Customer arrival patterns observed in the real world typically exhibit strong seasonal effects. It is therefore natural to ask: Can a nonhomogeneous Poisson process (NHPP) with a rate function that is the simple sum of sinusoids provide an adequate description of reality? If so, how can the...

Estimation of the covariance matrix of asset returns is crucial to portfolio construction. As suggested by economic theories, the correlation structure among assets differs between emerging markets and developed countries. It is therefore imperative to make rigorous statistical inference on...