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Hungary's Regions, Competitiveness and Country Image
Gábor Kutasi
Stability of CEE Banks in the Crisis Years. Capital Adequacy and Too-Big-to-Fail Parent Banks in CEE
Capital Adequacy and Too-Big-to-Fail Parent Banks in CEE1
Civic Review, Vol. 14, Special Issue, 2018, 241-254, DOI: 10.24307/psz.2018.0416
Gábor Kutasi, PhD, Associate Professor, Corvinus University of Budapest; Research Fellow, National Bank of Hungary (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
The paper analyses the factors of capital adequacy in the banking FDI of Central and East European countries by relying on the Bankscope database. The main hypothesis is that parent ownership mitigated the impacts of the financial crisis on commercial banks, as parent banks capitalized those affiliates which turned red in household and corporate lending. This type of cross-market rebalancing is tested by a regression analysis. Several different factors were identified such as the too-big-to-fail phenomenon of parent banks, the FX rate volatility, the changing monetary environment represented by a 3-month market rate, the fiscal shock caused by sector-specific taxes and the risk of debtor failures represented by proxy of non-performing ratios.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: F31, F37, G17, G21, G33
Keywords: capital adequacy, capital adjustment, multinational banks, too-big-to-fail, non-performing loan, Central and Eastern Europe
Due to the US financial crisis and the recession in the EU, the European banking system suffered serious losses in the first decade of the new millennium. Moreover, the banking market of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) showed a variety of individual impacts as a result of the multiple risks of national policy, foreign exchange and solvency. Banks in the CEE region suffered capital losses due to global and local impacts. This process put a pressure on foreign investors to rethink their strategies and either re-capitalize the losses or withdraw their direct investment from the region.
The paper analyses these capital adjustment decisions, with focus on the following factors: 1) status of the parent bank; 2) foreign exchange rate volatility in CEE countries; 3) the changing monetary environment expressed in inter-bank market rates; 4) public finance induced shocks on the banking sector by sector-specific taxes; and 5) non-performing loans (NPL) in the domestic market of operation.
The hypothesis is that too-big-to-fail (TBTF) parent ownership mitigated the impact on CEE commercial banks, as parent banks capitalized the affiliates that turned red in household and corporate lending. Accordingly, a strong cross-market rebalancing emerged in the Central and Eastern European region.
The analysis uses a multiple regression model including cyclical effects, monetary indicators, NPL ratios and a sector-specific tax dummy. The analysis demonstrates that the predominance of TBTF parent banks was a protective factor, as they ensured the necessary capital adjustments of their CEE bank affiliates.
The methodology is derived from capital buffering models and makes the regression model of the analysis. The methodological section commences with the theoretical origins of the composed estimation model, the optimal capital structure equation. Three indicators with an available database will be used to represent capital adequacy, thus testing the hypothesis in three different approaches. Finally, the empirical analysis is followed by an explanation of correlation, significance and adequacy of the database.
The empirical conclusions show that the macroeconomic and regulatory factors have an insignificant impact on the capability of CEE affiliates and branches of multinational banks, and it is almost only the financial power and investment strategy of the parent bank which matters in their capitalisation.
Cee banking and cross-border linkages
Although, in the second decade of the 21st century, the CEE commercial banking sector operates in market economies as usual, the region has a legacy of the command economy that lasted up to 1989. Benczes (2008) summed up the impacts of the past on the banking sector, which was privatised relatively recently, transformed into a kind of two-tier system and opened up to foreign investors, who then became majority owners in the undercapitalized transition region. Besides, CEE markets are characterized by small scales, low financial penetration and low product diversification. These resulted in peculiar features regarding the vulnerability and stability of the CEE banking sector (Benczes, 2008, pp. 128-138).
The small and fragmented market in CEE is not only due to the region's geographical and political fragmentation, but also to the differences between the national financial and fiscal-monetary policy mixes and strategies. Sovereign risks and interest rate policies affect the structure of loans and deposits differently. Before the global and the euro crisis, all CEE countries had national monetary autonomies. Some of them chose the strategy to pass it to the European Central Bank as soon as possible (Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia and Latvia), or are planning to do so (Bulgaria, Romania and Lithuania), while others have been making efforts to preserve the national currency (Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary). Certain monetary authorities apply strict and high interest rates, some do not. In the eve of the crisis certain countries had higher foreign reserves, others had lower, etc. These policy differences modified and differentiated the credit and deposit structure of the countries. According to Lentner's (2015a) details and analysis of this process, foreign currency loans were spread by policy incentives. Due to the differences between the various national risk premium and interest rate policies, in the countries (Hungary, Baltic states, Romania, and the Ukraine) which retained high rates while also giving opportunity to foreign currency loans, the depreciation caused by the global panic in the emerging market currencies hit households and firms indebted in euro, Swiss franc or other foreign currencies. The solution for meeting the challenge of foreign currency indebtedness is described, among others, by Lentner's case study (2015b). On the other hand, the countries which kept their risk premium close or below the euro area market rates were only slightly exposed to foreign exchange risks related to loans.
Árvai et al. (2009) focused on cross-border interbank spill-overs between Western and Eastern Europe. They recognized an asymmetric dependency of CEE countries on Western European banks, as banking contagion is determined (mitigated) to a major extent by multinational banks. The measured exposure of Western (except for Austrian and Swedish) banks is low. The historical market share figures of foreign banks clearly show that foreign ownership is predominant in the CEE region, considerably beyond 50%, everywhere except Slovenia. Foreign ownership share is important for two reasons: on one hand, strong ties with multinational banking provides indirect channels to one another in the CEE region through the common lender parent bank; and on the other, the relatively big multinational banks mitigated and prevented the mass failure of CEE banking sectors as these TNCs had the liquidity to refund banks for their equity lost and guarantee the deposits left uncovered by the increasing amount of non-performing loans.
Theoretical background and the reasonableness of regressors
Moshirian (2008, p. 2291) concludes that FDI was an "important vehicle for multinational banks to enter developing countries". He diagnoses that the European financial integration and the emergence of large multinational banks started a new era in the competition and consolidation of banks. His assumes that the home country bias becomes much smaller in an integrated sectoral environment.
First of all, it should be clarified why banks invest in a foreign country.2 Berger et al. (2001) assume a global advantage of multinational banks in comparison to domestic banks, as multinationals have access to better technology to evaluate and monitor the risks and better practices to treat moral hazard. According to Goldberg and Saunders (1981), Brealey and Kaplanis (1996), Konopielko (1999), Buch (2000), Moshirian (2001) and Williams (2002), banks follow their customers. Others (Claessens et al., 2001; Hymer, 1979) are of the view that banks seek efficiency and higher profitability, which can be achieved by extending the market or the number of foreign customers. Lesnik and Haan (2002) measured a strong positive correlation between the liberalisation of the banking market and the banking FDI moving into developing, transiting countries. Claessens et al. (2001) modelled tax advantages sought by foreign banks.
In their studies on CEE and other post-Soviet European countries, Papi and Revoltella (2000), and Mathieson and Roldòs (2001) came to the conclusion that return on equity (ROE), the NPL ratio, the attitude of the host country's authorities and the liberalisation of entry regulations were the most significant factors of attractiveness. Naaborg (2007), however, found that several studies in the literature contradicted each other regarding the link between efficiency and foreign ownership. Horen (2007) analysed whether it matters if the host and home countries of banking FDI are developed or emerging ones when it comes to location decisions. Based on location-related knowledge, he found that banks from developing countries are more important in other developing national banking markets.
Although this paper seeks evidence for the capability of multinational affiliates to resist crises, one must keep in mind the statement made by Eller et al. (2006, p. 302), namely that "foreignness" does not automatically guarantee higher efficiency and competitiveness, and thus a higher economic growth multiplier. The current hypothesis, however, does not concern cost efficiency but liquidity guaranteed by the TBTF nature of parents to avoid bank failure.
The market-seeking activities of multinational banks in CEE countries resulted in predominant oligopolies in the regional banking market, backed by large banks considered to be too big to fail. In Stern and Feldman's (2009) explanation, the TBTF phenomenon implies that political decision-makers bail out big banks in the case of a failure, because they fear an extended banking crisis and a sudden stop in lending, which may trigger general economic depression. TBTF parent banks are important factors in the re-capitalisation of the CEE banking sector, as the losses were ultimately backed by the parent banks' home governments. Being a TBTF bank means it can suffer any degree of loss, their home government will save them, and that is why they can reserve their capability to re-capitalize their affiliated CEE banks with net losses.
Which banks can be considered as TBTF? Stern and Feldman (2009, p. 12) define the term as banks that "play an important role in a country's financial system and its economic performance". Apart from the bank's size, its share in payments and securities transactions also matters. This makes a bank ingrained in the economy, as market actors can assume with certainty that the government will save it in the case of a failure.
Borio (2009) and Rixtel and Gasperini (2013) explain the importance of the economic crisis on the funding of banks. In their view, the crisis increased the ratio of non-performing loans rapidly reduced the prices of financial assets. This trend deteriorated the corporate value of banks, and is important for two reasons. First, parent banks can also be affected by toxic assets and non-performing loans in their domestic markets, as shown by Rixtel and Gasperini (2013, pp. 4, 7), who also demonstrated the impact of the crisis on the 3-month LIBOR, bank credit default swaps (CDS), and the permanent relative devaluation of global bank stock indices since 2008. This can reduce the parent banks' financial capacity to refund CEE affiliates losing equity. However, it is offset by the TBTF nature of the parent banks and their bail-out. Second, the opposite shock through the intra-bank channel includes the case when the value of the affiliates is reduced by the consequences of the crisis, and the parent banks must raise funds to make their contribution to equity so that the affiliates can meet the capital requirements.
Fluctuations in foreign exchange (FX) rates may also have significant impacts. As, referring to the results of Froot and Stein's (1991) model, Ushijima (2008, p. 293) states: "the limited access to external capital due to informational frictions renders FDI sensitive to foreign exchange rate... This is because appreciations of the home currency increase firms' net worth or internal funds in terms of foreign currencies, enabling them to outbid foreign rivals in acquiring information-intensive overseas assets." The composition of FX loans and the volatility of the FX rate can have an impact on assets and the equity of banks. Needless to say, clearly there is a degree of correlation between the NPL ratio and the FX rate. An increasing default risk was manifested in CEE due to the depreciation of national currencies, and the increasing risk premium of insurance against credit default swaps (CDS). The combined effects of recession in CEE economies, the liquidation of companies and the termination of jobs, declining wages in manufacturing and the depreciation of the value of the real estate stock as a guarantor of loans resulted in the depreciation of the credit stock. Part of the collateral value behind bank loans disappeared due to the recession of the real economy.
In addition, monetary policies changed significantly due to the global crisis, not only in the Federal Reserve, but also in CEE and the Euroregion. Central bank rate cuts, increased money supply, innovative central bank interventions (e.g. two-week central bank bonds), etc. appeared.
In the event of an economic crisis, new sources are required to increase the budget revenue, especially if the government is compelled to exercise fiscal discipline due to an unsustainable public debt and the consequent increased credit risk premium, or if there is shortage of credit on the capital markets. The banking sector can become tempting for the government, since banks work with money. In the CEE region, banking taxes and taxes on financial transfers have been in effect since 2010. For example, the Hungarian government levied taxes on banks' turnover and transfer services in a very innovative manner, thus setting an example for Poland and other countries. In addition, the Hungarian government limited the banks' opportunity to shift this burden on the customers. The new taxes were imposed on a temporary basis, with reference to the crisis, but they eventually became a permanent component of the public budget. Such tax shocks confirm the assumption that equity restoration is particularly related to losses from tax liabilities. In the literature, DeAngelo and Masulis (1980) assume that an optimum capital structure is achieved if the marginal tax advantages and marginal disadvantages of bankruptcy are equal. Stolz (2007, p. 22) translates this to banking capital structure as a trade-off between "tax advantages of deposit financing and leverage related cost... due to the reserve requirements". Hungary imposed a high bank tax on turnovers in 2011, but a lower rate had already existed since 2009. Slovenia levied a bank tax after August 2011. Slovakia imposed a one-time tax in 2012, but, not surprisingly, this turned out to be permanent in 2013 in a modified form. Poland imposed the bank tax in 2014. In the rest of the CEE countries bank tax had only existed in theory (e.g. Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria) or had not been part of the government's taxation plans at all (e.g. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic) before 2014.
Non-performing loans are a significant factor in banks' assets and equity. The NPL ratio reduces a bank's lending capacity via provisions. The assumption of the analysis is that an increasing NPL ratio forces the bank to decide whether it wants to keep its lending capacity with a capital increase or change the lending strategy and accept the reduced capacity.
Regression analysis is based on the following methodological background: the analysis of capital adjustment of banks in specific circumstances, defined in the introduction, ought to be based on the literature of the optimal capital structure. Stolz (2007) surveys the change of capital buffers accumulated by banks in the case of the required charter value, reserve rate and minimum capital which try to prevent bank failures. This approach helps us develop the methodology along regulatory aspects. Stolz (2007, p. 13) defines the purpose of regulation as follows: "The traditional banking literature... has identified a moral hazard problem at banks, as depositors, the largest source of funds, are likely to be unable and/or unwilling to monitor banks' investment strategies. This irresponsiveness of funding costs to banks' risks gives rise to moral hazard behaviour on the part of banks: banks have an incentive to decrease capital-to-asset ratios and to increase asset risk, thereby increasing their probability of default and extracting wealth from deposit insurance system. Hence, regulation has to set minimum capital requirements, thereby forcing banks to hold more capital and, thus, placing more of their own funds at risk."
She refers to the conclusion drawn by Merton (1978), which states that banks maintain their reserves above the required minimum and the charter value to have a buffer for any unexpected case. However, regulation can cause moral hazard if the total of the regulatory minimum capital requirement and the buffer exceed the book value. In this case, banks start to pay dividends from earnings instead of accumulating a buffer. Their "risk-loving and gambling for resurrection" strategy increases the moral hazard in the banking sector and makes the failure and contagion more likely. Based on this phenomenon, the Basel III regulation, which increased the capital requirements, can result in the increasing need for re-capitalisation and/or for bail-out in the banking sector. This conclusion is confirmed by Gennotte and Pyle (1991), who established that the capital minimum increases the risk of bank failure. In the earlier version of the Basel Standards, Berger and Udell (1994) as well as Peek and Rosenberg (1995) analysed the moral hazard of stricter regulations. Maurin and Toivanen (2012) also analysed the capital buffer. They also concluded that banks operate above the minimum capital requirements.
