Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
UK Market (uk + market)
Selected AbstractsThe Impact of Interest Rates and The Housing Market on The UK EconomyECONOMIC OUTLOOK, Issue 2 2004Adrian Cooper The Chancellor has asked Professor David Miles to examine the UK market for longer-term fixed rate mortgages. This paper by Adrian Cooper, which is part of a study commissioned by the Miles Review, presents the results of a series of simulations using the OEF Model of the UK economy to investigate the contribution of the housing market to macroeconomic volatility and the implications of changing the structure of mortgage finance from the current variable rate system linked to short-term interest rates to a fixed rate system linked to long rates. The main findings are that the housing market has been a contributor to past volatility in the UK economy, and that moving to a fixed rate structure would reduce the impact of a change in interest rates on key macroeconomic indicators. [source] The erosive potential of flavoured sparkling water drinksINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 2 2007CATRIONA J. BROWN Objective., The potential role of acidic drinks in the aetiology of dental erosion is well recognized. Whilst the wide-scale consumption of bottled waters is unlikely to contribute significantly to erosion, the role of flavoured sparkling water drinks is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the pH, titratable acidity and in vitro erosive potential of a selection of these drinks drawn from the UK market to identify what dietary advice would be appropriate in relation to their consumption. Methods., pH was measured using a pH electrode and titratable acidity recorded by titration with 0.1- m NaOH. Erosive potential was assessed using an in vitro dissolution assay with hydroxyapatite powder and electron microscopic examination of surface enamel of extracted human teeth, following exposure to the flavoured sparkling waters for 30 min. Results., All of the flavoured waters tested showed appreciable titratable acidity (0.344,0.663 mmol) and low pH (2.74,3.34). In the hydroxyapatite dissolution assay, all of the waters demonstrated erosive potential (89,143%) similar to or greater than that of pure orange juice, an established erosive drink. Exposure of the extracted teeth to the flavoured waters resulted in surface changes consistent with erosive dissolution. Conclusions., Flavoured sparkling waters should be considered as potentially erosive, and preventive advice on their consumption should recognize them as potentially acidic drinks rather than water with flavouring. [source] The efficiency of natural gas futures marketsOPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 2 2003Ahmed El Hachemi Mazighi Recent experience with the emergence of futures markets for natural gas has led to many questions about the drivers and functioning of these markets. Most often, however, studies lack strong statistical support. The objective of this article is to use some classical statistical tests to check whether futures markets for natural gas (NG) are efficient or not. The problem of NG market efficiency is closely linked to the debate on the value of NG. More precisely, if futures markets were really efficient, then: 1) spot prices would reflect the existence of a market assessment, which is proof that speculation and the manipulation of prices are absent; 2) as a consequence, spot prices could give clear signals about the value of NG; and 3) historical series on spot prices could serve as "clean" benchmarks in the pricing of NG in long-term contracts. On the whole, since the major share of NG is sold to power producers, the efficiency of futures markets implies that spot prices for NG are driven increasingly by power prices. On the other hand, if futures markets for natural gas fail the efficiency tests, this will reflect: 1) a lack of liquidity in futures markets and/or possibilities of an excess return in the short term; 2) a pass-through of the seasonality of power demand in the gas market; 3) the existence of a transitory process, before spot markets become efficient and give clear signals about the value of NG. Using monthly data on three segments of the futures markets, our findings show that efficiency is almost completely rejected on both the International Petroleum Exchange in London (UK market) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (US market). On the NYMEX, the principle of "co-movement" between spot and forward prices seems to be respected. However, the autocorrelation functions of the first differences in the price changes show no randomness of price fluctuations for three segments out of four. Further, both the NYMEX and the IPE fail, with regard to the hypothesis that the forward price is an optimal predictor of the spot price. Consequently, unless we have an increase in the liquidity of spot markets and an increase in the relative share of NG spot trading, futures markets cannot be considered as efficient. [source] Latest news and product developmentsPRESCRIBER, Issue 12 2007Article first published online: 4 OCT 200 NAO: GPs still not prescribing efficiently The National Audit Office (NAO) says NHS funds are being wasted through inefficient GP prescribing and patients not taking their medicines. The