We evaluate how departure from normality may affect the allocation of assets. A Taylor series expansion of the expected utility allows to focus on certain moments and to compute numerically the optimal portfolio allocation. A decisive advantage of this approach is that it remains operational...

In this paper, we study the co-movements between stock market indices and real economic activity over the business cycle in France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, using two complementary approaches in our analysis. First, we identify the turning points in real economy...

Correlations between international equity markets are often claimed to increase during periods of high volatility, therefore the benefits of international diversification are reduced when they are most needed, i.e. during crises. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between...