This paper studies high-frequency econometric methods to test for a jump in the spread of bond yields. We propose a coherent inference procedure that detects a jump in the yield spread only if at least one of the two underlying bonds displays a jump. Ignoring this inherent connection by basing...

We quantify crash risk in currency returns. To accomplish this task, we develop and estimate an empirical model of exchange rate dynamics using daily data for four currencies relative to the US dollar: the Australian dollar, the British pound, the Swiss franc, and the Japanese yen. The model...

The Samp;P 500 index return interacts negatively with its volatility. This paper traces the negative interaction to three distinct economic channels and proposes to disentangle the relative contribution of each channel using Samp;P 500 index options. First, equity volatility increases...

We conduct an extensive empirical analysis of VIX derivative valuation models over the 2004-2007 bull market and the subsequent financial crisis. We show that existing models yield large distortions during the crisis because of their restrictive volatility mean reverting assumptions. We propose...

GARCH option pricing models have the advantage of a well-established econometric foundation. However, multiple states need to be introduced as single state GARCH and even Levy processes are unable to explain the term structure of the moments of financial data. We show that the continuous time...

The paper undertakes a non-parametric analysis of the very high frequency movements in stock market volatility using very finely sampled data on the S&P VIX index compiled by the CBOE. The data suggest that stock market volatility is best described as a pure jump process without a continuous...

We consider the hedging of options when the price of the underlying asset is always exposed to the possibility of jumps of random size. Working in a single factor Markovian setting, we derive a new spanning relation between a given option and a continuum of shorter-term options written on the...

This article analyzes the specifications of option pricing models based on time-changed Levy processes. We classify option pricing models based on (i) the structure of the jump component in the underlying return process, (ii) the source of stochastic volatility, and (iii) the specification of...

We conduct an extensive empirical analysis of VIX derivative valuation models before, during and after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Since the restrictive mean reversion and heteroskedasticity features of existing models yield large distortions during the crisis, we propose generalisations...