This paper examines the capability of firm fundamentals in explaining the cross-sectional variation of credit default swap (CDS) spreads. The paper constructs a fundamental-based CDS valuation by combining the Merton distance-to-default measure with a long list of firm fundamental...

We propose a direct and robust method for quantifying the variance risk premium on financial assets. We show that the risk-neutral expected value of return variance, also known as the variance swap rate, is well approximated by the value of a particular portfolio of options. We propose to use...

We develop a simple robust link between deep out-of-the-money American put options on a company's stock and a credit insurance contract on the company's bond. We assume that the stock price stays above a barrier B before default but drops below a lower barrier $A$ after default, thus generating...

We propose a dynamic econometric microstructure model of trading, and we investigate how the dynamics of trades and trade composition interact with the evolution of market liquidity, market depth, and order flow. We estimate a bivariate generalized autoregressive intensity process for the...

We consider the patterns in the predictability of interest rates expectations hypothesis (EH), and attempt to account for them with affine models. We make the following points: (i) Discrepancies in the data from the EH take a particularly simple form with forward rates: as theory suggests, the...

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....