The dramatic growth of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives in the last two decades and the ever-expanding range of financial derivative have triggered concerns as regards investor protection. These concerns have been exacerbated in recent times by phenomenal losses sustained by several large corporations (including municipalities), in the United States, Europe and Asia. This thesis seeks to evaluate the capacity of the existing regulatory framework in Australia to provide protection to participants trading in the OTC derivatives markets. The evaluation is carried out in three parts: first, by identifying the gaps in the Corporations Law regimes, second by determining the extent to which the general criminal and consumer laws are capable of stepping into the breach left open by the Corporations Law and third, by locating the gaps in the supervisory structure by identify the participants who are not subject to any form of supervision by the regulators. The examination conducted in this thesis of the regimes in Chapters 7 and 8 of the Corporations Law reveals a number of gaps in respect of investor protection. Significantly, the OTC derivatives market, which is by far the larger market compared to the on-exchange derivatives market, is generally unregulated by the Corporations Law. Comparative analysis between the sanctions provisions in Chapters 7 and 8 of the Corporations Law and those in the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) indicated that whilst these latter Acts have the potential to act as a substitute for some of the sanctions provisions in the Corporation Law, about half of the sanctions provisions under the Corporations Law regime has no equivalent provisions in these Acts. In consequence, some regulatory gaps remain. Gaps also occur in the supervisory structure as the surveillance by regulators of market participants is focused along institutional lines. The failure of the law to provide adequate protection to investors trading in the OTC derivatives markets is due primarily to an outdated, inflexible and inappropriate regulatory framework which, when originally constructed, was not intended to regulated the broad spectrum of financial derivatives. This thesis discusses the gaps and deficiencies in the Corporations Law regime and also discusses the recent recommendations made by the Wallis Committee and the Companies and Securities Advisory Committee as well as the proposals of the Treasury in relation to investor protection. It also provides some suggestions for law reform.

Η εργασία που ακολουθεί εκπονήθηκε στα πλαίσια του μεταπτυχιακού προγράμματος σπουδών “Φαρμακευτικό Μάρκετινγκ”, του τμήματος Φαρμακευτικής του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών, κατά την ακαδημαϊκή περίοδο σπουδών 2008-2010. Σκοπός της έρευνας ήταν να γίνει μια εκτίμηση της κατάστασης στο χώρο της αγοράς των μη συνταγογραφούμενων (over-the-counter/OTC) φαρμάκων, όπως οι φαρμακοποιοί το αντιλαμβάνονται, έχοντας υπόψη τις στρατηγικές που εφαρμόζονται στο χώρο τους από τις φαρμακευτικές εταιρίες. Τα μη συνταγογραφούμενα φάρμακα ή αλλιώς ΜΗ.ΣΥ.ΦΑ είναι φαρμακευτικά προϊόντα τα οποία ο ασθενής μπορεί να προμηθευτεί από τον χώρο του φαρμακείου χωρίς να κρίνεται απαραίτητη η προσκόμιση ιατρικής συνταγής. Επιπλέον, τα φαρμακευτικά αυτά προϊόντα δεν αποζημιώνονται από τα ασφαλιστικά ταμεία, ενώ επιτρέπεται ή διαφήμιση τους στο καταναλωτικό κοινό, τηρουμένων ορισμένων προϋποθέσεων. Οι διάφορες παράμετροι που περικλείονται σε αυτές τις ιδιαιτερότητες της αγοράς των ΜΗ.ΣΥ.ΦΑ μελετούνται και αξιολογούνται από τις φαρμακευτικές επιχειρήσεις, ώστε με βάση αυτές να καταστρωθούν οι κατάλληλες στρατηγικές που θα έχουν ως αποτέλεσμα μια επιτυχημένη πορεία του προϊόντος στην αγορά των OTC φαρμάκων. Για την πραγματοποίηση της παρούσας μελέτης συντάχθηκε ένα ερωτηματολόγιο αποτελούμενο από 8 ερωτήσεις κλειστού τύπου και αντίστοιχα υπο-ερωτήματα, το οποίο στη συνέχεια συμπληρώθηκε από φαρμακοποιούς οι οποίοι λειτουργούν φαρμακείο στην πόλη της Πάτρας και Ρόδου, υπό τη μορφή προσωπικής συνέντευξης. Τα δεδομένα που συλλέχθηκαν από τα ερωτηματολόγια αναλύθηκαν με τη βοήθεια του στατιστικού προγράμματος SPSS . / This work is the result of my thesis project carried out during the academic period 2008-2010 within the frames of ‘Pharmaceutical Marketing’, a postgraduate programme offered by Patras’s Pharmacy department. Primary objective of the study was to extract the beliefs of pharmacists concerning the (OTC) drug market, while having in mind familiar promotional strategies performed by pharmaceutical companies. The term ‘over the counter drugs’, specifies a category of drugs able to be purchased by the patient without doctor’s prescription necessary. Furthermore, OTC drugs are excluded from the government’s insurance cover drug list and their public advertisement (under certain conditions) is permitted. Numerous factors encircled in these specificities of OTC drug market are studied and evaluated by the pharmaceutical companies in order to develop the appropriate strategies that will ensure the success for an OTC product within this market. For the attainment of the study was conducted a questionnaire composed of 8 ‘closed type’ questions and correlative sub-questions. Afterwards, this questionnaire was filled in by pharmacists, through personal interview, operating a pharmacy in the city of Patras and Rhodes. Data collected, were analyzed using the statistical programme SPSS.