Hanson et al. (2011) and Kok and Schepens (2013, pp. 6-7) studied the risk that, if banks reduce their assets, their lending activity must be suppressed, which has an adverse impact on non-financial investment and consumption, and generates depression. In addition, decline in assets means less securities in the banks' portfolio. In addition, crises may reduce banks' balance sheets and cut their equity instead of a capital increase. Special taxes on banking turnover or asset values have impacts similar to crises or to tightening regulatory measures. The authors refer to Lemmon et al. (2008), Flannery and Rangan (2006), Berger et al. (2008), and to Gropp and Heider (2009), who examined the determinants of the optimum amount of bank capital and the speed of related capital adjustment. They emphasised that sometimes market implications overwrite or exceeds the regulation, and so the regulation will have no effect. On this basis, Gropp and Heider (2009) distinguish binding and non-binding capital requirements.
The dynamic analysis of banks'capital adjustment to specific circumstances (de-tailed above) may be based on the literature of the optimal capital structure. Specifically, the current regression analysis is based on the methodological ideas of Stolz (2007) and Kok and Schepens (2013). These models introduce the following dynamic function:
\[ K^*_{i,t} = \beta X_{i, t-1} , \qquad\qquad (1) \]
where K*i,t is the bank-specific, time-varying optimal capital ratio in the dynamic model, and Xi, t-1 is the vector of bank-specific variables. The index i is the indicator of the bank and t is for the year.
Adjustment is measured as a difference between the optimal ratios of two periods:
\[ K_{i,t} – K_{i,t-1} = \lambda (K^*_{i,t} – K_{i,t-1}) + Regular_{i,t} , \qquad\qquad (2) \]
where Ki,t and Ki,t-1 are the effective capital ratios, and A is the speed of adjustment to the optimal ratio. A low value of A implies a passive capital management by banks. si,t is the residual. The projection of capital adjustment can be given as follows:
\[ K_{i,t} = \lambda (\beta X_{i, t-1}) + (1 - \lambda) K_{i, t-1} + e_{i, t} , \qquad\qquad (3) \]
The t and 1 indicators highlight the dependency of the capital ratio on the ratio of the previous period, thus making the model dynamic.
The current focus is on the level of protection enjoyed by banks in the region or the degree of their vulnerability in terms of capital adequacy. The data is taken from the Bankscope database a comprehensive, global database of banks' financial statements. It contains the balances, financial reports and specific rating data of banks in CEE countries.3
The baseline model is represented by the following equation:
\[ K_{i,t} = \beta_0 + \beta_1 K_{i,t-1} + \beta_2 FX_t + \beta_3 RATE_t + \beta_4 NPL_t + \beta_5 D_{parent-TBTF,t} + \beta_6 D_{Tax,t} , \qquad\qquad (4) \]
In equation (4), K is the capital adequacy indicator. FX is the standardized relative index of the annual nominal exchange rate in comparison to 2007, in euro, to the national currency, calculated as follows:
\[ FX = 1 + (FX_i – FX_{2007})/FX_{2007} , \qquad\qquad (5) \]
The calculation in equation (5) is necessary because first of all, the FX rates of national currencies to the euro are very different in terms of digits, requiring a common denominator. Second, banks work with a nominal volume of money and therefore the change in the nominal FX rates can significantly modify the net earnings and the value of assets, equity and liabilities. The FX rates are values at the end of the period (year). The benchmark is 2007, as the depreciation of CEE national currencies started at the end of the third quarter of 2008.
RATE is the national, annual data of a 3-month money market interest rate calculated by Eurostat. As economic cyclicality is included in the model with both the money market rate and the capital indicator of the previous period. To avoid excessive complexity and multicollinearity in monetary indicators, the three-month market interest rate is the only monetary variable included in the regression analysis as a proxy for all money market and monetary policy processes.
NPL is the ratio of non-performing loans. In this analysis, its proxy is the Loan Loss Reserves / Gross Loan (LLRGL) ratio, which provides provisions against NPLs.4 The regression model contains a dummy Dparent-TBTF for the parent bank's position as a TBTF. Its value is 1 if the parent is TBTF and 0 otherwise. In this study the TBTF dummy is 1 if either of the following conditions apply:
1) the parent bank is among the 250 largest European banks;
2) the parent bank is among the 10 largest banks of its country of residence;
3) the parent bank is among the 30 largest banks of its residence country if this country is Germany, Austria, France, Italy, USA, Japan, China, Netherlands, UK and Russia, as these countries have a large concentration of banks and are significant investors in the region;
4) the parent bank is in state ownership;
5) the parent bank is backed by a car manufacturing holding (e.g. VW/Porsche, Renault Fiat, etc.).
In any other case, the value of the dummy is 0.
The above-mentioned trade-off between tax advantages of deposit financing and leverage cost is represented by DTax, which is the dummy of national sector-specific taxes on banks, which is 1 if a bank tax is in effect. This way the model can distinguish years with and without a sector-specific tax in place.
As the two dummies reflect different aspects, it is important not to fall into the dummy variable trap (Gujarati and Porter, 2009, p. 281). Attention must also be paid to multicollinearity between the NPL ratio and the FX ratio. The depreciation of the national currency affects the NPL ratio in countries significantly indebted in FX credits, as discussed above. The model does not contain direct GDP growth indicators to eliminate any further multicollinearity, as the money market rate, the NPL ratio and Ki,t-1 already represent cyclical effects.
As in light of the regressors, regression focuses on the correlation between the development of capital adequacy the model uses three Bankscope indicators for the adequacy of banking capital:
1) the TIER1 ratio, which expresses a banking firm's core equity capital as a percentage of its total risk-weighted assets;
2) the Total Capital Ratio (TCR), which is a synonym for the Capital Adequacy Ratio and is calculated as follows: (Tier 1 capital + Tier 2 capital) / total risk-weighted assets;
3) the Equity to Total Assets ratio (ETA).
The regression uses data for the period between 2009 and 2014. The geographical range is the eleven CEE EU member states, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Although there are 379 CEE banks registered in Bankscope, only 290 of these had data for LLRGL and only 167 banks had TCR and ETA data for all of the years of the analysed period. The data are annual ones, since the quarterly breakdown has been very deficient.
With three ways of operationalizing the dependent variable, the specific regression functions are the following:
\[TIER1_{i,t} = \beta_0 + \beta_1 TIER1_{i,t-1} + \beta_2 FX_t + \beta_3 RATE_t + \beta_4 LLRGL_{i,t} + \beta_5 D_{parent-TBTF, i,t} + \beta_6 D_{Tax,t},\qquad\qquad (6)\]
\[ TCR_{i,t} = \beta_0 + \beta_1 TCR_{i,t-1} + \beta_2 FX_t + \beta_3 RATE_t + \beta_4 LLRGL_{i,t} + \beta_5 D{parent-TBTF, i,t} + \beta_6 D_{Tax,t} , \qquad\qquad (7) \]
\[ ETA_{i,t} = \beta_0 + \beta_1 ETA_{i,t-1} + \beta_2 FX_t + \beta_3 RATE_t + \beta_4 LLRGL_{i,t} + \beta_5 D_{parent-TBTF, i,t} + \beta_6 D_{Tax,t} , \qquad\qquad (8) \]
Data for FX and interest rates were downloaded from Eurostat. The banks' ratios (TIER1, TCR, ETA, LLRGL) and the parent banks' TBTF phenomenon were collected on-line from Bankscope. Information on bank-specific taxes was collected from the business press.
Analysis and results
The regression was run using OLS with the stepwise method which mode can fine tune the relevant regressors and excluded the insignificant ones. The overall results of the analysis are summed up in Table 1, which shows a high degree of fit with R2 values around 0.78-0.8 The F-test results are highly significant and verify that the composition of regressors influence the three capital adequacy ratios. The Durbin-Watson test, which measures the autocorrelation of residuals, indicates that the results are over the upper bound.
Based on an analysis of multicollinearity, regressors are independent from each other. Table 2 shows that the values for the variance inflation factor and tolerance are very low, which means that most of the regressors do not actually influence one another. Numbers in bold indicate moderate cases of covariance. An examination of the detailed correlation and covariance results reveals that collinearity is only strong between the interest rate and the foreign exchange rate (correlation was measured around -0.5 and -0.55), as logically follows and expected from the interest rate parity theory. Besides, the collinearities between the exchange rate and LLRGL, on the one hand, and between the interest rate and LLRGL, on the other, are worth mentioning (with a correlation around -0.2 to -0.24). As mentioned above, this was expected. However, multicollinearity does not invalidate the regression analysis, as the number of observations is sufficiently large for the estimator to be able to make a difference between the variables.
The results for the individual regressors are summed up in Table 3. The most important variable explaining capital adequacy is its value in the preceding period (t-1). This is an obvious conclusion, as financial or capital stocks are highly determined by their past. It is more interesting that if the dummy is in a TBTF parent's ownership, it is positive and significant in all cases of capital adequacy ratios and both methods. In the cases of TCR and ETA, TBTF is significant at the 1% threshold, or in the case of TIER1, at 5%. Thus, this regressor remains included in the stepwise method in the functions of all capital adequacy variables. This leads to the conclusion that the characteristics of bank owners in the CEE region have a positive influence on the capital adequacy ratio.
As for the rest of the variables, LLRGL is insignificant in the cases of TIER1 and TCR. It only has a significant influence on ETA, which is expected as the LLRGL provisions directly modify the value of the equity. The FX index is completely irrelevant in the determination of the three measures of the dependent variable. The effect of the banking tax is negative, as expected in most specifications, and its impact is comparable to the TBTF owner phenomenon. However, it is not so highly significant. The market interest rate is only significant in the case of a TCR, calculated with the stepwise method.
Only the t-1 value of the dependent variable and the TBTF parent dummy were included in all three capital adequacy regressions at a 5% significance level. The strange phenomenon is that the third regressor included is always different in the three functions. This is explained by the considerable differences in the number of observations, due to data availability. Concerning the value of the constant, ETA has a very low value, which indicates that the composed regressors cover the explanation of the dependent variable very well.5
This study analyses the determinants of capital adequacy in CEE banks. Several potential determinants are identified, such as the TBTF phenomenon of parent banks, the FX rate volatility, a changing monetary environment represented by a 3-month market rate, fiscal shocks due to sector-specific taxes, and the risk of debtor failure, represented by loan loss reserves to the gross loan ratio. Using the insights of the capital adjustment theory, a regression model is built up to explain capital adjustment.
It is assumed that ownership by a TBTF parent moderated the impact of the crisis in CEE commercial banks, as the parent banks recapitalized their affiliates which had turned red with regard to household and corporate lending. This type of cross-market rebalancing was confirmed by the regression analysis, which concluded that the parent bank being TBTF or multinational matters in capital adequacy in the CEE region.
By regressing three different capital adequacy indicators of the CEE banks, it is possible to draw insights on several determinants. First, multinational banks have been instrumental in maintaining capital adequacy and the lending capacity in the CEE region. In the case of all three capital adequacy indicators, the TBTF parent indicator was significant. The TBTF parent banks' topping up the capital of CEE subsidiaries was crucial in the maintenance of financing capacity during the financial crisis, characterized by increasing defaults on loans. Second, clear conclusions also emerge on other potential determinants. The indicator of NPLs (LLRGL) and the proxy for monetary policy (the market rate) had no significant impact on the risk-weighted capital adequacy ratios (TIER1 and TCR). This is in contrast with the sector-specific tax, which had a significant adverse impact on these ratios and thus deteriorated the lending capacity.
The empirical results are explained through macroeconomic and regulatory factors, which have a limited impact on the capacity of CEE affiliates and branches of multinational banks, and the single factors that matter in their capitalisation are the financial muscle and investment strategy of the parent bank. These factors seem to overwrite the default risk of NPLs and previous insights on regional monetary transmission. This is especially obvious in the CEE business environment, where the banking market is predominated by affiliates in multinational ownership.
1. The work was created in commission of the National University of Public Services under the priority project KÖFOP-2.1.2-VEKOP-15-2016-00001.
2. For a full summary of the literature, see Bol et al., 2002.
3. Some aspects must be mentioned about the database. Although the global crisis and defaulting domestic debtors have made the CEE banking sector unattractive for investors, some changes have nevertheless been initiated in the ownership structure of banks to alter their foreign/domestic characteristics. In the database, such changes are taken into consideration and are registered dynamically. The CEE banks that have shares publicly traded on the stock exchange and thus numerous foreign institutional or private investors with low ownership percentages, but no foreign investors with a significant leverage (minimum 25% ownership), are classified as domestic banks in their countries of residence (such as OTP in Hungary, or PKO Bank or Getin Noble Bank in Poland). The rationale behind this decision is that foreign portfolio investments are made through the trade of existing shares on the stock exchange and not via initial public offering. The incompleteness of Bankscope made it necessary to chase the owner of some CEE banks, as many of these are owned through intermediaries and the geographical source of FDI is not always clear, such as in the case of CEE banks with Italian owners. In many cases, the Bankscope database was complemented with national banking data (where available). All things considered, the ultimate owners' residence was taken into account. For example, many CEE banks are directly owned by Unicredit Bank Austria, which has Austrian residency, but the ultimate owner, Unicredit, is resident in Italy.
4. Although there is a specific indicator for the NPL ratio in the Bankscope, i.e. the NCO/average gross loans, the database is very deficient when it comes to CEE banks.
5. As the averages of the three dependent variables are close to one another (TIER = 15.59, TCR = 17.46, ETA = 11.77), their constants are comparable.
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Flannery, Mark and Rangan, Kasturi (2006): Partial Adjustment Toward Target Capital Structures. Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 79, No. 3, pp. 469-506, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2005.03.004
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Gujarati, Damodar N. and Porter, Dawn C. (2009): Basic Econometrics. 5th edition, McGraw-Hill, Boston.
Hanson, Samuel; Kashyap, Anil K. and Stein, Jeremy (2011): A Macroprudential Approach to Financial Regulation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 3-28, https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.25.1.3
Horen, van Neeltje (2007): Foreign Banking in Developing Countries; Origin Matters. Emerging Markets Review, Vol. 8, No 2, pp. 81-105, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2007.01.003
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Mathieson, Donald and Roldòs, Jorge (2001): Foreign Banks in Emerging Markets. In: Litan, Robert; Masson, Paul and Pomerleano, Michael (eds.): Open Doors: Foreign Participation in Financial Systems in Devel-oped Countries. Brookings Institution Press, Washington D.C., pp. 59-104.
Maurin, Laurent and Toivanen, Mervi (2012): Risk, Capital Buffer and Bank Lending. A Granular Approach to the Adjustment of Euro Area Banks. ECB Working Paper Series, No. 1499, European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main.
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Moshirian, Fariborz (2008): Financial Services in an Increasingly Integrated Global Financial Market. Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol. 32, No. 11, pp. 2288–2292, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2008.03.003
Naaborg, Ilko (2007): Foreign Bank Entry and Performance: With a Focus on Central and Eastern Europe. Eburon Academic Publisher, Delft.
Papi, Luca and Revoltella, Debora (2000): Foreign Direct Investment in the Banking Sector: A Transitional Economy Perspective. In: Claessens, Stijn and Jansen, Marion (eds.): The Internationalisation of Financial Services. Issues and Lessons for Developing Countries. Kluwer Law International, Boston, pp. 437-458.
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Andover-based personal lines broker Be Wiser has announced plans to expand in to neighbouring Swindon as it continues to grow in the market.
The broker, which currently employs 720 staff, has been based in Andover since it was set up in 2007 and has 5 sites in the Hampshire town.
However, growth has meant that it has exhausted the employee pool in Andover and will be looking to open an office in Swindon.
The broker hopes to have the move completed by the end of the year.
The broker also announced that its foray in to commercial lines business was growing, and it hoped to write £30m in premiums from commercial business by 2016.


