Estimating the increasing cost of commercial buildings in Australia due to greenhouse emissions trading

The ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by most industrial nations will result in an international greenhouse emissions trading market by or before 2008. Calculating the quantity of embodied energy in commercial buildings has therefore taken on added significance because it is in the creation of energy that most greenhouse gas that causes global warming is released. For energy efficient commercial buildings in Australia, the embodied energy can typically represent between 10 and 20 years of operational energy. When greenhouse emissions trading is introduced in Australia the cost of energy will rise significantly, particularly electricity which relies primarily on burning fossil fuels for generation. This will affect not only the operating energy costs of buildings (light, power & heating/cooling) but also the cost of building materials and construction. Early estimates of the potential cost of future greenhouse emission permits in Australia vary between $IO/tonne to $180Itonne. This cost would be imposed primarily on the producers of energy and passed on by them to consumers via higher energy costs. For a typical commercial building this could lead to an increase in the total procurement cost of buildings of up to 20% due to the energy embodied during the construction or refurbishment of the building. To assist in evaluating these potential cost increases McKean & Park, Sinclair Knight Merz and Deakin University have developed a web-based Carbon Cost Calculator for commercial buildings.

Trading activities and cross-sectional variation in stock expected return : evidence from Kuala Lumpur stock exchange

Trading activity has been considered as one of the possible factor that explains the cross-sectional variation in stock returns. In this study I use trading volume as a possible measure to proxy for liquidity as part of the trading activity. Monthly observations were used over a period 1995 to 2005 to examine the liquidity effect on stock expected returns. Based on findings it is appeared that level of liquidity does matter in explaining the expected stock returns in Malaysian capital market. While Fama-french factors also provide important explanation for stock returns. But none of the second moment variables proxying liquidity appeared to be statistically significant. However, momentum effect apprearently explain ing the cross-sectional variation in stock returns. 

Examination of the codes of ethics artefacts in top Taiwanese companies

This study examines the use of codes of ethics artefacts among top companies in Taiwan. This research reports on the responses of those top Taiwanese companies that possessed a code of ethics. The empirical findings are compared to the findings of previous research. Top Taiwanese companies appear not to be drastically different from top companies in other countries in terms of the areas examined. Several similarities have been revealed. This study provides valuable insights into a previously unexplored corporate territory in terms of codes of ethics artefacts. Furthermore, it provides a seed and guidance for further research in other corporate cultures worldwide. Two parts of interest to business practices may be distinguished in terms of corporate codes of ethics artefacts, namely a regulatory one and one that supports staff. It also provides a valuable point of reference to previous research of corporate codes of ethics artefacts.