Regularizing Bayesian predictive regressions provides a framework for prior sensitivity analysis via the regularization path. We jointly regularize both expectations and variance-covariance matrices using a pair of shrinkage priors. Our methodology applies directly to vector autoregressions...

We demonstrate that the parameters controlling skewness and kurtosis in popular equity return models estimated at daily frequency can be obtained almost as precisely as if volatility is observable by simply incorporating the strong information content of realized volatility measures extracted...

I use machine learning methods to identify stock characteristics important for predicting both stock returns and mutual fund performance. My customized machine learning models can successfully predict both stock returns and fund performance, and a nonlinear model delivers better performance....

New models to forecast the real price of oil on the basis of macroeconomic indicators and Google search data are proposed. A large-scale out-of-sample forecasting analysis comparing the different models is performed. It is found that models including both Google data and macroeconomic aggregates...

This paper investigates the effect of characteristic-based time-varying factor beta on the diffusion-index type forecast. Specifically, the factor beta includes two distinct components: the "instrumental beta'' is a function of some observed stable variables, while the "idiosyncratic beta''...

Beyond their importance from the regulatory policy point of view, Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) play an important role in risk management, portfolio allocation, capital level requirements, trading systems, and hedging strategies. Unfortunately, due to the curse of...

Cryptocurrencies have become a trendy topic recently, primarily due to their disruptive potential and reports of unprecedented returns. In addition, academics increasingly acknowledge the predictive power of Social Media in many fields and, more specifically, for financial markets and economics....

We propose a heterogeneous autoregressive (HAR) model with time-varying parameters in the form of a local linear random forest. In contrast to conventional random forests that approximate the volatility nonparametrically using local averaging, the building blocks of our forest are HAR panel...

This paper investigates whether augmenting models with the variance risk premium (VRP) and Google search data improves the quality of the forecasts for real oil prices. We considered a time sample of monthly data from 2007 to 2019 that includes several episodes of high volatility in the oil...