This paper documents nonlinear cross-sectional dependence in the term structure of U.S. Treasury yields and points out risk management implications. The analysis is based on a Kalman filter estimation of a two-factor affine model which specifies the yield curve dynamics. We then apply a broad...

The desirability of a transactions tax in the foreign exchange market, or Tobin tax, depends on whether the tax deters short-term, destabilizing trade. While supporters claim that the tax would be a deterrent for short-term capital flows, critics contend that the deterrent capability of the tax...

Based on an original database, this paper provides an empirical study of Tsarist bond prices reactions after their repudiation by the Soviets. For the two years following the repudiation two striking features of a representative Tsarist bond traded in Paris are highlighted: first, the price...

Distributions for returns are used to compute the capital charge for portfolios in investment banks. The mainstream definition of returns is based on closing prices and neglects the important effects of intraday trading activity on the losses . In this paper we introduce ''minimal returns'', a...

A pure exchange economy with a financial market is studied where aggregate dividends are modeled as a diffusion. The dynamics of the diffusion are allowed to depend on factors which are unobservable to the agents and have to be estimated. With perfect information, the asset market would be...

This paper introduces a new method for evaluating a trading system based on its past performance. The method is a hypothesis test that asks whether the system is making random trades. The test controls for price behavior during the test period and the trade characteristics of the system being...

An exact integral representation is derived for the American option price. It is not easily solvable, but it leads to an efficient approximation scheme. The results obtained are very satisfactory and comparable to those available from other methods. In this method, critical stock prices can be...

The popular press attaches particular significance to certain numerical values of the Dow-Jones index. These magic numbers are referred to as `resistance levels' or `psychological barriers.' We examine 38 years of closing values of this index to see if it is of any help in predicting future...

This paper extends the field of index number theory to the case of risk, by deriving the Divisia index from the Euler equations under risk, rather than from the first order conditions under perfect certainty, as was done by Francois Divisia. The result is an extended Divisia index which corrects...