The estimation of multivariate GARCH models remains a challenging task, even in modern computer environments. This manuscript shows how Independent Component Analysiscan be used to estimate the Generalized Orthogonal GARCH model in a fraction of the time otherwise required. The proposed method...

In this study, we examine whether changes in the investment opportunityset stemming from interest rate and credit risks are priced in the US, theUK and the Swiss equity premia by estimating both two-factor and three-factor versions of Merton’s ICAPM. The systematic pricing of credit riskis...

In empirical modeling, there have been two strands for pricing in the options literature, namely the parametric and nonparametric models. Often, the support for the nonparametric methods is based on a benchmark such as theBlack-Scholes model with constant volatility. In this paper, we examine...

In spite of the fact that they can draw on a larger, more liquid and more diversifiedpool of capital than the equity of reinsurance companies, financial markets have failed to displace reinsurance as the primary risk-sharing vehicle for natural catastrophe risk. We show that this failure can be...

World power and gas markets have a natural relationship with global tradable carbon permits markets, including the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the latter officially launched in January 2005. Electric utilities operate their power plants based in part on the...

A resampling method based on the bootstrap and a bias-correction step is developed for improving the Value-at-Risk (VaR) forecasting ability of the normal GARCH model. Compared to the use of more sophisticated GARCH models, the new method is fast, easy to implement, numerically reliable, and,...

Based on the notion of a quantile unbiased estimating function, this paper develops a general method for conducting exact small-sample inference in models which allow the estimator of the (scalar) parameter of interest to be expressed as the root of an estimating function, and which is...

Closed-form, trivially evaluated approximations for the density and cumulative distribution function of the doubly noncentral t distribution are developed based on saddlepoint methods. They exhibit remarkable accuracy throughout the entire support of the distribution and are vastly superior to...

We build a two-factor structural model of default where the stock market index is one of the stochastic factors. In the model, we allow the firm to adjust its leverage in response to changes in the firm value and changes in the business climate, for which the return of the stock market index...

A new and quite general model class for modeling asset returns and forecasting Value at Risk is proposed. It combines a dynamic multi-component GARCH structure with the stable Paretian distributional assumption. The new model nests several successful models for modeling asset returns, including...