We analyze the specifications of option pricing models based on time-changed Levy processes. We classify option pricing models based on the structure of the jump component in the underlying return process, the source of stochastic volatility, and the specification of the volatility process...

We analyze the specifications of option pricing models based on time-changed Levy processes. We classify option pricing models based on the sucture of the jump component in the underlying return process, the source of stochastic volatility, and the specification of the volatility process itself....

Kurtosis in asset prices and returns has been so widely documented it hardly bears comment. Equally interesting, in our view, is the relatively modest kurtosis in consumption growth and inflation. The question is how to reconcile the two: Is kurtosis in asset prices inherited from macroeconomic...

In 1993, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) introduced the COBE Volatility Index (VIX). This index has become the de facto benchmark for stock market volatility. On September 22, 2003, the CBOE revamped the definition and calculation of the VIX, and back-calculated the new VIX up to...

We document the behavior of over-the-counter currency option prices across moneyness, maturity, and calendar time on two of the most actively traded currency pairs over the past eight years. We find that the risk-neutral distribution of currency returns is relatively symmetric on average....

We develop a new option pricing framework that tightly integrates with how institutional investors manage options positions. The framework starts with the near-term dynamics of the implied volatility surface and derives no-arbitrage constraints on its current shape. Within this framework, we...

Hedging creates value only when the policy is near optimal but can be harmful otherwise. This paper takes the US airline industry as an example and derives the optimal fuel cost hedging ratio as a function of firm-specific revenue and cost sensitivities, as well as the relative composition of...

Inflation rates are highly persistent and extremely difficult to predict. Most statistical predictions based on predictive regressions fail to outperform the simple assumption of random walk in out-of-sample testing. The poor out-of-sample performance is a common feature of predictive...

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 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...