Why do firms go public? evidence from the banking industry

The lack of data on private firms has made it difficult to empirically examine theories of why firms go public. However, both public and private banks must disclose financial information to regulators. We exploit this requirement to explore the going-public decision. Our results indicate that banks that convert to public ownership are more likely to become targets than control banks that remain private. Banks that go public are also more likely to become acquirers than control banks. IPO banks grow faster than control banks after going public, although there is some evidence that their performance deteriorates.Financial institutions

Early selection of novel triploid hybrids of shrub willow with improved biomass yield relative to diploids

BACKGROUND: Genetic improvement of shrub willow (Salix), a perennial energy crop common to temperate climates, has led to the development of new cultivars with improved biomass yield, pest and disease resistance, and biomass composition suitable for bioenergy applications. These improvements have largely been associated with species hybridization, yet little is known about the genetic mechanisms responsible for improved yield and performance of certain willow species hybrids. RESULTS: The top performing genotypes in this study, representing advanced pedigrees compared with those in previous studies, were mostly triploid in nature and outperformed current commercial cultivars. Of the genotypes studied, the diploids had the lowest mean yield of 8.29 oven dry Mg ha(−1) yr(−1), while triploids yielded 12.65 Mg ha(−1) yr(−1), with the top five producing over 16 Mg ha(−1) yr(−1). Triploids had high stem area and height across all three years of growth in addition to greatest specific gravity. The lowest specific gravity was observed among the tetraploid genotypes. Height was the early trait most correlated with and the best predictor of third-year yield. CONCLUSIONS: These results establish a paradigm for future breeding and improvement of Salix bioenergy crops based on the development of triploid species hybrids. Stem height and total stem area are effective traits for early prediction of relative yield performance

Parallaxes of Five L Dwarfs with a Robotic Telescope

We report the parallax and proper motion of five L dwarfs obtained with observations from the robotic Liverpool Telescope. Our derived proper motions are consistent with published values and have considerably smaller errors. Based on our spectral type versus absolute magnitude diagram, we do not find any evidence for binaries among our sampleor, at least no comparable mass binaries. Their space velocities locate them within the thin disk, and based on the model comparisons, they have solar-like abundances. For all five objects, we derived effective temperature, luminosity, radius, gravity, and mass from an evolutionary model (CBA00) and our measured parallax; moreover, we derived their effective temperature by integrating observed optical and near-infrared spectra and model spectra (BSH06 or BT-Dusty) at longer wavelengths to obtain bolometric flux using the classical Stefan-Boltzmann law. Generally, the three temperatures for one object derived using two different methods with three models are consistent, although at lower temperature (e.g., for L4) the differences among the three temperatures are slightly larger than those at higher temperature (e.g., for L1).Peer reviewe

Hunting for brown dwarf binaries and testing atmospheric models with X-Shooter

The determination of the brown dwarf binary fraction may contribute to the understanding of the substellar formation mechanisms. Unresolved brown dwarf binaries may be revealed through their peculiar spectra or the discrepancy between optical and near-infrared spectral type classification. We obtained medium-resolution spectra of 22 brown dwarfs with these characteristics using the X-Shooter spectrograph at the VLT. We aimed to identify brown dwarf binary candidates, and to test if the BT-Settl 2014 atmospheric models reproduce their observed spectra. To find binaries spanning the L-T boundary, we used spectral indices and compared the spectra of the selected candidates to single spectra and synthetic binary spectra. We used synthetic binary spectra with components of same spectral type to determine as well the sensitivity of the method to this class of binaries. We identified three candidates to be combination of L plus T brown dwarfs. We are not able to identify binaries with components of similar spectral type. In our sample, we measured minimum binary fraction of $9.1^{+9.9}_{-3.0}$. From the best fit of the BT-Settl models 2014 to the observed spectra, we derived the atmospheric parameters for the single objects. The BT-Settl models were able to reproduce the majority of the SEDs from our objects, and the variation of the equivalent width of the RbI (794.8 nm) and CsI (852.0 nm) lines with the spectral type. Nonetheless, these models did not reproduce the evolution of the equivalent widths of the NaI (818.3 nm and 819.5 nm) and KI (1253 nm) lines with the spectral type.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Canopy microclimate modification for the cultivar Shiraz I. Definition of canopy microclimate

Three treatments providing different canopy microclimates were applied to mature Shiraz grapevines at Gawler River 30 d before veraison. Constraining foliage into a smaller volume increased shading over control vines, and GDC training and slashing reduced it. Measurements demonstrated significant differences in terms of fruit exposure to solar radiation. Effects on microclimate due to vine vigour were also noted. A K balance made on vine shoots demonstrated that shade was associated with increased K concentrations in the leaves, petioles and stems at veraison. A visual scoring system of microclimate and growth characteristics was evaluated, and results correlated weil with microclimate measurements. A conceptual model is proposed to: explairi how soil and climatic factors and cultural decision can affect canopy microclimate

Canopy microclimate modification for the cultivar Shiraz II. Effects on must and wine composition

The degree of shade in Shiraz grapevine canopies was varied by four treatments and a naturally occurring vigour gradient. A shaded canopy microclimate produced must compositions of reduced sugar content and higher malic acid and K concentrations, and pH. Wines from these musts also showed higher pH, K and reduced proportions of ionised anthocyanins. Correlation studies showed that high must and wine pH and K content were positively correlated with shading in the canopy, and that colour density, total and ionised anthocyanins and phenol concentrations were negatively correlated with shading.An eight-character visual scorecard of grapevine canopies was used to describe the canopies, and the results correlated with must sugar, pH and K, and wine pH, acidity, K, colour density, total and ionised anthocyanins and phenol content. Vines of high vigour produced similar must and wine composition as shaded canopy treatments

‘RE/TRS’ is a Girl’s Subject: Talking about Gender and the Discourse of ‘Religion’ in UK Educational Spaces

This article addresses what appears to be a retrenchment into narrower forms of identification and an increased suspicion of difference in the context of educational policy in the UK – especially in relation to ‘Religious Education’. The adoption of standardized management protocols – ‘managerialism’ – across most if not all policy contexts including public educational spaces reduces spaces for encountering or addressing genuine difference and for discovering something new and different. A theory of the ‘feminization of religion’ associated historically with Barbara Welter, provides some useful insights as to why this might be, suggesting that those in British society who would prefer to see greater separation from ‘religion’ in ‘secular’ schools may well also be caught up in forms of gender stereotyping

Re-evaluation of cosmic ray cutoff terminology

The study of cosmic ray access to locations inside the geomagnetic field has evolved in a manner that has led to some misunderstanding and misapplication of the terminology originally developed to describe particle access. This paper presents what is believed to be a useful set of definitions for cosmic ray cutoff terminology for use in theoretical and experimental cosmic ray studies