Solar activity, as indexed by sunspots, has a cycle of length varying from about 9 to 13 years. Statisticians have fitted several models to predict sunspot numbers one year ahead. We instead focus on predicting the magnitudes of the next cycle maximum, the next cycle minimum, the time from the...

This thesis consists of three essays on asset pricing. Chapter 1 presents an equilibrium model to study the convergence trading of large hedge funds in segmented markets. The model provides an alternative explanation for the anomaly of a price gap between two fundamentally identical securities....