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Owing to the concern that individuals are not adequately preparing for retirement, factors that affect retirement savings and confidence have been the focus of research in the field of household finance. By making use of data from a nationally representative sample of South African individuals, this study aimed to determine whether working pre-retirees' retirement confidence can be associated with the source of financial advice used (formal, informal, workplace or social network), while controlling for sociodemographic factors and financial knowledge. The results indicated that among working pre-retirees, higher levels of income and education were positively associated with retirement confidence, and respondents who made use of formal financial advice were more likely to feel confident about their financial preparation for retirement than respondents who did not. These findings have implications for financial advisors, consumers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides policy makers and financial planners with key information to identify demographic traits that are associated with the financial risk tolerance (FRT) of financial planning clients in order to be able to target them appropriately. It explores international nationality differences and similarities in financial risk tolerance based on previously collected survey data, using logistic regression analysis. Data were obtained from 6 828 financial planning clients in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa. Each country's log-regression model contained seven independent variables (age, gender, education, income, marital status, number of dependants and net worth). The results revealed national differences in the financial risk tolerance, with a younger and predominantly male South African sample showing the highest financial risk tolerance. In all the countries, being young and male was associated with higher financial risk tolerance levels. In Australia and the United Kingdom, higher income levels were associated with higher levels of financial risk tolerance, while in the United States and South Africa, those with higher levels of net worth demonstrated higher levels of financial risk tolerance. In addition, in the South African sample those with higher levels of education had higher financial risk tolerance scores. The full multivariate model (n = 3 981), which included all demographic variables, revealed that higher financial risk tolerance levels are associated with younger, more educated South African males with both higher levels of income and accumulated net worth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An appreciable amount of coke forms over an 8wt% WO3/SiO2 during the metathesis of 1-alkenes to internal alkenes. Catalyst activity is maintained despite the high coke levels (49wt%). To understand this phenomenon, the coked catalyst was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), BET and energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM). Even at high coke levels, carbon maps show that the coke is dispersed over the support rather than covering the tungsten oxide. This observation may explain why the high activity of the catalyst is maintained and gives an indication that the location of coke laydown is more important than the amount deposited, in determining catalyst activity. Trace quantities of water, butanol and 2-pentanone were introduced into the feed stream and this resulted in the inhibition of coke formation without a significant loss in catalyst activity. 2-Pentanone was found to be the most effective inhibitor. Coking profiles indicated that the internal alkenes coked more rapidly than the 1-alkene feed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An 8% WO3/SiO2 catalyst was used for a metathesis reaction of 1-octene in the presence of different additives. These additives represents the possible components in an industrial 1-heptene feed stream that might have an influence on the performance of a WO3/SiO2 metathesis catalyst. The reaction conditions for the metathesis reaction in a once-through mode reactor were 460 °C and a Liquid Hour Space Velocity (LHSV) of 5 h−1. The operating conditions for the recycle reactor were 460 °C, LHSV=16 h−1 and a feed to recycle ratio of 1:5.6. The oxygenates used for the poison testing were 2-pentanone, hexanal, acetic acid, butanol and water. Both Brønsted acids and Lewis bases used, slows the reaction rate down if the amount of oxygenates are more than 500 ppm. The reaction was unstable with more than 500 ppm of oxygenates present in the feed, but this resulted in a product with a clearer colour (more colourless). Changing the feed back to pure feed resulted in reactivation of the catalyst. The catalyst was thereafter more selective and active towards the primary metathesis products, indication a permanent change in morphology of the catalyst. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

By increasing the WO3 loading on WO3/SiO2 metathesis catalysts it was observed that metathesis activity is closely related to the tungsten surface compound and not to the crystalline WO3. It was observed that metathesis activity reached a maximum while WO3 crystalline material continued to increase with increasing WO3 loading. At high WO3 loadings the formation of crystalline material also protected the active tungsten surface compound from deactivation by being the preferred species for over-reduction. The occurrence of branched metathesis products was attributed to an increase in Brønsted acidity indicating an alkoxide (carbenium ion) mechanism responsible for skeletal isomerisation. Reduction of branched metathesis products were achieved with the addition of small amounts of an alkali-metal ion. Large amounts of the alkali-metal ion resulted in a sharp decline in conversion indicating destruction of the Lewis acidity necessary for metathesis activity. Preparation of WO3/SiO2 catalysts at a pH above the iso-electric point of silica also had a significant effect on catalyst selectivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

During investigations into the activity of the 8% WO3/SiO2 catalyst it was observed that the selectivity and online lifetime of the catalyst improved, while the overall feed conversion decreased slightly after the first regeneration. It was further observed that the online lifetime of the catalyst was different after the first regeneration of the catalyst. Analysis of the fresh, coked and regenerated catalyst did not show any sintering of the catalyst taking place. It was concluded that coking of the catalyst is mostly occurring in the pores of the support. Analysis also indicated a possible change in the morphology of the catalyst after the first regeneration. The purpose of this investigation is to highlight the significant effect that regeneration has on the lifetime and selectivity of a WO3/SiO2 metathesis catalyst. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]