Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study, the income tax implications of the acquisition of a debenture at a discount is investigated. The purpose of this study is determine whether the proceeds from the redemption or disposal of the above-mentioned debenture are of a revenue or capital nature. It is customary for companies to issue debentures in order to obtain long term finance. These debentures may be issued at a discount. There exists a general uncertainty in the academic literature regarding the income tax implications of the acquisition of a debenture at a discount to the face value thereof. Section 24J of the Income Tax Act includes a discount in the definition of "interest". There is no general definition of the words "interest" and "discount" in the Income Tax Act. The lack of a statutory definition of these words contributes to the uncertainty regarding the income tax treatment of the sale or redemption of a debenture. The following aspects are discussed: (a) the revenue or capital nature of the proceeds on redemption and transfer of a debenture; (b) the provisions of section 24J of the Income Tax Act; and (c) the provisions of capital gains tax. In order to determine the revenue or capital nature of the proceeds on redemption or transfer of a debenture, the following aspects are discussed: • The attributes of a debenture from an economic and legal perspective. The factors that determine the value of the discount of a debenture are considered from an economic viewpoint. • The guidelines that apply in general to determine the revenue or capital nature of accruals are considered with specific reference to the guidelines laid down by the South African courts. A distinction is drawn between the guidelines that consider the intention of the taxpayer and those guidelines that operate independently of the intention of the taxpayer. • The general guidelines are then applied to the proceeds on redemption or transfer of a debenture. The ordinary meaning of interest and the meaning of the interest in the Income Tax Act are considered. The relation between a discount and interest is examined. Case law from England, Australia and Canada are also considered. The writer comes to the conclusion that a discount that realises on redemption of a debenture is in the nature of interest. The discount is revenue derived from capital productively employed and therefore not of a capital nature. The proceeds from the transfer of a debenture is not of a capital nature if it is a gain made by an operation of business in carrying out a scheme for profit making. The writer is of the opinion that section 24J influences the application of the general principles. The writer is of the opinion that the objective test should be applied to determine the nature of the accrual amount in terms of section 24J. The accrual amount will include a proportional amount of the discount. The objective test should be applied irrespective of whether the debenture is held until redemption or transferred before redemption. The provisions of section 24J should be applied before the capital gain or capital loss is determined in terms of the Eight Schedule to the Income Tax Act. The proceeds from disposal must be reduced by any amount of the proceeds that was included in gross income or taken into account in determining the taxable income of a person. The base cost of a debenture acquired at a premium must be reduced by the amount of the premium that was allowed as a deduction in determining the taxable income of the holder of a debenture. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie word die inkomstebelastinggevolge van die verkryging van 'n skuldbrief teen 'n diskonto ondersoek. Die doel van hierdie studie is am te bepaal of die opbrengs met die aflossing en verkoop van sodanige skuldbrief van 'n inkomste- of kapitale aard is. Een van die gebruiklikste metodes vir 'n maatskappy am langtermynleningsfondse te bekom, is deur die uitreiking van skuldbriewe. Skuldbriewe kan teen 'n diskonto uitgereik word. Daar bestaan "n algemene onsekerheid in die beskikbare literatuur met betrekking tot die inkomstebelastinggevolge van "n skuldbrief wat teen "n diskonto verkry is. Artikel 24J van die Inkomstebelastingwet sluit spesifiek 'n diskonto by die omskrywing van "rente" in. Die Inkomstebe/astingwet bevat egter nie 'n algemene omskrywing van die woorde "rente" en "diskonto" nie. Die gebrek aan 'n statutere omskrywing van bogenoemde woorde dra by tot die onsekerheid van die inkomstebelastinggevolge van die aflossing of verkoop van 'n skuldbrief. Die skrywer oorweeg die volgende: (a) die inkomste- of kapitale aard van die opbrengs met aflossing en verkoop van "n skuldbrief; (b) die bepalings van artikel 24J van die Inkomstebelastingwet; en (c) die bepalings van die kapitaalwinsbelasting-wetgewing. Ten einde die inkomste- of kapitale aard van die opbrengs met aflossing en verkoop van 'n skuldbrief te bepaal, word die volgende aspekte bespreek: • Die eienskappe van 'n skuldbrief vanuit "n ekonomiese- en regsoogpunt. Die faktore wat die waarde van die diskonto van "n skuldbrief