Overwinter Storage of European Beech and Norway Spruce Planting Stock: Effect of Different Methods and Temperature Conditions

The aim of this research was to compare methods of overwinter storage of forest tree species planting stock and to specify of the optimal and the minimal temperature for freezing. Planting stock of European beech and Norway spruce were stored three times over a period of dormancy (2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018) (1) in freezers, (2) in an air-conditioned warehouse, (3) in a cave and (4) in soil (bare-rooted plants) and at a holding area (containerized plants), i.e., an open storage. During storage, the vitality of plants was determined using the root electrolyte leakage (REL) parameter, and in 2016 also by restoring growth in a sample of plants. The stored plants were always planted in a forest research plot in the spring and their basic morphological parameters and mortality were evaluated at the end of the growing season. The most suitable temperature for storage of both bare-rooted and containerized beech and spruce was in the range from −3.4 °C to −1.7 °C. The plants after overwinter storage showed no significant mortality after planting–they showed a high vitality of the fine roots and a normal increment, and were not damaged by frost, mold or other negative factors during storage.

Foreign official holdings of US treasuries, stock effect and the economy: a DSGE approach

This paper examines the effects of shocks to foreign official holdings of long-term U.S. Treasuries (FOHL) on macroeconomic aggregates using a dynamic general equilibrium model. The model treats short- and long-term bonds as imperfect substitutes through endogenous portfolio adjustment frictions. This provides a channel for changes in relative supply of assests to influence asset prices. Three key findings emerge: (1) positive shocks to FOHL impact the long-term interest rate and the term spread negatively through a stock effect channel – defined as persistent changes in interest rates as a result of movement along the Treasury demand curve. This result is consistent with findings in the empirical literature. (2) Through a feedback mechanism from an endogenous term structure in the model, the decline in the long-term interest rate induces an expansion in economic activity which leads to an increase in consumption, output and inflation. Both the stock effect and the feedback mechanism are generated by the portfolio frictions. (3) Higher degrees of persistence of FOHL shocks or imperfect asset substitution generate a prolonged negative stock effect following shocks to FOHL. This causes a longer delay of the term spread to return to its steady state after it falls; hence, inducing an extended and stronger stimulative feedback effect from the endogenous term structure into the modeled economy. These findings help explain macroeconomic events such as the so-called ``Greenspan conundrum'' of the mid 2000s.

Investment Policies to Extend the Life of Expressways in Japan

This study examines the macroeconomic effects of investment policies aimed at extending the life of expressways in Japan based on a stochastic Ramsey model. The results of numerical analysis suggest that the benefits of life-extension investment in expressways can be increased by raising the level of maintenance intensity of expressways. The benefits of life-extension investment in expressways can be decomposed into the stock effect and the smoothing effect. Decomposition of life-extension benefits shows that the contribution of the stock effect is more than 90 percent, while that of the smoothing effect is less than 10 percent. The implementation of life-extension investment policies regarding expressways offers advantages in terms of reducing economic fluctuations and user charges. In addition, if relative risk aversion is high, efficiency is low and intergenerational equity is high. Furthermore, a higher level of technology leads to greater efficiency and intergenerational equity.

An unpleasant small-stock effect in manufacturing: the case of the dependent buyer

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine if there is a significant difference in the investment risks between small-cap manufacturers that heavily depend on one or a few buyers, referred to as “dependent-buyers,” and small-cap manufacturers that have a more diversified customer base. If there is a significant difference both statistically and economically, then investors need to be aware of the dependent-buyer effect in their security selection and portfolio construction efforts. Design/methodology/approach Using large samples of firm-level data from 2000 through 2011, the authors employ standard risk estimation modeling to compute βs, idiosyncratic risks, and total risks of both dependent-buyer firms and firms with a more diversified customer base. Findings The authors find that the βs, idiosyncratic risks, and total risks of dependent-buyer firms are much greater than that of firms not in dependent relationships. These differences are both statistically and economically significant. Research limitations/implications Buyer-supplier relationships can change quickly, and so a firm that has a diversified base in one period, for example, could be a dependent-buyer in the next period. Much depends on the reporting accuracy of firms and the ability of the securities exchange commission (SEC) to track the relationships. Practical implications First, the risk of individual small-cap stocks is likely to be greater than perceived from macro-level data, leading to the need for more securities if idiosyncratic risk is to be eliminated. Second, small-cap investors have the opportunity to enhance portfolio construction efficiency by referencing data published by the SEC. Third, most investors interested in small-cap manufacturing stocks should find it prudent to allocate a large percentage of their small-cap investments to an index fund. While this may sacrifice higher returns, it also reduces the probability of experiencing an unpleasant small-stock effect. Originality/value This is the first study to show that the difference in investment risks between small-cap manufacturers that depend on one or a few firms for their outputs and small-cap manufacturers that have a well-diversified customer base is statistically and economically significant, information that should be valuable to investors in their security selection and portfolio construction efforts.

Stock Return and Trading Volume - An Application of the Markov Switching Model

<p>The relationship between stock return and trading volume has been extensively documented by earlier studies. Financial academics unveiled some potential reasons of this phenomenon, but it still left for several inconclusive evidences. This paper employs the Markov switching model (MSM) to investigate the relationship. The results identify that second regime exist and persist, which is consistent with earlier study indicating that there are complex influences in stock return and trading volume. One possible explanation would be that people are not always rational; their financial decisions are influenced by behavioral biases. If people change their beliefs or preferences, then the regime switches. This leads to the conclusion that, the results are strongly in favor of a non-linear relation between stock return and trading volume. Also, it is interesting to find that industry play an important role. The deviations of the regime parameters are different across industries, which stands for risk-varying and is fit to the conventional wisdoms. This paper further tests the glamour (value) stock effect by the MSM; the result shows that the factor does affect the probabilities of the expected regime duration periods.</p>