​US equities overperformed in August, reaching an all-time high, on the back of strong economic data
Global equity markets have been mixed during August. The S&P 500 reached an all-time high (+2.9% since July 31st | +0.9% in the past week) due to a strong economic performance, while emerging market (EM) and euro area equities are in negative territory.
Investor sentiment was subdued, due, inter alia, to (US - China) “trade war” concerns and uncertainty in Turkey. Recall that in the US, the public consultation period has begun for increased tariffs of 25% on $200 bn worth of imports from China, and a final decision is likely by mid-September.
The prospect of a rise in US short and medium-term rates, as well as a stronger US Dollar, has weighed on emerging markets. Regarding the former, the minutes of the August 1st Fed meeting (issued on August 22nd), as well as Fed Chair Powell’s comments at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, supported the view that the Fed will proceed with the next rate hike of 25 bps, to 2.25%, at the September 26th meeting.
However, Mr. Powell stated that there was no clear sign of inflation overheating, thus alleviating concerns for faster monetary policy tightening by the Fed and leading the US Dollar lower by 0.5% in NEER terms on Friday (August 24th). Nevertheless, since July 31st, the USD is up by 0.4% in NEER terms and, more importantly, by 4.7% against EM currencies, due to the economic overperformance in the US and idiosyncratic factors in some EM countries (e.g. Turkey, Argentina, Brazil).
Overall, the MSCI EM Index is down by 1.7% in August, although it recovered by +2.7% in the past week and further by 1.8% on Monday, after US and Mexico reached a preliminary trade agreement. Similarly, Chinese equities (CSI 300 Index) are down 3.2% in August (-22% since mid-January 2018), albeit up by +3.0% wow in the past week and by a further +2.4% on Monday, as the Chinese Yuan showed signs of stabilizing (+1.0% wow against the USD, to $6.808 | -8.5% since early-April 2018).
In the euro area, the EuroStoxx posted solid gains during the past week (+1.5% wow) and on Monday (+0.9%), although remaining down by 1.3% since end-July. Banks were hit hard in August (-8.1% since July 31st), led by Italian Banks (-13.8%), due to rising policy uncertainty, as the submission of Italy’s 2019 Budget plan (by September 27th to the Italian Parliament and by October 15th to the European Commission) could increase concerns regarding the country’s fiscal health.
Turkey’s economic jitters added to the downside pressures for some euro area Banks that have a relatively high exposure to Turkey, e.g. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA | -12.0% during August) in Spain and UniCredit (UCG: -14.2% in the same period) in Italy, with 14% and 9% of their profits, respectively, stemming from Turkey in H1:2018.
Safe-haven demand drove core government bond yields lower in August. Indeed, the 10-Year Bund yield fell by 7 bps since July 31st, to 0.38%. In contrast, the Italian BTP/Bund spread in the 10-Year tenor widened by 50 bps in that period, to 278 bps (5-year high of 290 bps in late-May 2018).
The rotation towards US assets was also reflected in US Treasury bond yields. In the 10-Year tenor, yields have declined by 11 bps since end-July, to 2.85%. Nevertheless, based on CFTC speculative contracts, record net short positioning suggests little room for further yield downside (see graph).
The food & beverage industry proved to be resilient during the crisis. With its turnover stable close to €15 billion, the industry's contribution to the total business sector sales increased to 7 per cent in 2017 from 5 per cent in 2008. The main supporting factor was exports, which with an increase of 45 per cent helped offset the impact of slightly lower domestic consumption (-11 per cent over the last decade).
Even though the share of food SMES in total sales in the sector declined to 32 per cent in 2017 from 41 per cent in 2008 (mainly due to the closure of enterprises), the NBG field survey on a sample of 200 food SMEs indicates that food SMEs that survived the crisis managed to increase their sales by about 10 per cent over the last decade (corresponding to the sales pattern of larger enterprises).
In particular, SMEs that have survived the crisis appear to have been able to capitalize to some extent on the upward trend in the global food trade (which has grown by 80 per cent over the last decade). The – undoubtedly positive – rise in exports by Greek food SMEs by 30 per cent over the past decade has not been enough, however, to maintain their share in the (expanded) international markets (which has declined to 0.12 per cent in 2017 from 0.16 per cent in 2008).
It is important to note that other Greek food exporters have managed to keep their international market shares steady (at 0.36 per cent) – indicating that Greek food is inherently competitive in the international marketplace. In light of the above, now is the right time to develop healthy structures and well-designed strategies so as to fully exploit the competitive advantage of Greek food products. A recovery in the share of Greek food SMEs in the global market could increase Greek exports by €0.5 billion annually.
Improvement measures should initially be carried out in those sectors where the majority of businesses are export-oriented:
Olive oil is the product of the Greek food industry that presents the greatest comparative advantage and accordingly the biggest potential for generating greater value added. However, its intrinsic high competitiveness has already secured healthy profitability, meaning that olive oil SMEs only have limited appetite for change in the marketing model from bulk to branded sales.
