Background: The use of mobile health applications (apps) is an effective strategy in supporting patients' self-management of heart failure (HF) in home settings, but it remains unclear whether they can be used to reduce sedentary behaviors and increase overall physical activity levels. Aim: The aims of this study were to determine the effect of an 8-week home-based mobile health app intervention on physical activity levels and to assess its effects on symptom burden and health-related quality of life. Method: In this study, we collected repeated-measures data from 132 participants with HF (60.8 ± 10.47 years) randomized into a usual care group (n = 67) or an 8-week home-based mobile health app intervention group (n = 65). The intervention was tailored to decrease the time spent in sedentary behavior and to increase the time spent in physical activities performed at light or greater intensity levels. Physical activity levels were monitored for 2 weeks before the intervention and during the 8-week intervention using the Samsung mobile health app. Heart failure symptom burden and health-related quality of life were assessed at baseline, 2 weeks from baseline assessment, and immediately post intervention. Results: At week 8, all participants in the intervention group demonstrated an increase in the average daily step counts above the preintervention counts (range of increase: 2351–7925 steps/d). Only 29 participants (45%) achieved an average daily step count of 10 000 or higher by week 6 and maintained their achievement to week 8 of the intervention. Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed a significant group-by-time interaction, indicating that the intervention group had a greater improvement in physical activity levels, symptom burden, and health-related quality of life than the usual care group. Conclusion: Home-based mobile health app–based interventions can increase physical activity levels and can play an important role in promoting better HF outcomes.

This study investigates the relationship between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores and firm financial performance, measured by Tobin's Q and Return on Assets (ROA), for non-financial firms listed in the UK. The study sample included 188 firms from 2015 to 2023. Panel regression was used to account for the firm- and time-specific unobservable variables, while the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation was used to account for endogeneity concerns. The results reveal a significant negative relationship between ESG combined score and Tobin’s Q, suggesting that higher ESG ratings are associated with lower firm valuation. Additionally, the impact of the Governance score on Tobin’s Q is negative and statistically significant at the 1% level. The results validate the trade-off theory, indicating that investors may view investments in ESG initiatives less favorably at least in the short run, suggesting that listed companies with strong stakeholder-oriented practices are not rewarded with a premium price. The findings underscore the importance of ESG initiatives for management and decision makers to enhance investor awareness about the role of ESG initiatives in contributing to long-term shareholder value through sustainable growth, improved stakeholder relationships, and effective risk management.

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of corporate ownership structure on agency costs in the insurance industry.Design/methodology/approach: The study sample included 23 insurance companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) from 2010 to 2019. Panel regression was used to account for the firm- and time-specific unobservable variables and system-GMM estimation was used to address endogeneity concerns.Findings: The results show that managerial ownership positively (negatively) affects selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses (assets turnover), implying that unmonitored managers engage in activities that serve their own interests rather than those of shareholders. The largest shareholder's ownership has no impact on agency costs, implying that the ownership of the largest shareholder is irrelevant. However, as the wedge between the percentage of capital owned by the largest shareholders and managers increases, SG&A expenses (efficiency ratio) decrease (increases), indicating that the existence of large non-management shareholders reduces agency costs. After accounting for the endogeneity problem, the impact of ownership structure on agency costs measured by asset turnover remains robust.Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to provide unique evidence and useful insights into the determinants of agency costs from a frontier market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a focus on the insurance sector. Additionally, this study uses a new measure of separation between ownership and control by calculating the wedge between managers' and large shareholders' ownership.

We investigate the presence of feedback trading in 66 currencies for the 2001–2018 period and find that feedback traders are active in many of them, giving rise mostly to positive feedback trading, when present. This suggests that feedback traders assume a stabilizing role, buying when currencies depreciate and selling when they appreciate, with depreciations found to boost positive feedback trading more strongly than appreciations. Feedback trading is found to exhibit long memory for most currencies, while no discernible feedback trading patterns surface within-versus-outside the recent global financial crisis.

Background: Environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices are increasingly integrated into banking. However, their effects on financial stability remain inconclusive, particularly in oil-dependent economies like those of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.Aim: This study investigated the effect of ESG scores on bank stability in the GCC countries. It also evaluates the role of economic freedom and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in shaping this relationship.Setting: The study focused on 40 listed commercial banks across six GCC countries, over the period 2018–2023.Method: Using panel data, the study applied a two-step system generalised method of moment (GMM) estimator. Bank stability is proxied by the logarithm of the Z-score, while ESG performance is measured through aggregate and pillar-specific scores (environmental, social, governance) from Bloomberg.Results: The results reveal a statistically significant negative effect of the ESG pillars on bank stability. For instance, a 1-point increase in the environmental score is expected to lead to a 0.003 decrease in bank stability. Moreover, higher levels of economic freedom are associated with increased bank stability. Similarly, bank size, inflation and economic growth are key favourable contributors to bank stability. Additional analysis reveals that COVID-19 had a damaging effect on bank stability.Conclusion: ESG integration in GCC banks may reduce short-term stability because of high implementation costs. Economic and regulatory contexts significantly influence the ESG-stability link.Contribution: This study provides context-specific evidence on ESG impacts in emerging markets, offering insights for policymakers and banking institutions in shaping long-term sustainable finance strategies.