We introduce a new meaure of risk appetite in financial markets, based on the cross sectional behavior of excess returns. Turning them into probabilities through a Markov Switching model, we define one global risk appetite measure as the cross-sectional average of the individual probabilities...

A shared belief in the financial industry is that markets are driven by two types of regimes. Bull markets would be characterized by high returns and low volatility whereas bear markets would display low returns coupled with high volatility. Modeling the dynamics of different asset classes...

As commodity markets have continued their expansion an extensive and complex financial industry has developed to service them. This industry includes hundreds of participating firms, including asset managers, brokers, consultants, verification agencies and a myriad of other institutions....

This paper aims to present the insurance cost-of-capital computation issue. It highlights two methodologies introduced by Chief Risk Officer Forum (2008) to perform the cost-of-capital rate and which more or less justify the risk premium adopted by supervisory authorities. These strategies are...

The paper aims to present the insurance linked securities market behaviour, that has changed a lot the past three years, both in terms of structure and in terms of ceded risks. After having introduced some stylized facts characterizing the insurance linked securities we capture their market...

Since 2008, catastrophic losses and financial turmoil have deeply shaken the insurance and reinsurance industries. Severe difficulties encountered by sector leaders like AIG and Swiss Re have shed light on the potential fragility of the players, and have increased attention on the subject of...