Textual analysis for China’s financial markets: a review and discussion

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Huang ◽  
Wenfeng Wu ◽  
Tong Yu

Purpose This is a literature survey paper. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the latest developments in textual analysis on China’s financial markets, highlighting its differences from existing works in the US markets. Design/methodology/approach The authors review the literature and carry out an experiment of sentiment analysis based on a small sample of Chinese news articles. Findings Based on the experiment of sentiment analysis, there is limited evidence on the association between sentiment and other contemporaneous or future returns. Originality/value The supply of financial textual information has grown exponentially in the past decades. Technological advancements in recent years make the programming-based analysis an effective tool to digest such information. The authors highlight the use of credible textual information and discuss directions of research in this important field.

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-144
Author(s):  
Rebecca Amati ◽  
Tommaso Bellandi ◽  
Amer A. Kaissi ◽  
Annegret F. Hannawa

Purpose Identifying the factors that contribute or hinder the provision of good quality care within healthcare institutions, from the managers’ perspective, is important for the success of quality improvement initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to test the Integrative Quality Care Assessment Tool (INQUAT) that was previously developed with a sample of healthcare managers in the USA. Design/methodology/approach Written narratives of 69 good and poor quality care episodes were collected from 37 managers in Italy. A quantitative content analysis was conducted using the INQUAT coding scheme, to compare the results of the US-based study to the new Italian sample. Findings The core frame of the INQUAT was replicated and the meta-categories showed similar distributions compared to the US data. Structure (i.e. organizational, staff and facility resources) covered 8 percent of all the coded units related to quality aspects; context (i.e. clinical factors and patient factors) 10 percent; process (i.e. communication, professional diligence, timeliness, errors and continuity of care) 49 percent; and outcome (i.e. process- and short-term outcomes) 32 percent. However, compared to the US results, Italian managers attributed more importance to different categories’ subcomponents, possibly due to the specificity of each sample. For example, professional diligence, errors and continuity of care acquired more weight, to the detriment of communication. Furthermore, the data showed that process subcomponents were associated to perceived quality more than outcomes. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of this investigation was the small sample size. Further studies are needed to test the reliability and validity of the INQUAT. Originality/value The INQUAT is proposed as a tool to systematically conduct in depth analyses of successful and unsuccessful healthcare events, allowing to better understand the factors that contribute to good quality and to identify specific areas that may need to be targeted in quality improvement initiatives.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Yuh Huang ◽  
Joseph C.P. Shieh ◽  
Yu-Cheng Kao

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to systematically consolidate and analyze papers in behavioral finance in the past 20 years, and to provide an overall introduction to scholars and professionals in the industry who may be interested in behavioral finance in the future. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on searching keywords in databases of ISI Web of Science (WOS). Survey data covers the period from 1995 to 2013, with 124 journals and 347 articles. The authors are committed to finding the number of publications and times cited in the field of behavioral finance to measure the contribution of active researchers. Findings – More research papers in behavioral finance are emerging, making it a significant area of study. Most of the papers can be classified as empirical or theory. The number of papers in the review class should be increased to assist scholars and professionals in understanding behavioral finance and its application. A number of personal and institutional main contributors have been making a considerable impact on the field of behavioral finance. With the vigorous development of financial markets all around the world, more and more scholars are becoming involved in behavioral finance research. Research limitations/implications – Articles published earlier than 1995 or not included in the WOS database cannot be included in the research; however, this does not diminish the contribution of older scholars in any way. Moreover, the research does not include non-SCI/SSCI articles. Originality/value – Unlike a traditional literature review, which classifies and elaborates different research paths (Subrahmanyam, 2007), the research adopts the ISI WOS database as a tool for analysis. This new literature review methodology enables us to systematically consolidate and analyze papers in behavioral finance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-234
Author(s):  
Kelly Strong ◽  
Scott Glick ◽  
Gazala Syhail

Purpose This study aims to focus on the factors influencing project cost at US public universities and compares them to similar projects in the US private sector. It also presents an analysis of the potential reasons for the difference or similarities in the two sectors. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized an exploratory, comparative case study methodology performed on a small sample of public university projects and two sources of private sector cost data. Findings The results infer that most of the US public projects have comparable costs to that of their US private sector counterparts. The cost data from the university projects were further examined to explore if there were any possible relationships between the types of delivery methods used, sustainability certifications achieved and two project performance indexes – cost and duration. Research limitations/implications A more thorough analysis with a larger dataset is required to make generalizable conclusions. However, the process used in this study does provide a good overview of how facility managers could organize their own cost comparison study to evaluate their project expenditures. Practical implications This research provides a starting point for future research into the topic of US public sector project costs when compared to US private sector counterparts and the impact of delivery system and sustainability on cost of US public sector projects. Originality/value Research on this topic is scant; as such, this paper provides a starting point for future research and offers insights into the potential impacts of project delivery method and choice of following a sustainability certification option.


