Starting from the discrete-time a ne term structure model by Dai, Le & Singleton (2006), this paper proposes a Radon-Nikodym derivative which implies that factors follow a mixture distribution under the physical measure. The model thus maintains attractive features of an affine relation between...

This paper makes use of an integrated benchmark modeling framework that allows us to derive term structure equations for bond and forward prices. The benchmark or numeraire is chosen to be the growth optimal portfolio (GOP). For deterministic short rate the solution of the bond term structure...

This paper proposes a simple two-factor model of nominal term structure of interest rates, in which the log-price kernel has an autoregressive drift process and a nonlinear GARCH volatility process. Given these two state-variable processes, closed-form expressions are derived for the zero-coupon...

The uncertainty around future changes to the Federal Reserve target rate varies over time. In our results, the main driver of uncertainty is a "path" factor signaling information about future policy actions, which is filtered from federal funds futures data. The uncertainty is highest when it...

We build on Fackler and King (1990) and propose a general calibration model for implied risk neutral densities. Our model allows for the joint calibration of a set of densities at different maturities and dates. The model is a Bayesian dynamic beta Markov random field which allows for possible...

We study the term structure of variance swaps, equity and variance risk premia. A model-free analysis reveals a significant price jump component in variance swap rates. A model-based analysis shows that investors' willingness to ensure against volatility risk increases after a market drop. This...

The mean-semivariance CAPM strongly outperforms the traditional mean-variance CAPM in terms of its ability to explain the cross-section of US stock returns. If regular beta is replaced by downside beta, the traditional risk-return relationship is restored. The downside betas of low-beta stocks...

We present empirical evidence that stocks with low volatility earn high risk-adjusted returns. The annual alpha spread of global low versus high volatility decile portfolios amounts to 12% over the 1986-2006 period. We also observe this volatility effect within the US, European and Japanese...

In this paper, we present a novel method to extract the risk-neutral probability of default of a firm from American put option prices. Building on the idea of a default corridor proposed in Carr and Wu (2011), we derive a parsimonious closed-form formula for American put option prices from which...

We study the consumption based asset pricing model in a discrete time pure exchange setting with incomplete information. Incomplete information leads to a filtering problem which agents solve using the Kalman filter. We characterize the solution to the asset pricing problem in such a setting....