The liberalization of electricity markets has forced energy producing companies and traders to calculate costs closer to the profit frontier. Thus, an efficient risk management and risk controlling are needed to ensure the financial survival even during bad times. Using the RAROC methodology we...

We employ a large dataset of physical inventory data on 21 different commodities for the period 1993-2011 to empirically analyze the behaviour of commodity prices and their volatility as predicted by the theory of storage. We examine two main issues. First, we explore the relationship between...

In this paper we develop a multi-factor model for the joint dynamics of related commodity spot prices in continuous time. We contribute to the existing literature by simultaneously considering various commodity markets in a single, consistent model. In an application we show the economic...

Using a comprehensive dataset of first, second and third generation commodity indices, we investigate the potential diversification benefits in equity-bond portfolios. The results show that first generation commodity indices are outperformed by enhanced indices. Second generation indices provide...

For centuries, Jews in Europe have specialized in financial services. At the same time, they have been the victims of historical antisemitism on the part of the Christian majority. We find that present-day financial development is lower in German counties where historical antisemitism was...

This paper examines long memory volatility in the cross-section of stock returns. We show that long memory volatility is widespread in the U.S. and that the degree of memory can be related to firm characteristics such as market capitalization, book-to-market ratio, prior performance and price...