NAO's long-awaited report, Prescribing Costs in Primary Care (www.nao.org.uk), found large variations between PCTs in generic prescribing of statins, ACE inhibitors and angiotensin-II antagonists, and protonpump inhibitors; PCTs were also paying widely differing prices for these products. There was a five-fold variation in prescribing volume for clopidogrel between PCTs. These four drugs accounted for only 19 per cent of total spending but, if all practices matched the performance of the best 25 per cent, the NHS would save £200 million annually. PCTs should do more to rationalise prescribing and support their GPs, the NAO concludes. The NAO says that the cost of medicines dispensed for but not taken by patients lies somewhere in the range £100-£800 million annually. Strategies to reduce waste include public awareness campaigns and restricting supplies to four weeks (or two weeks for new medicines). Rosiglitazone may increase CV death risk A meta-analysis of 42 clinical trials has suggested that rosiglitazone is associated with increased risks of myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiovascular death (N Engl J Med 2007; published online 21 May: doi 10.1056/ NEJMoa072761). Like the COX-2 inhibitors, rosiglitazone was licensed without determining its possible effects on long-term cardiovascular outcomes, and interpretation of the latest findings is complicated by the multiple comparisons involved. For risk of MI, there was no significant difference between rosiglitazone and placebo (though this was of borderline statistical signifi-cance , p=0.07), metformin, sulphonylureas or insulin. Rosiglitazone was associated with a statistically significant 43 per cent increased risk compared with all comparators combined but the absolute increase in risk was very small (0.02 per cent). The trends were similar for risk of cardiovascular death, though rosiglitazone was associated with a 64 per cent increased risk compared with all comparators combined that was of borderline statistical significance (p=0.06). The authors acknowledge that their analysis pooled short-term studies that excluded patients at risk of heart disease and was not designed to determine cardiovascular outcomes, and they had no access to patientlevel data; as a result, there is uncertainty about their findings. Nevertheless, they say there is now an urgent need to clarify the risk associated with rosiglitazone. GlaxoSmithKline has rebutted the findings, stating that the cardiovascular risk profile of rosiglitazone is comparable with that of other oral antidiabetic drugs. The MHRA says warnings in the current SPCs for Avandia and Avandamet already reflect most of the data in the latest US review. The possible effects of rosiglitazone on cardiovascular events is currently being evaluated in the Rosiglitazone Evaluated for Cardiac Outcomes and Regulation of glycaemia in Diabetes (RECORD) study. Good management tool The Department of Health has published a disease management tool to enable PCTs to model local interventions that could reduce emergency admissions. The web-based ,voluntary good practice tool' will demonstrate how interventions in primary care and social care settings can improve the management of long-term conditions including cardiovascular disease, asthma and COPD, and dementia and depression. Counterfeit medicines The MHRA has issued an unprecedented three alerts about fake medicines in the legitimate supply chain, recalling all affected lot numbers. Three batches of Zyprexa 10mg tablets (olanzapine) were withdrawn after a company printing labels became suspicious and alerted Eli Lilly. Two of the batches, which contained 60 per cent of the stated active ingredient, had reached patients but no adverse events were reported. Two lots of parallel-imported Plavix 75mg tablets (clopidogrel) have been withdrawn after counterfeit packs were identified. The lots were in French original packaging but will have been overlabelled for the UK market. The counterfeits were mixed with genuine packs from Sanofi-Aventis. Fake Casodex 50mg tablets (bicalutamide) have been identified in a parallel import from France. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society reports that the fake contains 75 per cent of the stated dose of bicalutamide. Alcohol-free mometasone Schering-plough has introduced an alcohol-free formulation of mometasone furoate nasal spray (Nasonex) for hay fever. The company says that an alcohol vehicle causes nasal irritation and leaves an unpleasant aftertaste, adding that over 40 per cent of patients cite this as the main reason for stopping treatment, and over 50 per cent state a preference for an alcohol-free product. Aid to improve statin adherence Adherence to statin therapy can be improved if patients use a decision aid when they are offered treatment,US investigators say (Arch Intern Med 2007;167:1076-82). The decision aid estimated the individual's 10-year cardiovascular risk and the risk reduction from treatment, and summarised the disadvantages of statins.Patients with diabetes who used the aid knew more about their risk and were less indecisive about treatment than those who did not. The odds of having missed a dose over three months were three times higher for patients who had not used the aid. Online tool calculates switch savings A new online tool