This paper concerns the pricing of American options with stochastic stopping time constraints expressed in terms of the states of a Markov process. Following the ideas of Menaldi, Robin, and Sun (1996) we transform the constrained into an unconstrained optimal stopping problem. The...

Two different probability measures are of importance when calculating the risk of a large portfolio: the risk-neutral measure for pricing, and the real measure to project true earnings. When using Monte Carlo, the natural method is to conduct two different simulations, one in each probability...

In this paper we develop a structural equation model with latent variables in an ordinal setting which allows us to test broker-dealer predictive ability of financial market movements. We use a multivariate logit model in a latent factor framework, develop a tractable estimator based on a...

We study a test statistic based on the integrated squared difference between a kernel estimator of the copula density and a kernel smoothed estimator of the parametric copula density. We show for fixed smoothing parameters that the test is consistent and that the asymptotic properties are driven...

We introduce an adaptive importance sampling method for the loss distribution of credit portfolios based on the Robbins-Monro stochastic approximation procedure. After presenting the subtle construction of the algorithm, we apply our adaptive scheme for calculating the risk figures of a typical...

We introduce a new analytical approach to price American options. Using an explicit and intuitive proxy for the exercise rule, we derive tractable pricing formulas using a short-maturity asymptotic expansion. Depending on model parameters, this method can accurately price options with...

In this paper we construct arbitrage-free market models of stochastic volatility type for one stock, one bank account and a finite family of European call options with various strikes and maturities. We first introduce local implied volatilities and price level as market observables which...