This paper analyzes the relation between the capital structure of a firm and the tax benefits realized from the exercise of stock options. Theory suggests that firms with tax benefits from the exercise of stock options should carry less debt since tax benefits are a non-debt tax shield. We find...

Pricing models for American call and put options on futures contracts are derived herein. These models are used to investigate the efficiency of the market for options on Standard & Poor 500 and German Mark futures. The evidence presented here indicates that market prices for these options...

This paper analyzes 31 months of data on 137 single‐stock futures (SSFs) traded on OneChicago. The results indicate that on the days they trade, SSFs contribute approximately 24% of the price discovery for underlying stocks. Information revelation in the SSFs market decreases with the ratio of...

ABSTRACT It is thought that American options always gain value as the time to the option's expiration date increases. Merton (1973) proved this result using simple arbitrage arguments for options on non-dividend paying stocks. However, market prices reveal that (i) an American put can increase...