In this paper we present an analysis of diversification strategies on portfolios of European corporate bonds. From the perspective of a U.S.-based investor we study whether mean-variance diversification strategies change as a result of the introduction of the European Economic and Monetary Union...

We propose a generational plan for the occupational pension provision in which people from the same generation are pooled in a generational fund. Each fund can set its own policies independently. This plan provides the benefits of differentiation missing in the prevailing collective plan and the...

This paper examines the effects of a drastic change in dividend payout policy on both the return and risk of firms stock. We focus on the listed real estate markets of Japan, U.K and U.S. where the adoption of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) standard has imposed a payout policy of 90...

This paper analyzes the impact of US central bank communication on individual stock returns. We find a strong conditional effect of communication on stocks. The response of equities to central bank talk depends critically on the business cycle. In bad times, monetary policy communication...

Deliberately or not, by providing its stance on the prospects of the economy, rationalizing past decisions or announcing future actions, central banks influence financial markets' expectations of its future policy. In bad times, monetary policy communication inducing an upward revision of the...

We analyze revealed policy preferences in monetary policy committees. From the voting records of the Bank of England we estimate the policy preferences with spatial models of voting. We analyze systematic patterns in these policy preferences. We nd that internal committee members tend to hold...

This paper focuses on the characteristics of hourly electricity prices in day-ahead markets. In these markets, quotes for day-ahead delivery of electricity are submitted simultaneously for all hours in the next day. The same information set is used for quoting all hours of the day. The dynamics...

This paper empirically investigates two questions. First, what makes a bank hedge in certain periods but not in others? We find that banks are more likely to be hedgers with interest rate derivatives when loan commitment, demand deposit, ROE, size and credit spread are higher; higher interest...

In this paper, we examine in which periods uncovered interest rate parity was likely to hold. Empirical research has shown mixed evidence on UIP. The main finding is that it doesn't hold, although some researchers were not able to reject UIP in periods with large interest differentials or high...