This book explains key financial concepts, mathematical tools and theories of mathematical finance. It is organized in four parts. The first brings together a number of results from discrete-time models. The second develops stochastic continuous-time models for the valuation of financial assets (the Black-Scholes formula and its extensions), for optimal portfolio and consumption choice, and for obtaining the yield curve and pricing interest rate products. The third part recalls some concepts and results of equilibrium theory and applies this in financial markets. The last part tackles market incompleteness and the valuation of exotic options.

The models of portfolio selection and asset price dynamics in this volume seek to explain the market dynamics of asset prices. Presenting a range of analytical, empirical, and numerical techniques as well as several different modeling approaches, the authors depict the state of debate on the market selection hypothesis. By explicitly assuming the heterogeneity of investors, they present models that are descriptive and normative as well, making the volume useful for both finance theorists and financial practitioners. - Explains the market dynamics of asset prices, offering insights about asset management approaches - Assumes a heterogeneity of investors that yields descriptive and normative models of portfolio selections and asset pricing dynamics

The theory of Markov decision processes focuses on controlled Markov chains in discrete time. The authors establish the theory for general state and action spaces and at the same time show its application by means of numerous examples, mostly taken from the fields of finance and operations research. By using a structural approach many technicalities (concerning measure theory) are avoided. They cover problems with finite and infinite horizons, as well as partially observable Markov decision processes, piecewise deterministic Markov decision processes and stopping problems. The book presents Markov decision processes in action and includes various state-of-the-art applications with a particular view towards finance. It is useful for upper-level undergraduates, Master's students and researchers in both applied probability and finance, and provides exercises (without solutions).

Statistics of Financial Markets offers a vivid yet concise introduction to the growing field of statistical application in finance. The reader will learn the basic methods of evaluating option contracts, analysing financial time series, selecting portfolios and managing risks making realistic assumptions of the market behaviour. The focus is both on the fundamentals of mathematical finance and financial time series analysis and on applications to given problems of financial markets, thus making the book the ideal basis for lecturers, seminars and crash courses on the topic. For the third edition the book has been updated and extensively revised. Several new aspects have been included: new chapters on long memory models, copulae and CDO valuation. Practical exercises have been added, the solutions of which are provided in the book by S. Borak, W. Härdle and B. Lopez Cabrera (2010) ISBN 978-3-642-11133-4. “Both R and Matlab Code, together with the data, can be downloaded by clicking on the Additional Information tab labeled “R and Matlab Code,” which you will find on the right-hand side of the webpage.”

The authors have done an admirable job...This book is a revealing and fascinating glimpse of the technologies which may rule the financial world in the years to come. --The Financial Times, February 1997 [This] new book looks at the progress made, both in practice and in theory, toward producing a usable model of the market. Some of the theoretical foundations of efficient market theory are being demolished.

This book contains lectures delivered at the celebrated Seminar in Mathematical Finance at the Courant Institute. The lecturers and presenters of papers are prominent researchers and practitioners in the field of quantitative financial modeling. Most are faculty members at leading universities or Wall Street practitioners.The lectures deal with the emerging science of pricing and hedging derivative securities and, more generally, managing financial risk. Specific articles concern topics such as option theory, dynamic hedging, interest-rate modeling, portfolio theory, price forecasting using statistical methods, etc.

Over the last thirty years there has been extensive use of continuous time econometric methods in macroeconomic modelling. This monograph presents a continuous time macroeconometric model of the United Kingdom incorporating stochastic trends. Its development represents a major step forward in continuous time macroeconomic modelling. The book describes the model in detail and, like earlier models, it is designed in such a way as to permit a rigorous mathematical analysis of its steady-state and stability properties, thus providing a valuable check on the capacity of the model to generate plausible long-run behaviour. The model is estimated using newly developed exact Gaussian estimation methods for continuous time econometric models incorporating unobservable stochastic trends. The book also includes discussion of the application of the model to dynamic analysis and forecasting.

Rigorous mathematical finance relies strongly on two additional fields: optimal stopping and stochastic analysis. This book is the first one which presents not only main results in the mathematical finance but also these 'related topics' with all proofs and in a self-contained form. The book treats both discrete and continuous time mathematical finance. Some topics, such as Israeli (game) contingent claims, and several proofs have not appeared before in a self-contained book form. The book contains exercises with solutions at the end of it and it can be used for a yearlong advanced graduate course for mathematical students.

An innovative textbook for use in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses; accessible to students in financial mathematics, financial engineering and economics. Introduction to the Economics and Mathematics of Financial Markets fills the longstanding need for an accessible yet serious textbook treatment of financial economics. The book provides a rigorous overview of the subject, while its flexible presentation makes it suitable for use with different levels of undergraduate and graduate students. Each chapter presents mathematical models of financial problems at three different degrees of sophistication: single-period, multi-period, and continuous-time. The single-period and multi-period models require only basic calculus and an introductory probability/statistics course, while an advanced undergraduate course in probability is helpful in understanding the continuous-time models. In this way, the material is given complete coverage at different levels; the less advanced student can stop before the more sophisticated mathematics and still be able to grasp the general principles of financial economics. The book is divided into three parts. The first part provides an introduction to basic securities and financial market organization, the concept of interest rates, the main mathematical models, and quantitative ways to measure risks and rewards. The second part treats option pricing and hedging; here and throughout the book, the authors emphasize the Martingale or probabilistic approach. Finally, the third part examines equilibrium models—a subject often neglected by other texts in financial mathematics, but included here because of the qualitative insight it offers into the behavior of market participants and pricing.

This work, now in a thoroughly revised second edition, presents the economic foundations of financial markets theory from a mathematically rigorous standpoint and offers a self-contained critical discussion based on empirical results. It is the only textbook on the subject to include more than two hundred exercises, with detailed solutions to selected exercises. Financial Markets Theory covers classical asset pricing theory in great detail, including utility theory, equilibrium theory, portfolio selection, mean-variance portfolio theory, CAPM, CCAPM, APT, and the Modigliani-Miller theorem. Starting from an analysis of the empirical evidence on the theory, the authors provide a discussion of the relevant literature, pointing out the main advances in classical asset pricing theory and the new approaches designed to address asset pricing puzzles and open problems (e.g., behavioral finance). Later chapters in the book contain more advanced material, including on the role of information in financial markets, non-classical preferences, noise traders and market microstructure. This textbook is aimed at graduate students in mathematical finance and financial economics, but also serves as a useful reference for practitioners working in insurance, banking, investment funds and financial consultancy. Introducing necessary tools from microeconomic theory, this book is highly accessible and completely self-contained. Advance praise for the second edition: "Financial Markets Theory is comprehensive, rigorous, and yet highly accessible. With their second edition, Barucci and Fontana have set an even higher standard!"Darrell Duffie, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University "This comprehensive book is a great self-contained source for studying most major theoretical aspects of financial economics. What makes the book particularly useful is that it provides a lot of intuition, detailed discussions of empirical implications, a very thorough survey of the related literature, and many completely solved exercises. The second edition covers more ground and provides many more proofs, and it will be a handy addition to the library of every student or researcher in the field."Jaksa Cvitanic, Richard N. Merkin Professor of Mathematical Finance, Caltech "The second edition of Financial Markets Theory by Barucci and Fontana is a superb achievement that knits together all aspects of modern finance theory, including financial markets microstructure, in a consistent and self-contained framework. Many exercises, together with their detailed solutions, make this book indispensable for serious students in finance."Michel Crouhy, Head of Research and Development, NATIXIS