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The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is one of the possible solutions to overcoming the non-programmability associated with these energy sources. The capabilities of BESSs to store a consistent amount of energy and to behave as a load by releasing it ensures an essential source of flexibility to the power system. Nevertheless, BESSs have some drawbacks that pose limitations to their utilization. Indeed, effectively managing the stored and released energy is crucial, considering the degradation of performance associated with these systems over time. The substantial capital expenditure (CAPEX) required to install these systems represents a current constraint, impeding their broader adoption. This work evaluates a techno-economic analysis of a 2MW/2MWh BESS providing multiple services, namely participating in capacity and balance markets. The analysis is based on a BESS model implemented in SIMULINK, adopting online data gathered from a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery facility. The model evaluates the auxiliary power consumption, state-of-charge (SoC), state of health (SoH), and the round-trip efficiency (RTE) of the overall system. The analysis is based on three price profiles: 2019 (Business-As-Usual), 2020 (COVID-19), and 2022 (Gas Crisis). Furthermore, this work conducts a case study to analyze the behavior of the BESS. It entails a sensitivity analysis, specifically evaluating the influence of CAPEX and upward bid price on the economic viability of the project. The results show a strong relation between the CAPEX variation and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public–private partnerships (PPP) are often how health improvement programs are implemented in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). We therefore aimed to systematically review the literature about the aim and impacts of quality improvement (QI) approaches in PPP in LMICs. Methods: We searched SCOPUS and grey literature for studies published before March 2022. One reviewer screened abstracts and full-text studies for inclusion. The study characteristics, setting, design, outcomes, and lessons learned were abstracted using a standard tool and reviewed in detail by a second author. Results: We identified 9,457 citations, of which 144 met the inclusion criteria and underwent full-text abstraction. We identified five key themes for successful QI projects in LMICs: 1) leadership support and alignment with overarching priorities, 2) local ownership and engagement of frontline teams, 3) shared authentic learning across teams, 4) resilience in managing external challenges, and 5) robust data and data visualization to track progress. We found great heterogeneity in QI tools, study designs, participants, and outcome measures. Most studies had diffuse aims and poor descriptions of the intervention components and their follow-up. Few papers formally reported on actual deployment of private-sector capital, and either provided insufficient information or did not follow the formal PPP model, which involves capital investment for a explicit return on investment. Few studies discussed the response to their findings and the organizational willingness to change. Conclusions: Many of the same factors that impact the success of QI in healthcare in high-income countries are relevant for PPP in LMICs. Vague descriptions of the structure and financial arrangements of the PPPs, and the roles of public and private entities made it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions about the impacts of the organizational governance on the outcomes of QI programs in LMICs. While we found many articles in the published literature on PPP-funded QI partnerships in LMICs, there is a dire need for research that more clearly describes the intervention details, implementation challenges, contextual factors, leadership and organizational structures. These details are needed to better align incentives to support the kinds of collaboration needed for guiding accountability in advancing global health. More ownership and power needs to be shifted to local leaders and researchers to improve research equity and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Return on investment (ROI) has long been accepted as a primary tool for decision‐making for capital investments and even choices among competing operational budget lines. Applying ROI to investments intended to prevent or mitigate future risks and hazards can be very difficult, as benefits are typically arduous to define and calculate while risk probabilities can be very small. This paper uses examples from recent research concerning law enforcement, airport security, and airport resiliency to illustrate the feasibility of computing ROI and resiliency ROI (RROI) for such investments and to suggest methodology to approach these computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capital budgeting is the process of evaluating and selecting long-term investments that are consistent with the goal of the firm. Capital expenditure decision affects the company's future cost structure over a long-time span. The investment in fixed assets increases the fixed cost of the firm, which must be recovered from the benefit of the same project. If the investment turns out to be unsuccessful in future or gives less profit than expected, the company will have to bear the extra burden of fixed costs. Such risk can be minimized through the systematic analysis of projects, which is an integral part of investment decisions. Capital investment decisions are not easily reversible without much financial loss to the firm because there may be no market for second-hand plants and equipment and their conversion to other uses may not be financially viable. Hence, capital investment decisions are to be carried out and performed carefully and effectively in order to save the company from such financial loss. The investment decision which is undertaken carefully and effectively can save the firm from huge financial loss aroused due to the selection of unfavorable projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, the financial sector in advanced economies has undergone profound changes, and this is particularly true for the US financial economy. This paper focuses on aspects of this evolution that are closely related to distortions in the investment system. The line of thought starts from the maximisation of shareholder value, which was the ideological basis for the split between the real economy and the financial sector. The paper provides a multifaceted analysis of the impact of financial markets on investment behaviour, the decline in real capital investment, the adverse consequences of value extraction, and the adverse effects of