This paper examines whether the phenomena of price drift around quarterly earnings re-leases exist among firms listed on the large cap. list at the Stockholm Stock Exchange for a time period ranging from the first quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of 2006. It fur-thermore examines the ability of the variables forecast error, relative to analyst’s estimates, and firms’ size to explain the variation in price drift among firms. A sample of some 30 firms were drawn in the first three quarters of each year between 2003 and 2005, for the year of 2006 only the fist two quarters were included in the study. For each quarter all firms were classified into three different portfolios on the basis of earnings deviations relative to mean analyst’s estimates (forecast error). The returns for each firm in all portfolios were investigated during 20 days post- and pre quarterly earnings release date, resulting in an event window totaling 41 days. In order to clear out effects from general market movements the Capital Asset Pricing Model, CAPM, was used in which betas were estimated for all firms each quarter. The findings from this study indicate that price drift, measured by cumulative abnormal re-turn, occur for firms with both negative forecast error as well as positive. For firms with positive error, statistically significant positive price drift was found for both the pre- and post period. As for the firms with earnings below analyst’s mean estimates, negative prean-nouncement drift was statistically supported. The ability of firms size and forecast error to explain the variation in price drift on a stock level was very weak, R2 measures of below 5% was reported. However, forecast error was a strongly significant independent variable in the context of the regressions run for both pre- and post-announcement drift. The firms below the lower market cap. quartile in the sample show, on average, lower pre-announcement drift than the firms belonging in the largest quartile. Concerning market efficiency among the large cap. firms the price drift found is an indica-tion of market inefficiency both it terms of the semi strong and the strong form. However, care should be taken before generalizing the results from this study but. Possible misspeci-fication of the equilibrium return model will skew the price drift measurement. Moreover, speculation is not explicitly controlled for in this test. Finally, this study is done within a li-mited time span; hence generalization over time is not possible

Land cover change detection in urban areas provides valuable data on loss of forest and agricultural land to residential and commercial development. Using Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (1991) and Landsat 7 ETM+ (2000) imagery of Gwinnett County, GA, change images were obtained using image differencing of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), principal components analysis (PCA), and Tasseled Cap-transformed images. Ground truthing and accuracy assessment determined that land cover change detection using the NDVI and Tasseled Cap image transformation methods performed best in the study area, while PCA performed the worst of the three methods assessed. Analyses on vegetative and vegetation changes from 1991- 2000 revealed that these methods perform well for detecting changes in vegetation and/or vegetative characteristics but do not always correspond with changes in land use. Gwinnett County lost an estimated 13,500 hectares of vegetation cover during the study period to urban sprawl, with the majority of the loss coming from forested areas.

The common agricultural policy (CAP) is a much discussed policy in the European Union (EU). It allocates great sums to the European agricultural sector every year and has been accused of being trade distorting and outdated. This thesis takes a closer look at what protectionist measures the CAP has used. The policy’s effects on trade will be assessed employing the sugar industry as a reference case. Sugar is heavily protected and is one of the most distorted sectors in agriculture. The CAP effects on trade in the sugar industry for ten countries in and outside the EU from 1991 to 2011 are estimated using a gravity model. This particular type of estimation has, to the author’s knowledge, not been performed for the sugar industry before, which makes the study unique. The results of the empirical testing indicates that trade diversion occurs if one country is a member of the CAP and its trading partner is not. When both trading partners are outside the CAP cooperation, they are estimated to have a higher trade volume. This result indicates that the CAP decreases trade. Current economic theory, in particular the North-South model of trade developed by Krugman (1979), suggests that protectionism of non-competitive sectors should be abolished and funds should instead be directed to innovation and new technology. The CAP is in this sense not adapted to modern economic thought.

