The effect of financial transaction tax on market liquidity and volatility: An Italian perspective

This paper investigates the effect of the Financial Transaction Tax announcement, 29 December 2012, and the tax introduction, 1 March 2013, on the liquidity and volatility of the affected Italian stocks. The paper examines two-month windows of daily observations before and after each event. To assess the change in liquidity in pre- and post-event samples, the Mann–Whitney U-test for the equality of medians is employed, while for the assessment of volatility change, we apply the Levene test and its modifications for homogeneity of variances. The paper documents that the announcement of the tax positively affects market liquidity, whereas there is a dramatic decrease in liquidity as a result of tax introduction. It implies that the trading costs of the affected equities decrease after the tax announcement and significantly increase after the tax introduction events. As for volatility, the results mainly indicate no statistically significant changes between the pre- and post-tax announcement and introduction events

ХРОМАТОГРАФІЧНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ЕФІРНИХ ОЛІЙ ІЗ ТРАВИ МОНАРДИ ЛИМОННОЇ РІЗНИХ ФАЗ ВЕГЕТАЦІЇ

The aim of the work. Chromatographic analysis of essential oils obtained from the lemon beebalm (Monarda citriodora Cerv. ex Lag, Lamiaceae Martinov family) herb in the different phases of vegetation. Materials and Methods. The herb of M. citriodora was harvested in the experimental plots of Kherson region (Ukraine) during two phases of vegetation: beginning of flowering and total flowering. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation. Its component was studied by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry method (GC/MS). The thin layer chromatography (TLC) was used to obtain the "chromatographic fingerprints" of the essential oil. Results and Discussion. The component composition of M. citriodora essential oils was studied by GC/MS. There were identified 28 components in the essential oil obtained from the herb during the beginning of flowering, and 27 compounds were found during the total flowering of plants. The predominant components of both essential oils were aromatic monoterpenoids: thymol and carvacrol. Harvesting the M. citriodora raw materials during the total flowering was determined to be more promising because of a higher total content of thymol and carvacrol (84.07 %) in the essential oil compared to the beginning of flowering period (75.09 %). It is proposed to use the TLC analysis of essential oil harvested during mass flowering as an express method for its identification. Conclusions. The component composition and specific features of the essential oils of the M. citriodora raw materials produced in Kherson region of Ukraine during two different phases of vegetation were revealed. The thymol-carvacrol chemotype of the investigated essential oil was determined. The study of the potential of the pharmacological activity of the investigated essential oil could be considered as very prospective direction of future research.Мета роботи. Хроматографічний аналіз ефірних олій монарди лимонної (Monarda citriodora Cerv. ex Lag, родина Lamiaceae Martinov), отриманих із трави рослини в різні фази вегетації. Матеріали і методи.  Матеріалом для досліджень була трава M. citriodora, яку заготовляли на дослідних ділянках у Херсонській області на початку цвітіння та у період масового цвітіння рослин. Ефірну олію отримували методом гідродистиляції. Аналіз її компонентного складу проводили методом газової хроматографії з мас-спектрометричним детектуванням (ГХ/МС). Для отримання «хроматографічних відбитків» компонентів ефірної олії використовували метод тонкошарової хроматографії (ТШХ). Результати й обговорення. На основі ГХ/МС аналізу вивчено компонентний склад ефірних олій сировини M. citriodora. Всього в ефірній олії із трави рослини при її заготівлі на початку цвітіння ідентифіковано 28 компонентів, під час масового цвітіння – 27. В обох ефірних оліях домінували ароматичні монотерпеноїди тимол і карвакрол. Проведення заготівлі сировини M. citriodora у фазу масового цвітіння визначено більш перспективним з огляду на вищий сумарний вміст в ефірній олії тимолу й карвакролу (84,07 %) порівняно з початком цвітіння (75,09 %). Запропоновано застосувати ТШХ-аналіз ефірної олії з трави досліджуваної рослини, заготовленої під час масового цвітіння, як експрес-метод її ідентифікації. Висновки. Визначено компонентний склад та специфічні особливості ефірних олій M. citriodora вітчизняної заготівлі у дві різні фази вегетації, на основі чого їх віднесено до тимолово-карвакролового хемотипу. У перспективі визначено доцільним вивчення потенціалу фармакологічної активності ефірної олії M. citriodora

Pairwise Tests of Purchasing Power Parity Using Aggregate and Disaggregate Price Measures

In this paper we adopt a new approach to testing for purchasing power parity, PPP, that is robust to base country effects, cross-section dependence, and aggregation. We test for PPP applying a pairwise approach to the disaggregated data set recently analysed by Imbs, Mumtaz, Ravan and Rey (2005, QJE). We consider a variety of tests applied to all 66 possible pairs of real exchange rate among the 12 countries and estimate the proportion of the pairs that are stationary, for the aggregates and each of the 19 commodity groups. To deal with small sample problems, we use a factor augmented sieve bootstrap approach and present bootstrap pairwise estimates of the proportions that are stationary. The bootstrapped rejection frequencies at 26%-49% based on unit root tests suggest some evidence in favour of the PPP in the case of the disaggregate data as compared to 6%-14% based on aggregate price series.Purchasing Power Parity, Panel Data, Pairwise Approach, Cross Section Dependence.

How do oil prices and investments impact the dynamics of firm value?

The purpose of this study is twofold: (i) to analyze the impact of investment policy decision on the firm value given the uncertain oil and gas prices and (ii) to propose policies that enhance firm value. The study develops a system dynamics model that integrates the financial and operational activities of oil firms. The simulation results reveal that, when oil and gas prices increase, positive future expectations lead to increased investments and reduced cash flows. Greater volume of investments over the firm's current investment policy decreases its future cash flows and the total firm value over the first 20 years of the simulation period; it increases thereafter. To support higher investments, the firm would issue a higher number of shares, and consequently the market price per share would be lower, and vice versa. The simulation results suggest a relatively lower volume of investments to increase the market price per share