We employ data over 2005-2009 which uniquely identify categories of traders to test whether speculators like hedge funds and swap dealers cause price changes or volatility. We find little evidence that speculators destabilize financial markets. To the contrary, speculative trading activity...

The coincident rise in crude oil prices and increased number of financial participants in the crude oil futures market from 2000-2008 has led to allegations that “speculators” drive crude oil prices. As crude oil futures peaked at $147/bbl in July 2008, the role of speculators came under...

We analyze the role of hedge fund, swap dealer and arbitrageur activity in a Markov regime-switching model between high volatility bear markets and low volatility bull markets for crude oil, corn and Mini-S&P500 index futures. We find that these institutional positions reflect fundamental...

Abstract: The coincident rise in crude oil prices and increased numbers of financial participants in the crude oil futures market from 2000-2008 has led to allegations that "speculators" drive crude oil prices. As crude oil futures peaked at $147/bbl in July 2008, the role of speculators came...

Does central bank intervention improve liquidity in the interbank market during the current sub-prime crisis? To answer this question, we employ a unique dataset which reports trades and quotes of the e-MID, the only electronic, regulated interbank market in the world. Our results show that...

We study the motivations of traders in the interbank market around the 2007-09 subprime crisis. We develop a new methodology that reveals the underlying urgency to borrow overnight funds, which we call Trading Urgency. We find that the dispersion of beliefs (market Sidedness) and Trading Urgency...

Network analysis has become a key framework in financial economics in understanding how interconnectedness among market participants results in spillovers, amplifies or absorbs shocks, and creates other nonlinear effects that ultimately impact market health. In this paper, we propose a new...

We identify and explain a structural change in the relation between crude oil futures prices across contract maturities. As recently as 2001, near- and long-dated futures were priced as though traded in segmented markets. In 2002, however, the prices of one-year futures started to move more in...

In Nasdaq IPOs between 1997 and 2002, clients of the lead underwriter bought shares worth $35.36 billion on the first day of public trading but sold shares worth only $21.45 billion, leading to a net buy imbalance of $13.91 billion, or 8.79 percent of the shares issued. The strong net buying...

We examine 1,098 Nasdaq firms delisted in 1999-2002 that subsequently traded in the OTC Bulletin Board and/or the Pink Sheets. Market quality deteriorates significantly after delisting: share volume declines by two-thirds; quoted spreads almost triple from 12.1 to 33.9 percent; and effective...