The Penetration of Financial Instability in Agricultural Credit and Leveraging. Factor Markets Working Paper No. 2, September 2011

This paper describes the aggregate rural capital markets of the EU and the main differences between the markets of its member countries. The results of our study suggest that the agricultural credit markets are still quite segmented and the segments are country- rather than currency- or region specific. Financial instability in Europe is also penetrating the agricultural sector and the variation of interest rates for agricultural credit is increasing across countries. Perhaps the most dramatic signal of growing financial instability is that the financial leverage (gearing rate) of European farms rose in 2008 by almost 4 percentage points, from 14 to 18%. The 4 percentage-point annual rise was twice the 2 percentage-point rise observed during the economic recession in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The distribution of the financial leverage of agriculture across countries does not, however, reflect the distribution of country-specific risk premiums in the manner that they are observed in government bond yields. Therefore, in those countries that have the weakest financial situation in the public sector and in which the bond markets are encumbered with high country-specific risk premiums, the agricultural sector is not directly exposed to a very large risk of increasing interest rates, since it is not so highly leveraged. For example in Greek and Spanish agriculture, the financial leverage (gearing) rate is only 0.6% and 2.2% respectively, while the highest gearing rates are found elsewhere (in Denmark), reaching 50%.

Kazakhstan: the regional success story; Tajikistan: a trial period; Uzbekistan: the major source of instability in Central Asia? OSW Study 15/2004

Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan can boast economic development like no other country in Central Asia. In contrast to other countries of the region, which have rich natural resources, Kazakhstan has managed to use its economic potential in a way that yields concrete benefits now and, at the same time, creates prospects for further sustainable economic growth. Tajikistan: Tajikistan in its present state has been built on the civil war experiences and provisions of the peace accords signed in 1997. These have had a great impact on the present form of the state, its political scene and power mechanisms. President Emomali Rakhmonov is the central figure in the state. The political system, which he has cocreated, is based on - unique in this region - political pluralism (the existence of the Islamic party), decentralisation (far-going independence of the regions and relatively limited potential of the central structures) and compromise as the basic way of resolving conflicts. Such a system has so far guaranteed stabilisation and normalisation of the country. Uzbekistan: With its geographic location, potential, ambitions and political priorities, Uzbekistan could play a leading role in Central Asia. The international community has perceived the country as the pillar of stability in the region. This perception was further reinforced after 11th September 2001 and was certainly among the factors that inspired the United States to start closer political and military cooperation with Tashkent. The administration in Washington had expected that closer contacts might galvanise political, economic and social change in Uzbekistan, thus reinforcing positive trends in other countries of the region as well. But the relations between Washington and Tashkent are in crisis (which the United States will certainly try to overcome), and we have seen rapprochement between Uzbekistan and Russia and China.

Strain-induced structural instability in FeRh

We perform density functional calculations to investigate the structure of the intermetallic alloy FeRh under epitaxial strain. Bulk FeRh exhibits a metamagnetic transition from a low-temperature antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase to a ferromagnetic phase at 350 K, and its strain dependence is of interest for tuning the transition temperature to the room-temperature operating conditions of typical memory devices. We find an unusually strong dependence of the structural energetics on the choice of exchange-correlation functional, with the usual local density approximation yielding the wrong ground-state structure, and generalized gradient (GGA) extensions being in better agreement with the bulk experimental structure. Using the GGA we show the existence of a metastable face-centered-cubic-like AFM structure that is reached from the ground-state body-centered-cubic-like AFM structure by following the epitaxial Bain path. We show that the behavior is well described using nonlinear elasticity theory, which captures the softening and eventual sign change of the orthorhombic shear modulus under compressive strain, consistent with this structural instability. Finally, we predict the existence of an additional unit-cell-doubling lattice instability, which should be observable at low temperature.

An investigation of the exact solutions of the linearized equations for the flow past conical bodies,

Reproduced from type-written copy.

The new metal worker pattern book; a complete course of instruction in the modern methods of developing and cutting the patterns for sheet metal work, giving the principles underlying practically every problem that is likely to come up in practice and explaining the selection and use of drawing tools and linear and geometrical drawing so clearly that one, who has had no previous knowledge of arithmetic or drawing, may understand these essentials and apply them in using the 253 problems in the development of patterns by the parallel line, conical or flaring, and triangulation systems.

Mode of access: Internet.

The coupling and mutual impedance between balanced wire-arm conical log-spiral antennas /

Includes bibliographical references (76-77)

New circularly polarized frequency independent antennas with conical beam or omnidirectional patterns /

"Contract AF33(616)-6079 Project No. 9-(13-6278) Task 40572. Sponsored by: Wright Air Development Center"

Gaussian elimination and numerical instability /

"UILU-ENG 77 1714."

Dimensional instability of Uranium.

Report year runs ends June 30.

Mechanism of dimensional instability /

"Classification cancelled or changed to UNCLASSIFIED by authority of TIS Change Notice No. 1849 by ASB TISOR, date 8/14/55."

Dimensional instability of uranium

"Contract AT(30-1)2101."

Basic studies of rotating stall and an investigation of flow-instability sensing devices

pt. 1. Basic studies of rotating stall flow mechanisms.--pt. 2. Investigation of flow-instability sensing devices.

Thermal buckling of circular cylindrical and conical thin-walled shells

"Aeronautical Research Laboratory. Contract AF 33(616)-3885, Project no. 7(8-1367), Task no. 70524."

Instability considerations for various difference equations derived from the diffusion equation,

"Prepared for American Mathematical Society Meeting, Los Angeles, California, Nov. 27, 1954."