This paper considers factor estimation from heterogenous data, where some of the variables are noisy and only weakly informative for the factors. To identify the irrelevant variables, we search for zero rows in the loadings matrix of the factor model. To sharply separate these irrelevant...

The decline of most world commodity prices came to an end in recent months. The aggregate dollar price level was 15 per cent lower in the first quarter of 1999 compared to a year previously, and since autumn 1997 it even decreased by about 30 per cent. Oil prices fell particularly sharply, but...

In this paper, we analyze which currencies can be regarded as safe haven currencies. Our empirical approach allows us to distinguish between a low- and high stress regime, and to control for the impact of carry trade reversals and other fundamental determinants. We therefore address the question...

Gold is a globally traded asset and held in large quantities by investors and central banks. Since there is no established model to assess if the price of gold is overvalued or undervalued, we propose a relative valuation framework based on gold price ratios. We analyze gold prices relative to...

Gold is a globally traded asset and held in large quantities by investors and central banks. Since there is no established model to assess if the price of gold is overvalued or undervalued, we propose a relative valuation framework based on gold price ratios and focus on potential drivers of...

Using a new dataset, we measure the large gap between the representation of men and women in leadership positions in banks and bank supervision agencies worldwide. Women occupied less than 2 percent of bank CEOs positions, and less than 20 percent of the board seats in more than 80 percent of...

Modern econometrics requires implementation of highly specialized software. In contrast to mathematical arguments used in implementing new econometric techniques the corresponding software algorithms require specific platforms. The specialization of hardware and software, in fact, seriously...