be'invloed, word vanuit In ekonomiese oogpunt oorweeg. • Die riglyne wat algemeen ter sprake is by die bepaling van die inkomste- of kapitale aard van toevallings. Daar word spesifiek na die riglyne soos deur die Suid-Afrikaanse geregshowe neergele, verwys. In Onderskeid word kortliks getref tussen die riglyne wat vereis dat In belastingpligtige se doel met betrekking tot In bate vasgestel word en daardie riglyne wat onafhanklik van In belastingpligtige se doel toegepas word, • Die algemene riglyne word op die opbrengs met aflossing en verkoop van In skuldbrief toegepas. Die gewone betekenis van rente asook die betekenis van rente ingevolge die Inkomstebelastingwet word oorweeg. Die verband tussen In diskonto en rente word ondersoek. Engelse, Australiese en Kanadese regspraak word oorweeg. Die skrywer kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat In diskonto wat met die aflossing van In skuldbrief realiseer, rente van aard is. In Diskonto wat met aflossing realiseer is In bedrag voortgebring deur kapitaal produktief aan te wend en dus nie van In kapitale aard nie. In Opbrengs met die oordrag van In skuldbrief is nie van In kapitale aard nie indien dit verkry is uit die beoefening van In besigheidshandeling in die uitvoering van In skema van winsbejag. Die skrywer is van mening dat artikel 24J die toepassing van die algemene riglyne be'invloed. Die skrywer is van mening dat die objektiewe riglyn toegepas moet word am die aard van toevallingsbedrae soos ingevolge. artikel 24J bereken vas te stel. In Toevallingsbedrag sluit In proporsionele gedeelte van In diskonto in. Die objektiewe riglyn moet toegepas word ongeag of 'n skuldbrief tot op die aflosdatum gehou word of daarvoor oorgedra word. Die bepalings van artikel 24J moet toegepas word voordat die kapitaalwins of - verlies ingevolge die Agtste Bylae bereken word. Die opbrengs moet verminder word met enige bedrag wat by bruto inkomste ingesluit word of in ag geneem word by die vasstelling van belasbare inkomste. Die basiskoste van 'n skuldbrief wat teen 'n premie verkry is moet aangepas word met die bedrag van die premie wat reeds in ag geneem is am die belasbare inkomste van die houer van 'n skuldbrief te bepaal.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 1984. / The capital market is a field of very specialised financial knowledge and expertise. The latter is concentrated in relatively few people who manage vast portfolios of such assets. I was introduced to the South African capital market early in 1983. In an effort to comprehend the intricacies of my new surroundings I started to look for something to read to answer the many questions I had. Very little is written about the South African capital market, even more so for readers who are not well acquainted with this subject. This technical report endeavours to fill such a need. It surveys risk, risk management and strategy formulation pertaining to the holding of a single or portfolio of bonds. Chapter 1 is a general introduction. It surveys the growth of the capital market, the reason for such growth and briefly points out the parameters of thereof. It introduces the financial intermediaries that are responsible for the matching of demand and supply and briefly points out the difference between the money- an capital markets. Three important concepts, yield to maturity, a yield curve and the price calculation of a bond is explained and three important general shapes that the yield curve might adopt, is introduced. Chapter 2 takes account of the risk that is presently associated with the holding of a single or a portfolio of bonds. The effects of inflation, changes in the level of applicable yield to maturities and the reinvestment risk is explained and quantified given a particular scenario of ex ante contingencies. Less quantifiable elements of risk, namely, marketability, political and default risk and the role of emotions and expectations, are discussed and possible problems in this regard are pointed out. Chapter 3 turns to a more theoretical discussion of risk. It looks at the expected rate of return on a single or portfolio of bonds and reviews the method of measuring expected risk in terms of a standard deviation. Chapter 3 concludes by making the important remark that risk is an esoteric concept which is based on an expected scenario of contingencies of each investor. Central to the discussion is the formation of a scenario pertaining to the relevant variables concerning the bond investment market. Chapters 4 and 5 are dedicated to two lesser known concepts, duration and immunisation. Each bond has its own unique duration. That is the time period during which a loss of capital value will be exactly equal to the gain in interest earned on invested coupons received in the case of an upwards move in the applicable yield to maturity curve, and vice versa. Chapter 5 uses this feature to immunise a bond portfolio against loss of return. This method, however, needs considerable study before it can be used as a portfolio management tool since it is based on parallel movements of the yield to maturity curve. Chapter 6 introduces