share buybacks. As long as the gap between the cost of capital and the minimum expected rate of return is not narrowed, the position of real capital investment will not improve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geographic zone of this research is Falluja City, which is described by its overpopulation and absence of fast roadways. This zone is confronting a low level of service amid the time of overcrowding stemming from a disorganized and weak road system. This research has been conducted by suggesting the development of another street corresponding to the current one (bypass), yet with better expectations. The improvement of the road to be studied will improve the environmental aspect in addition to reducing the operating costs of vehicles. This study is planned to assess the achievability of developing a street for the bypass of the Falluja highway, environmentally and economically. This exploration depends on the speculation that the current street displays a relatively extreme situation, though the recommended roadway could be an asphaltic road pavement of top-notch condition. The traffic information was gathered utilizing a manual counting technique during seven days in the period (7:00 am-4:00 pm) to evaluate the average daily traffic (ADT) and peak hour traffic volume (PHV). Also, the number of lanes needed for LOS (C) was resolved. The development and conservation expenses of the street were likewise determined. The decrease in roadway client expenses for the current and suggested roads was assessed as a benefit. The monetary examination is conducted by equalizing the total decreased roadway costs and their benefits to the foundation year. The improvement in the roadway pavement status meant by IRI has enhanced the PCI value thusly, prompting reducing discharges within which reduces the overall discharges. The normal decrease in discharge was 1.13% because of the enhancement of pavement conditions. The accepted reduction rate for the research was assumed to be 8%. To find financial reasonability, numerous criteria were checked such as Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit-Cost Ratio (B/C), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). For financial criteria, the results indicated that NPV was of an empowering estimation of 8761711 US$, which infers those benefits are more significant than expenses. Moreover, the B/C ratio was 1.370, contrasted with 1.0, which is encouraging. Ultimately, the determined IRR was discovered to be more prominent than the assumed value of 8% as recommended in road construction projects. The reduction in carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxides (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are 0.367, 0.275, 0.348, and 0.339, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate how a positive relation between inflation and capital investment (the Mundell–Tobin effect, MT‐E) affects optimal monetary policy in a framework that combines overlapping generations and new Monetarist models. We find that inflation rates above the Friedman rule are optimal if and only if there is an MT‐E. In the absence of the MT‐E, the Friedman rule is optimal. With an MT‐E, increasing inflation above the Friedman rule leads to a first‐order welfare gain from increasing capital investment, and only to a second‐order welfare loss from reducing consumption in markets where liquidity matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microgrids and hybrid renewable energy systems play a crucial role in today's energy transition. They enable local power generation and distribution, reducing dependence on large centralized infrastructures, can operate independently or connected to a grid, and can provide backup power, thus increasing system resilience. In addition, they combine multiple renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, and biomass, to maximize the efficiency and reliability of the supply, and are also adaptable to location-specific conditions, taking advantage of locally available energy resources and reducing the need for energy imports. Moreover, they contribute to decarbonization goals by offering a cleaner and more sustainable alternative. In this article, a documentary review is presented on the interaction of Homer Pro software 3.16.2 (July 2023), used for the design of hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES), with other methods of optimization or sizing. Allusion is made to the type of architecture in the most prominent clean and fossil source configurations, the levelized cost, net annual cost, and maintenance and capital investment cost. A comparison is made among the works reported in the last five years regarding the use of this software tool, based on load demand, geographical area, renewable energy sources, fossil sources, and objective functions, applied to the educational, rural, and industrial sectors. It is shown that India is one of the countries that has reported the most number of HRES techno-economic environmental analysis works, and that the case studies have focused approximately 47% on rural areas, 20% on educational agencies, 14% on commerce and industry, and 29% on urban buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the main aspects of the formation of the investment policy of enterprises in the conditions of global changes. Attention is focused on the need to analyze the sources of investment financing, determine their volume, structure and relationship with the investment activity of economic entities. Based on the analysis of official data, it was established that in the structure of investment financing sources, the own funds of enterprises and organizations prevail. It is noted that the quantitative composition of investments directly affects the investment activity of business entities. The method of factor analysis was used to identify the relationship between the volume of investments and the level of investment activity of economic entities. Official data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on the total volume of capital investments and performance indicators of business entities for 2017-2021 were used to conduct the above analysis. It was established that the level of investment activity of Ukrainian business entities is low. It is summarized that the low level of investment activity of business entities is associated with a number of problems, including the ineffective investment policy of business entities. The author's model of the formation of an effective investment policy of enterprises in terms of its main stages, functions and tasks is proposed. At the same time, it is stated that the formation of an investment policy by a separate business entity allows it to economically justify the feasibility, terms, volume of investment, and