Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a common procedure for the analysis of financial market data, such as implied volatility smiles or interest rate curves. Recently, Pelsser and Lord [11] raised the question whether PCA results may not be 'facts but artefacts'. We extend this line of research...

An installment option is a European option in which the premium, instead of being paid up-front, is paid in a series of installments. If all installments are paid the holder receives the exercise value, but the holder has the right to terminate payments on any payment date, in which case the...