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GOOD CHARLOTTE ANNOUNCE SEVENTH STUDIO ALBUM GENERATION RX, OUT SEPTEMBER 14, 2018
LEAD SINGLE "ACTUAL PAIN" AVAILABLE NOW
EUROPEAN TOUR TO KICK OFF FEBRUARY 1, 2019
FAN CLUB TICKET PRESALE TO LAUNCH MAY 29, 2018 AT 9AM LOCAL TIME
BB Gun Press
Photo credit: Ville Juurikkala
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 25, 2018 - GOOD CHARLOTTE today announced that they will release their anxiously awaited seventh full-length studio album, Generation Rx, on September 14, 2018. It marks the first record to be released under the newly minted global partnership between the band's MDDN label and BMG.
The album's lead single "Actual Pain" is available to stream and download now HERE: https://goodcharlotte.lnk.to/ActualPainPR
Generation Rx represents both a new chapter and full circle moment for the group-brothers Joel [vocals] and Benji Madden [guitar, vocals], Billy Martin [guitar], Paul Thomas [bass], and Dean Butterworth [drums]. Powered by punk spirit, rock songcraft, and cinematic ambition, they retain the signature vitality and vulnerability of their formative years, while delivering an urgent, unafraid, and undeniable message befitting of two decades in the game.
The quintet craft intricate, yet infectious anthems of hope for a generation under the shadow of the Opioid epidemic, icons gone too soon, mass tragedy, loneliness, and confusion. Produced by Zakk Cervini and Benji during intimate sessions at MDDN headquarters, the record finds GOOD CHARLOTTE doing what they do best-speaking directly to the youth.
"At the beginning of the year, we were reflecting a lot," said Joel and Benji. "We just played a memorial service in honor of Lil Peep. We were thinking of that. Our generation was the first to have so many ways to deal with pain. Throughout this century, we've seen the whole opioid crisis get worse. We wondered if we were really doing our part. We wanted to bet back out there on the battlefield and spread insight, share experience, and give anything we could to improve lives. The message is you can get through the pain, survive it, and have the life you want. We made the record on our own terms and our own time. In that respect, we channeled the soul of our first two albums. This is the album we've been waiting 15 years to create."
Lead single "Actual Pain" makes good on that promise. Sweeping strings underscore a wall of distortion as a hypnotic hook cuts deep. Raw and relatable, it's the perfect introduction to Generation Rx.
Good Charlotte will return to the road in Europe and The UK for a massive tour kicking off February 1, 2019. A special fan club pre-sale goes live May 29 HERE. Prior to their February tour, Good Charlotte will appear at a number of festivals this summer. A complete list of upcoming live dates and ticket information can be found in link below.
Stay tuned for more from GOOD CHARLOTTE very soon!
ABOUT GOOD CHARLOTTE:
First formed in 1996 by brothers Joel and Benji Madden, Maryland's GOOD CHARLOTTE soundtracked the turn-of-the-century and empowered a generation with one cleverly catchy anthem after another. 2000's landmark self-titled debut earned a gold plaque and quietly set the stage for worldwide superstardom.
In 2002, they unleashed the now-classic The Young and the Hopeless, which eventually went RIAA triple-platinum and would be lauded in the Top 20 of Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Pop-Punk Albums" and BuzzFeed's "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need to Hear Before You F--ing Die." 2004's The Chronicles of Life and Death bowed at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and reached platinum status as Good Morning Revival [2007] and Cardiology [2010] repeated that Top 10 success and brought the band around the world multiple times in front of countless screaming fans.
Along the way, everyone from N.E.R.D. and Three 6 Mafia to Avenged Sevenfold and Tonight Alive jumped at the chance to collaborate.
By 2018, cumulative sales exceeded 11 million worldwide, while accolades encompassed everything from KERRANG! Awards to an MTV VMA.
Following a six-year hiatus, they made a much-lauded return with their first independent offering Youth Authority during 2016. However, their music and message prove as potent as ever on 2018's Generation Rx-the first album to be released under their partnership with BMG. Generation Rx needed a voice, and there's no one better to provide it than GOOD CHARLOTTE.
www.goodcharlotte.com/events
www.goodcharlotte.com
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Conservative Review /
WATCH: AOC called out by Christian pastors for her wild claims about America's border facilities
Nate Madden
A prominent Hispanic evangelical pastor says that the conditions at Americas border detention facilities are nothing like what was described earlier this week by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Appearing on Fox News Tuesday evening, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference president Rev. Samuel Rodriguez said that what he saw at the facility toured by the Democratic House member was "drastically different" from what has been described in the news.
"I read the reports, saw the news clips; I just wanted to see what was actually happening in order to better enable our efforts to find a fair and a just solution to our broken immigration system," Rodriguez said. "To my surprise, I saw something drastically different from the stories I've been hearing in our national discourse."
"Even as a veteran of immigration advocacy in the U.S., I was shocked at the misinformation of the crisis at the border," Rodriguez added. He is also a senior pastor at New Seasons Christian Worship Center in Sacramento, California.
Rodriguez said that he "found no soiled diapers, no deplorable conditions and no lack of basic necessities" and that border agents "unequivocally denied" that they staged the conditions inside the facility to make things look better: "We were witnessing the identical conditions the attorneys saw when they toured the facility days earlier."
The pastor, who previously served as an adviser to former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said "what's heart-wrenching" about the current situation "is that we have both Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress, who can't come together for the purpose of doing the right thing and finding a solution to our immigration crisis."
Rodriguez pleaded with political leaders of both parties, in the White House and on Capitol Hill: "Please come together to solve this crisis, immediately."
Rodriguez is not the only pastor to contradict Ocasio-Cortez's claims after touring a border facility.
Pastor Kevin Wallace of Chattanooga visited a border facility on Sunday at the invitation of President Trump. Here's what he had to say about the conditions: "The kids in the place were obtaining incredible care. I never saw one soggy diaper, I never saw one hungry child, there are no cages."
Wallace added, "It's not at all what I had imagined based on the reports that I heard."
The Tennessee pastor also said that he "saw people in that detention center who demonstrated a true care and concern for those children" and that "there was not one child that looked malnourished, that looked unfed, that looked unkempt."
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Home » Slideshow: New products from Horizon, Clif, Boulder Canyon
Slideshow: New products from Horizon, Clif, Boulder Canyon
By Maggie Young
Click for a slideshow of new products.
Horizon rolls out new sandwich and graham cracker offerings
BROOMFIELD, COLO. — Horizon is offering new sandwich crackers and snack grahams. The cracker varieties are available in both organic and made with organic options. The organic option contains at least 95% certified organic ingredients, while the made with organic products contain at least 70% certified organic ingredients. The organic snack additions include cheddar crackers and peanut butter sandwich crackers. Products made with organic ingredients include original and cheddar crackers as well as honey, cinnamon, and chocolate snack grahams. All Horizon snacks are made without high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. The snack offerings are available in grocery stores nationwide.
Duff Goldman launches cake-in-a-jar
LOS ANGELES — Duff Goldman is introducing a cake-in-a-jar creation. The product includes layers of buttercream cake packed in mason jars. The cake varieties include vanilla topped with vanilla buttercream, chocolate with chocolate buttercream and chocolate chips, and marble with chocolate and vanilla buttercream. Customers also may mix and match flavors to their liking. "The concept of my Cake-In-A-Jar is simple — I took some of my most beloved cake flavors and packaged them into a jar. I knew there had to be an easier way to eat a delicious slice of cake if you are on the go," said Duff Goldman, founder of Duff's Cakemix. "The bakery is such an integral part of Duff's Cakemix and I wanted to share some of my cake creations with customers nationwide." Duff's cake-in-a-jar is available to purchase in the Los Angeles bakery for $5 per 8-oz jar and $8 per 16-oz jar. The cake jars also may be shipped in packages of two, four, and six jars starting at $14.
Old Dutch Food releases Double Dutch Thick Ripple Appetizers
CALGARY, ALTA. — Old Dutch Foods is debuting Double Dutch Thick Ripple Appetizers potato chip variations, including bacon cheeseburger sliders, buffalo wing and blue cheese dip, calamari and tzatziki sauce, and onion. "Our chip experts saw a thicker ripple cut chip delivering double the crunch, a key attribute of Double Dutch Thick Ripple Appetizers potato chips," said Alice Daszkowski, brand manager for Old Dutch Foods.
YoCrunch and Kellogg's partner to create cereal bowl
NAUGATUCK, CONN. — YoCrunch, a business unit of Danone, and The Kellogg Co. are teaming up to produce the YoCrunch Cereal Bowl. The cereal bowl provides a serving of Kellogg's cereal such as Frosted Flakes, with YoCrunch yogurt. "We are especially proud of this new partnership with Kellogg's and this breakthrough offering for the yogurt aisle," said Steve Platt, chief marketing officer for YoCrunch. "By creating an all-in-one food, we can drive usage occasions for both yogurt and cereal. This powerful brand partnership and unique new design will drive further growth for our customers by expanding both categories." The YoCrunch Cereal Bowl is available nationwide in 4.7-oz containers.
Annie's rolls out snack and mini meal kits
BERKELEY, CALIF. — Annie's is set to debut a lineup of snack and mini meal kits. The kits contain no artificial flavors, synthetic colors, or preservatives. The snack kits are offered in three varieties: almond butter and crackers, hummus and crackers; and gluten-free. The mini meal kits include three varieties: white cheddar macaroni and cheese, real aged cheddar macaroni and cheese, and gluten-free rice pasta and cheddar. Each snack and meal kit offers 6 to 10 grams of protein, 3 to 6 grams of fiber, and one serving of fruit. The kits are available exclusively at Target for a suggested retail price of $3.99 per kit.
Clif Bar & Company debuts crafted bar
TORONTO — Clif Bar & Company is announcing the release of Clif MOJO fruit and nut and dark chocolate bar offerings. Bars are made with at least 70% organic ingredients and are gluten-free. In addition, the crafted bars have no trans fat, partially hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, or synthetic preservatives. The 200-calories-or-less bars include coconut almond peanut, dark chocolate almond sea salt, and dark chocolate cherry almond. The new MOJO bars are available at retailers across Canada for a suggested retail price of $1.99.
Cape Cod launches new cheese-flavored chips
HYANNIS, MASS. — Cape Cod Potato Chips is releasing new cheese snacks, including buffalo cheddar waffle cut and 40% less fat aged white cheddar and sour cream. All chips are gluten- and preservative-free and kettle-cooked in canola oil. Cape Cod chips are sold for a suggested retail price of $3.79 and are available at retailers nationwide.
Boulder Canyon announces new chip innovation
PHOENIX — Boulder Canyon Foods is stepping up the health profile of chips with ancient grains, a whole grain snack chip. Ancient grains chips include grains and seeds such as quinoa, chia, millet, brown teff, sorghum and amaranth. In addition, they are seasoned with red pepper, cumin and sea salt and cooked in sunflower and safflower oils. Ancient grains chips offer 10 whole grains and don't contain genetically modified organisms, cholesterol, or trans fats. The new chip variety is offered in a sea salt flavor. "Quinoa is on-trend these days, but truthfully it has been celebrated for centuries for its nutritional benefits," said Steve Sklar, senior vice-president/general manager for Inventure Foods, Inc. "When formulating the recipe for Ancient Grains, we sought out ingredients that, when combined, offered a rare combination of taste and nutritional value. We believe snack food fans will rave about this new snack experience." The chips are available in grocery stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $3.49-$3.99 per 5.5-oz. bag.
Mary's Gone Crackers introduces Everything Pretzels
GRIDLEY, CALIF. — Mary's Gone Crackers is announcing the release of Everything Pretzels. The pretzels contain brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, millet, flax, sesame, poppy seeds and chia as well as flavors such as onion, garlic, sea salt and herbs. In addition, the pretzels are organic, gluten free, non-G.M.O., soy free and vegan. Everything Pretzels join other flavors, including sea salt, chipotle tomato and curry. The new pretzel variety is sold nationwide for a suggested retail price of $4.99 per 7.5-oz bag.
Purely Elizabeth debuts ancient grain granola at Target
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Purely Elizabeth is announcing that ancient grain granola will now be available at Target stores nationwide. Purely Elizabeth's granola is available in original, pumpkin fig and cranberry pecan. The granola is baked by hands in small batches with certified, organic, gluten-free oats and ancient grains and seeds, including Salba chia seeds, puffed amaranth, hemp seeds and quinoa flakes. In addition the granola is made with organic coconut sugar and organic virgin coconut oil.
Companies Innovation Baking Manufacturers Kellogg Co. New Products
Slideshow: New products from General Mills, Boulder Brands, Clif Bar debut at Expo West
Slideshow: New products from Clif, Starbucks, Udi's
Slideshow: New products from Kellogg, Frito-Lay, Post and Clif Bar
The Changing Rules of DSD in Today's Market
Cleaner Approach to Extending Shelf Life


