Optimal time to sell a stock in the Black–Scholes model: comment on ‘Thou shalt buy and hold’, by A. Shiryaev,Z. Xu and X.Y. Zhou

We reconsider the problem of the optimal time to sell a stock studied by Shiryaev et al. (2008 Shiryaev, A, Xu, Z and Zhou, XY. 2008. Thou shalt buy and hold. Quant. Finan., 8: 765–776. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) (following in this issue of Quantitative Finance) using path integral methods. These methods allow us to confirm the results obtained by these authors and extend them to the entire parameter region. We also obtain the full distribution of the time t_m at which the maximum of the price is reached for arbitrary values of the drift.     

The 1994–1995 Mexican Currency Crisis and U.S. Bank Stock Returns

We investigate the impact of the 1994–1995 Mexican currency crisis on U.S. bank stock returns. We use a jump-diffusion model rather than a pure diffusion model to describe daily stock returns, because the public release of unexpected information generally is associated with discrete jumps in prices. Traditional event study models pool both announcement effects and trading effects and may lead to inefficient estimators. The jump-diffusion model can separate the impact of informed trading from unanticipated public announcements. Our results indicate that the variance of the jumps is large and increases with bank size and portion of loans to Mexico.     

Financial structure change and banking income: A Canada–U.S. comparison

Data suggest that the Canadian financial structure, and particularly indirect finance (e.g., banking), have become more market-oriented. We associate this financial trend in part with the regulatory changes that have occurred in Canada since the 1980s. Financial intermediaries are increasingly involved with financial market activities—e.g. off-balance sheet (OBS) activities such as underwriting securities. In this article we analyze the noninterest income attributable to these financial market activities. We find that the variance of Canadian banks’ aggregate operating-income growth is rising because of the increased contribution of noninterest income. Overall, our analysis corroborates the U.S. findings of Stiroh and Rumble (Stiroh, K., 2006. A portfolio view of banking with interest and noninterest assets. Jounal of Money, Credit, and Banking 38, 1351–1361; Stiroh, K., Rumble, A., 2006. The darkside of diversification: the case of U.S. financial holding companies. Journal of Banking and Finance 30, 2131–2161): by contributing to banking income volatility, market-oriented activities do not necessarily yield straightforward diversification benefits to Canadian banks.     

T. J. Huang, the superior in VC inclustry

A saying like that, investment is buying with low price and selling with high price. It is easy to say. but difficult to control in practice; the investor has to grasp the economic transition and industry＇s undulation accurately. T. J. Huang, the trailblazer of Taiwan financial reformation, he is the founder and managing partner of the AsiaVest Partners, TCW/YFY Lid, Huaug is the person who is aware of the trend of industry＇s startap and decline in advance, and make decision at right time. Someone said that T. J.     

Über die versicherten-sterblichkeit in Finnland. 1920–1930

Abstract

Ende des Jahres 1932 trafen die finnischen Lebensversicherungsgesellschaften Massnahmen für eine gemeinsame Untersuchung über die Sterblichkeit ihrer Versicherten während des J ahrzehntes 1920–1930. In dieser Absicht gab en die Aktuare der verschiedenen Gesellschaften den Herren Dr. Emil Wessel, Dr. E. A. Hintikka und Professor Dr. R. Nevanlinna in Auftrag einen Entwurf zur Ausführung einer solchen Untersuchung zu machen. Anfang Dezember war der Vorschlag des Dreier-Komitees fertig, der auch genehmigt wurde, sodass die Arbeit im Anfang des folgenden Jahres beginnen konnte.     

Financial development and household portfolios – Evidence from Spain,the U.K. and the U.S.

We examine the impact of financial development on the composition of household portfolios in Spain, the U.K. and the U.S., three countries whose financial systems underwent profound changes over the past two decades and for which relevant data exist for sufficiently long time periods. We find a ‘division of labour’ between the indices measuring financial development and asset returns, the first affecting mainly the long-run dynamics of household portfolios and the second the short-run dynamics; both, however, in an economically reasonable way. Among the notable results pertaining to long-run dynamics, more competitive financial intermediaries are associated with a higher share of currency and deposits and a lower share of equity. For the short-run dynamics, the most important driver is stock market returns.