Vattenfall hedge its future electricity production in order to decrease fluctuations in theresult. Hedging can in a simplified way be described as selling the future electricity deliveriesin long-term contracts so that the future price of the delivery becomes fixed. The contractsused are electricity forwards traded at the Nordic electricity market Nord Pool. Animbalance between buyers and sellers can lead to a situation where the forward price notequals the expected spot price. The difference between the forward price and the expectedspot price is referred to as the market risk premium.

Background: Investors have several options to choose from when the goal is to achieve the highest yield at the lowest cost and risk. Stocks are a common investment options, but is also associated with risks. Portfolios are usually constructed with several different assets to reduce the unsystematic risk of investment. Funds are similar to composite stock portfolios, the big difference is that they dealt with in their entirety and investors may not affect the fund's content. The problem remains that whether you choose stocks or mutual funds there is still uncertainty as to how the future will unfold.

Background: What is a share and what determines the value of a company? This is a constant issue that many in the financial world are facing. Many argue that there has been some decoupling between stock valuation and how the company in question is developing operationally after the financial crisis that the world faced during 2008-2009.Problem: It is important to distinguish between the company and the share. A company that is good and well maintained may not be worth buying only because of it. The share is judged by other elements also.

Background and problem: Since the new law took place in 1999, it has been illegal towash a car with substances that can damage the environment on a paved street or on a driveway through a garage. This has conveyed to a new industry where more and more self-service car wash facility have opened around the country. Vetlanda Vägkrog AB has since 2012 been planning to install manual self-service car wash facility at the back of their restaurant business. The authors mission was to make an analysis in order to examine whether an investment of carwashes are lucrative enough for Vetlanda Vägkrog AB.Aim: The study's main objective was to analyze the profitability of an investment in a self-service car wash facility at Vetlanda Vägkrog AB, based on given data. The authors sub-aim was to clarify which factors in general that had played the greatest part in the establishment of a self-service car wash facility.Method: The authors have used an abductive approach in order to fulfill the aim of the study.

SummaryThe purpose of this thesis is to examine what effect the IFRS 2 has on earnings, equity, financial strength and return on equity for listed Swedish companies with active stock option plans. The purpose is further to investigate the companies? attitudes towards IFRS 2 and to find out if companies tend to deviate from stock option plans due to the changed accounting rules. We also want to examine the view of IFRS 2 from an auditor?s perspective.We have used a deductive approach and a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods with a view to get a completely clear picture within the field of study.

Bakgrund: Redovisningsinformation är en informationskälla för främst aktieägare och långivare. Investerare använder informationen för att kunna göra prognoser för framtida kassaflöden och därigenom prissätta aktier i syfte att uppnå lönsamma, långsiktiga placeringar på aktiemarknaden. Kan en investerare få hjälp av företagens redovisning för att öka värdet på sin placering?Syfte: Att undersöka sambandet mellan räntabilitet på eget kapital och aktiers effektiva avkastningAvgränsningar: Studien omfattar tiden 1997 till 2004 och baseras på företag tillhörande branschen Konsumentvaror, enligt tidningen Affärsvärldens branschindelning.Genomförande: Sambandet mellan parametrarna utvärderas med hjälp av regressionsanalys. För varje år utförs regressioner för att fastställa förklaringsgrad, lutningskoefficient samt regressionens signifikans.

Abstract  Title: High-Risk Funds vs. Mutual- Index FundsA study of macro -variables influence on different funds choice Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Moses Yokie & Bo Lemar Supervisor: Ogi Chun & Cheick Wagué Date: 2011-05-25 Aim: The purpose with this thesis is to compare two different types of mutual-index fond and a high-risk fund in relation to the macro variables. The purpose also includes an investigation about if an investor will receives a higher return on high-risk fund than on mutual-index fund in a 10 years period.Method: A quantitative method has been use in this study, where the information has been received from Morningstar. Microsoft Excel has been used to process the collected data in order to calculate the expected return and the risk measures. The result is presented in graphs and tables on the empirical capital, in order to analyse and compare it with the theories and the selected macro- variables to see if there will be any correlation. Conclusion: This research shows that there is no possibility that the macro-variable factors can benefit an investment on high-risk fund or on mutual-index fund in the short run.

