We propose a comprehensive methodology to characterize the business cycle comovements across European economies and some industrialized countries, always trying to "leave the data speak". Out of this framework, we propose a novel method to show that there is no "Euro economy" that acts as an...

We propose an optimal filter to transform the Conference Board Composite Leading Index (CLI) into recession probabilities in the US economy. We also analyse the CLI's accuracy at anticipating US output growth. We compare the predictive performance of linear, VAR extensions of smooth transition...

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, we compare the accuracy of previous studies that analyze the ability of the Composite Index of Leading Indicators (CLI) for predicting turning points. Alternative filters are also proposed. For these comparisons, we adapt the test developed by...

We analyze the dynamic interactions between commodity prices and output growth of the seven biggest Latin American exporters: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Using a novel defi nition of Markovswitching impulse response functions, we fi nd that the response of...

We extend the Markov-switching dynamic factor model to account for some of the specificities of the day-to-day monitoring of economic developments from macroeconomic indicators, such as ragged edges and mixed frequencies. We examine the theoretical benefits of this extension and corroborate the...

We examine the short-term performance of two alternative approaches to forecasting using dynamic factor models. The first approach extracts the seasonal component of the individual indicators before estimating the dynamic factor model, while the alternative uses the nonseasonally adjusted data...

Practitioners do not always use research findings, sometimes because the research is not always conducted in a manner relevant to real-world practice. This survey seeks to close the gap between research and practice on short-term forecasting in real time. Towards this end, we review the most...

This paper aims at contributing to the understanding of how the ECB conducts monetary policy as seen from a money market perspective. More specifically it covers two different issues. First, it looks at the learning period for banks since the Eurosystem started implementing the single monetary...

This paper provides a comprehensive framework to analyze business cycle features other than synchronization. We use stationary bootstrap and model-based clustering methods to analyze similarities and differences among the European cycles. We find evidence that the length, deep and shape of...