This thesis is focused on the credit derivatives market. The aim is to identify and quantify the causal dependence of the development of credit derivatives market in relation to the dynamics of macroeconomic indicators and on this basis the possible prediction. At first, it shows with the help of literature review of their present and history and gives a better look to the different types of credit derivatives. The following section deals with the use of these underlying instruments in practice, their possible trading, insurance, or speculation, whether on the OTC markets or organized exchanges. The following describes the events in the capital and commercial markets during the financial crisis that is between the years 2005-2010, from which are taken the data for the empirical part. The empirical part is based on correlation analysis (multiple regression model) of a few selected and described macroeconomic indicators enriched with Granger causality test. In the conclusion may be find the discussion of the results and possible recommendations for potential investors.

This diploma thesis deals with the impact of legislation on information system in a particular bank institution. Based on the proposal of European Market Infrastructure Regulation it identifies areas where the bank institution does not fulfill the regulation requirements. The thesis also tries to suggest existing processes adjustment and guarantee for them the support of information systems. During the existing processes investigation it discovers other weaknesses and suggests solutions leading to their elimination. These solutions would also lead to acceleration and increase in efficiency within the Straightthrough Processing model. The thesis devotes to all points of European regulation which should be fulfilled in the bank institution's point of view. First the current situation and then the solution of the particular point are mentioned. The thesis looks more detailed into central clearing. There are analyzed possible options in the process point of view. The impacts on the information system are specified for the chosen and most appropriate option. In order to secure the compact understanding of investigated issues, the thesis includes relations of European Market Infrastructure Regulation to the BASEL III concept, regulation supervision authorities in the European Union or introduction to functioning and core of financial derivatives.

Legal Aspects of Derivatives This thesis deals with derivatives and their legal aspects. The purpose of the thesis is to focus on the main characteristics of derivative contracts and try to find their legal nature. The main reason for choosing the topic was the lack of information about legal problems regarding derivatives. It seems to be an interesting paradox. Billions of derivatives contracts are traded every day but not much has been written about them from the law point of view. Although there are many books dealing with their economic characteristics their accounting and tax aspects, it is hardly possible to find a monograph dealing with their legal base. This thesis is divided into five main parts. The first one describes derivatives in general, offers a definition and divides them into basic categories. The second part encompasses history of derivatives and their regulation. This part is mainly connected to common law rules since derivatives have developed mostly within Anglo-American law systems. The third part concentrates on problems arising from the fact that although derivatives are traded all over the world their legal basis remains unclear. The question arising is whether to treat derivatives as wagers, insurance policies or as some different type of contract. In this part I offer my...