a new· feature, namely options on bonds, of the South African bond market. It defines options and explains the strategic utilization thereof in both bear and bull markets. Chapter 7 is a practical discussion of strategy formulation in the bond market. It defines strategic decision making and describes the investment process, and its dynamics in terms of strategy formulation and execution. Active and passive portfolio management and the main problem encountered in South Africa pertaining to strategy execution are briefly discussed. Two different portfolio tactics that are employed, namely, options and switching, to enhance portfolio performance (earnings) are introduced. The chapter makes mention of the present state of the art of portfolio management and concludes that portfolio managers must above all be people who can cope with, and anticipate change.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Adiponectin, a hormone that homo-oligomerizes into trimer, hexamer, or higher molecular weight (HMW) species, is involved in maintaining insulin sensitivity in muscle and liver. Interestingly, its functions appear to be oligomer-specific. Recent data suggest that HMW levels are decreased in obesity and insulin resistance, although, the cause for this decrease is not known. Impaired assembly to the octadecamer represents one possible reason for decreased HMW adiponectin in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, but mechanisms by which HMW adiponectin assembles are unknown. This dissertation discusses the progress that we have made regarding formation of HMW adiponectin in vitro.I found that disulfide bonds are important in the assembly process to octadecameric adiponectin, but are not required for stability of the octadecamer itself. We showed that hydrogen peroxide accelerated oligomerization to the octadecamer through formation of disulfide bonds, while alkylation of the cysteines led to inhibition of both oligomerization and disulfide bond formation. Using comparative native/denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), dynamic light scattering, and tandem mass spectrometry, we demonstrated that octadecamer is stable in the absence of disulfide bonds by using multiple biochemical and biophysical assays. In addition, oxidized adiponectin oligomerizes to octadecamer far slower than reduced adiponectin. To further evaluate the role of disulfide bonds in the formation to octadecamer, we analyzed the role of reduction potential on adiponectin oligomerization. We observed that under immediate oxidizing conditions, hexamers and trimers form. Oxidized hexamer can form HMW adiponectin through disulfide bond rearrangement using beta-mercaptoethanol (βME) or increasing the total concentration of glutathione under oxidizing conditions. To further understand the role of disulfide bonds, we showed that zinc increased the oligomerization to octadecamer. This effect was associated with decreased initial disulfide bonding during the assembly to the octadecamer. In summary, these data suggest the rate of disulfide bond formation and the ability to undergo disulfide bond isomerization are important in the oligomerization process of HMW adiponectin.

Several phenyl alkyl bonded phases for liquid chromatography were synthesized and characterized by liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The chromatographic physical parameters investigated include a quantitative determination of the mobile phase volume and the stationary phase volume. The stationary phase volume was determined to be a function of the bonded moiety chain length and the chromatographic solvent system employed. The interpretation of the stationary phase volume is discussed in terms of the porous nature of the silica gel support. The chemical parameters determined include a quantitative determination of the mobile phase and stationary phase composition (which were different from each other). The selectivity of the chromatographic separations was dependent on the chemical composition and the volume of both the stationary and mobile phases. Carbon 13 NMR spectroscopy provided information about the environment of the bonded moiety in the stationary phase. The liquid-like nature of the bonded moiety was influenced by the chain length of the attached species, the choice of organic modifier, and the chemical composition of the solvents. Temperature did not appear to play a role in the line widths under the experimental conditions examined. The separation of several peptide diastereoisomers on different commercially available hydrocarbon bonded adsorbents is also reported. Select diastereoisomers of arginine vasopressin and oxytocin are extremely sensitive to differences in the composition of the stationary phase. The selectivity and elution order were dependent upon the choice of adsorbent and solvent system employed. The addition of a second organic modifier provided a method for the dynamic modification of the stationary phase. The ability to dynamically modify the stationary phase can enhance the selectivity for the separation of selected peptide diastereoisomers.

