Hedge funds? importance within the financial system has during the most recent years increased dramatically. These special funds are unique instruments that differ from traditional mutual funds in a variety of ways, however especially in how they expect returns. Due to the fact that hedge funds are able to hold short positions they possess the possibility to become market neutral investment vehicles.Because of this possibility to sustain positions neutral to market fluctuations, the concept of absolute returns became a unique selling point for hedge fund managers and promises of stable returns unchallenged by market conditions was assured. This research paper aims to examine the theory of absolute returns in hedge funds by examining hedge funds from the Nordic region during the last years of economic turmoil that has occurred by  analyzing the results from their strategies, partially by quantitative measurements as well as qualitative.  The results show that none of hedge fund strategies managed to deliver absolute returns over the chosen period..

The decision of the European Commission to block the merger between Volvo and Scania in the late 90?s became the starting point to the debate of the possible discriminating effects of the European merger regulation. Especially since the Commission a few years earlier had approved of the merger between Mercedes-Benz and Kässbohrer on the German bus market, where the conditions for competition had been similar to those at hand in the Swedish case. The issue that was and still is in focus is whether the European merger regulation is more difficult to pass for large companies situated on a smaller domestic market than is the case for their competitors of corresponding size but situated on a larger domestic market.This thesis aims at examining what the judgement of the geographical relevant market means for the application of the Merger act. This is being done from two perspectives.

Vårterminen 2006.

We waned to present a possible solution or new template for business plan called Market value plan..

This thesis is an addition to pictures and animation that has been developed using CATIA V5. The animation and the images are a market basis to test whether the product is of interest in the Nordic market. The thesis is structured with elements of the Fredy Olsson method. In this thesis there is also a short presentation of the company Tylö AB, which been chosen to market test the product. A product definition with the sub-headings; ?Description and use of product?, ?Environmentand users?, ?Economy? and ?Product inquiry?, are the basis for the product.

Extreme Production Makeover? fångade vårt intresse för en tid sedan, strax innan vi skulle börja skriva vår C-uppsats. Metoden går ut på att under mycket kort tid förändra och effektivisera en produktionslina för att höja produktiviteten. Vi blev genast nyfikna på om Extreme Production Makeover? skulle gå att omsätta i administrativa flöden och tjänste-flöden med ett informationslogistiskt perspektiv.Inom produktion finns det en lång tradition av att arbeta med effektiviseringar och förbättringar.

AbstractThe use of temporary agency workers has increased significantly during the last decades. Due to considerable differences in the legal status and working conditions of temporary agency workers within the EU, the directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work was adopted in 2008. The current directive has a two folded purpose, first and foremost to improve the employment and working conditions for temporary agency workers, by establishing the principle of equal treatment. The second purpose is to create greater acceptance for the temporary work agencies, and also to review and remove any unjustified restrictions or prohibitions against them.There are several different models for labour market regulation represented within the EU. The Swedish and Nordic model has through history relied heavily on regulation via collective agreements, entered into by the social partners, with a minimal amount of state interference and regulation.For Sweden there is a potential problem in the implementation of the directive on temporary agency work, since it follows from case law by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Deregulation on the market for agricultural products leads to a more globalised market with increasing price fluctuations. This, in turn, places the farmer in positions influenced by new risks but also improved opportunities. The farmers are faced by uncertainty in terms of financial outcome. To be able to utilise these new market conditions it becomes increasingly important for farmers to continuously follow the price trend, and to develop strategies how to manage the risks exposed by a volatile market. Farmers with different conditions perceive risk in different ways. Hence, their risk management behaviour will vary.

Previous research has shown that the market reacts on stock recommendations. As the Internet has made financial information more available and cheaper to assess one could believe that the market reflects more available information today. If this is true the market will react less on recommendation made by journalists, which generally consists of processed public information. The stock market should thus be more efficient according to the efficient market hypothesis. This study examines initially if we can conclude that stock recommendations made by journalists generate returns above the expected returns, hence abnormal returns.

This final thesis was performed at Ericsson in Gävle between April and June of 2008. Ericsson is a world leading manufacturer of radio base stations (RBS), which handles mobile phone traffic with 2G and 3G technology. The main purpose of this study is to examine if two different types of products (RBS and site material) should have different terms and conditions, today the terms and conditions are the same for both types. During the course of our study we have tried to think of the terms reliability, validity and generalization. The intention in doing that was to keep the thesis at a high academic level. To name an example of this we have tried to keep our minds at an objective level during the interviews and informal conversations.

The main purpose of this study was to examine if, and how, persons with psychological impairments have worse living conditions than the population average. The papers intention was to investigate and describe these conditions and to analyze them based on theories of stigma, and systems theory. This paper was composed on a qualitative study in which god men have been interviewed, in addition to accomplish the purpose. This study has highlighted the four individual areas of economy, employment, housing conditions and social relations. Results have shown that people with mental disabilities tend to live in worse living conditions than the population average.

Abstract  The importance of the co-occurrence of callous-unemotional traits and impulsivity concerning aggressive acts was examined by a survey. The participants consisted of 1478 Swedish youth. Three groups with extreme scores on callous-unemotional traits and impulsivity was identified.  The group scored high on both was more prone to show higher levels of aggressive and conduct problems behavior compare to the other groups. The aggressive and conduct problem behavior was shown at higher level in all examine variables. This study highlight that impulsivity can identify extreme aggressive individuals, without taking HIA (Hyperactivity, Impulsivity and Attention) problem as a entirety, to account, if shown with callous-unemotional traits. Keywords: Callous-unemotional traits, impulsivity, aggressive, conduct problem, youth, co-occurrence..

The competitive situation for businesses has experienced drastical changes as an effectof globalization and changes in consumer demands. Product related competitive advantages arerisking to quickly become presumptions for competition. The demand for increased innovationpace, along with the intense price competition, has led to buisnesses trying to find new ways todifferentiate themselves and Corporate Social Responsibility has became one way of doing so.The bad working conditions associated with the textile industry have rised a debate about thebusinesses? Corporate Social Responsibility. The future is heading towards more and morecompanies choosing to take their social responsibility, many of those experiencing this to be anadvandage in the relation with the consumers.

The Swedish food retail market contains of three major actors, ICA, KF and Axfood, all in all dominating 75 percent of the total market shares. The scant number of retailing actors indicates that the Swedish food retail market is a highly concentrated oligopoly, which as a fact has given rise to definite discussions and argumentations concerning the market situation. But is the food retail market imperfect and how do we reach a workable competition? Economic theory does not provide any clear answer on these questions, but is rather divided into two fundamentally different approaches to define competition: the static and the dynamic perspective on competition. In an attempt to examine the competition on local Swedish retail markets, the purpose of this study is to carry out an econometric model estimating the situation.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the maritime students' views on and visions for their future career. The results will be used by maritime academies, ship owners and unions to develop their activities in the desired direction and work together for a well-functioning labour market in shipping in the future. To determine the students? views and visions, interviews were conducted with graduating students at the maritime academies in Sweden. The results show that the reduced Swedish merchant fleet worries students, but that the majority is positive about finding a job after graduation.