Au lendemain de la crise financière de 2008, les autorités se sont emparées de la question du risque de contrepartie associé aux produits dérivés de gré à gré. Les dix années qui se sont écoulées depuis permettent de dresser le bilan de l’efficacité du cadre règlementaire alors mis en place. Cette étude s’attache à cartographier les différents éléments qui composent ou alimentent le risque de contrepartie en matière de dérivés de gré à gré et analyse l’efficacité des diverses techniques déployées pour le gérer. Les outils de gestion utilisés en matière de dérivés de gré à gré afin d’atténuer le risque de contrepartie reposent sur une pluralité de mécanismes juridiques (légaux ou contractuels). Si certains sont à la libre disposition des parties, d’autres leur sont imposés par la règlementation. Tous ces instruments participent – seuls ou conjointement – à atténuer réellement le risque de contrepartie. Mais chacun d’eux ne traite néanmoins qu’un aspect particulier de ce risque et aucun ne permet de l’annihiler totalement. Certaines situations viennent même parfois perturber l’efficacité des outils de gestion du risque de contrepartie et anéantissent leurs effets bénéfiques. On comprend in fine que la gestion efficace du risque de contrepartie suppose le respect de trois étapes : l’identification des risques attachés à chaque opération en présence doit précéder l’élaboration des outils de gestion en vue de leur atténuation, laquelle suppose enfin la prévention du risque d’inefficacité des outils utilisés. Dans tous les cas, la gestion du risque de contrepartie en matière de dérivés de gré à gré s’avère non seulement imparfaite mais aussi éminemment fragile. / Ln the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the authorities tackled the issue of counterparty risk associated with OTC derivatives. The ten years that have passed since then allow us an opportunity to take stock of the effectiveness of the regulatory framework then put in place. This study aims to map the different elements that make up or feed the counterparty risk in OTC derivatives and analyzes the effectiveness of the various techniques deployed to manage it. The management tools used in OTC derivatives to mitigate counterparty risk rely on a variety of legal mechanisms. If some are at the free disposal of the parties, others are imposed by the regulations. All these instruments participate -alone or jointly-in actually mitigating the counterparty risk. But each of them only deals with a particular aspect of this risk and none of them can completely neutralise it. Some situations even sometimes disrupt the effectiveness of counterparty risk management tools and negate their beneficial effects. Ultimately, it is understood that the effective management of counterparty risk requires three stages: the identification of the risks attached to each operation, followed by the development of relevant management tools with a view to the mitigation of such risks, and finally steps to avoid the risk of inefficiency of the tools used. ln any case, counterparty risk management in OTC derivatives is not only imperfect but also eminently fragile.

<p>The overall aim of this thesis was to study knowledge, attitudes and experience of emergency contraceptive pills among women and providers.</p><p>Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Focus-group interviews were conducted with teenage-girls (I) and with women who had purchased ECP without prescription (IV). Self-administered waiting-room questionnaires were administered to women presenting for induced abortion in three large hospitals (II, III), and after the deregulation of ECP, a postal questionnaire was sent to pharmacy staff and nurse-midwives in three counties in mid-Sweden (V). </p><p>Overall, women showed high basic awareness of ECP although specific knowledge such as the level of effectiveness, time-frames and how the method works was lacking. Approval of the method was high and most women were positive to use the method if they needed. Contradictory views as to whether ECP undermines contraceptive behavior were expressed. As many as 43% of women requesting induced abortion had a history of one or more previous abortions. Among the abortion applicants, one out of five, 22%, had previously used ECP and 3% had used it to prevent the current pregnancy. Media and friends were the two most common sources of information on ECP. Half of the women, 52%, were positive to having ECP prescription-free. Those women who had purchased ECP in a pharmacy without prescription, appreciated this possibility, and the major benefits expressed were time saving aspects. No severe side-effects were reported. The women's experiences of interaction with pharmacy staff were both positive and negative. The importance of up-to-date information about ECP and the OTC-availability from the health care providers was emphasized. Both pharmacy staff and nurse-midwives had positive attitudes towards ECP and the OTC availability. Of pharmacy staff, 38% reported that they referred women to nurse-midwives/gynecologists for further counseling and follow-ups. The need for increased communication and collaboration between pharmacies and local family planning clinics was reported by both study groups with suggestions of regular meetings for information and discussions.</p><p>The results suggest that ECP is still underused and that more factual information is needed before the method is becoming a known, accepted and integrated back-up method to the existing family planning repertoire. Longitudinal research to assess the long-term effects of ECP is needed. </p>

Chapter I - Derivative Market Competition: OTC Markets Versus Organized Derivative Exchanges  Recent regulatory initiatives in the United States have again raised the issue of a ''level regulatory and supervisory playing field'' and the degree of competition globally between over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and organized derivative exchange (ODE) markets. This chapter models some important aspects of how an ODE market interrelates with the OTC markets. It analyzes various ways in which an ODE market can respond to competition from the OTC markets and considers whether ODE markets would actually benefit from a more level playing field. Among other factors, such as different transaction costs, different abilities to mitigate credit risk play a significant role in determining the degree of competition between the two types of markets. This implies that a potentially important service ODE markets can provide OTC market participants is to extend clearing services to them. Such services would allow the OTC markets to focus more on providing less competitive contracts/innovations and instead customize their contracts to specific investors’ risk preferences and needs.  Chapter II – Crisis Resolution and Private Sector Adaptation Efforts at crisis resolution that succeed in reducing potential inefficiencies and instability in the international financial system are in the interest of both the private and the public sector. Unlike in the domestic context, in the international context, in the absence of clearly established rules of the game, the approaches adopted toward crisis resolution, and the extent to which they are interpreted by market participants as setting a precedent, can have profound implications for the nature and structure of international capital flows. The key conclusion of this chapter is that recent experiences with payment suspensions and bond restructurings are limited as guides to determining the future success or failures of these initiatives, as the private sector most likely has adapted in order to minimize any unwanted public sector involvement. Chapter III - European Equity Market Integration: Cyclical or Structural? Reviewing the empirical evidence of equity market integration in the European Union, the chapter finds a significant increase in the importance of global sector factors for a number of industries. Unlike most past studies, which only covered developments during the bull market of the late nineties, the results presented in this chapter suggest that the degree of Euroland equity market integration has declined gradually following the bursting of the TMT bubble. This seems to suggest that the findings of previous studies that Euroland equity markets were nearly fully financially integrated is worth revisiting. There are, however, several good reasons to believe that the structural factors driving European equity market integration have yet to play themselves out fully. Institutional investors both outside the Euroland area and within have substantial untapped capacity to take on Euroland exposures and invest additionally in Euroland equities. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2004

