No / It is demonstrated that small marketable gambles that are unattractive to a Standard Risk Averse investor cannot be made attractive even if certain independent background risks that decrease expected marginal utility are added.

<p>In this thesis we focus resource allocation problems and electronic markets in particular. The main application area of ours is electricity markets. We present a number of algorithms and include practical experience.</p><p>There is an ongoing restructuring of power markets in Europe and elsewhere, this implies that an industry that previously has been viewed as a natural monopoly becomes exposed to competition. In the thesis we move a step further suggesting that end users should take active part in the trade on power markets such as <i>(i)</i> day-ahead markets and <i>(ii) </i>markets handling close to real-time balancing of power grids. Our ideas and results can be utilised <i>(a) </i>to increase the efficiency of these markets and <i>(b) </i>to handle strained situations when power systems operate at their limits. For this we utilise information and communication technology available today and develop electronic market mechanisms designed for large numbers of participants typically distributed over a power grid.</p><p>The papers of the thesis cover resource allocation with separable objective functions, a market mechanism that accepts actors with discontinuous demand, and mechanisms that allow actors to express combinatorial dependencies between traded commodities on multi-commodity markets. Further we present results from field tests and simulations.</p>

In this thesis we focus resource allocation problems and electronic markets in particular. The main application area of ours is electricity markets. We present a number of algorithms and include practical experience. There is an ongoing restructuring of power markets in Europe and elsewhere, this implies that an industry that previously has been viewed as a natural monopoly becomes exposed to competition. In the thesis we move a step further suggesting that end users should take active part in the trade on power markets such as (i) day-ahead markets and (ii) markets handling close to real-time balancing of power grids. Our ideas and results can be utilised (a) to increase the efficiency of these markets and (b) to handle strained situations when power systems operate at their limits. For this we utilise information and communication technology available today and develop electronic market mechanisms designed for large numbers of participants typically distributed over a power grid. The papers of the thesis cover resource allocation with separable objective functions, a market mechanism that accepts actors with discontinuous demand, and mechanisms that allow actors to express combinatorial dependencies between traded commodities on multi-commodity markets. Further we present results from field tests and simulations.

This dissertation addresses two major issues. First, it investigates whether currency risk commands a significant premium in representative equity markets in Africa. The International Arbitrage Pricing Theory and the Stochastic Discount Factor model respectively provide the analytical frameworks for the unconditional and the conditional asset pricing models used to investigate currency risk pricing. Empirical data analysis uses the Generalized Method of Moments estimation technique. Second, it examines the nexus between real foreign exchange rates and net international portfolio flows in representative capital markets in Africa. Time series and panel data techniques are employed to this end. The study covers seven major African countries: Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa over the period January 1997 through December 2009. Foreign exchange risk is found to be non-priced unconditionally when returns are measured in the US dollar; weakly priced unconditionally when returns are measured in the euro; and priced with time-varying risk premia in the conditional sense. Africa’s equity markets are found to be partially integrated with the rest of the world. Monthly international portfolio flows to Africa are found to be low, non-persistent and relatively volatile. Using monthly data, Granger causality tests and innovation accounting from vector autoregressions (VARs), the study shows that the dynamic relationship between the real exchange rates and net portfolio flows is both country-dependent and time-varying. The findings are robust to alternative VAR specifications. However, annual data exhibit strong causality moving from real exchange rates to net portfolio flows, suggesting that fluctuations in real exchange rates inform the investment decisions of foreign investors in Africa’s capital markets. Among the key policy implications, it is recommended that, in addition to the US dollar and precious metals, Africa’s monetary authorities should regard the euro as an important reserve currency; that policies be put in place to expedite the development of private fixed income securities and derivatives markets; that sound monetary policies be instituted to ensure that interest rate changes are market-determined and inflationary pressures are well-managed; and that regional markets integration and financial sector development policies be pursued more meticulously by governments in Africa.

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>The world-wide globalisation that has taken place over the past decades has led to a revolution on the stock markets. Nowadays, it is more simple, cheap and convenient to access financial information. As a result investing in mutual funds has increase.</p><p>There has been a renewed interest to investigate the performance of the mutual fund industry. The researcher has chosen to perform a comparative analysis of the performance of Swedish mutual funds invested in Sweden and, Swedish mutual funds invested in emerging markets.</p><p>The primary aim of this research is to examine whether the investment in mutual funds is more profitable in Sweden or in the Emerging markets. The research endeavors to answer the following questions:</p><p>Considering risk and return factors, is it more profitable to invest in Swedish equity funds or invest in equity funds from emerging markets?</p><p>Was the Swedish mutual funds performance better than the performance of the Swedish index?</p><p>Was the Emerging markets mutual funds performance better than the performance of the emerging markets index?</p><p>A quantitative method with a positivistic epistemology was used for the research. 4 mutual funds investing in Sweden and 4 mutual funds investing in emerging markets were studied in this research. To estimate the performance of the mutual funds, historical data from Jan. 2000 to Sep. 2007 was analyzed using:</p><p>(i) Treynor’s index</p><p>(ii) Sharpe’s index</p><p>(iii) Jensen’s index</p><p>Descriptive statistics were obtained using the Statgraphs program, the excel program and the Metastock program. The results showed that the Emerging markets funds had a better performance during the period studied.</p><p>The result showed, in addition, that the Swedish funds outperformed the Swedish MCSI index whereas the Emerging markets funds under performed against the Emerging Markets MCSI index.</p>