Ok, I did promise to show some more Sale-A-Bration cards, so I have made a few cards using the Elementary Elegance Stamp set. These are all similar but have different effects. The 1st one uses the scallop square and the Spice Cake DSP. The 2nd one uses Everyday Enchantment (Sale-a-Bration) DSP and is based on a card by Anna Wheaton. Finally, the 3rd uses the black flocked Mocha Morning DSP & vellum. The vellum is hard to see but I used it on the embossed background and the stamped image.
The next 2 cards I made using some left over flowers from the previous post's tree, Everyday Enchantment DSP and the Hello sentiment from the Elementary Elegance Stamp Set. Both feature the Ribbons and brads from Sale-A-Bration as well.
I have a few more things to show you using these amazing Sale-A-Bration sets.....you will have to check back later to see those!


More and more organisations every year are opting for the Bespoke Online Inclusion Calendar to ensure that the images reflect their operations and the work of staff. It's a brilliant way to demonstrate diversity in the workplace.
We now can include your logo, add lots of your photos, design your cover, insert extra pages, add training dates, etc!
What's more, we can print your Calendar if you would also like paper copies.
So, get your staff involved and start collecting your images now.
Bespoke Diversity calendar STANDARD – only £695. You can change up to 12 large images within the calendar (Jan-Dec) – with your own photos. The new images from you should all be in landscape format and hi-res (around 1MB or larger). Your logo will be on the front cover and on all twelve of the date pages!
Bespoke Diversity calendar DESIGNED – only £1,295. This provides you with maximum flexibility and includes all the features of the STANDARD edition. With the DESIGNED Calendar you can also add your own dates to any of the months or change the graphics and text on the date pages. You can also insert your own cover image, additional pages and add a new back cover if you wish.
Companies sometimes add pages to promote specific activities, products or services. Other organisations highlight key events coming up in the year ahead, promote their successes in the area of inclusion, add a statement from the Chief Executive, add employee perspectives, etc.
Check out some great Bespoke Images from this years calendars….
are based on the financial year April 2017 – March 2018. These can incorporate Period Ends, Four Weekly Pay dates, Monthly Pay dates, Quarter End dates, etc.
integrate Diversity with core Business activities – promoting key products/services and showcasing staff in everyday business situations.
The Diversity calendar is now established as the leading annual Diversity publication in the UK and Ireland – and we have many clients in other countries such as Australia, the US and Germany. The online calendar is an important resource for staff as each month details all the main religious and secular dates – including bank holidays. The calendar helps managers and supervisors to ensure that staff meetings and organisation events are not planned for dates when key sections of the workforce or customer base cannot participate. We also know that numerous trainers use the calendar to support their diversity and equality training.
If you have any queries or wish to place an order for your organisation don't hesitate to call or email Sharon at Diversiton tel: 028 417 54777 or email: sharon(at)diversiton.com Thank you.


