In this chapter the authors seek to provide a general overview of the international markets for foreign exchange (FX) and FX derivatives as well as the theoretical relationships that tie these markets together with interest rates and central bank policies. The first section provides a brief...

This paper reexamines the main arguments of whether or not monetary policy should respond to asset bubbles. The question of how the central bank should respond to an asset bubble can be reformulated in two ways. First, how does the central bank respond while an asset bubble is growing, and...

During the past few decades, significant theoretical advances in portfolio theory and asset pricing have substantially increased our understanding of how to construct optimal portfolios. These theoretical developments have challenged professional portfolio management to develop appropriate tools...

The Stochastic Discount Factor (SDF) methodology is a general and convenient framework for asset pricing. SDF encapsulates all the modeling uncertainties and its advantage is that we do not require the knowledge of investors' preferences. Suitable specification of SDF is, therefore, critical. It...

In 1994 the Federal Reserve System moved to a more transparent reporting of monetary policy. In this paper we first discuss the evolution of Federal Reserve transparency in U.S. and second we test its effectiveness. We assess the empirical impact of monetary policy transparency on the...

In 1994 the Federal Reserve System moved to a more transparent reporting of monetary policy. In this paper we first discuss the evolution of Federal Reserve transparency in U.S. and second we test its effectiveness. We assess the empirical impact of monetary policy transparency on the...

In 1994 the Federal Reserve System moved to a more transparent reporting of monetary policy. In this paper we first discuss the various sources of uncertainty that play an essential role in the formulation and conduct of monetary policy and evaluate the degree of uncertainty faced by monetary...