Assessing the Least Squares Monte-Carlo Approach to American Option Valuation

A detailed analysis of the Least Squares Monte-Carlo (LSM) approach to American option valuation suggested in Longstaff and Schwartz (2001) is performed. We compare the specification of the cross-sectional regressions with Laguerre polynomials used in Longstaff and Schwartz (2001) with alternative specifications and show that some of these have numerically better properties. Furthermore, each of these specifications leads to a trade-off between the time used to calculate a price and the precision of that price. Comparing the method-specific trade-offs reveals that a modified specification using ordinary monomials is preferred over the specification based on Laguerre polynomials. Next, we generalize the pricing problem by considering options on multiple assets and we show that the LSM method can be implemented easily for dimensions as high as ten or more. Furthermore, we show that the LSM method is computationally more efficient than existing numerical methods. In particular, when the number of assets is high, say five, Finite Difference methods are infeasible, and we show that our modified LSM method is superior to the Binomial Model.     

Evidence on the efficacy of interest-rate risk disclosures by commercial banks

This paper documents evidence on the efficacy of maturity-gap disclosures of commercial banks in indicating their net interest income that is exposed to interest-rate risk. For the large sample of banks that filed call reports from 1990 to 1997, a period that includes a wide range of interest rate movements, we find that (i) one-year maturity gap measures are significantly related to the one-year- and three-years-ahead change in net interest income, (ii) fixed-rate and variable-rate instruments differ in explanatory ability, and (iii) the one-to-five-year aggregate gap measures also have some power in explaining three-year-ahead changes in net interest income. These findings hold after controlling for the ex post growth in assets as well as the amount of rate-sensitive assets and liabilities (a competing set of explanatory variables). Because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s [Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), (1997). Disclosure of accounting policies for derivative financial instruments and derivative commodity instruments and disclosure of qualitative and quantitative information about market risk inherent in derivative financial instruments, other financial instruments, and derivative commodity instruments. Release Nos. 33-7386; 3438223; IC-22487; FR-48; International Series No. 1047; File No. S7-35-95 (January 31, 1997), Washington, DC] tabular disclosures are finer than maturity-gap data, our findings mitigate concerns about the usefulness of the SEC's market-risk-disclosure requirements. Furthermore, they suggest contrary to the claims of certain banks that the omission of prepayment and early withdrawal risk from gap measures does not totally compromise the ability of gap data to indicate interest-risk exposures.     

核心能力的构成维度及其特性

核心能力由文化、制度、技术、管理等四个维度构成，其中绝大部分具有“方法性”特征的隐性知识，具有难于仿制的、暗默的、集体共有的、深植的以及整合的特点。核心能力的技术、文化、制度、管理等构成维度的双重潜在性决定了核心能力同时也可能是核心刚性，核心刚性以范式刚性与能力惰性形式表现出来。中国企业核心能力的培育应从四个方面切入：在企业制度维度层面构建有效、科学的企业治理结构，是企业形成核心能力的前提；加强技术维度创新，致力于建立自主技术开发能力，并适时地变换渐进性创新及突破性创新两种模式以完成核心能力的培育与再造；塑造以创新、变革为基本内核的企业文化，并不断进行企业文化的创新与变革；加强管理维度的创新，对企业内外部的资源、知识、能力进行整合和协同，实现制度、技术、文化维度之间的相辅相成。     

The Future of Financial Reporting: Insights from Research

Research offers insights that, if heeded and built upon, could improve financial reporting, thereby contributing to a more prosperous society. In particular, research suggests improvement could stem from greater use of fair value; a performance statement designed to reveal the information embedded in changes in fair value; better information to help investors assess the value of intangible assets; more specific information about risk and uncertainty; information that is unbiased, rather than conservative; acceptance of a degree of earnings management together with a determination of how much earnings management is acceptable; and a financial reporting package designed to convey information users need, which presumably is broader than today's financial statements.     

HOW CAN PUBLIC SPENDING HELP YOU GROW? AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Although many studies indicate that both the level and composition of public spending are significant for economic growth, the results in the empirical literature are mixed. This paper suggests that the country sample selection and expenditure classification are important in explaining these conflicting results. The empirical analysis shows that the link between growth and public spending, especially its core component, is strong only for countries with macroeconomic stability and fast GDP per capita growth dynamics, which are also capable of using public funds for productive purposes.     

浅谈BM轻骨料连锁砌块施工技术

我国城镇化建设的持续推进和施工技术的飞速发展大大推动了新型建筑材料及其施工技术的发展和应用,例如砌筑、保温、防水等材料。文章以某大型商业楼工程为例,主要介绍了该工程砌体BM轻骨料连锁砌块的工程特难点、施工准备、施工要点及优缺点等内容,同时提出了施工建议。     

森林资源资产组合随机控制模型及决策

在界定了森林生态资产与森林资源资产组合概念的基础上,构建和模拟了基于随机控制理论的森林资源资产组合模型,为森林经营管理者提出了相应的结论和建议:森林经营管理者可以根据最优采伐量与木材价格、补偿价格、成本系数、税率、贴现率、生长率等参数之间的关系,获得在市场经济变动条件下的最优森林资产组合,以保证森林资产净收益的稳定增长。     

Scarcity of safe assets,inflation, and the policy trap

A goal of this paper is to make sense of the seemingly puzzling behavior of interest rates and inflation – and the role of central banks in that behavior – during and after the Great Recession, particularly in the United States. To this end, we construct a model in which government debt plays a key role in exchange, and can bear a liquidity premium. If asset market constraints bind, then there need not be deflation under an indefinite zero interest rate policy (ZIRP). Further, ZIRP may not be optimal under these circumstances. A Taylor-rule central banker could be subject to a ZIRP trap and persistently undershoot target inflation. As well, a liquidity premium on government debt creates additional Taylor rule perils, because of a persistently low real interest rate. We make a case that this is the key policy predicament currently faced by many central banks in the world.     

The veto mechanism in atomic differential information economies

We establish new characterizations of Walrasian expectations equilibria based on the veto mechanism in the framework of differential information economies with a complete finite measure space of agents. We show that it is enough to consider the veto power of a single coalition, consisting of the entire set of agents, to obtain the Aubin private core. Moreover, we investigate on the veto power of arbitrarily small and big coalitions, providing an extension to mixed markets of well known Schmeidler (1972) and Vind’s (1972) results in terms of Aubin private core allocations.     

乡村旅游餐饮产品创新开发研究

在乡村旅游的带动下,乡村餐饮获得较快发展,随着乡村旅游的升级换代,乡村餐饮产品创新开发也势在必行.通过乡村餐饮资源创新性开发,让乡村餐饮逐渐成为一种新的乡村旅游吸引物,甚至是重要的卖点,进而促进乡村旅游的发展.本文分析了乡村旅游餐饮产品创新开发的必要性,并分析当前乡村旅游餐饮产品创新开发中存在的问题,在此基础上提出乡村餐饮创新开发的重点.