Veteran Ghanaian musician and song writer Gyedu Blay Ambolley has said the 10 commandment does not say: 'Do not smoke', and, so, he agrees with proposals that marijuana should be legalised in Ghana.
According to him, the abuse of marijuana is the problem, but it can "enlighten" people to become more "conscious" of the dos and don'ts of life.
"Marijuana is a God made thing. It grows like any other leaf that grows and every leaf that grows has something that it offers to a human. So, for a white man to come and tell me that: 'If you do this you will go crazy, put a stop to it, send it to the police and all that,' there is a reason why they did that. Because they know that you will become more conscious of the dos and don'ts of life and they don't want that", he said on the Class Drive on Class 91.3fm Wednesday, May 18.
The self-acclaimed rap originator told host Prince Benjamin: "There is a big enlightenment that comes from smoking marijuana… because everything has its relevance, [but] too much of everything though is bad, so, please when you cut your coat, cut it according to your size".
Asked if marijuana should be legalised, Ambolley said: "For the legalisation of that, I think they need to, because when you go to Holland it is legalised. If you want to buy you go to the store and buy it. There is no police chasing anybody...but eventually it is going to be legalised because the Americans are legalising it [after] all that they said, they have started making money out of it, taxes and all that, likewise in Holland, so, for me, it is something that I tasted when I was about 17 years and it did not do anything bad to me".
"Like I said, too much of everything is bad, so, you just make sure that musically or composition wise, you just take a little bit and the ideas start coming, so, the abuse of that is where the problem is".
"The only thing that is there that I know is that when we were growing up they gave us the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments said do not steal, do not bare false witness, do not kill, but it did not say do not smoke. Whereas it is not in the 10 commandment...and if I do that to hurt somebody then that is where the problem is going to come", he added.
Ambolley's stance on marijuana follows a recent call by former UN Secretary General for the legalisation of the herb.
Mr Annan said cannabis should be legalised, but regulations should be put in place that put lives and safety first.
He argued that initial trends show that where cannabis has been legalised, there has been no explosion in drug use or drug-related crime.
2016 VGMA Artiste of the year, EL made similar remarks on the Class Drive months back. He also said marijuana should be legalised because he saw nothing wrong with it.


