This study investigates the number of state variables needed for CDS pricing by conducting a principal component analysis using CDS data for the 2006-2009 period. Two state variables, approximated by the first two components, are found sufficient for pricing CDS spreads. The first component...

We use time-varying regression to model the relationship between returns in the Shanghai and New York stock markets, with possible inclusion of lagged returns. The parameters of the regressions reveal that the effect of current stock return of New York on Shanghai steadily increases after the...

We investigate the information cost of stock trading during the 2000 presidential election. We find that the uncertainty of the election induces information asymmetry of politically sensitive firms under the Bush/Gore platforms. The unusual delay in election results in a significant increase in...

In this study, we use both parametric and non-parametric methods to test the property of martingale restriction in KOSPI 200 index options market. Our results provide strong evidence that the property is violated. Further regression analysis and robustness checks suggest that market friction...

Major bubble episodes are rare events. In this paper, we examine what factors might cause some asset price bubbles to become very large. We recreate, in a laboratory setting, some of the specific institutional features investors in the South Sea Company faced in 1720. Several factors have been...

In light of the recently passed 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, we assess the effect of margin changes on prices, the risk-sharing between speculators and hedgers, and the price stability of 20 commodity futures markets. We find that margin increases decrease the rate at which prices change, yet they...

Financial markets embed expectations of central bank policy into asset prices. This paper compares two approaches that extract a probability density of market beliefs. The first is a simulated moments estimator for option volatilities described in Mizrach (2002); the second is a new approach...

I investigate the linkage between liquidity provision by Nasdaq market makers and analysts in the same firm. Using three measures of market activity, I find that Nasdaq firms are more likely to provide buy side liquidity in anticipation of upgrades in the period 1999-2000. ECN activity supports...

I examine the effects of Nasdaq's introduction of an anonymous trading facility called SIZE. I compare SIZE to competing ECNs in terms of liquidity and market impact. Despite rapid growth, SIZE has not yet attained a significant market share and rarely influences short-run price evolution. I...

This article reviews the history of the recent shift to electronic trading in equity, foreign ex- change and fixed-income markets. We analyze a new data set: the eSpeed (Cantor Fitzgerald) electronic Treasury network. We contrast the market microstructure of eSpeed with the tradi- tional voice...