The electronic structure factors that control Si-H and Ge-H bond activation by transition metals are investigated by means of photoelectron spectroscopy. Molecular orbital calculations are also used to gain additional insight into the orbital interactions involved in bond activation. The complexes studied have the general molecular formula (η⁵-C₅R'₅)Mn(CO)(L)HER₃, where R' is H or CH₃, L is CO or PMe₃, E is Si or Ge and R is Ph or Cl. These compounds are interesting models for catalysts in industrial processes like hydrosilation. The compounds display different stages of interaction and "activation" of the E-H bonds with the metal. One purpose is to measure the degree of Mn, Si, H 3-center-2-electron bonding in these complexes. The three-center interaction can be tuned by changing the substituents on Si, methylating the cyclopentadienyl ring, changing the ligand environment around the metal and substituting Si with Ge. The degree of activation is measured by observing the shifts in the metal and ligand ionizations relative to starting materials and free ligand in the photoelectron spectrum. Changing the substituent on Si extensively changes the degree of activation. Photoelectron spectral studies on (η⁵-C₅H₅)Mn(CO)₂HSiPh₃ show this to be a Mn(I) system. Progressive methylation of the cyclopentadienyl ring increases the electron richness at the metal center with no substantial effect on the degree of activation. Substitution on the metal (PMe₃ for CO) is less able to control the electronic structure factors of activation than the substitution on the Si atom. The magnitude of Ge-H bond activation is found to be of the same order as the Si-H bond activation for analogous compounds as found by studying (η⁵-C₅H₅)Mn(CO)₂HGePh₃, (η⁵-CH₃C₅H₄)Mn(CO)₂HGePh₃ and (η⁵- C₅(CH₃)₅)Mn(CO)₂HGePh₃ complexes by photoelectron spectroscopy. The photoelectron spectra of CpFe(CO)₂SiCl₃ and CpFe(CO)₂SiMe₃ were measured to study the electron charge shift from the metal to the ligand in these complexes as compared to CpMn(CO)₂HSiR₃ complexes. The photoelectron spectroscopic studies include numerous perturbations of the ligand and metal center to observe the extent of bond interaction and remain one of the best techniques to detect activation products.

The crystal structure of metarossite, ideally CaV2O6 center dot 2H(2)O [chemical name: calcium divanadium(V) hexaoxide dihydrate], was first determined using precession photographs, with fixed isotropic displacement parameters and without locating the positions of the H atoms, leading to a reliability factor R = 0.11 [Kelsey & Barnes (1960). Can. Mineral. 6, 448- 466]. This communication reports a structure redetermination of this mineral on the basis of single- crystal X- ray diffraction data of a natural sample from the Blue Cap mine, San Juan County, Utah, USA (R1 = 0.036). Our study not only confirms the structural topology reported in the previous study, but also makes possible the refinement of all non- H atoms with anisotropic displacement parameters and all H atoms located. The metarossite structure is characterized by chains of edge- sharing [CaO8] polyhedra parallel to [100] that are themselves connected by chains of alternating [VO5] trigonal bipyramids parallel to [010]. The two H2O molecules are bonded to Ca. Analysis of the displacement parameters show that the [VO5] chains librate around [010]. In addition, we measured the Raman spectrum of metarossite and compared it with IR and Raman data previously reported. Moreover, heating of metarossite led to a loss of water, which results in a transformation to the brannerite- type structure, CaV2O6, implying a possible dehydration pathway for the compounds M2+V2O6 center dot xH(2)O, with M = Cu, Cd, Mg or Mn, and x = 2 or 4.

No description available.

Water monomer and dimer encapsulations into D-2(22)-C-84 fullerene are evaluated. The encapsulation energy is computed at the M06-2X/6-31++G** level, and it is found that the monomer and dimer storage in C-84 yields an energy gain of 10.7 and 17.4kcalmol(-1), respectively. Encapsulation equilibrium constants are computed by using partition functions based on the M06-2X/6-31G** and M06-2X/6-31++G** molecular data. Under high-temperature/high-pressure conditions, similar to that for the encapsulation of rare gases in fullerenes, the computed (H2O)(2)@C-84-to-H2O@C-84 ratio is close to 1:2.

The problem is, to determine the correct interpretation of the Texas statutes which govern the relationships between the municipality and the school district.