A Comparative Analysis of Financial Professionals’ Perception of the Level of Graduating Business Student Retirement Planning Familiarity,Motivation, and Preparedness

Academic, government, employer, and individual interest in personal financial literacy have mushroomed as financial decision making has become more complex, costly, and less paternalistic. Financial illiteracy in America manifests in many ways, including low levels of personal saving, high levels of personal debt, negative financial wealth, a decline in standard of living, and increased demand on social safety networks. For college students, of particular concern is the high level of public and private debt accrued while working toward a degree. It is important to understand how prepared households are for retirement planning decisions and which factors can improve their preparedness. We show that financial education is impactful in reducing financial illiteracy, and provides evidence that taking a personal risk management and insurance course helps to prepare college students to make retirement decisions. Second, we provide evidence that life stage explains differences (similarities) in how professionals self‐rate the importance, familiarity, and motivation to plan and save for retirement versus their opinion on how vital the questions should be to students. Finally, additional evidence is provided showing that demographic characteristics explain differences in the importance and motivation to plan and save for retirement and in the familiarity that respondents have with retirement planning and saving products.     

AN APPLICATION OF MARKOV CHAINS TO FARM TYPE STRUCTURAL DATA IN ENGLAND AND WALES

Markov Chain methods of projection are applied to farm type structural data derived from the returns in the Annual June Agricultural Census in England and Wales. Three sets of projections, using different assumptions, are made of the numbers of holdings by farm type in 1969 and of the movement of holdings between farm type during 1968/69. These are compared with the actual Census returns for 1969. Use of a four-year average transition probability matrix gives the best overall results on the basis of that comparison and this matirx was then used to project farm type structure in England and Wales for 1971 and 1973. These projections indicate that between June 1969 and June 1973 the number of all holdings with 275 or more standard man days (SMD) will decline; those classified as Mixed, Livestock, and Pigs and Poultry are likely to show the largest proportional declines. Some 50 per cent of holdings are likely to be below the 275 SMD limit. Since the assumptions made may not be fulfilled in every respect, it is unlikely that the outcome in 1971 and 1973 will be precisely as predicted, but the pattern and direction of the projections are likely to hold.     

On the exit value of a forward contract

Default risk associated with forward contracts can be substantial, yet these financial instruments are widely used to hedge price risk. An objectively priced exit option on the forward contract would help reduce the likelihood of litigation associated with contract default. A method is proposed to compute the exit option's value for an arbitrary forward contract, using Black's (1976) model and option premium data. The time series dynamics of the exit option value are confirmed to be, like its underlying, well described by a martingale with heavy‐tailed (Student) GARCH residuals. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 29: 179–196, 2009     

我国加入世界贸易组织(WTO)对电力工业的影响及对策研究

本文首先分析了我国加入WTO后对电力工业的影响,包括对电力贸易、电力需求、电力技术装备水平、电力法律法规体系、电力企业经营和电力体制改革的影响:然后提出了国家和电力企业在我国加入WTO问题上应采取的对策建议。     

Trust and distrust in a network-style organisation: GPs’ experiences and views of a Scottish local healthcare co-operative

This paper considers the conditions needed for an organisation to function as an effective network. In particular, the concepts of trust and distrust are explored. Looking at the new labour reforms of 1997, evidence is presented by means of interview responses from GPs, that this powerful group in primary health care lacked sufficient trust in health care managers. In fact GPs seemed to often distrust them. It is unlikely, therefore, that a Scottish local health care co-operative, created as a result of the 1997 reforms to act as an interface between GPs and health care managers could be effective in allocating health care resources. As a result, the reforms did little to improve primary health care services in Scotland despite the increased funding allocated over recent years to this sector.     

为西电东送培养年轻干部

我公司在国家西电东送战略中,经过几年建设,已形成"两交一直"的送电通道.2000年为广东送电73.6亿千瓦时,2001年计划送电108亿千瓦时,为广东的发展做出了重大的贡献.在实现跨越式发展的过程中,公司从培养、选拔、使用、教育、管理、考核、激励、监督等八个方面加强年轻干部的培养,使一大批优秀年轻干部脱颖而出.其中:1名被提拔为公司副总经理、1名被提拔交流到广西电力公司任副总经理、13名被确定为公司后备干部;56名先后被提拔为厂处级干部.     

From common sense to expertise: Reflections on the prehistory of audit sampling

This essay argues that sampling emerges as a claimed “technique” in auditing in both the U.K. and U.S.A. much later than is commonly imagined. While practical auditing texts provide evidence that auditors were selective in testing prior to 1900, this is not explicitly articulated as sampling at least until the 1930s. Accordingly, statistically based sampling develops to rationalise practices that had been in place for some years and to invest auditing with a new scientific authority. The essay further suggests that the history of development in auditing technique may be decoupled from changes in audit objectives. Overall, the argument represents a preliminary stage in a wider programme for understanding auditing in its social and organisational context.     

Dealing with downside risk in a multi‐commodity setting: A case for a “Texas hedge”?

This study analyzes the problem of multi‐commodity hedging from the downside risk perspective. The lower partial moments (LPM₂)‐minimizing hedge ratios for the stylized hedging problem of a typical Texas panhandle feedlot operator are calculated and compared with hedge ratios implied by the conventional minimum‐variance (MV) criterion. A kernel copula is used to model the joint distributions of cash and futures prices for commodities included in the model. The results are consistent with the findings in the single‐commodity case in that the MV approach leads to over‐hedging relative to the LPM₂‐based hedge. An interesting and somewhat unexpected result is that minimization of a downside risk criterion in a multi‐commodity setting may lead to a “Texas hedge” (i.e. speculation) being an optimal strategy for at least one commodity. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 30:290–304, 2010