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Queens community boards urge DOT to reevaluate Woodhaven Blvd. SBS route
By Angela Matua
Several Queens community board leaders had a number of requests at Monday's Queens Borough Board meeting that they believe will improve the implementation of the Select Bus Service (SBS) on Woodhaven Boulevard.
Representatives from the Department of Transportation (DOT) and MTA attended the Queens Borough Board meeting in Kew Gardens on Jan. 8 to update members on SBS initiatives and to answer questions.
The Q52 and Q53 SBS routes along Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards, which were rolled out on Nov. 12, have faced criticism since their implementation. Residents complained about heavy traffic along the thoroughfare due to construction at the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Union Turnpike last October.
The Woodhaven/Cross Bay corridor contains eight Vision Zero Priority intersections and, in all, more than 30 intersections were upgraded to improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow. With more than 3,000 traffic-related injuries and 24 fatalities on Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards between 2011 and 2015, DOT and the MTA began outreach for the SBS route in 2014 in an effort to make the areas safer.
Though the changes have been in effect for less than two months, DOT employees argued that there have been benefits for Q52/53 bus travelers.
"Overall, we've been hearing very positive things from bus riders and traffic was again very challenging over the summer and through the fall, but I think were kind of beyond that and seeing the traffic results that we expected," said Queens DOT Commissioner Nicole Garcia.
However, Betty Braton, chairperson for Community Board 10 in Ozone Park and Howard Beach, said that since November she has been fielding complaints from residents about the route.
"There are a lot of unhappy campers out there," she said. "I'd be interested in seeing what the statistics are because anecdotally, residents are complaining about commutes being longer going north bound, [and] they're complaining going south bound the commute is longer."
As part of the new features along the corridor, bus-only lanes are in effect on Woodhave Boulevard from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and along Cross Bay Boulevard from 7 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Braton, who drives along the route, said that she believes buses do not use the lanes frequently enough to justify these hours. She asked that the DOT take another look at expanding the hours that cars can use the bus-only lanes.
"One of the other things people are complaining about are that private vehicles that go in the bus lanes are going to be summonsed, yet buses are regularly coming out of bus lanes," she added. "They shouldn't be playing leap frog with each other."
Councilman Robert Holden, who represents neighborhoods with little public transportation options such as Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth and Ridgewood, said that the current traffic light synchronization forces him to stop every two blocks before running into another red light, which causes congestion and frustration.
"Motorists are not happy," he said. "I know the bus riders might be, but in my neck of the woods, we take our cars a lot because we don't have a subway. We're at a point where we have to travel by car but it seems like the deck is stacked against any motorist in the borough."
As a result of the traffic light issue, Holden argued, motorists are taking shortcuts through side streets and this increased use in side roads is causing a heightened request for speed bumps.
"We might be saving lives on Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven, but I think we might pay the price on our residential streets," he said.
Jessica Kuo, a transit development city planner for DOT, said that the signal optimization was "meant to improve traffic, so if you're seeing issues, I'm going to take that to the head engineers."
Both Holden and Braton implored the DOT to study whether the bus-only rules can be scrapped during the weekends to give motorists more freedom to move around the corridor.
"It is something we are discussing internally but this just launched so we want to give it a chance," Garcia said. "It's not outside of the realm of possibilities."
In addition, the city agency will look to make street improvements across multiple intersections across the boulevard. Among the changes, DOT will extend left turn bays where possible and construct median extensions with pedestrian islands at six intersections.
These intersections include Union Turnpike at Woodhaven Boulevard, between the northbound side of 81st Road and 82nd Avenue, 91st Avenue in both directions, the northbound intersection at Rockaway Boulevard, between Platwood Avenue and 133 Avenue and between Desarc Road and Pitkin Avenue.
The agency will also construct five new slips between the service and main road on Woodhaven Boulevard at 86th, 88th, 91st, 97th and 103rd avenues.
Officials also announced they would like to implement new SBS routes within the next five to 10 years from Ridgewood to Flushing, eastern Queens, Hillside Avenue, Union Turnpike, Northern Boulevard, southeast Queens, Jamaica to Flushing and a route for JFK access.
Queens lawmaker hails inaugural weekend of online sports betting in New York
Year in review: Queens' top stories from March 2021
Several derelict boats removed as part of cleanup initiative in Jamaica Bay


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The Adams was an English automobile manufactured in Bedford between 1905 and 1914.
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American-born Edard R. Hewitt had helped Sir Hiram Maxim to build a large steam plane in 1894. He later designed a "gas buggy" along the lines of an Oldsmobile; this machine was built by the Adams Manufacturing Company.
1910 Adams Veteran Car Range brochure cover.
The Adams' epicyclic transmission lead to the marque's slogan, "Pedals to push, that's all".
Hewitt eventually returned to the United States to manufacture similar cars under his own name, after which more conventional shaft-driven cars with vertical engines were produced (beginning in 1906).
Models offered included two and four-cylinder ones and one of the first British V8s; this last had a 35/40 hp (26/30 kW) engine based on the French Antoinette model (an aeroengine for which Adams were agents). But the V8 was plagued by crankshaft breakages.
In 1910, the company produced an advanced 16 hp (12 kW) model with front-wheel brakes; it came with compressed-air starting, tire-inflating, and jacking equipment.
The company folded for good in 1914.


• Reservations can be made directly with the Spa by telephone or email. Please reserve your treatment as early as possible to ensure availability, particularly when booking multiple treatments and packages.
• We recommend that you arrive at least 30 minutes before your treatment begins. This allows you to relax and enjoy the Thermal Oasis facilities.
• Should you require any service change or cancellation, please notify our team with a minimum of 6 hours' in advance. In case of non-attendance or cancellation in advance less than 6 hours before booked treatment, we reserve the right to charge the full treatment value.
• Serenity Spa cannot be held responsible for lost or stolen items. Please avoid bringing valuables with you.
• The minimum age requirement for access to the Thermal Area is 18. Please let us know at the time of the booking if you are under 18.


How are decisions about AEM and AT made?
Consideration of the need for Assistive Technology (AT) or Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) is required for all students with disabilities, regardless of the nature of the disability. Determining whether a student needs AT or AEM requires a team decision-making process.
see text on a page.
hold and turn the pages of a book or other collection of papers.
sit upright and stay alert for sufficient periods of time.
read for required lengths of time without tiring.
If the student has a disability that interferes with using or learning from curriculum materials, AEM may be needed. Resources to support the team in the AEM decision-making process include the AEM Navigator and the AIM Explorer from the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials .
Considering the need for AT requires the team to discuss the student's educational goals and whether the student can complete required learning tasks and other activities using standard classroom tools or if AT is required. The team may be aware of technology solutions for consideration, or a referral for an AT consultation may be appropriate. The SETT Framework is available to teams as a guide to the AT consideration processes.
For students eligible for Special Education services, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team is responsible for determining a student's educational supports and services, including whether the student needs AEM or AT. Both are included as considerations in Section 3 of Maine's IEP Form. See Maine Department of Education IEP Form and AEM.
A student with a disability may not qualify for Special Education services but still need AT to fully participate in educational programs. Under Section 504, the provision of an AT device and related services may be part of an accommodation plan to assist a student with disability in accessing the general education curriculum.
Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI) (2009). Chapter 1- Assessing Students' Needs for Assistive Technology (ASNAT Process). In J. Gierach (Ed.), Assessing Students' Needs for Assistive Technology: A Resource Guide for School Teams.
The QIAT Leadership Team. (2012). Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology: QI 1, 2, and 3.
Photo credit: Image licensed through Creative Commons by the US Department of Education.


text:
Movies Genre "Adventure"
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
A Frozen Rooster (2022)
The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus (2022)
Strange World (2022)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Shark Bait (2022)
Puss in Boots (2011)
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)
Luck (2022)
Copyright © 2023 www.dragonballsupersuperheromovie.com | All rights reserved


(LATIMES) — DAVOS, Switzerland — Europe's crippling debt crisis dominated the world's foremost gathering of business and political leaders, but for the first time the growing inequality between the planet's haves and have-nots became an issue, thanks largely to the Arab Spring uprisings, the Occupy movement and other protests around the globe.
The mood at the end of the five-day meeting in Davos was somber, and more than 2,500 VIPs headed home Sunday concerned about what lies ahead in 2012. Plenty of champagne flowed in this alpine ski resort — but the atmosphere was flat, and the bubbling enthusiasm of some past World Economic Forums was noticeably absent.
Despite some guarded optimism about Europe's latest attempts to stem the Eurozone crisis, fears remain that turmoil could return and spill over to the rest of the world. And there were no answers to the widening inequality gap, but a mounting realization that economic growth must include the poor, that job creation is crucial and that affordable food, housing, healthcare and education need to be part of any solution.


