Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2021-06-28"
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- O conceito de culpa no pós-cuidador: a scoping reviewPublication . Reis, Hugo; Deodato, Sérgio
- COVID-19 and the safe haven role of US dollar : a threshold regression analysisPublication . d´Esposito, Felice; Fidalgo, Eva SchliephakeThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the global financial system and caused great turmoil. Facing unprecedented risks in the markets, people have increasing needs to find a safe haven for their investments. Given that the nature of this crisis is a combination of multiple problems, it is substantially different from all other financial crises known to us. It is therefore urgent to re-evaluate the role of traditional safe haven candidates. The aim of this thesis is to test the hypothesis that the United States Dollar represents a safe haven against stocks of all developed countries during COVID-19 pandemic. I implement a threshold regression model to capture the non-linear linkages between safe haven assets and global stock markets, which is largely documented in the recent literature. Indeed, my empirical approach allows me to distinguish between a low- and high-stress regime, and to control for the impact of carry trade reversals. According to the estimation results, the US dollar acted as a strong safe haven during COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing no significant influence of carry trade dynamics. My results, paired with those of previous research on the haven-linked US dollar, further suggest that the safe haven role of a given asset may be sensitive to changes over time and across markets.
- Physical and chemical methodologies for extraction of carotenoids from different dried microalgae biomassPublication . Alves, A. J.; Kumla, D.; Morais, A. M. M. B.; Morais, R. M. S. C.Introduction - Microalgae are a natural resource with great potential for the isolation of natural substances with health benefits to humans. Their unique nutritional profile, which varies considerably depending on the species, place and season of harvest, rises industrial interest for the elaboration of extracts rich in bioactive compounds [1, 2]. In addition, microalgae exhibit numerous advantages, such as high growth rates and biomass production, the possibility of process optimization and also commercial and sustainability advantages [3-4]. Methods - The microalgae biomass under study was supplied by A4F. The dried biomasses were submitted to different extraction methods in order to find out which process is the most efficient to obtain compounds of interest, and, also, to perceive which methodology can be easily scaled up to the industrial level. The extracts obtained by using each method underwent spectrophotometric and, afterwards, HPLC analysis to quantify their carotenoid profile. Objectives - In the present work, the total carotenoids was evaluated in different microalgae dried biomasses after extraction by different methods, physical and chemical, in order to select the most adequate methodology for extraction yield maximization
- Lignin extraction from brewer's spent grain and evaluation of its antioxidant capacityPublication . Cassoni, Ana C.; Costa, Patrícia; Vasconcelos, Marta; Pintado, Manuela
- Pulse consumption: potential drivers and barriers towards a sustainable diet: TRUE Deliverable D1.10: practice abstracts IIPublication . Duarte, Mariana; Silva, Marta Nunes da; Vasconcelos, Marta W.; Pinto, Elisabete
- Impacto da COVID-19 na alimentação, outros estilos de vida e saúde mental em estudantes universitáriosPublication . Silva, Francisco; Pinto, Elisabete; Pimenta, Ana; Gomes, Ana; Correia, Marta
- How do ESG ratings impact the cost of debt? : a study on european firmsPublication . Murta, Afonso de Sousa Gomes Casqueiro; Zhao, LeiSustainability is an unavoidable subject of the 21st century, and research has gone into understanding financial advantages companies may have from being more sustainable. This research paper explores the link between environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings of European firms and their cost of debt capital – a relationship hypothesised to be negative. With multiple regression analysis, including controls for firm characteristics, year and sector fixed effects, this dissertation identifies a possible concave quadratic relationship. Regressed variables are lagged one period in relation to the dependent variable, to address endogeneity issues. In the general sample, the relationship between the variables is positive, but by subdividing the sample into quintiles of the ESG rating distribution, a negative relationship is found in top quintiles while the positive relationship is still seen in lower quintiles. The conclusion of this dissertation is threefold: (1) the top 20% ESG performers have a statistically lower average and median cost of debt than the bottom ones, meaning the firms that have the top ESG ratings are better off in the debt markets; (2) on average, higher quintiles of the ESG rating see a negative relationship with the cost of debt; and (3) the coefficients of the ESG rating squared are all significant, thus confirming a significant concave relationship between the ESG rating and the cost of debt. The results, arguably economically modest, reveal an added benefit for companies that operate sustainably, besides ethical reasons or the other financial benefits identified by previous literature.
- Human and animal in vitro gastrointestinal models: importance and applicationsPublication . Carvalho, Nelson Mota de; Oliveira, Diana Luazi; Costa, Célia Maria; Pintado, Manuela Estevez; Madureira, Ana Raquel
- Real options and wind energy in Spain : a comparison between onshore and offshore projectsPublication . Maia, Manuel Grais Baptista Marques; Ramirez, GuillermoThis dissertation performed an extensive research about valuation in the wind energy sector. A real options approach was taken in order to understand the optimal timing of investment in both onshore and floating offshore wind energy. This study also focused on the case of Spain, a leading country in onshore wind that is lagging behind in offshore wind. While the Spanish coast does not attract investment for bottom-fixed offshore projects, there is a suggestion that the floating offshore wind technology can be the solution. In order to develop a dynamic and flexible model, a stochastic approach was taken in order to compute the evolution of the uncertain variables. Moreover, a Monte Carlo simulation was performed, with 5000 paths being taken, together with 11 decision periods (in years). The results obtained showed the large economic value of waiting to invest in these technologies, due to high cost reductions over the simulated period. More specifically, floating offshore wind projects show huge growth prospects, having the capacity to possibly overcome onshore wind in value in the future. Finally, the study shows that even onshore wind projects still need time to maximize investment value, meaning investing today may not be optimal (in a scenario where no subsidies apply).
- The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the credit risk of the accommodation services sector in Portugal : a contingent claims approachPublication . Rosero, Catalina Serrano; Bonfim, Diana Carina Ribeiro Guimarães; Silva, NunoThis dissertation aims to study the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the credit risk of the accommodation services sector in Portugal using a structural model based on the one developed by Eisdorfer, Goyal, & Zhdanov (2019). Three major changes were implemented in the model: i) it was adapted to assess the impact of the pandemic crisis, ii) it was considered that firms have a cash account, and iii) a different decomposition of operating costs was made. Using the Central Balance Sheet - Harmonized Panel (CBHP) and the Fast and Exceptional Enterprise Survey (COVID-IREE) databases it was possible to implement the model to private Portuguese firms. The study is performed on four representative firms, that were constructed using a hybrid machine learning approach. The clustering variables - Adjusted Return on Assets, Fixed-Asset Turnover, Current Ratio and Long-Term Debt - were selected aiming to contemplate a different aspect regarding the firms’ pre-COVID-19 financial situation. While the results obtained indicate that all of the representative firms would see a decrease in their distance to default due to the pandemic shock, the dimension of the effect is heterogeneous on the four studied firms. The results also seem to confirm the intuition that firms with a better cash position before the shock suffer a less negative impact on their levels of credit risk. Additionally, less fixed obligations seem to influence firm’s chances of survival.
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