This paper derives analytical solutions for valuing credit default swaps (CDS) using preference-free multifactor affine and quadratic models, under the recovery of face value (RFV) assumption. We use a preference-free framework, which is independent of the market prices of risk, and yet allows...

The term structure of interest rates gives the relationship between the yield on an investment and the term to maturity of the investment. Since the term structure is typically measured using default-free, continuously-compounded, annualized zero-coupon yields, it is not directly observable from...

In a recent paper, NBZ [2010] present a multidimensional transform for generating path-independent trees for pricing American options under low dimensional stochastic volatility models. For this class of models, this approach has higher accuracy than the GARCH tree method of Ritchken and Trevor...

This paper shows how to price American interest rate options under the exponential jumps-extended Vasicek model, or the Vasicek-EJ model. We modify the Gaussian jump-diffusion tree of Amin [1993] and apply to the exponential jumps-based short rate process under the Vasicek-EJ model. The tree is...

Closed-form formulas for Macaulay duration, as given by Babcock and Chua, provide the user with a less cumbersome and more efficient procedure for calculating duration. Recent developments, however, have suggested alternative measures of bond portfolio immunization designed to overcome the...

Are the managers of financial institutions ready for the small but increasingly significant risk of inflation in the near future, due to the unprecedented fiscal and monetary responses of the U.S. government to prevent an economic collapse? This paper addresses this important issue by reviewing...

VaR_Delta-Normal fails in two counts: subadditivity and potentially producing losses larger than its portfolio value. This paper solves the second inconsistency developing formulas derived from a put option, named PVaR_Delta-Normal and Put_Expected_Shortfall, PSF_Delta-Normal; the latter also...

The high cost of capital for firms conducting medical research and development (R&D) has been partly attributed to the government risk facing investors in medical innovation. This risk slows down medical innovation because investors must be compensated for it. We propose new and simple financial...

The 30-year U.S. swap spreads have been negative since September 2008. We offer a novel explanation for this persistent anomaly. Through an illustrative model, we show that underfunded pension plans optimally use swaps for duration hedging. Combined with dealer banks' balance sheet constraints,...

The existing replication policies at top finance journals are far weaker than the policies at top economics journals. This paper explores both the costs and benefits of having a stronger replication policy in the context of my failed 2010 initiative to develop a unified policy across all top...