Pain related behaviour in 1.5 year old colts was studied both prior to and following castration. The horses were filmed 24 h prior to surgery and 24 h postoperatively. Parameters, inactive and active behaviours, were recorded in terms of cumulative time observed. Both groups of horses were exercised three times and the gait quality was evaluated. Few differences were observed between the groups.

Most descriptions of stereotypic behaviours have in common that these repetitive behaviours only has been observed in captive animals and therefore it has been proposed that stereotypies exist because we house animals in environments that are sub-optimal to them. Some scientists claim that performance of stereotypies in itself decreases the animal's welfare due to costs in time, energy and health and a poorer quality of life. Other scientists assert that individuals performing stereotypies may have a better welfare compared to the rest of the animals in the same environment, since these individuals have developed strategies to cope with stress. Studies have estimated the prevalence of abnormal behaviours in horses to 18-30 % of the population. Several studies on cribbing have revealed a prevalence of 4-5 %, although some results indicate that more than 10 % of the horse population performs this stereotypy.

A large number of farms within the agricultural sector will shortly be facing a point of time where the farm will be transferred to the next generation. The grantor can choose between totally 8 different strategies to transfer the farm, of which purchase, gift and a mixed form of these are the most common. During 2007 almost 10 000 transfers of agricultural estates occurred in Sweden and the expectation for the coming years is that about 15 000 estates will be transferred each year. By the time a transfer is about to materialize there are usually several stakeholders that in one way or another is trying to influence the outcome of the transfer. The choice of transfer method affects the conditions and possibilities for compensating the siblings.

The purpose of this study was to examine earnings quality and earnings management in U.S. ex-post failed firms. A quantitative study was made, using the Modified Jones Model, to identify abnormal accruals up to six years before bankruptcy. 9 003 continuing firms and 187 bankrupt firms, active sometime between 1990 and 2010, were examined. The study concludes that U.S.

The lack of fresh and clean water today causes severe problems, mostly in developing countries. Waterborne diseases like typhoid, cholera, amoebic dysentery and diarrhea create health problems and deaths among people. There is a need for low cost interventions like household-based water treatment and safe storage (HWTS). Solvatten AB is a Swedish company based in Stockholm. Their product, Solvatten, is a household water treatment unit that can treat water containing viruses, parasites and bacteria.

Företag som är involverade i ett förvärv har intentionerna att skapa ett högre värde i den egna verksamheten. Avkastningen vid tillkännagivandet av ett tänkt förvärv indikerar hur lönsamt marknaden tror förvärvet är. I studien har detta undersökts genom att mäta den abnormala aktieavkastningen i samband med tillkännagivandet av ett bud, beroende på om företaget är förvärvare eller förvärv samt om affären är horisontell eller vertikal. Från dessa fyra har totalt åtta olika undergrupper analyserats. Hos fem av de åtta undergrupperna har en abnormal avkastning kunnat bekräftas kring tillkännagivelsedatumet; förvärvande-horisontellt, förvärv-horisontelt, förvärvande, förvärv, horisontella och även den totala abnormala avkastningen för det samtliga urvalet visade positivt resultat..

Intense competition among companies and luck or unavailability of certain resources in country of company?s origin force last to cross the borders, and start to hunt for new markets and cheaper inputs. However, by investing abroad the company is not only facing and dealing with cultural differences and new regulatory framework, but also becomes dependent on decisions and actions of different and to large extend unknown government. Moreover, the majority of the investments? flows are directed to developing countries, where power and capabilities of state authorities are considered to be more extensive than in countries of developed economies.

Investment in hedge funds is a relatively new phenomenon for investors compared with other forms of savings. In recent years, the interest has increased among investors in investing their money in hedge funds, given the protection against declines in the market they are aiming for. Their main purpose is to generate a high return at a low risk regardless of market trends. This they can achieve by having fewer restrictions that offer more flexible investment strategies and freer investment opportunities.The purpose of this paper is to identify how the selected hedge fund strategies have performed during the recent economic downturn. We also want to clarify the claim that hedge funds exhibit a positive absolute return regardless of what the market is performing.In order to answer the purpose of the essay and its problems, we have used a quantitative method with a deductive approach in the processing of data.