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Q: Do there exist double points on a surface in $\mathbb{P}_{\mathbb{C}}^3$ that are not rational? The title explains it all.
I'm familiar with the du val singularities on surfaces, also apparently known as rational double points (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Val_singularity).
In http://homepages.warwick.ac.uk/~masda/surf/more/DuVal.pdf 2.1, du val singularities are characterized as those isolated double points that admit a resolution that is given by stepwise blowup of isolated double points.
My question now is whether other type of multiplicity two points exist, i.e. nonrational double points? If so, can they occur on a surface embedded in $\mathbb{P}^3$?
Due to Reids characterization i would say these are isolated double points such that somewhere in the blowup process either a singular point of multiplicity $>2$ or a singular curve appears. This would seem weird to me, but perhaps my intuition is not correct in this case.
Thanks!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Jardines de la Merced is, no doubt, essential in your visit to Córdoba. You can discover it and be carried away by everything it offers. Tourism, art and leisure join in Córdoba within a privileged environment where you can also enjoy delicious typical tapas or a walk around Hostal Ronda where getting lost becomes a pleasure. Do not hesitate and visit Jardines de la Merced on the way through Córdoba.


As parents we have all had issues with trying to find diapers that will hold the load without leaking. Leaks lead to wet beds, lots of laundry, embarrassing spots on laps, and forgetting to restock the emergency set of pants in the diaper bag. Thankfully, there are some parents out there that felt the pain, or should I say wetness, and were able to push through the sleep deprivation long enough to come up with the booster pads. These diaper inserts fit into most disposable diapers and secure with a simple adhesive strip down the middle, increasing the disposable diaper's capacity for liquid.
Sposie Booster Pads are super soft (much more comfortable than feminine pads) due to the spunlaced fabric used to encompass the natural wood-pulp fiber core. Pee is whisked away from baby's skin, and the design is extra absorbent and perfect for a full night's sleep, travel, and for when your husband forgets the diaper bag by the front door.
For the more sensitive tushies, parents can be rest-assured that Sposie Booster Pads are certified hypoallergenic, latex free, fragrance free, chlorine free, and phthalate free. They are dermatologist tested, made cruelty free, and made in the USA.
My kiddo didn't seemed bothered by the Sposie Booster Pad, as it fit and blended in well with her regular diaper and did not add much extra bulk at all. It held a good amount of liquid and the liquid absorbed fast (I was curious and tested it out by pouring water on one to be able to see it in action). I could quickly see why it has 4.8 stars on Amazon, and already saved in my cart in preparation for our next 9 hour trek to the in-laws (woo-hoo less breaks and changing diapers in questionable rest stops!).
Sposie Booster Pads are available on Amazon, at Target.com, and Walmart.com, making them easy to get without an extra trip to the store.
PS- I also am imagining other helpful uses for the Sposie Pads: people camping out the night before Black Friday so they don't lose their spots for a pesky potty break, post-birth healing support for moms instead of frozen diapers, and for events where the only options available to relieve yourself are sun baked port-a-potties.
Next Article The Tastemaker is gonna make me the best Superbowl Bartender!


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YEAR ROUND MAY RETURN TO LODI
Sarah Williams
HD:YEAR ROUND MAY RETURN TO LODI
BY: Sarah Williams
SO: The Record
LODI_They remember it like a collective nightmare. Now moms, dads, kids and
teachers fear it could be back.
Before the turn of the century, Lodi Unified high schools will be forced to
resume year-round operation unless district residents take quick action to
pass a school construction bond, according to a committee of parents, business
leaders and school administrators studying the issue.
We needed the (new high school yesterday, said Dianna Slawson, a parent
of two Lodi Unified children and co-chairwoman of the committee known as the
Future Facilities Task Force.
The committee, formed by the school board in 1992 to study student housing
and educational programs, declared high school overcrowding its highest
priority.
More than 1,500 additional high school students are expected in the
district by 1999. But the district estimates it has room for only 321 at its
three comprehensive and two alternative high schools.
Facility Planner Mamie Starr described it as a Titanic situation:
*The state has no money to fund another high school.
*A local bond could pay for a campus, but Lodi Unified voters have not
approved a bond in 20 years.
*Even if a bond passes by 1995, a new school could not be built until 1999
at the earliest.
Year-round school is the only likely solution to the overcrowding. That is
a prospect that horrifies teachers, students and parents who remember 1989 and
1990, when high school students and staff were divided into three tracks,
operating much like three schools on one campus.
Sports, clubs and band suffered, students said. Many staffers never met,
teachers complained.
The possibilities scare parents like Mary Westin. We have wonderful
teachers and a really good school district, but we have too many bodies, she
said. Im probably going to send my son to a private school now.
Westin fears Lodi Unified high schools will be forced onto an extended-day
schedule if they dont go year-round. Either way, she wants nothing to do with
such schedules.
The district weathered five years of extended-day schedules with some
students on campus from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and others on a 9:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. schedule. Then, year-round schedules were used for two years to make
room on crowded campuses until the new Bear Creek High School opened in 1991.
Task force members have worked out a plan that they say could allow
district high schools to avoid year-round operation through 1999 _ the year a
new high school could be complete.
Its not pretty, Slawson said. Its warehousing children, but it would
be the only way to avoid going back to (year round.
Lodi Unified trustees will discuss a bond measure at a study session 7 p.m.
Tuesday at the Education Support Center, 1305 E. Vine St. in Lodi.


text:
The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/author/bwf28cornell-edu/)
Brian Fetterolf
Renovation Highlights Fire Safety Issues
By Brian Fetterolf | November 10, 2008
The news of Olin Library's renovation, which is set to begin in 2009, includes plans to update the building's fire safety system and has stirred discussion on campus, raising questions as to how safe University buildings actually are.
That Olin Library does not meet fire codes brings into question fire safety systems in other buildings on campus.
Carl A. Kroch University Librarian Anne R. Kenney did not explicitly say whether or not Uris Library, built in 1891, meets fire codes. The building has never been completely renovated despite "numerous renovations [and] improvements to portions of the building," according to Kenney.
C.U. Minds Matters Hosts Talk To Raise Mental Health Awareness
By Brian Fetterolf | October 2, 2008
Yesterday, Alison Malmon relayed how her world came tumbling down in March 2000 when her brother, Brian, committed suicide. Malmon, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, spoke to students in The Straight about how she has since dedicated her life to raising awareness of the importance of mental health.
A year following her brother's death, Malmon concentrated her energy toward a positive goal by founding Active Minds, "the nation's only organization dedicated to using the student voice to raise mental health awareness on college campuses." Seven years later, Active Minds has grown to 154 chapters with headquarters located in Washington, D.C.
Click here for more information on our fall 2022 recruitment sessions.
[custom-twitter-feeds]


Lockon Stratos, sniping targets! Finally available as a Master Grade model kit is the Gundam Dynames from Gundam 00. Featuring a new high density articulated inner frame, once assembled this model can easily recreate its iconic sniper poses and has compatibility with 2 LED units (BAN)!
This kit features a head gimmick with pop down camera, unfolding GN Full shields, open missile hatches in waist and knee parts, and deployment gimmick of rear GN thrusters. Includes GN Sniper Rifle with Tripod unfolding mechanism, GN Beam Pistols.