By contrast, wine and dairy are segments that are more receptive to change, and ripe for restructuring. As they have already introduced best practices from the enterprises' perspective (focus on quality and developed markets), emphasis now needs to be placed on the strategy of the sector overall. In the case of wine, there is a need for consolidation of various forms in order to attain economies of scale, while in the dairy sector, partnerships need to focus on the upgrade and expansion of the distribution network.
In the case of fruit and vegetables, although there is a willingness to see restructuring in the sector, the changes required are quite extensive. Specifically, besides a radical reformulation of strategy (both in respect of the product and the target markets) significant investments are needed in order to upgrade production technology and expand the distribution network.
Age, photoperiod and estrogen dependent variations in the shell gland and the expression of AVT in the ovary of Japanese quail. - PubMed - NCBI
Age, photoperiod and estrogen dependent variations in the shell gland and the expression of AVT in the ovary of Japanese quail.
Present work was undertaken to describe (i) age dependent (prepuberal-3, 4, 5 and 6 weeks old, puberal and actively laying 8 and 12 weeks old and aged 78 weeks old) (ii) photoperiodic response dependent (photosensitive and photorefractory) and sex steroid dependent (estradiol benzoate and its antagonist tamoxifen treated) variation in the ovary and shell gland activity of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Further, in view of the role of neurohypophysial peptide arginine vasotocin (AVT) in many physiological processes including age/reproduction related oviposition, expression of ir-AVT was also monitored in the ovary of quail. All the parameters associated with histodifferentiation increased rapidly during the developing stages followed by a decrease in old age, which also increased in reproductively quiescent photorefractory birds following estradiol treatment and decreased in reproductively active photosensitive quail following tamoxifen treatment. Using AVT-specific antibody, expression of immunoreactive AVT (ir-AVT) observed in the ovary of photosensitive quail was not detected in the photorefractory quail. However, administration of estrogen in the photorefractory quail stimulated the growth and activity of ovary and shell gland also resulted in the expression of ovarian ir-AVT. On the other hand, tamoxifen eliminated the localization of ir-AVT in the ovary of photosensitive quail in addition to a decrease in the shell gland protein and alkaline phosphatase activity. It is concluded that estrogen not only affects the growth and differentiation of ovary and oviduct including shell gland but also regulates the expression of ovarian AVT. It is also suggested that in addition to reported paracrine effect of AVT in the shell gland of Japanese quail for oviposition, ovarian AVT may also affect ovarian function (ovulation), and in part, this regulation is estrogen dependent.
State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, P.R. China.
Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
Biodiesel production using microalgae would play a pivotal role in satisfying future global energy demands. Understanding of lipid metabolism in microalgae is important to isolate oleaginous strain capable of overproducing lipids. It has been reported that reducing starch biosynthesis can enhance lipid accumulation. However, the metabolic mechanism controlling carbon partitioning from starch to lipids in microalgae remains unclear, thus complicating the genetic engineering of algal strains. We here used "dynamic" metabolic profiling and essential transcription analysis of the oleaginous green alga Chlamydomonas sp. JSC4 for the first time to demonstrate the switching mechanisms from starch to lipid synthesis using salinity as a regulator, and identified the metabolic rate-limiting step for enhancing lipid accumulation (e.g., pyruvate-to-acetyl-CoA). These results, showing salinity-induced starch-to-lipid biosynthesis, will help increase our understanding of dynamic carbon partitioning in oleaginous microalgae. Moreover, we successfully determined the changes of several key lipid-synthesis-related genes (e.g., acetyl-CoA carboxylase, pyruvate decarboxylase, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, acetyl-CoA synthetase and pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase) and starch-degradation related genes (e.g., starch phosphorylases), which could provide a breakthrough in the marine microalgal production of biodiesel.
Carbon partitioning from CO2 to starch and lipid accumulation and the key enzymes in Chlamydomonas spp.
Time-course profiles of biomass production, nitrate concentration, and lipid and carbohydrate content under (a) 0%, (b) 1%, and (c) 2% of sea salt (SS). Error bars indicate the standard deviation (SD) of three replicate experiments.
(0% and 2%) at Day 3, 5, and 7. ○ (pink) and • (blue) indicate 0% and 2% SS, respectively. Error bars indicate the SD of three replicate experiments (*p < 0.05 by Student’s t-test).
○ (pink) and • (blue) indicate 0% and 2% SS, respectively. Biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP), biotin carboxylase (BC), and carboxyltransferase α-subunit (αCT) and β-subunit (βCT) are components of ACC in Chlamydomonas sp. Shown are the relative mRNA levels normalized by the level of the RPL32 and by the level of each gene at the Day 3 under the 0% SS. Error bars indicate the SD of three replicate experiments (*p < 0.05 by Student’s t-test).
An update on hormone replacement therapy: health and medicine for women: a multidisciplinary, evidence-based review of mid-life health concerns.
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Prior to joining NCCI in 2015, Ms. Townsend worked at the Travelers Insurance Company for 19 years, where she served as assistant operations manager with the workers compensation insurance residual market division.
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