Significance The CBRT is expected to respond at its regular monthly interest rate-setting meeting to the fall in inflation in January to 7.2%. However, while the nearly 50% slide in oil prices since last June has led to a sharp decline in headline consumer prices, core inflation has been hovering near 9% for the last four months -- significantly above the CBRT's 5% inflation target. Just as importantly, Turkey's currency has fallen to a record low against the dollar, losing 7% over the past month because of the increasing politicisation of Turkish monetary policy and mounting expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will begin hiking interest rates as early as June, putting Turkish assets under renewed strain. Impacts CBRT independence is becoming one of the main focal points for market concern about emerging markets. Heavy reliance on external sources of finance will leave Turkey highly sensitive to resurgent dollar and increased US Treasury yields. Renewed lira weakness is likely to persist in the run-up to elections in June, which could also coincide with rising US interest rates. That would put further pressure on the balance sheets of Turkey's heavily indebted corporate sector.


Subject Impact of the oil price drop on energy high-yield bonds. Significance The over 50% oil price drop since June 2014 is hitting bonds issued by energy companies, particularly those issued by sub-investment grade corporates. The US high-yield bond market has been growing rapidly over the past five years. The shale boom has generated considerable investment, mainly funded through the issuance of these bonds which benefit from historically low interest rates. As the oil price has plunged, the spread over Treasury yields paid by the average issuer in the energy subsector has more than doubled between July and the December 2014 peak. Impacts Yields currently offered by the energy subsector are not far from pricing in a default scenario. Persistently low oil prices will further darken the outlook for the energy subsector and the high-yield market generally. A possible default cycle in the energy sector could accelerate outflows, overstretching the sector further.


Subject Prospects for Turkey in the second quarter. Significance President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) have survived the political crises of the past year with little damage and, short of a substantial economic or legitimacy crisis, will likely score another legislative election victory on June 7. Businesses, the financial sector and households are all likely to remain in wait-and-see mode, and financial markets to be jittery.


Subject The marked improvement in sentiment towards Turkish assets since mid-January. Significance Despite the uncertain outcome of Turkey’s crucial constitutional referendum on April 16, the lira has risen against the dollar while foreign investors have resumed their purchases of domestic Turkish debt, after months of heavy outflows from the local bond market. The sharp improvement in sentiment towards emerging markets (EMs) this year and the tightening in liquidity by the Central Bank (TCMB) are easing the strain on the country’s financial markets, despite significant domestic and external risks. Impacts Fears of a sharp sell-off in global bond markets following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election have not materialised. This is partly because aggressive monetary stimulus in Europe and Japan is continuing to suppress yields. Recent rising oil prices are sustaining the commodity price recovery that has underpinned improved sentiment towards EMs since 2016. EM currencies’ strong performance is partly due to gradual improvement in economic fundamentals in many developing economies.


Significance Trade activity has been sharply downgraded: five years ago, the Fund expected 5.6% trade volumes growth this year. Now it sees 1.1%, one-third of the pace it forecast in April. The dichotomy between the Fund describing the recovery as “precarious”, and nonetheless predicting strong or steady growth for 2020, suggests that it perhaps has more faith in the precariousness than in the 2020-21 estimates. Impacts Growth is slowing in 90% of the world economy; this will rise if emerging markets such as Turkey and Iran suffer a double-dip recession. Targeting 2% inflation is becoming inappropriate for the ECB, the Bank of Japan and even the US Fed; thus, monetary innovation is likely. Financial markets focus on tariffs and the chances of a US-China deal, but this is misleading as non-tariff barriers are much larger.


Subject Deepfake technology. Significance The US Senate on October 24 passed an act that requires the Department of Homeland Security to publish a yearly report on how ‘deepfake’ technology may be used to harm national security. Deepfakes are believable digital videos, audios or photos created using artificial intelligence (AI) to portray a person saying or doing something that the person never said or did, or portraying an event as real that never took place. The level of sophistication of this technology has leapfrogged over the past two years, raising a wide spectrum of concerns. Impacts A market for anti-deepfake verification technologies will emerge. Lawmakers will need to define the lines between art/entertainment and malicious deepfakes. Upcoming elections will be impacted by the existence of this technology.


Subject US Federal Reserve policy. Significance The US repurchase agreement (repo) rate, the interest rate on overnight loans backed by Treasury securities to facilitate a range of transactions, suddenly soared above 5% on September 15, 2019. There were immediate effects across financial markets, but the Federal Reserve (Fed) quickly bought up Treasury bills and the repo rate returned to the Fed’s 2.00-2.25% target range. However, concerns linger about whether a spike could recur. The Fed has increased its balance sheet by more than 10% since September but sees this as a temporary adjustment rather than a policy change. Impacts Having narrowed to 3.7 trillion dollars by August 2019, the Fed’s balance sheet could pass its 4.4-trillion-dollar record this year. The Fed will seek to ensure its has enough resources for corporate-tax payment dates but without increasing its holdings indefinitely. Increasing the size of the Fed’s balance sheet could limit the effectiveness of further balance sheet expansion in a future crisis.


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