Historic Stone Structures, White Mountains – In my work documenting historic sites in the New Hampshire White Mountains I have photographed some interesting and unique stone structures. Visiting an abandoned 1800s homestead in the middle of the forest is a surreal experience. And today I want to share with you some of the interesting structures that remain in the forest.
I realize that everyone interprets the term "historic" differently. So for this blog article, a historic stone structure is anything over fifty years old. And these structures can be anything from old cellar holes to abandoned stone staircases that seem to lead to nowhere. Keep in mind, historic sites are protected and should not be disturbed.
Middle Sister Groundhouse, New Hampshire – The Middle Sister Groundhouse is a fire lookout tower located on Middle Sister Mountain, along Middle Sister Trail, near Mount Chocorua, in Albany, New Hampshire. According to the Forest Fire Lookout Association it was in operation from 1927-1948. A groundhouse fire tower differs from a typical fire tower in that the lookout cabin is built on the ground, not atop of a tower.
Today, the foundation remains intact and some odds and ends linked to the groundhouse can be found at the site. And a Forest Service radio repeater is inside the foundation, which can be seen in the above image. You can see what this fire tower looked like when it was still in operation here.
Forgotten Stoves, White Mountains – New Hampshire is rich with history, and each history buff is drawn to certain parts of the history. I love the variety of artifacts that remain in the White Mountain National Forest. And today, I am going to share a few of the unique stoves (considered artifacts) I have photographed over the years.
During the 19th and 20th-century, crude dwellings were built throughout the White Mountains to house railroad workers, local residents, and tourists. Most dwellings were built near a water source. And a good flowing brook appears to have been preferred over the large body of waters. Even in the 19th and early 20th-century people were aware of the importance of water.
Greenleaf Hut, Mount Lafayette – Some love' em and some hate' em! I have listened to some very heated debates over the years as to why the huts should or should not exist. Personally, I believe they offer travelers an excellent opportunity to explore the mountain region. And they do make make great photo subjects.
One of the more picturesque huts in the White Mountains hut system is the Greenleaf Hut on the side of Mount Lafayette. The hut opened in July 1930 (+/-) and was named in honor of Colonel Charles Henry Greenleaf, who ran the Profile House in Franconia Notch.


We drove from the Arctic Circle to Baja, Mexico (and then to Colorado) without writing a single word about it here. Actually, I'd recommend it.
So there it is – we didn't fall off the face of the Earth. We just had a bit of blog burnout (blurnout?) and had a really good time not worrying about documenting the minutia of our daily lives. I think there was once a time when people did that. Old school. I may not have opened a laptop for 3 months.
Now, we're back in Colorado for our third winter in the mountains. Bode is on the ski team again and we're back in the same condo (that we managed to 'steal' from our landlord back when Jason was still working.) This is now our somewhat intentional "home base" from which to plan our next adventures while simultaneously hustling it as a vacation rental. Angela even got a seasonal job(!) at the ski resort.
Our current thoughts on what we're doing next vary pretty wildly. Cuba. Yucatan. Europe. Quebec. Nova Scotia. A sailboat. We've got a winter to figure it out. Or longer, if we like.
In the meantime, we're hoping to get inspired to "catch up" on the blog and sort through all those photos we took over the past several months. So, if you don't mind pretending that we're still in the Northwest Territories, we can continue the blog as if nothing happened. We'll jump to the present if anything particularly exciting happens in the snow.
For anyone still out there reading… thanks for sticking around.
One more thing: since we're now actively hustling for income you're probably going to see more experiments with advertisements. For example, we're now an Amazon.com affiliate. That means that if you click any of the Amazon links on our blog, we'll get a commission if you buy anything from them within 24 hours of your click. No additional cost to you, of course. We just get a little kickback for sending you in their direction. You were probably going to buy stuff from them anyway, so it's a win-win! Thanks!
And another thing: Google never liked us. That's because we weren't "mobile friendly." Well, now we are – that's why things look quite a bit different now. If you hate it, like it or have suggestions… just comment below.
I say Sailboat. Not Catamaran. Soon.
Yay & double-yay! You're baaaack! Have enjoyed the fb postings but missed the daily jolt of VW tripping. Glad to see you are dusting off the laptop keys once again. And, thanks again for taking us all along for the ride.
Thanks, Pat! Glad to know there are still some people out there interested. Definitely helps the motivation to get writing again!
Still reading. Enjoy hearing about all your adventures and admiring all the beautiful pictures. Please keep blogging.
Congrats to Angela on the job!
I say the Yucatan..I traveled around there quite a bit, but not in a Bus.
I might be tempted to join you!
Good to know that you guys are ok! I always entered the blog to see if there was any news. Since you left Niterói, RJ, Brazil (my homeland), I've been following the blog (and travelling together). I also have one off the stickers of the van!
Felipe – thanks for sticking with us! We'll be back to Brazil one day… the beers will be on us!
Jen! Glad you guys are enjoying the Seattle winter 😉 Wish we took more photos when we were there, but hopefully we'll cross paths and get to hang out again soon!
great to read again from you!


Athletics Ireland Race Series will include 3 road races within the Phoenix Park; Irish Runner 5K (May 4th), Irish Runner 5 Mile & Irish Runner 10 Mile (July 13th). These races will also incorporate the National Championship for 5K, 5 Mile and 10 Mile. Each race within the 2019 Series will be chip timed.
Complete all 3 races to form the interlocking Athletics Ireland Race Series medal. All 3 races can be purchased via the Race Series Bundle for €50 (plus processing fee).


ESPADA is the world's most modern personal blue light acne treatment device from Swedish beauty brand FOREO equipped with ultra-powerful Light Pulse Technology to target blemishes with surgical precision. Noninvasive blue light therapy and T-Sonic pulsations quickly eliminate acne at the source for clearer, healthier skin.
ESPADA provides professional-level phototherapy in a compact at-home device. 415 nm of blue light (LED) penetrates deep below the skin's surface to kill acne-causing bacteria at the source, while T-Sonic pulsations allow the treatment to diffuse deeper for increased effectiveness and stimulates blood micro-circulation to facilitate skin renewal.
The top of the device is coated in a special bacteria-resistant silicone, prohibiting the spread of acne-causing bacteria, while remaining ultra-smooth on sensitive acne-prone areas. Soft and pleasant to hold, the body of the device is quick-drying and nonporous to prevent bacteria build-up.
Every ESPADA Blue Light Acne Treatment comes with a 2-Year Limited Warranty and 10-Year Quality Guarantee.


In order to ensure the safety of the products, we carefully store the lot under hygienic conditions and safe environment. Moreover, the lot is stringently and regularly checked by the experts. We are bracketed with the top-notch suppliers, engaged in offering the best quality 820020 Fancy Pens. Our durable plastic pens are safe non-toxic and offer smooth writing.


We can currently sync weight, body fat %, sleep, activity, heart rate, and blood pressure from Nokia devices.
Thanks, Aaron. I sure hope it works better than my Fitbit. The fitbit never recorded my steps anywhere close to accurate.


text:
Syracuse's Kaleb Joseph Still Making Major Mistakes, Sloppy in Duke Loss
The freshman PG had a tough night against Duke.
We all know Kaleb Joseph has struggled this year. He has potential, but right now it's clear he's not good enough to be Syracuse's point guard. Joseph played well against Boston College last Wednesday, but then in the Orange's 80-72 loss to Duke he went back to making the mind-numbing errors that have defined his freshman season.
Trevor Cooney shouldered a lot of blame for the Blue Devil loss because he finished 1/11 from the field in the game. That criticism is totally fair. What's not fair is that many people are ignoring Joseph's poor performance Saturday night. Syracuse fans have resorted to hoping Joseph just makes more plays than mistakes. Against the Blue Devils on Saturday, that didn't happen.
The first time Joseph handled the ball in SU's biggest game of the year he was called for a carry. Absolutely brutal. Later on, Joseph missed two wide-open threes. The first came with 2:28 on the clock in the first half and would have put Syracuse up by 11. Joseph's other crucial miss took place with 18:43 to play and would have put SU up four. Threes aren't his shot, but missing two wide-open looks in a game of that magnitude hurts.
With 2:11 to play in the first the mistakes continued. Joseph made an awful defensive play leading to a Justice Winslow three pointer and a stern talking to from Jim Boeheim. SU's point guard went into Cooney's area in the zone, meaning he was late to get to Winslow on the left wing.
Finally, with 3:18 to play in the game the Orange came up with an excellent defensive stand, but Joseph committed a non-shooting foul with three seconds to go on the shot clock. Syracuse should have had the ball being down four, but instead had to defend for another series with valuable time ticking off of the clock.
If Syracuse has a competent point guard, maybe Saturday's game finishes differently.
Posted: Connor Morrissette
Related Items:Duke, kaleb joseph, mistakes, Syracuse Orange
Syracuse Defends Home Court Against Northeastern, Wins 62-56
SU Men's Basketball Schedule Analysis
Tyler Roberson's Steady Improvement Solidifies a Larger Role for Next Year
Florida Pipeline Could Help Orange Reel in JUCO Linebacker Ted Taylor


addition to uniform wear and appearance standards, Fire Department tradition and, Department issued dress uniform Fire Department hat with hat badge.
Rogers Fire Department Standard Operating Procedures. Policy Title: Uniforms and Insignia. Policy Number: 104. Volume: Administration. Approved By:.


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CAS Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biology engineers synthesis of breviscapine by synthetic biology
Breviscapine has the function of dilating cerebrovascular and can be used for the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral thrombosis and paralysis of sequelae caused by cerebral embolism and cerebral hemorrhage. Due to the remarkable clinical application, Breviscapine was listed as an essential Chinese medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in the emergency department of Chinese Medicine Hospital in 1995. Breviscapine injection with higher purity and safety was approved by CFDA in 2005. At present the market value of such drugs has been close to 50 billion yuan. By use of synthetic biology and bioinformatics, the key genes (P450 enzyme EbF6H and glycosyltransferase EbF7GAT) in the Breviscapine synthesis pathway were successfully exressed and production optimized through metabolic engineering and fermentation optimization processes in yeast, leading to a Breviscapine content of 100 milligrams/L.
CAS news release, February 2, 2018