In this study, we examine whether changes in the investment opportunityset stemming from interest rate and credit risks are priced in the US, theUK and the Swiss equity premia by estimating both two-factor and three-factor versions of Merton’s ICAPM. The systematic pricing of credit riskis...

We use an affine asset pricing model to jointly value stocks and bonds. This enables us to derive endogenous correlations and to explain how economic fundamentals influence the correlation between stock and bond returns. The presented model is implemented for G7 post-war economies and its...

This paper investigates the extent to which differences in information costs can explain the equity home bias puzzle. In a model where the cost of acquiring information regarding the Foreign asset is higher than for the Home asset, we show that–if cost functions are convex–the expected size of...

This paper examines the determinants of stock returns in a small open economy using an APT framework. The analysis is conducted for the Swiss stock market which has the particularity of including a large proportion of firms that are exposed to foreign economic conditions. Both a statistical and...

This paper investigates the relative influences of industrial and country factors in international stock returns. Until very recently, academic research has consistently found that country factors dominate industrial factors. This result is in contradiction with practitioners beliefs. This paper...

n this study, we examine the level of stock market integration and the impact of sovereign risk on the pricing of European equity markets since the introduction of the euro. We use a multivariate GARCH(1,1)-M return generating model allowing for partial market integration in which sovereign risk...

o obtain the maximum benefits from diversification, financial theory suggests that investors should invest internationally because of the larger potential for risk reduction. The question that we raise in this paper is how to select the optimal portfolio of countries? This article synthesizes...

We investigate the influence of various variables on credit default swap transaction data. Credit derivatives are arguably a superior proxy to credit risk than bond spreads. The variables considered include fixed-income as well as equity markets data. We thus provide an international analysis of...