can help GPs estimate the savings achievable from switching patients to cheaper medicines. The Switch Saving Calculator, developed by the Prescribing Analysis & Support Team at the NHS Regional Drug and Therapeutics Centre in Newcastle, calculates potential savings based on past, current or projected use of the target drug. It can be applied to individual prescribers or scaled up to practice, commissioning group, PCT, health authority or even national level. Separate calculators are available for primary and secondary care. The current version calculates potential savings by switching from atorvastatin to simvastatin. The Newcastle team says other drugs will be added and they will update prices regularly. The calculator is at www.nyrdtc.nhs.uk:80/Services/presc_supp/ switch_saving_calculator/switch_saving_calculator.html. No improvement in drug information for patients leaving hospital The information given to patients discharged from hospital is not improving, according to the Healthcare Commission's annual patient survey (www.healthcare commission.org.uk). The 2006 survey found that the commonest reason patients were kept waiting for at least four hours to leave hospital was the delay in providing discharge medicines. Provision of written information increased from 62 per cent of patients in 2005 to 65 per cent in 2006. However, only 76 per cent said they had been told about their medicines in a way they could ,completely' understand (79 per cent in 2002). The proportion of patients reporting complete information about sideeffects also fell (from 40 per cent in 2005 to 37 per cent). Aspirin in preeclampsia A new meta-analysis has found that primary prevention with low-dose aspirin modestly but consistently reduces the risk of preeclampsia (Lancet 2007; published online 18 May). The study of 31 trials involving 32 217 women at low to moderate risk found that antiplatelet agents (mostly aspirin) reduced the risk of pre-eclampsia and preterm birth by 10 per cent without an increased risk of bleeding. The benefit was similar across subgroups. There were also nonsignificant reductions in the risk of small for age, stillborn and death before discharge. New from NICE NICE approves varenicline for NHS NICE has endorsed the use of varenicline (Champix) as an aid to smoking cessation within the NHS for England and Wales; it has already been approved for use in Scotland by the Scottish Medicines Consortium. Varenicline is a partial agonist at the ,4,2 nicotinic receptor. It alleviates craving and withdrawal symptoms, and reduces the rewarding and reinforcing effects of smoking. The commonest adverse effect is mild to moderate nausea, which improves with time.1 Varenicline is licensed for smoking cessation in adults; NICE says it should be offered as an option for smokers who say they want to quit as part of a programme of behavioural support. However, treatment should not be withheld if counselling and support are not available. NICE was critical of manufacturer Pfizer's economic arguments in favour of varenicline, which inappropriately included US data, assumed a single quit attempt and may have overestimated its efficacy. It nonetheless concluded that varenicline is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or bupropion (Zyban) in achieving continuous abstinence. NICE estimated that, compared with NRT, the odds of abstinence at one year with varenicline were 54 per cent greater. A Cochrane review1 concluded that abstinence was 66 per cent more likely with varenicline than with bupropion, and three times more likely than with placebo. There was also a benefit from offering smokers a wider choice of treatments. A 12-week course of varenicline costs £163.80; it is also licensed for an additional 12-week course and dose tapering may be considered for those at high risk of relapse. The final appraisal determination does not state which is the treatment of first choice for smoking cessation. NICE is currently preparing guidance on smoking cessation in pri-mary care, pharmacies and workplaces. Copyright © 2007 Wiley Interface Ltd [source] Intra Day Bid-Ask Spreads, Trading Volume and Volatility: Recent Empirical Evidence from the London Stock ExchangeJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 5-6 2004Charlie X. Cai With the benefit of very high frequency (25 million 1 minute observations) and recent data (2001) for the UK, this paper explores a number of intra day patterns of stock market behaviour. More specifically, a distinct reverse J shaped bid-ask spread pattern is noted for SETS securities, a declining bid-ask spread pattern for non-SETS securities, a two hump pattern for trading volume and a U-shaped pattern for returns volatility for all securities. In terms of complementing the existing literature, the paper shows that differences in trading systems may affect the bid-ask spread patterns, while differences in market environments (i.e. US and UK markets) seems to affect the trading volume pattern. The paper suggests avenues for future research, in particular, the need to consider what factors are significant in determining intra day patterns for different trading systems and the need for additional cross-market comparisons to identify how institutional factors affect the behaviour of investors on an intra day basis. [source] | |||||||||||||