Initial Margin Requirements, Volatility, and the Individual Investor: Insights from Japan

Initial margin requirements represent: (1) a cost impediment to the wealth constrained investor and (2) a potential way of mitigating excessive volatility. However, prior empirical research finds that margins are not an effective tool in reducing volatility. We consider the possibility that margins primarily affect certain stocks and investors. Specifically, we test whether margins affect individuals who, as a group, we believe to be the investors most affected when margin requirements change. Our initial empirical tests, however, do not support this contention.     

倾销幅度测算中的偏颇之处

倾销幅度测算是裁定倾销以及实施反倾销措施的依据和基础。然而,具体操作过程中存在的偏颇之处,使得调查结果总是倾向发现“倾销幅度”,从而裁定倾销存在。本文以倾销幅度测算过程中的不合理之处为分析对象,举例说明了在很多情况下,原本不存在的倾销行为,是如何在现行的规定下被测算出了“倾销幅度”。     

利差演进、利差层次与我国利差结构分析

本文从金融学视角揭示了商业银行存贷款利差、中央银行与商业银行利差和国内与国际金融市场利差三个层次,并指出利差三个层次构成了有机的统一体.作者对建国以来历次利率调整进行了综合系统分析,勾画出我国利差变化的轨迹,得出以下基本结论:中国人民银行对利差管理从无序逐步过渡到有序,利差体系从扭曲逐步得到矫正,在金融管制环境下实现了利率总体水平的国际化"磨合".存在的主要问题是:存贷款利差考虑商业银行收益因素较多,兼顾国际化竞争不足;邮政储蓄转存利差在体现政策性的同时负效应越来越大;再贷款利差调整频繁和扩张太快,透视出金融宏观调控手段相对单一.     

Stakeholder Returns of Islamic Banks Versus Conventional Banks

Sharia principle shaping the Islamic banking model is most determinant on collection and deployment of funds with its ban on interest. This study aims to look at the results of funded activities in isolation for a healthier comparison between Islamic and conventional deposit banks with respect to their financial stakeholders. The differences are reflected as lower asset returns and lower returns for depositors of Islamic banks. These differences sustain throughout normal and crisis periods. Our findings show that despite differences in asset structures and returns, Islamic banks retain similar returns for shareholders to position themselves close to and in competition with their conventional counterparts.     

融资融券对我国股市波动性的影响

本文采集股价指数月收益率和融资融券交易额每月日平均变化率的数据,针对融资融券对我国股市波动性的影响,进行实证检验,并对结果做进一步的解释。     

Why do commercial banks hold government bonds? The case of Japan

We investigate the determinants of the demand for Japanese government bonds (JGBs) by commercial banks in Japan. In particular, by estimating portfolio equations for JGB demand and bank loans, based on a panel data set from the late 1990s to the 2000s, we rigorously test the popular assertion that the long stagnation of the real economy caused a shift in the portfolios of commercial banks from bank lending to JGBs. We find that the popular assertion is not empirically supported. Rather, the portfolio shift from loans to JGBs has been caused by a fall in the ratio of the loan rate to unit lending costs, or the bank’s price–cost margin for lending.     

Firm performance and corporate finance in New Zealand

Low productivity growth in New Zealand has been a paradox. We study New Zealand firms’ profitability, in terms of profit margin and return on assets (ROA), from the viewpoints of productivity enablers using firm-level panel data. We find that tangible fixed investment and a research and development (R&D) tax incentive are associated with higher profitability performance. In addition, the firm size is found to be a key determinant of profit margin. By contrast, we do not find any evidence that intangible investment can improve the profitability. The global financial crisis has not changed the leverage effect on ROA in New Zealand, while the impact of R&D became more prominent after the crisis.     

#br# 融资融券加大了沪深股市波动吗*

融资融券设计初衷是通过融资加强市场流动性和通过融券提供投资者规避价格下跌风险的金融工具，改善由供求关系严重失衡导致市场巨幅震荡的局面，实现资本市场长期稳定的目标。实际操作中，融资融券疏通货币市场和资本市场间的资金流动，撬动巨额资金涌入股市；融资规模扩张过快而融券做空力量薄弱，业务结构发展严重失衡，导致两融业务具有“小冲击、大波动”的金融加速效应，放大了外部冲击引起股价上涨和下跌的幅度。协整回归分析表明，两融业务规模的扩张和收缩对上证指数涨跌具有显著的同向影响。TGARCH事件模型结果进一步证实融资融券从稳定股价到加剧波动的功能变化。随着标的股票扩容和业务常规化，两融业务导致股市投机过度，加剧了沪深两市的资产价格异动，没有达到平抑波动的设计预期。     

How to measure competition in an economy in transition

This paper attempts to find a robust method of measuring competition when firms' operational activities are subject to frictions. The first part theoretically tests the indicative quality of two competition measures, the price‐cost margin (PCM) and the profit elasticity, in a model of monopolistic competition. The second part studies the empirical performance of the indices for a panel of Ukrainian manufacturing firms. This study offers a new approach to measuring profit elasticity that relies on structural estimation of a production function. The estimation methodology retrieves a productivity index that is adjusted to imperfect competition. The proposed method of measuring profit elasticity is found to be robust to frictions, but the PCM and traditional profit elasticity are biased, especially when the intensity of competition is low. Empirical findings show that competition exhibits a significantly positive correlation with aggregate productivity performance, while its impact on firm productivity is nonlinear.     

青藏高原东缘山地古冰川沉积物化学参数指示意义

对于冰川沉积物化学特征的分析,可以有效地反映当地古环境的气候状况,本文通过对青藏高原东缘的古冰川山地的冰碛物进行采样,结合部分其他山地样品数据,进行地球化学元素实验,计算以及对比其化学参数。得到青藏高原东缘等十处古冰川山地冰川沉积物化学组分构成,利用CIA等参数分析其对当地环境的指示意义。