Investments

Risk, including economic risk, is increasingly a concern for public policy and management. The possibility of dealing effectively with risk is hampered, however, by lack of a sound empirical basis for risk assessment and management. This article demonstrates the general point for cost and demand risks in urban rail projects. The article presents empirical evidence that allow valid economic risk assessment and management of urban rail projects, including benchmarking of individual or groups of projects. Benchmarking of the Copenhagen Metro is presented as a case in point. The approach developed is proposed as a model for other types of policies and projects in order to improve economic and financial risk assessment and management in policy and planning.

Several recent studies have shown that uncertainty affects investment decisions. Specifically, demand and/or price uncertainty are found to depress corporate investment in e.g. the United States. This paper investigates whether similar results hold for Belgium and Spain, countries where financial markets are less developed and many firms evidently face financial constraints. Uncertainty of demand, output prices and investment prices are measured by the standard deviation of (pre-)filtered Belgian (1984-1992) and Spanish (1983-1993) panel data, and included as explanatory variables in the investment equations derived from a neo-classical model. The results indicate that investment behaviour towards uncertainty differs significantly between low- and high-leveraged firms in both Belgium and Spain.

Motivated by environmental and economic factors, biodiesel has been introduced to partially replace the diminishing stock of petroleum-based fuel. However, the use of biodiesel such as palm biodiesel is placing additional demands on automotive components, e.g. rubber components, due to a compatibility issue in the fuel system. In engineering applications where hostile environments are involved, the long-term mechanical response of rubber components is affected by interactions existed between diffusion of liquids into the material and fluctuating multiaxial loading. Hence, it is crucial to investigate the durability of rubber components in this aggressive environment. A number of studies on static immersion tests to investigate the diffusion of liquids in stress-free rubber can be found in the literature. However, studies focusing on the coupling between diffusion and large deformation in rubber, and the resulting swelling and mechanical response under cyclic loading conditions are less common. In the present work, a compression device for the investigation of interaction between diffusion of palm biodiesel and large compressive strain in rubber is developed. The apparatus is comprised of four rectangular stainless steel plates with spacer bars in between, which are designed such that pre-compression can be introduced on the rubber specimens while they are immersed into biodiesel. This allows diffusion and large strain to take place simultaneously. Different pre-compressive strains and biodiesel blends are considered. At the end of each immersion period, the resulting swelling behavior and mechanical response of rubber specimens under cyclic loading conditions are investigated. The features of this compression device are discussed and perspectives are drawn

Back cover text: Megaprojects and Risk provides the first detailed examination of the phenomenon of megaprojects. It is a fascinating account of how the promoters of multi-billion dollar megaprojects systematically and self-servingly misinform parliaments, the public and the media in order to get projects approved and built. It shows, in unusual depth, how the formula for approval is an unhealthy cocktail of underestimated costs, overestimated revenues, undervalued environmental impacts and overvalued economic development effects. This results in projects that are extremely risky, but where the risk is concealed from MPs, taxpayers and investors. The authors not only explore the problems but also suggest practical solutions drawing on theory, experience and hard, scientific evidence from the several hundred projects in twenty nations and five continents that illustrate the book. Accessibly written, it will be the standard reference for students, scholars, planners, economists, auditors, politicians and interested citizens for many years to come.

""This is a PDF file of ‘The Financial Judgment and Decision Making Process of Women: The Role of Negative Feelings’ slides from a presentation at the Third Annual Meeting of the Academy of Behavioral Finance & Economics, September 21-23, 2011, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

This conference presentation provided an extensive discussion about the literature on academic studies and non-academic research endeavors (e.g., national surveys and polls) in the realm of negative emotions, gender, and decision making. The financial psychology literature on gender and negative feelings documents the hypothesis that women reveal greater degrees of negative affect (emotion) than their male counterparts about money, financial planning, and investment decisions.

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Stochastics, Volume Rate of Change, Relative Strength to Index, Bid/Ask Volume ratio, Floor Trader Pivots and Institutional buying/selling are 6 of our most useful indicators for running the ITRS algorithms to identify risk and growth factors related to index trend reversals. We use a total of 33 indicators that each generate a critical factor.

In recent years, months, and days, Muslim “fundamentalists” or extremists excel in one thing – terrorism and violence. The recent spate of terrorist attacks and sectarian violence and atrocities has probably no parallel in modern history. Hardly a day passes by when we do not hear of a bomb blast or some form of violence taking place in some corner of the globe – Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, or some part of the developed world - with a toll of human life and immense human suffering. It is lamentable but undeniable that Muslim extremists are orchestrating much of this violence. This violence is due to the rise of religious fanaticism or fundamentalism among Muslims. But how do we combat this growing menace? How can we have real Islamic revival where there is peaceful religious co-existence and harmony? This article is an attempt to shed some light on this critical question.