Mid-day volatility spikes in U.S. futures markets

Recent work offers mixed results regarding the nature of intraday volatility patterns in futures markets and, specifically, the existence of spikes in futures return volatility during the middle of the U.S. trading day (Crain & Lee, 1995; Kawaller, Koch, & Peterson, 1994). This note analyzes time and sales data on two markets—Eurodollar futures and deutsche mark futures—to investigate the existence of such spikes, and to examine the nature of changes in intraday volatility patterns over time. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 19: 195–216, 1999     

Telling tales: online comic and gripe story‐sharing by service workers about difficult customers

The article extends previous research on the storying practices of service workers, workplace humour as resistance, and workers’ autonomous use of social media. Discussion strings from two hairstylist forum storylines, exemplifying comic and tragic story‐sharing about difficult customers, were analysed using Gabriel's notion of story‐work. Processes of coping, entertainment, identity‐construction and learning are clearly evident in the discussion strings and social media is confirmed as a ‘new’ terrain for the enactment of employee agency. Findings emphasize that service workers are engaged in contradictory and ambiguous relations of resistance and accommodation as they learn how to deal with difficult customers. The article's contribution is to show how service workers share their fears and anxieties about difficult customers through storying and humour in generative dialogical poietic processes in social media. Further research is suggested.     

An examination of the causal relationship between savings and growth in the third world

Past studies reveal a correlation between savings and GDP growth in the Third World. Those studies hypothesize that higher rates of savings cause higher growth rates of real GDP. This paper explores an alternative hypothesis: that higher growth rates of GDP cause increased savings. Higher growth rates of income boost the rate of savings and attract more foreign savings. The difference between these two hypotheses is the direction of causality. This study investigates the direction of causality using the Engle-Granger error-correction model or the Granger causality test, whichever is appropriate. The findings support the latter hypothesis in more cases.     

The Strategy/Structure Debate: An Examination of the Performance Implications

The relative importance of strategy and structure lies at the heart of the strategic management field, yet little is known about the associated performance implications of such changes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the financial performance impact of strategy and structure changes. We conducted an examination of 259 firms over a 36-year period using a quasi-experimental design. No significant change–performance relationships were found for tandem changes (i.e. when both strategy and structure were changed). But, we found that singular structure changes were associated with the highest performance. This finding was consistent with the theory: though strategy is important, proper deployment of firm uniqueness is paramount to performance enhancement.     

Cross‐hedging and forward‐contract pricing of electricity in the Pacific Northwest

This paper develops a linear regression model for using actively traded NYMEX natural gas futures as a cross‐hedge against electricity spot‐price risk in the Pacific Northwest and for pricing the forward contracts in the presence of temperature and hydro risks. Our approach comports with reality and provides power purchasers with an effective instrument through which they can hedge their electricity bets through natural gas futures. It also demonstrates the sharp month‐to‐month variations in the natural gas futures' optimal hedge ratios and hedge effectiveness. Finally, it finds significant risk premiums in the Pacific Northwest forward prices, supporting the hypothesis that forward‐contract buyers are relatively more risk‐averse than sellers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temperance and economic assumptions

The preceding arguments illustrate the inability to adeguately account for the notion of temperance through mainstream contemporary economics. They also bring to light additional anomalies concerning other intangible virtues, e.g., truth, beauty, and knowledge. However, the problems associated with discounting such concepts do not negate the importance of material concerns. Just as people must crawl before they walk, so must they be able to eat before they can think. Before human beings attempt to exercise virtuous qualities in their daily lives, they must first satisfy some level of the basic needs for survival. Without realizing this necessary condition, the search for virtues, particularly temperance, is meaningless.     

Transparency of Retail Energy Pricing: Evidence from the US Natural Gas Industry

We test and cannot reject the hypothesis that retail pricing of natural gas is transparent for commercial and residential customers served by regulated local distribution companies in the United States. The periods of adjustment to a wholesale price change are 1.54 months for the commercial price and 1.69 months for the residential price. These findings support the view that regulated local distribution companies quickly adjust retail prices to fully capture any change in the wholesale natural gas price. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.