This article examines the liberalization and cross-border integration of European financial markets from a political-economic perspective. Three features particularly come to the fore: First, national liberalization and European integration have been two sides of one integrated political process that owes its specific dynamics to the conflicts of interest between different groups of actors. Second, not only effective liberalization, but also market integration relies on an extension and formalization of public financial market regulation – and thus seemingly on ‘more state’. Third, the established distinction between ‘state’ and ‘market’ and their respective roles is insufficient for a proper understanding for the politics of financial market regulation.

ABSTRACT The world-wide globalisation that has taken place over the past decades has led to a revolution on the stock markets. Nowadays, it is more simple, cheap and convenient to access financial information. As a result investing in mutual funds has increase. There has been a renewed interest to investigate the performance of the mutual fund industry. The researcher has chosen to perform a comparative analysis of the performance of Swedish mutual funds invested in Sweden and, Swedish mutual funds invested in emerging markets. The primary aim of this research is to examine whether the investment in mutual funds is more profitable in Sweden or in the Emerging markets. The research endeavors to answer the following questions: Considering risk and return factors, is it more profitable to invest in Swedish equity funds or invest in equity funds from emerging markets? Was the Swedish mutual funds performance better than the performance of the Swedish index? Was the Emerging markets mutual funds performance better than the performance of the emerging markets index? A quantitative method with a positivistic epistemology was used for the research. 4 mutual funds investing in Sweden and 4 mutual funds investing in emerging markets were studied in this research. To estimate the performance of the mutual funds, historical data from Jan. 2000 to Sep. 2007 was analyzed using: (i) Treynor’s index (ii) Sharpe’s index (iii) Jensen’s index Descriptive statistics were obtained using the Statgraphs program, the excel program and the Metastock program. The results showed that the Emerging markets funds had a better performance during the period studied. The result showed, in addition, that the Swedish funds outperformed the Swedish MCSI index whereas the Emerging markets funds under performed against the Emerging Markets MCSI index.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes special study report entitled: Application of ventilation systems in architecture. Includes bibliographical references.

The U.S. electric power sector is in the early stages of transitioning from a reliance on carbon intensive generation sources to a system based on low-carbon sources. In this thesis, I present analyses of four different aspects of this transition, with an emphasis on the PJM Interconnection. The effects of bulk electricity storage on the PJM market I analyze the value of three storage technologies in the PJM day-ahead energy market, using a reduced-form unit commitment model with 2010 data. I find that large-scale storage would increase overall social welfare in PJM. However, the annualized capital costs of storage would exceed social welfare gains. Consumers would save up to $4 billion annually, largely at the expense of generator surplus. Storage modestly increases emissions of CO2 and other pollutants. The external costs and benefits of wind energy in PJM Large deployments of wind create external costs and benefits that are not fully captured in power purchase agreements. I find that wind’s external costs in the PJM market are uncertain but significant when compared to levelized PPA prices. Pollution reduction benefits are very uncertain but exceed external costs with high probability. The climate and health effects of a USA switch from coal to gas electricity generation I analyze the emission benefits created by a hypothetical scenario in which all U.S. coal plants are switched to natural gas plants in 2016. The net effect on warming is unclear; results are highly sensitive to the rate of fugitive methane emissions and the efficiency of replacement gas plants. However, the human health benefits of such a switch are substantial. The costs of building and operating new gas plants likely exceed the health benefits. Robust resource adequacy planning in the face of coal retirements Over the next decade, many U.S. coal-fired power plants are expected to retire, posing a challenge to system planners. I investigate the resource adequacy requirements of the PJM Interconnection, and how procuring less capacity may affect reliability. I find that PJM’s 2010 reserve margin of 20.5% was sufficient to achieve the stated reliability standard with 90% confidence. PJM could reduce reserve margins to 13% and still achieve levels of reliability accepted by other power systems.

This thesis investigates whether luxury handbags in secondary markets make for viable invesments. Reasoning for the investment potential of designer handbags is primarily based on the excessive retail price increases of luxury goods. Prices of handbags were collected from FashionPhile, a source that provides product authentication. The analysis attempts to understand characteristics of the FashionPhile market and how prices changed from April 28, 2006 to March 2, 2011. This thesis identifies which brands and models of handbags had the highest returns and which brands have the highest resale potential. Insight into when the highest and lowest market prices for handbags occurred for each brand is also included.