Varje dag stöter vi på förpackningar av olika slag. För många personer är öppnandet av dessa förpackningar ett svårt moment, då det krävs en viss grad av handstyrka för att klara av det. Nedsatt handstyrka kan bero på skador eller sjukdomar, som exempelvis Parkinsons sjukdom, fingerledsartros och ledgångsreumatism. Åldrandet har också en negativ påverkan på handens styrka och funktion. Ett exempel på svåröppnade förpackningar är de med skruvkork av plast. Många förpackningar för juice- och mjölkprodukter, samt PET-flaskor, har denna design. Det finns idag många hjälpmedel med syftet att öppna dessa förpackningar, men tester av befintliga hjälpmedel visar att de inte uppfyller användarnas krav på funktionalitet och användarvänlighet. Därför var målet med projektet att utveckla en funktionell produkt som passar så många korkstorlekar som möjligt, och även vara utformad så att den kommer åt korken på alla förpackningar. Som en del av produktutvecklingsprocessen intervjuades en grupp kvinnor, 67-85 år gamla, som alla upplever svårigheter med att öppna förpackningar med skruvkork. Deras åsikter och synpunkter var av stor betydelse för projektets resultat. Vidare var brainstorming, skisser, prototyptillverkning och CAD-modellering metoder som användes i projektet. CAD-modellen användes som underlag vid tillverkning av produkten. Projektet resulterade i en fungerande produkt tillverkad i aluminium, och passar alla korkstorlekar med diametern 25-41 mm, vilket omfattar alla korkar som finns på dagens förpackningar för juice- och mjölkprodukter, samt PET-flaskor. Produkten använder sig av en hävarm, som reducerar kraftåtgången med upp till 92 %, och kommer att underlätta öppnandet av förpackningar med skruvkorkar för personer med nedsatt handstyrka. / Every day we encounter various types of packaging. For many people, the opening of these packages is a difficult task, since it requires a certain degree of hand strength to succeed. Reduced hand strength can be a result of injuries or diseases such as Parkinson's disease, finger-joint osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Aging also has a negative effect on hand strength and function. An example of packaging that is difficult to open, is the ones with a plastic screw cap. Many packages, containing juice and milk products, as well as PET bottles, have this design. Today there are many tools in order to open these packages, but tests of existing facilities indicate that they do not meet user demands for functionality and usability. Therefore, the aim of the project was to develop a functional product that fits so many cap sizes as possible, and also be designed so that it can access the cap on all packaging. As part of the product development process, a group of women, 67-85 years old, who all experience difficulties in opening packaging with screw caps, was interviewed. Their views and opinions were of great importance for the project. Furthermore, brainstorming, sketching, prototyping and CAD modeling were methods used in the project. The CAD model was used to manufacture the product. The project resulted in a functioning product made of aluminum, and fits all cap sizes with a diameter of 25-41 mm, which includes all caps in today's packaging for juice and milk products, as well as PET bottles. The product is using a lever, which reduces the power consumption by up to 92%, and will facilitate the opening of packaging with screw caps for people with reduced hand strength.

This note analyzes a simple Cournot model where firms choose outputs and capacities facing varying demand and price-cap regulation. We find that binding price caps set above long-run marginal cost increase (rather than decrease) aggregate capacity investment. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers / Research Institute for Regulatory Economics

Från och med halvårsskiftet 2008 kommer samtliga börsnoterade företag i Sverige att omfattas av Svensk Kod för Bolagsstyrning (”Koden”). Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur styrelserna i börsbolag som ännu ej omfattas ser på effekterna av detta. Mer specifikt innebär detta hur man har uppfattat Koden och motiven bakom, vilka förväntningar det har på arbetssätt samt om man ser ett värde med den. För att göra detta genomfördes en enkätundersökning som gick ut till styrelseordföranden på Stockholmsbörsens Small Cap-lista. Vi fann att en stor del av de svarande redan idag valt att implementera Kodens reglementen. Vi fann även en allmän skepsis gentemot Koden. Skepsisen tycks bottna i en oro för ökade administrativa pålagor och försämrat styrelsearbete. Samtidigt uppvisas en låg grad av förståelse för de fördelar Koden sägs ha utifrån hur den är författad. Undersökningen påvisar att de som tillämpar Koden i hög grad är mer positiva till den än de som inte tillämpar den, samt att intresset för bolagsstyrningsrapporten är lågt. Fler undersökta bolag än väntat har redan idag i hög grad valt att implementera Koden, samtidigt som man uttrycker en allmän skepsis mot Koden. Vi tror framförallt detta bottnar i de ökade krav på väl fungerande Corporate Governance som ställs från institutionella ägare.

In this thesis, intra and extra European Union-15 agricultural trade is investigated for the period 1985 - 2005. The main purpose of this study is to find out to what extent the two major events of this period, the CAP reform of mid-1990&rsquo / s and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA) of 1995, changed the relative shares of extra and intra trade in overall agricultural trade. The efforts to make European agriculture more competitive and more integrated with the world market have not concluded in a way that the dominance of intra trade over extra trade is relieved. The intra trade still dominates the EU-15 agricultural trade as it has been dominating since 1985. European agricultural market has become more open to world products only in some product groups. Similarly, liberalizing reforms had limited impact on EU-15 countries on individual basis. The shares of intra trade and extra trade remained more and less stable in most of the member states.

