency” in the UK’s estate and gift tax treaties are also considered. Lastly this part of the thesis considers the impact of EU law on questions of “entity classification” and “tax transparency”. It concludes that in some respects the UK tax rules for classifying non-UK entities are not compliant with EU law. The fifth part of the thesis compares and contrasts the UK tax rules for classifying entities with the (very different) approach of the US Federal income tax, as well as the Dutch approach (which is more akin to that of the UK). It seeks to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses of both the US and Dutch approach, when compared to the UK. The last part begins by exploring why issues of entity classification and tax “transparency” matter, and not just in relation to the taxation of income and gain. This picks up themes discussed earlier. It then sets out the answers to key research questions. It ends by proposing some more general reforms of the existing UK rules

Strategies of the Advocate: Inception and the Dynamics of Conversion

This is a review of Inception (2010)

Star Trek

This is a review of Star Trek (2009)