No abstract.

Two approaches dominate the time series literature for modeling expected value models. The first one is based on observable variables and includes ARMA and GARCH models, while the second one is based on latent variables and includes state space and stochastic volatility (or SV) models. The first...

Breeden, Gibbons and Litzenberger (1989), and Lamont (1999), use "economic tracking portfolios" to forecast macroeconomic data. Tracking portfolios are constructed to reflect market expectations and reveal the impact of news. However, these papers, as well as many related studies which examine...

We present a general framework for testing the accuracy of Value-at-Risk (VaR) forecasts. The approach is based on the observation that violations – the days on which portfolio losses exceed the VaR – should be unpredictable. Specifically, these violations form a martingale difference...