We derive general analytic approximations for pricing European basket and rainbow options on N assets. The key idea is to express the option's price as a sum of prices of various compound exchange options, each with different pairs of sub-ordinate multi- or single-asset options. For some...

This paper examines the ability of twelve different continuous-time two-factor models with mean-reverting stochastic volatility to capture the dynamics of the S&P 500 and three European equity indices. The stochastic volatility models are the square root variance, GARCH, and log volatility...

This paper implements a variety of different calibration methods applied to the Heston model and examines their effect on the performance of standard and minimum-variance hedging of vanilla options on the FTSE 100 index. Simple adjustments to the Black-Scholes-Merton model are used as a...

In this paper we develop a continuous time factor model of commodity prices that allows for higher order autoregression and moving average components. The need for these components is documented by analyzing the convenience yield's time series dynamics. Making use of the affine model structure,...

The risk-capital positions of Japanese banks have been under tension throughout the 1990s. However, existing theory on the determinants of bank risk-taking still remains limited and the evidence is conflicting. Most studies concentrate on US and European banks, while empirical evidence has...

This paper introduces a method for simulating multivariate samples that have exact means, covariances, skewness and kurtosis. A new class of rectangular orthogonal matrices is fundamental to the methodology, and these ``L-matrices'' can be deterministic, parametric or data specific in nature....

In the UK and elsewhere, defined benefit (DB) schemes are being replaced by defined contribution (DC) schemes. However DC schemes have some substantial weaknesses, and a continuation of current policies will probably lead to another pensions crisis in a few decades. There is an alternative which...

A vast literature has documented the value premium and the small firm effect as pervasive stylized facts in empirical asset pricing and yet research has been largely unable to provide entirely convincing explanations of why these phenomena exist. This paper demonstrates that the cross-sectional...

The Japanese banking industry, including the cooperative sector has been restructured following the crisis of the 1990s. Here we examine the relationship between size and scale economies of cooperative banks in Japan (namely Shinkin and credit cooperatives). We use the translog cost-function...

We price multi-asset options by solving their price partial differential equations using a meshfree approach with radial basis functions under jump-diffusion and geometric Brownian motion frameworks. In the geometric Brownian motion framework, we propose an effective technique that breaks the...