Dynamic term structure models price interest rate options based on the model-implied fair values of the yield curve, ignoring any pricing residuals on the yield curve that are either from model approximations or market imperfections. In contrast, option pricing in practice often takes the market...

The U.S. agency mortgage backed securities (MBS) market is deep and highly liquid, yet modeling MBS is extremely challenging. This paper applies market participants' desired requirements for a good pricing model to MBS pricing models provided by six of the top MBS dealers. We find that five out...

We present a dynamic term structure model in which interest rates of all maturities are bounded from below at zero. Positivity and continuity, combined with no arbitrage, result in only one functional form for the term structure with three sources of risk. One dynamic factor controls the level...

This paper proposes a stylized model that reconciles several seemingly conflicting findings on financial security returns and option prices. The model is based on a pure jump Levy process, wherein the jump arrival rate obeys a power law dampened by an exponential function. The model allows for...

To simultaneously account for the properties of interest-rate term structure and foreign exchange rates within an arbitrage-free framework, we propose a multi-currency quadratic model with an (m+n) factor structure. The m factors model the term structure of interest rates in both countries. The...

This paper presents an internally consistent analysis of the economic determinants of the term structure of credit spreads across different credit rating classes and industry sectors. Our analysis proceeds in two steps. First, we extract three economic factors from 13 time series that capture...

We document a surprising pattern in Samp;P 500 option prices. When implied volatilities are graphed against a standard measure of moneyness, the implied volatility smirk does not flatten out as maturity increases up to the observable horizon of two years. This behavior contrasts sharply with the...

We identify and characterize a class of term structure models where bond yields are quadratic functions of the state vector. We label this class the quadratic class and aim to lay a solid theoretical foundation for its future empirical application. We consider asset pricing in general and...

Crude prices are subject to both demand and supply shocks. Major events and structural changes can induce large variations in intensities of the two types of shocks, as well as their magnitudes of impacts on crude price movements. This paper proposes a theoretical framework that allows us to...

This paper develops a new top-down valuation framework that links the pricing of an option investment to its daily profit and loss attribution. The framework uses the Black-Merton-Scholes option pricing formula to attribute the short-term option investment risk to variations in the underlying...