<p>This paper examines whether the phenomena of price drift around quarterly earnings re-leases exist among firms listed on the large cap. list at the Stockholm Stock Exchange for a time period ranging from the first quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of 2006. It fur-thermore examines the ability of the variables forecast error, relative to analyst’s estimates, and firms’ size to explain the variation in price drift among firms.</p><p>A sample of some 30 firms were drawn in the first three quarters of each year between 2003 and 2005, for the year of 2006 only the fist two quarters were included in the study. For each quarter all firms were classified into three different portfolios on the basis of earnings deviations relative to mean analyst’s estimates (forecast error). The returns for each firm in all portfolios were investigated during 20 days post- and pre quarterly earnings release date, resulting in an event window totaling 41 days. In order to clear out effects from general market movements the Capital Asset Pricing Model, CAPM, was used in which betas were estimated for all firms each quarter.</p><p>The findings from this study indicate that price drift, measured by cumulative abnormal re-turn, occur for firms with both negative forecast error as well as positive. For firms with positive error, statistically significant positive price drift was found for both the pre- and post period. As for the firms with earnings below analyst’s mean estimates, negative prean-nouncement drift was statistically supported.</p><p>The ability of firms size and forecast error to explain the variation in price drift on a stock level was very weak, R2 measures of below 5% was reported. However, forecast error was a strongly significant independent variable in the context of the regressions run for both pre- and post-announcement drift. The firms below the lower market cap. quartile in the sample show, on average, lower pre-announcement drift than the firms belonging in the largest quartile.</p><p>Concerning market efficiency among the large cap. firms the price drift found is an indica-tion of market inefficiency both it terms of the semi strong and the strong form. However, care should be taken before generalizing the results from this study but. Possible misspeci-fication of the equilibrium return model will skew the price drift measurement. Moreover, speculation is not explicitly controlled for in this test. Finally, this study is done within a li-mited time span; hence generalization over time is not possible</p>

Dans la péninsule du Cap Bon, située au Nord Est de la Tunisie, le boisement des dunes de Menzel<br />Belgacem constitue l'une des premières tentatives de reconstitution de la forêt sous le protectorat<br />français. Depuis 1930, les sables connaissent une stabilisation progressive et, aujourd'hui, la<br />nouvelle forêt a pris le dessus sur les accumulations dunaires. La forêt de Dar Chichou, de plus de<br />6000 ha d'un seul tenant, représente un remarquable exemple de forêt dunaire méditerranéenne.<br />L'étude entreprise cherche avant tout à réaliser un bilan des interventions menées par les services<br />forestiers depuis le début du XXème siècle. L'approche adoptée repose sur l'utilisation de données<br />issues de télédétection, confrontées à des relevés de terrain, pour la réalisation d'une carte des unités<br />paysagères.<br />La région Nord du Cap Bon, où l'empreinte du domaine littoral est omniprésente, se caractérise par<br />une évolution très rapide du milieu naturel et par d'importantes transformations paysagères. Les<br />aménagements en cours sont nombreux et les attentes de la société y sont très pressantes et souvent<br />contradictoires. Ainsi notre étude tentera de participer à l'analyse des changements qui ont affecté<br />les caractéristiques paysagères de la région. La comparaison de données géoréférencées multidates<br />permet de suivre l'évolution de l'espace rural dans le nord du Cap Bon depuis les années 1900. Elle<br />montre une modification sensible des paysages qui s'illustre, en particulier, par la mise en forêt<br />progressive de l'importante écharpe dunaire de Dar Chichou.<br />Nous tenterons de démontrer l'intérêt d'une telle méthodologie pour parvenir à la proposition de<br />nouveaux modes de gestion capables d'intégrer les diverses fonctions du milieu forestier.

Dans la péninsule du Cap Bon, située au Nord Est de la Tunisie, le boisement des dunes de Menzel<br />Belgacem constitue l'une des premières tentatives de reconstitution de la forêt sous le protectorat<br />français. Depuis 1930, les sables connaissent une stabilisation progressive et, aujourd'hui, la<br />nouvelle forêt a pris le dessus sur les accumulations dunaires. La forêt de Dar Chichou, de plus de<br />6000 ha d'un seul tenant, représente un remarquable exemple de forêt dunaire méditerranéenne.<br />L'étude entreprise cherche avant tout à réaliser un bilan des interventions menées par les services<br />forestiers depuis le début du XXème siècle. L'approche adoptée repose sur l'utilisation de données<br />issues de télédétection, confrontées à des relevés de terrain, pour la réalisation d'une carte des unités<br />paysagères.<br />La région Nord du Cap Bon, où l'empreinte du domaine littoral est omniprésente, se caractérise par<br />une évolution très rapide du milieu naturel et par d'importantes transformations paysagères. Les<br />aménagements en cours sont nombreux et les attentes de la société y sont très pressantes et souvent<br />contradictoires. Ainsi notre étude tentera de participer à l'analyse des changements qui ont affecté<br />les caractéristiques paysagères de la région. La comparaison de données géoréférencées multidates<br />permet de suivre l'évolution de l'espace rural dans le nord du Cap Bon depuis les années 1900. Elle<br />montre une modification sensible des paysages qui s'illustre, en particulier, par la mise en forêt<br />progressive de l'importante écharpe dunaire de Dar Chichou.<br />Nous tenterons de démontrer l'intérêt d'une telle méthodologie pour parvenir à la proposition de<br />nouveaux modes de gestion capables d'intégrer les diverses fonctions du milieu forestier.