determine the required volume and types of resources. In turn, the effective implementation of the enterprise's investment policy affects the increase of its investment activity. However, despite the effectiveness and clarity of the formation of the investment policy, it must be regularly reviewed and, if necessary, adjusted, because in the conditions of global changes, the external environment is quite changeable and unpredictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on digital operational knowledge belonging to natural persons and proposes a greenfield approach to differentiate the value of intangibles from that of human intellectual capital. Our research approach involves two assessments. Assessment 1 evaluates intangible assets using the internally generated goodwill (IGG) measure. We analyze time-series IGG data for six digital sectors, using the top 90 software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies as a benchmark. The results indicate that the IGG of the SaaS benchmark is higher than the total IGG of the six sectors. Assessment 2 focuses on the correlation between digital labor investment and digital investment returns before and after 2013 for the six sectors to identify positive and negative correlations from 2013 onward. The results indicate that, since 2013, a qualitative change has occurred in digital labor capital that has not been reflected in financial statements because of accounting distortions and that the returns on investment for digital labor have been underestimated. The standalone valuation of digital know-how that belongs to natural persons, previously based on operating expense, will be based on capital expenditure. In addition, amortization will have the same contribution as depreciation of tangible assets to value creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare now make up over half the US annual budget (52% in 2022) but are heading for imminent collapse by 2033–35, as outlays exceed receipts. There appear to be only two options: increase tax receipts or reduce benefits, but neither of these is politically palatable. In this article, the author offers a third option: to make the trust funds themselves work harder, by investing them in US capital markets. This idea is not new, but the fear of major market downturns has always stopped this line of thinking. For the first time, the author offers a game changer: use algorithmic trading to invest trust funds. It is a method developed in previous articles and designed to both exceed market returns and reduce drawdowns. This two-sided win can be the catalyst to finally make these entitlement programs solvent for the long term. The author shows that if the Social Security Trust Funds had been invested in the market since 1991 as designed, then even after paying benefits, the funds would stand today at a healthy $6.2T, rather than the actual $2.8T. Going forward, bold action is needed to avert disaster and ensure solvency. Investing in the market is broadly supported by other informed observers, but some believe it is now too late. We advance a new way forward. But time is of the essence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expected returns, variances, betas, and alphas are all non-linear functions of the investment horizon. This seems to be a fatal conceptual problem for the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), which assumes a unique common horizon for all investors. We show that under the standard assumptions, the theoretical CAPM equilibrium surprisingly holds with the 1-period parameters, even when investors have heterogeneous and possibly much longer horizons. This is true not only for risk-averse investors, but for any investors with non-decreasing preferences, including prospect theory investors. Thus, the widespread practice of using monthly betas to estimate the cost of capital is theoretically justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The steeply rising demand for mobile data drives the investigation of the transmission backhaul network architecture and cost for the fifth generation (5G) of mobile technologies. The proposed backhaul architecture will facilitate high throughput, low latency, scalability, low cost of ownership, and high capacity backhaul for 5G mobile technologies. This paper presents a transmission backhaul network architecture for 5G technology; the proposed internet protocol (IP) transmission backhauling architecture includes the data center, core network, distribution network, and access or IP random access network. A mathematical model for the data center IP core network, IP distributed network, and the IP access network for capital expenditure (Capex), operational expenditure (Opex), and the total cost of ownership (TCO) are presented, as well as a mathematical model for the entire backhauling architecture. The result shows that the increase in IP sites is positively proportional to the Capex and negatively proportional to the Opex. The selectivity analysis shows that the increase in bandwidth is directly proportional to the Capex, Opex, and TCO in the IP core network. The increase in data centers is directly proportional to the Capex, Opex, and TCO of the entire backhauling architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated the effects of economic policy uncertainty on corporate investments of publicly traded companies listed in Brazil from 2010 to 2020. Uncertainty about economic policy can intensify the value of the option of waiting for new information and cause delays in corporate investments, as suggested by the Real Options Theory. Method: To analyze this relationship, the System Generalized Method of Moments was used, with panel data for a sample of 153 companies, capable of addressing endogeneity problems caused by data of this nature. Results: It was found that increases in economic policy uncertainty cause reductions in the volumes of capital expenditures of companies, with persisting effects in at least four future quarters. Moreover, corporate investments were more responsive to general economic uncertainty, as measured by the Economic Uncertainty Index -- Brazil (IIE-Br), than to economic policy uncertainty, as measured by the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index (EPU). Contributions: We confirm that uncertainty in the measured dimensions can delay corporate investments in Brazil. The proposed dynamic model is suitable in predicting firm responses to uncertainty in future periods. This study contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of corporate investment decisions in Brazil. This information is useful for market analysts in their forecasts, as well as policymakers in developing policies that ensure the balance of such decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]