Dynamic relationships between crude oil prices and socially responsible investing in Brazil: evidence for linear and non-linear causality

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in socially responsible investing (SRI), reflecting investors’ growing awareness of social, environmental, ethical and corporate governance issues. At the same time, the effect of oil price shocks on stock price returns has become a prominent issue due to surges in energy prices. Using the Brazilian corporate sustainability index (ISE) as a benchmark for socially responsible investments in the Brazilian stock market, the present study extends the understandings on the impact of oil prices on stock price behaviour, focusing on a new class of assets: those from socially responsible firms. To this end, apart from conventional linear causality approaches, we apply a nonparametric test by Diks and Panchenko (DP) on daily data spanning from January 2008 to December 2015 to test for non-linear causality, before and after controlling for conditional heteroscedasticity. Our findings show that, in spite of their efforts to become more socially responsible, firms that have adhered to the ISE in recent years are influenced by crude oil spot prices, especially the WTI crude. In line with previous studies, we also provide consistent evidence that the Brazilian stock market, as a whole, is associated with the international crude oil market.     

Macroeconomic and financial effects of oil price shocks: Evidence for the euro area

The paper investigates the macroeconomic and financial effects of oil price shocks for the euro area, with a special focus on post-2009 oil price dynamics and the recent slump. The analysis is carried out episode by episode, by means of a large-scale time-varying parameter model. We find that recessionary effects are triggered by oil price hikes and, in some cases, also by oil price slumps. In this respect, the post-2009 run-up likely contributed to sluggish growth, while uncertainty and real interest rate effects are the potential channels through which the 2014 slump has depressed aggregate demand and worsened financial conditions. Also in light of the zero interest rate policy carried out by the ECB, in so far as the Quantitative Easing policy failed to generate inflationary expectations, a more expansionary fiscal policy might be required to counteract the deflationary and recessionary threat within the expected environment of soft oil prices.     

Parameter instability,stochastic volatility and estimation based on simulated likelihood: Evidence from the crude oil market

Stochastic volatility models with fixed parameters can be too restrictive for time-series analysis due to instability in the parameters that govern conditional volatility dynamics. We incorporate time-variation in the model parameters for the plain stochastic volatility model as well its extensions with: Leverage, volatility feedback effects and heavy-tailed distributed innovations. With regards to estimation, we rely on one recently discovered result, namely, that when an unbiasedly simulated estimated likelihood (available for example through a particle filter) is used inside a Metropolis-Hastings routine then the estimation error makes no difference to the equilibrium distribution of the algorithm, the posterior distribution. This in turn provides an off-the-shelf technique to estimate complex models. We examine the performance of this technique on simulated and crude oil returns from 1987 to 2016. We find that (i): There is clear evidence of time-variation in the model parameters, (ii): Time-varying parameter volatility models with leverage/Student's t-distributed innovations perform best, (iii): The timing of parameter changes align very well with events such as market turmoils and financial crises.     

Correlation dynamics of crude oil with agricultural commodities: A comparison between energy and food crops

This study elucidates plausible correlation between crude oil and agricultural commodities. We assess whether the conditional correlation of crude oil with energy crops (e.g., corn and soybeans) is different from that of food crops (e.g., oats and wheat). We find a stronger correlation of about 20 percent between returns of crude oil and energy crops. However, the correlation coefficient value for oil-oats and oil-wheat is as low as eight percent. We add to the literature by exploring correlation in a dynamic context using three different GARCH models and found that conditional correlation between crude oil and energy corps is relatively high. In order to reduce risk associated with crude oil price fluctuations, this study also examined hedging possibilities against crude oil by investment in agricultural commodities. Although hedging effectiveness is low with all underlying agricultural commodities, soybeans provide relatively better hedging possibilities compared to other agricultural crops.     

The impact of oil price changes on selected macroeconomic indicators in Azerbaijan

We examine the relationship between oil price fluctuations and economic activity in Azerbaijan using vector autoregressive models for the period 2002Q1–2018Q4. Our key results are as follows. First, growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) decreases after oil price innovations in the oil and gas sector and in the remainder of the economy. Downturns (upswings) in the oil and gas sector also prompt downturns (upswings) in the non-oil sector as fluctuations in oil revenues affect the government's capacity to subsidize the rest of the economy. Second, oil price innovations also lead to higher inflation in Azerbaijan. In response to the required tightening of monetary policy, the manat appreciates against the US dollar. Finally, GDP effects are primarily seen after oil price increases, whereas the interest rate and the exchange rate mainly react to decreases. Inflation increases after both types of shocks, due to either the accommodative monetary policy stance in the case of oil price decreases or the shock itself in the case of increases.     

