Asymmetric information and term lending in the Euro money market: Evidence from the beginning of the turmoil

We address the role of information heterogeneity in the Euro interbank market for unsecured term lending. We use high-frequency quotes of bid and ask prices to estimate probabilities of informed trading for contract maturities from one month to one year. The dataset spans from November 2000 to March 2008, and includes the relevant events that characterize the developments of the euro area money market. We find that the probability of finding a trading counterparty with a wider information set has risen since the eruption of the turmoil. Our results also show that the probability of trading with a better-informed bank is higher on days when open market operations take place, and at the end of the maintenance period. This effect has strengthened during the turmoil. This suggests that the loose supply of money of the ECB has not dampened the distortions arising from asymmetric information in the unsecured money market.     

The role of mutual funds in the sustainable energy sector

The integration of renewable energy criteria in mutual fund investment decisions could channel private resources into the funding of environmentally related projects implemented by firms contributing to sustainable development. This paper examines the performance of European renewable energy funds that invest globally by comparing their risk‐adjusted returns with those achieved by black energy and conventional mutual funds. It uses Carhart's model on a sample of 81 renewable energy funds, 125 black energy funds, and 4,337 conventional mutual funds. The results indicate that 32.1% of renewable mutual funds—most of which adopt energy producers, renewable energy technology, and energy efficiency‐focused criteria—perform significantly better than the S&P Clean Energy market benchmark, this percentage being affected by the different states of the economy. However, none of them are able to beat the fossil fuel energy (S&P Global 1200 Energy Index) or conventional market benchmarks (S&P Global 1200 Index). Furthermore, 37.04% of renewable energy funds significantly underperform the S&P Global 1200 benchmark. Therefore, the investment in renewable energy funds has a financial cost for investors in relation to conventional fund investors.     

The forced registration of hedge funds in the United States

This article recounts the history of hedge fund regulation in the United States over the last century, including Congressional legislation as well as legal cases mounted both by and against the Securities and Exchange Commission. Traditional arguments for and against hedge fund regulation are discussed. The article argues that neither hedge funds nor their managers should be regulated—whether directly or indirectly. Rather, financial or trusted advisors who recommend these products to investors should bear the regulatory burden.     

Human resource management and performance in a developing country: the case of Eritrea

This study investigates the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational performance. Results based on a sample of 82 organizations from private and public sectors in Eritrea indicate that some of the practices have a significant impact on employee turnover, absenteeism, grievances and productivity. While compensation was the only independent variable found to be statistically significant in affecting grievances, employee selection had no effect across all performance measures. However, the study's results offer support for the assertion that investments in HRM practices results in better organizational performance.     

An analysis of the talent management challenges in a post-communist country: the case of Poland

There is a dearth of empirical studies on talent management (TM) in the emerging markets, and in particular a lack of research on TM in the countries of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Our empirical study in 58 organisations in Poland, a major economy in the CEE region, is one of the first studies to examine TM in this context. Our study highlights the particular nature of the TM challenges facing organisations in Poland and shows that there is little evidence to suggest that Polish practice is converging with Western models. Our paper suggests that TM is likely to challenge many traditional management practices and attitudes which continue to dominate Polish culture in the period of transition to a market economy.     

Explaining variance in the accuracy of prediction markets

Thus far, the focus in prediction market research has been on establishing its forecast accuracy relative to those of other prediction methods, or on the investigation of a few single sources of forecast error. This article is the first attempt to overcome the narrow focus of the literature by combining observational and experimental analyses of prediction market errors. It investigates the prediction error of a real money prediction market uusing a logarithmic market scoring rule for 65 direct democratic votes in Switzerland. The article distinguishes between prediction market error due to the setup of the market, features of the event to be predicted, and the participants involved, and finds that the prediction market accuracy varies primarily according to the setup of the market, with the features of the event and especially the composition of the participant sample hardly mattering.     

中部地区的“三农”问题与跨越式发展路径探讨

中部地区"三农"问题突出,"三农"问题是中部崛起的重点和难点。促进中部崛起,要利用自身资源优势和区位优势,充分发挥后发优势,实现中部地区的技术跨越与和谐崛起。     

上海世博会后长三角城市群的功能提升

2010年上海世博会后,长三角城市群将成为世界第六大城市群的全球功能活跃于世界经济舞台。由此,长三角城市群地区应从三个方面提升功能:一是核心城市上海的高端国际化功能,二是长三角城市群地区的深度一体化功能,三是长三角城市群向长江下游延伸的空间拓展功能。三个功能的提升互为关联,开拓长三角城市群科学发展的新路径。     

我国创业板公司上市前后盈余管理程度的变化研究

我国2009年10月30日创业板市场的开盘为创新型中小企业提供了良好的融资平台,但受到上市条件的限制,我国创业板公司在上市过程中存在粉饰报表进行盈余管理的行为。本文以我国首批在创业板上市的36家公司为样本,运用修正的琼斯模型对创业板公司上市前后5年的盈余管理进行了实证分析。最终得出结论:我国创业板公司在上市前后确实存在着不同程度的盈余管理,在上市前呈上升趋势,上市当年达到最高,上市后缓慢下降。基于此,笔者提出了降低我国创业板公司的盈余管理程度的对策。