The overall aim of this thesis was to study knowledge, attitudes and experience of emergency contraceptive pills among women and providers. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Focus-group interviews were conducted with teenage-girls (I) and with women who had purchased ECP without prescription (IV). Self-administered waiting-room questionnaires were administered to women presenting for induced abortion in three large hospitals (II, III), and after the deregulation of ECP, a postal questionnaire was sent to pharmacy staff and nurse-midwives in three counties in mid-Sweden (V). Overall, women showed high basic awareness of ECP although specific knowledge such as the level of effectiveness, time-frames and how the method works was lacking. Approval of the method was high and most women were positive to use the method if they needed. Contradictory views as to whether ECP undermines contraceptive behavior were expressed. As many as 43% of women requesting induced abortion had a history of one or more previous abortions. Among the abortion applicants, one out of five, 22%, had previously used ECP and 3% had used it to prevent the current pregnancy. Media and friends were the two most common sources of information on ECP. Half of the women, 52%, were positive to having ECP prescription-free. Those women who had purchased ECP in a pharmacy without prescription, appreciated this possibility, and the major benefits expressed were time saving aspects. No severe side-effects were reported. The women's experiences of interaction with pharmacy staff were both positive and negative. The importance of up-to-date information about ECP and the OTC-availability from the health care providers was emphasized. Both pharmacy staff and nurse-midwives had positive attitudes towards ECP and the OTC availability. Of pharmacy staff, 38% reported that they referred women to nurse-midwives/gynecologists for further counseling and follow-ups. The need for increased communication and collaboration between pharmacies and local family planning clinics was reported by both study groups with suggestions of regular meetings for information and discussions. The results suggest that ECP is still underused and that more factual information is needed before the method is becoming a known, accepted and integrated back-up method to the existing family planning repertoire. Longitudinal research to assess the long-term effects of ECP is needed.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka förändringar i pris och tillgänglighet på OTC-läkemedel före och efter avregleringen av det svenska apoteksmonopolet ur ett konsumentperspektiv. Metod: Kvantitativ undersökning med abduktiv forskningsansats, där datainsamling sker via telefonkontakt och observation av hemsidor Teori: Marknadsformer, Avregleringar, Marknadsmixen, Prissättningsstrategier, Öppettider Resultat: Uppgång skedde kontinuerligt i pris på OTC-läkemedel före avregleringen av apoteksmonopolet och öppettiderna var då begränsade. Undersökningen visar att pris på OTC-läkemedel marginellt gått upp och en ökning skett i antal timmars öppethållande per vecka bland samtliga återförsäljare. Avregleringen har bidragit till stora variationer i priser och öppettider bland olika återförsäljare. Det finns ett mycket svagt positivt samband mellan pris på OTC-läkemedel och öppettider. Starkast är sambandet för Bensinstationer och Kiosker och närbutiker där undersökningen visar på både ett högt pris och flexibelt öppethållande. / The purpose of this thesis is to examine the changes in price and availability for OTC-pharmaceuticals before and after the deregulation of the Swedish pharmacy monopoly. In order to carry out the examination a quantitative approach is used and data has been collected by phone calls and observations. The framework is theories on the subject of market structure, deregulation, the marketing mix, price strategies and availability. The thesis has concluded that before the deregulation the price continually increased but the opening hours were limited. After the monopoly ceased the price has marginally increased and the number of opening hours per week has extended. Different retailers are after the deregulation able to sell OTC-pharmaceuticals and there is a variety among them regarding price and opening hours, which enables the customers to make choices between them. The study found a weak positive correlation between price and opening hours. The strongest correlation was found among Petrol stations and Convenience stores, which showed high price and flexible opening hours.