The impact of oil on equity returns of Canadian and U.S. Railways and airlines

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between oil price movements and equity returns of railways and airline in Canada and the U.S. Using a robust set of oil measures, which includes both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Western Canadian Select (WCS) data, this research finds that railways and airlines react uniquely to oil price movements. Specifically, equity returns of railways in Canada and airlines in the U.S. tend to be negatively impacted by positive movements in WTI. Equity returns of airlines in Canada and railways in the U.S show limited evidence of any impact. Additional estimations suggest that equity returns of airlines react asymmetrically and that information regarding oil price movements may gradually diffuse over time. With the changing North American energy landscape (e.g., oil sands and shale oil), the increased reliance on transporting crude oil via railways should lead academics and practitioners to further research in this area.     

Forecasting oil futures market volatility in a financialized world: Why speculative activities matter

We analyze the relation between volatility and speculative activities in the crude oil futures market and provide short-term forecasts accordingly. By incorporating trading volume and opening interest (speculative ratio) into the volatility dynamics, we document the subtle interaction between the two measures of which the volatility-averse behavior of speculative activities plays a considerable role in the market. Moreover, by accounting for structural changes, we find significant evidence that this behavior currently becomes weaker than in the past, which implies the oil futures market is less informative and/or less risk-averse in recent time period. Our forecasts based on these features perform very well under the predictive preferences that are consistent with the volatility-averse behavior in the oil futures market. We provide discussions and policy inferences.     

Crude oil price dynamics with crash risk under fundamental shocks

Our paper presents a crude oil price model in which the price is confined in a wide moving band. A price crash occurs when the price breaches the lower boundary where a smooth-pasting condition is imposed. Using an asymmetric mean-reverting fundamental (supply/demand) shock, the solution derived from the oil price equation for the model shows the oil price follows a mean-reverting square-root process, which is quasi-bounded at the boundary. The oil price dynamics generates left-skewed price distributions consistent with empirical observations. A weakened mean-reverting force for the price increases the probability leakage for the price across the boundary and the risk of a price crash. The empirical results show the oil price dynamics can be calibrated according to the model, where the mean reversion of the price dynamics is positively co-integrated with the oil production reaction to negative demand shocks, and with the risk reversals of the commodity currencies, the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar in currency option markets. The results are consistent with an increased price crash risk with negative demand shocks and negative risk reversals. The forecasting performance of the oil price model is better than the futures-spread models and random walk models during the crash periods. While the price of oil was above the lower boundary for most of the time, the conditions for breaching the boundary were met in 2008 and 2014 when the price fell sharply.     

Crude oil and BRICS stock markets under extreme shocks: New evidence

In this paper, we propose an extreme Granger causality analysis model to uncover the causal links between crude oil and BRICS stock markets. Instead of analyzing the average causal relationship, as is usually done, we first decompose the data into three cumulative components and investigate the causality between different combinations of extreme positive, extreme negative and normal shocks. These types of combinations can describe all facets of the interactions between crude oil and BRICS stock markets, especially under extreme shocks. In contrast to the results obtained by the traditional Granger causality test, our empirical findings demonstrate that the effect of oil price changes on the stock markets is stronger under extreme circumstances than under normal circumstances. Furthermore, large upward or downward oil price changes have an asymmetric impact on extreme upward or downward stock price changes. Finally, robustness checks verify the rationality and validity of the extreme Granger causality analysis.     

China's liberalizing stock market,crude oil,and safe-haven assets: A linkage study based on a novel multivariate wavelet-vine copula approach

China is the world's largest oil importer, and therefore the correlations between stock indices and highly volatile oil prices deserve close examination when investing in China's gradually liberalizing stock market. Another concern for international investors is whether safe-haven assets can reduce portfolio risks for investment in China. The paper makes two main contributions. First, we develop a novel method of examining a multivariate dependence structure by combining wavelet analysis with the vine copula model. Second, we apply the proposed methodology to study the correlations between China's liberalizing stock market, petroleum, and safe-haven assets at different frequencies. We find that the multidimensional dependence of these assets has been altered as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis. Moreover, the vine structures exhibit dependence patterns that vary over time horizons, indicating that the multidimensional dependence is sensitive to time scales.