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An overview of some of the developments that have taken places in economics and finance is presented.

A research on the various means by which social capital is developed by a non-state institution, i.e. Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, resulting in rapid growth of Microfinance in Bangladesh and elsewhere is discussed.

Elder abuse is a serious problem affecting thousands of vulnerable, older adults. Financial exploitation (also known as financial abuse) is a type of abuse that has serious implications for the victim's economic well-being and quality of life. Financial exploitation may deprive victims of their life savings and assets and, thus, their economic foundation for independence. Although work to date has provided some basic information on the risk factors associated with financial exploitation and the potential impact it may have on the older adults (and families) who have been victimized, much remains to be learned about its characteristics, causes, and consequences, and about effective means to prevent or manage financial exploitation. The purpose of this article is to describe a conceptual model that can guide the understanding of financial exploitation. This framework can assist policymakers, practitioners, law enforcement officials, and others to better develop+ implement, and evaluate different strategies to reduce the risk of financial exploitation among older persons. KEYWORDS. Financial exploitation, financial abuse, older victims, elder abuse

Research into the effects the tax reform act of 1986 had on the international location decisions of U.S. financial services firms is given. The research is consistant with the theory that when investing in passive assets, which the parent can borrow against, or in related affilates which can be used as vehicles for tax favored repatriations.

Research into the possible benefits of marginal source usage in investment fund tax payments is given. The research shows the advantage of retaining earnings precisely offsets the double taxation of subsequent dividends.

McKinnon's complementarity hypothese is shown to work for India, but not for Sri Lanka. The authors develop an error correction model for the hypothesis.

The authors explore the difference between practical and behavioral finance and propose that the failure of behavioral finance is proof of its legitimacy.

Two models are developed for setting prices of new assets. One finds limits for pricing without arbitrage, and the other sets a minimum level where an investor would purchase the asset.

The authors develop a theory to deal with excess consumption sensitivity and excess equity premium in Samuelson's basic model of optimum consumption and portfolio decisions.

This paper examines whether a general equilibrium asset pricing model can explain two important empirical regularities of asset returns, extensively documented in the literature: (i) returns can be predicted by a set of macro variables, and (ii) returns are very volatile. We derive a closed-form solution for the equilibrium asset pricing model that relates asset returns to output by using an approximate method proposed by Campbell (Am. Econ. Rev. 83 (1993) 487) and Restoy and Weil (W.P. NBER, No. 6611 (1998)). We obtain evidence on eight OECD economies using both quarterly and annual observations. Equilibrium models seem to find fewer difficulties in explaining the volatility of returns than their predictability for general output processes. In the case of the US, the observed predictability and volatility of asset returns, for annual frequencies, are broadly compatible with the predictions of equilibrium models for a reasonable specification of preferences. JEL classification: G12; G14 Keywords: Generalized isoelastic preferences; Asset returns; Real activity; Volatility

Research into the effectiveness of affine models used to forecast future treasury yields is given.

Research into the inefficiencies of business debt restructuring is given. The research shows that poor creditor management is a reason why some companies who emerge from financial distress, return in time.

Research into the common occurrence by companies to buy equity when their share prices are low, and selling equity when they are high is given. The research shows that the capital structure is formed by past attempts to time the equity market.

The paper tests two popular asset-based models of speculative attacks and in particular, their emphasis on the second moments of monetary aggregates. Analyzing monthly panels of appropriate countries in three regions, it finds evidence for the importance of money/reserve ratios predicted by both models, as well as the variance of the ratio of M2 to reserves. Keywords: Speculative attacks; Target zones; Currency crises; GARCH; Volatility

Data on traders from eight different countries trading on the German Security Exchange's Electronic trading system, Xetra, was used to explore the effects of asymmetrical information in a global market. Research results reveal that trading profits were lower for both non-German-speaking traders and traders located outside Germany.

The pricing of financial assets done on a fixed grid predicated upon minimal tick size yields quoted spreads and observed prices that are not congruent with the true spreads and equilibrium prices. A model is presented for accurately researching mid- and large-cap stocks.

The diversification discount, whereby the stock price of diversified conglomerates is less than that of comparable single-segment corporations, is linked to differences in future returns or future cash flow. Research results show that a little more than half the discount is linked to cash flow variations.

Firms facing defaulting on their corporate bonds typically adjust their level of debt, but most default models do not allow a firm to change its capital structure. A new structural model generating stationary leverage ratios is presented.

Research using simulated mutual funds that mimic actual funds reveals that extant research models fail to predict significant deviations in fund performance. The efficacy of mutual fund financial research can be boosted by incorporating event-study mechanisms linked to fund trades.

Reduced-form models incorporating a paradigm for calculating the corporate bond default risk of financial counterparties is presented. Counterparty risks are those risks specific to an individual issuer.

CBOT's market in 30-year Treasury bonds is investigated to elucidate the information content in ambient noise. Research results indicate that noise conveys significant information in the market.

This paper investigates hedge fund and CTA volatility in light of hedge fund managers' concerns with both risk and returns. The success of a fund depends on its age, performance and excess volatility.

Approximately one-third of 401(k) plan assets are invested in the stock of the employer giving lie to earlier research predicting people would want diversified portfolios. New research indicates that employees of companies with strongly performing stocks invest more of their assets in the employer's stock.

The paper investigates the synchronous movement of the prices of stocks with similar ticker symbols. Research results reveal a significant co-movement of stock prices, volume and volatility in the short term.