“Justification of Investment Decisions Using Technical and Fundamental Analysis – A Case Study Approach” is the title of the paper published in Bercu, A.-M., Bilan, I., Apostoaie, C.-M., eds. (2022) European Administrative Area – Integration and Resilience Dynamics. Proceedings of the International Conference EU-PAIR 2022. Iași: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi Publishing Press, pp. 341-359. The research was performed by Dan-Pavel Matei (see bio) and Constantin-Marius Apostoaie and is available here.
Short resume of the research: Financial analysis represents a powerful tool which, in the hands of the investors, can reduce the risks they are exposed to and, at the same time, increase the return on their investments. The analyst can opt between the two main pillars of financial analysis, technical and fundamental analysis, ore use them both (harnessing their full potential as complements rather than substitutes). In this context, the current paper aims to determine an investment opportunity in the stock market, using, as case studies, the stocks of two companies that are well known giants in the financial industry: JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.) and HSBC (HSBC Holdings plc.). After performing the technical and fundamental analysis, we concluded that both stocks are currently worth to invest in. The study revealed that the stocks are undervalued and that there is a good opportunity to take a buy position in the immediate future. Indicators, such as Bollinger Bands and Relative Strength Index, together with the identified chart formations, confirm that both stocks are oversold, and respectively, undervalued. The results generated by the technical analysis are confirmed by some fundamental analysis indicators, which reveal a good financial condition of the companies. Thus, considering the average investor’s risk profile, the decision to buy should be taken consciously, within a margin of 10% of his/her available funds. The current paper contributes to the existing literature on technical and fundamental analysis with a sound case study and a critical perspective.

“The Smart Cities of Romania: An Overview” is the title of the paper published in Bercu, A.-M., Bilan, I., Apostoaie, C.-M., eds. (2022) European Administrative Area – Integration and Resilience Dynamics. Proceedings of the International Conference EU-PAIR 2022. Iași: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi Publishing Press, pp. 461-487. The research was performed by Ioana-Maria Ursache (see bio) and Constantin-Marius Apostoaie and is available here.
Short resume of the research: The ‘smart city’ emerged as a complex strategy, involving different urban aspects and dimensions. The European model is currently built on six domains: smart mobility, smart governance, smart economy, smart people, smart living and smart environment. The current paper investigates how Romanian cities have implemented smart city strategies and how are they evolving from a more practical perspective. While the vast majority of initiatives are concentrated in the capital city and other important regional centres, not all projects are functional and have yet to generate benefits for citizens. With regard to the status-quo in Romania, smart cities are rather in the adaptation phase, having emerged from tensions between modern and traditional forms of governance and socio-economic and environmental goals. The aim of this paper is to critically assess how close are Romanian cities to the conventional smart city by analysing how and which smartness factors have been translated in the seven Romania’s regional development centres – Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Brașov, Constanța, Craiova and Ploiești.