2006年石油价格展望

本文对影响2006年石油价格的因素做了系统分析。认为2006年形成油价风险的主要动因已从需求的波动转向供给的波动;2006年油价将由于供求的脆弱平衡维持高位运行的格局,并且,由于供给链中潜在的危机,油价波动性将会非常大;但在全球经济增速下降、石油需求增长放缓、石油生产国家和公司仍然在努力满足市场需求、炼油瓶颈有望缓和的大背景下,油价在2006年按2005年可比价格计不会大幅上升,不会对全球经济产生重大负面影响。     

A semi-analytic method for valuing high-dimensional options on the maximum and minimum of multiple assets

Valuing high-dimensional options has many important applications in finance but when the true distributions are unknown or complex, numerical approximations must be used. Approximation methods based on Monte-Carlo simulation show a steep trade-off between estimation accuracy and computational efficiency. This article presents an alternative semi-analytic approximation method for pricing options on the maximum or minimum of multiple assets with unknown distributions. Computational efficiency is shown to improve significantly without sacrificing estimation accuracy. The method is illustrated with applications to options on underlying assets with mean-reverting prices, time-dependent correlations, and stochastic volatility The authors would like to thank the two anonymous referees, the associate editor, and Dr. Jess H. Chua at the University of Calgary for valuable comments and insights on this research. This research was partly supported by NUS grant R-146-000-059-112     

On the estimation of stock-market reaction to corporate layoff announcements

This study investigates the stock-market reaction to layoff announcements where more than 1000 workers are affected. We employ a dummy variable regression (DVR) version of the market model and compare the results obtained using ordinary least squares (OLS) versus exponential GARCH (EGARCH), and value-weighted (VW) versus equally weighted (EW) market index. We find that the stock market responds negatively to layoffs attributed to low demand. We also find that contrary to prior research, the market reacts positively to restructuring-related layoffs on the announcement date. This pattern of market reaction is observed regardless of the market index used or the parameter estimation methods employed, although the empirical results indicate that using EGARCH/VW market index tends to generate fewer statistically significant test results and smaller (in the absolute size of the cumulative) abnormal returns (ARs). Taken together, our study provides additional support for the claim that studies of stock-market reaction to corporate events must account for the time variation in return volatility. Ignoring these could result in erroneous inferences.     

Informed and uninformed trading on the Australian dollar

Using a high-frequency data set of the spot Australian/US dollar, this study examines the distribution of quotes, spreads, and returns across the trading day. By identifying the direction of trade and the subsequent quote returns from contributing banks, the segmented nature of the market into market-makers and informed and uninformed traders is investigated. The results suggest that the economic gain possible from private information is maximised over 2 to 5 quotes and is rapidly eroded by 20 quotes (about 2 min later during busy trading times) as other new information enters the market. Also, the analysis is revealing of discontinuities in trading and the volatility of pricing across the trading day.     

Measuring Inflation Expectations Uncertainty Using High‐Frequency Data

Inflation expectations play a key role in determining future economic outcomes. The associated uncertainty provides a direct gauge of how well‐anchored the inflation expectations are. We construct a model‐based measure of inflation expectations uncertainty by augmenting a standard unobserved components model of inflation with information from noisy and possibly biased measures of inflation expectations obtained from financial markets. This new model‐based measure of inflation expectations uncertainty is more accurately estimated and can provide valuable information for policymakers. Using U.S. data, we find significant changes in inflation expectations uncertainty during the Great Recession.     

Monetary Policy,Trend Inflation,and Unemployment Volatility

The literature has long agreed that the DMP model (after Diamond 1982, Mortensen 1982, Pissarides 1985) with search and matching frictions in the labor market can deliver large volatilities in labor market quantities, consistent with empirical data, only if there is at least some wage stickiness. I show, however, that the model can deliver nontrivial volatilities without wage stickiness, as long as it has price dispersion and nonzero long‐run inflation rates. I find that by keeping inflation at a positive rate, monetary policy may be accountable for the large standard deviations observed on labor market variables. In addition, the Shimer (2005) puzzle disappears under monetary policy shocks.     

金融投机、实需与国际大宗商品价格——信息摩擦视角下的大宗商品价格影响机制研究

本文实证考察了2005-2015年金融投机和实需对国际大宗商品现货价格的影响及其作用机理。首先对具有信息噪音属性的金融投机进行了明确识别。其次,从多个维度出发区分市场信息摩擦状态,定量分析不同信息摩擦环境中金融投机和实需的影响差异。研究发现:大宗商品价格在长期中由实需因素主导,短期中由金融投机主导;短期中,相对于低信息摩擦环境,在市场波动性较高、金融压力上升以及投资者情绪高涨的高信息摩擦环境中,以金融投机为主的信息噪音对大宗商品价格的影响更强。进一步分析证实,相比于低信息摩擦环境,高信息摩擦环境中金融交易者的市场份额反而降低。据此,本文提出稳定大宗商品市场的关键在于提高市场透明度,减少信息摩擦,从市场质量出发降低信息噪音的影响。     

A novel cluster HAR-type model for forecasting realized volatility

This paper proposes a cluster HAR-type model that adopts the hierarchical clustering technique to form the cascade of heterogeneous volatility components. In contrast to the conventional HAR-type models, the proposed cluster models are based on the relevant lagged volatilities selected by the cluster group Lasso. Our simulation evidence suggests that the cluster group Lasso dominates other alternatives in terms of variable screening and that the cluster HAR serves as the top performer in forecasting the future realized volatility. The forecasting superiority of the cluster models are also demonstrated in an empirical application where the highest forecasting accuracy tends to be achieved by separating the jumps from the continuous sample path volatility process.     

Intraday bidirectional volatility spillover across international stock markets: does the global financial crisis matter?

This article studies volatility spillover between the US and the three largest European stock markets (Frankfurt, London and Paris) around the time of the recent Subprime crisis. In order to investigate the impact of the latter, we break our sample down into two sub-periods: a pre-crisis period and a post-crisis period, using a structural break test that has the advantage of endogenously testing for further breaks in the data. Unlike previous studies that have frequently investigated this issue using low frequency data, our article makes use of intraday data. Accordingly, using Threshold generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model estimations, we find weak evidence of volatility transmission between the two regions before the Subprime crisis. However, during the post-crisis period, we record returns and volatility spillover from US to European markets and vice versa at different times of the trading day, indicating that the two regions became more dependent during the recent Subprime crisis, a finding that supports the contagion hypothesis between the US and European stock markets.