Finance is usually considered to be a complex science, made up of unsatisfactory explanations interpreting the mystery and volatility of financial markets. Expectations, the mood of the market, as well as investment strategies to manage diversified portfolios, are intimidating issues for most...

The starting point is an interrogation about the non-broken character of the term structure of interest rates. Some arguments for that smooth character are presented here, all of which are based upon the assumption that market participants - arbitrageurs and speculators - always try to explore...