This paper considers the impact and implications of quot;largequot; changes in asset prices on the intra-market correlations in the domestic and international markets. Assuming that asset returns are normally-distributed, we show that the absolute magnitude of the correlation, conditional on a change greater than or equal to a given absolute size in one of the variables, is monotonically increasing in the magnitude of that absolute change. We present empirical tests using domestic and international-market data that support this theoretical result. These results have significant implications for hedging interest rate risk, tests of asset pricing models, Roll's R 2 concern with the explanatory power of financial asset pricing models, and the implementation of the value-at-risk concept.

The internet provides individuals with the ability to find instantaneous information on nearly every corner of the earth. Increasing correlations of international stock markets suggests investors may use information from different parts of the world to assess the value of the assets they hold in their portfolios. This dissertation examines changes in international stock market behavior to identify the effects of international market integration across a time. More specifically, this dissertation studies the effects of integration on the ability of diversification to reduce risk and skewness of portfolios, how global-wide risks significantly impact country-level index returns, and the equity purchasing behavior of foreign investors.The first paper in this dissertation measures the benefit to international portfolio diversification through time. The investigation observes the change in the standard deviation and skewness of increasingly more diversified portfolio returns from 1973 to 2010. Previous literature implies diversification reduces standard deviation, but diversification also reduces positive skewness in a portfolio. Increasing correlations of international stock markets suggests the reduction in standard deviation and positive skewness of a portfolio could be mitigated in recent time periods. This paper studies the changes of risk and positive skewness of international index portfolios over time. The results show that the reduction in standard deviation and skewness occurs at a much faster rate in more recent time periods. Robustness checks demonstrate the rate of standard deviation and skewness reduction varies across different investment strategies.The second paper examines the impact of global-wide risk measures on country-level asset prices in an international capital asset pricing model (ICAPM). Integrated international markets imply assets returns with similar risks should not vary across countries, but segmented international markets suggest asset returns vary only through risks within a particular country. Previous literature documents that international financial markets became more correlated and integrated in the late 1990s. This investigation in this paper, therefore, studies the impact of global-wide risks on returns in an integrated international stock market environment. The results show insignificant global-market risk factors on returns before and after 2000, which implies world financial markets have not become integrated in the recent time period when looking across a sample of 37 stock markets. However, global-wide risk factors significantly impact index returns for a sub-set of advanced economies.The third paper investigates the effect of international equity market integration on equity purchasing behavior of investors in different countries across different time periods. This study observes the relationship between net equity purchases by U.S. residents from foreign investors on stock market index returns in a segmented and integrated international stock market environment. The results of the examination indicate international equity integration did not affect equity purchasing differences across foreign and domestic investors.

Connections among different assets, asset classes, portfolios, and the stocks of individual institutions are critical in examining financial markets. Interest in financial markets implies interest in underlying macroeconomic fundamentals. In Financial and Macroeconomic Connectedness, Frank Diebold and Kamil Yilmaz propose a simple framework for defining, measuring, and monitoring connectedness, which is central to finance and macroeconomics. These measures of connectedness are theoretically rigorous yet empirically relevant. The approach to connectedness proposed by the authors is intimately related to the familiar econometric notion of variance decomposition. The full set of variance decompositions from vector auto-regressions produces the core of the 'connectedness table.' The connectedness table makes clear how one can begin with the most disaggregated pair-wise directional connectedness measures and aggregate them in various ways to obtain total connectedness measures. The authors also show that variance decompositions define weighted, directed networks, so that these proposed connectedness measures are intimately related to key measures of connectedness used in the network literature. After describing their methods in the first part of the book, the authors proceed to characterize daily return and volatility connectedness across major asset (stock, bond, foreign exchange and commodity) markets as well as the financial institutions within the U.S. and across countries since late 1990s. These specific measures of volatility connectedness show that stock markets played a critical role in spreading the volatility shocks from the U.S. to other countries. Furthermore, while the return connectedness across stock markets increased gradually over time the volatility connectedness measures were subject to significant jumps during major crisis events. This book examines not only financial connectedness, but also real fundamental connectedness. In particular, the authors show that global business cycle connectedness is economically significant and time-varying, that the U.S. has disproportionately high connectedness to others, and that pairwise country connectedness is inversely related to bilateral trade surpluses.

Institutionelle Anleger, Fonds- und Portfoliomanager müssen Risiken eingehen, wenn sie Spitzengewinne erzielen wollen. Die Frage ist nur wieviel Risiko. "Risk Budgeting: Portfolio Problem Solving with VaR" liefert die Antwort auf diese Frage. Beim Konzept des Risk Budgeting geht es um Risiko- und Kapitalallokation auf der Grundlage erwarteter Erträge und Risiken, mit dem Ziel, höhere Renditen zu erwirtschaften im Rahmen eines vordefinierten Gesamtrisikoniveaus. Mit Hilfe quantitativer Methoden zur Risikomessung, einschließlich der Value at Risk-Methode läßt sich das Risiko ermitteln und bewerten. Value at Risk (VaR) ist ein Verfahren zur Risikobewertung, das Banken ursprünglich zur Messung und Begrenzung von Marktpreisrisiken eingesetzt haben. Heute wird die VaR-Methode auch verstärkt im Risikomanagement eingesetzt. Dieses Buch bietet eine fundierte Einführung in die VaR-Methode sowie in Verfahren zur Risikomessung bei Extremereignissen und Krisenszenarien (Stress Testing). Darüber hinaus erklärt es, wie man mit Hilfe des Risk Budgeting ein effizienteres Portfoliomanagement erreicht. "Risk Budgeting: Portfolio Problem Solving with VaR" ist das einzige Buch auf dem Markt, das Risk Budgeting und VaR - zwei brandaktuelle Themen im Portfoliomanagement - speziell für institutionelle Investment- und Portfolio-Manager aufbereitet. Eine unverzichtbare Lektüre.

"An excellent and comprehensive source of information on hedge funds! From a quantitative view Lhabitant has done it once again by meticulously looking at the important topics in the hedge fund industry. This book has a tremendous wealth of information and is a valuable addition to the hedge fund literature. In addition, it will benefit institutional investors, high net worth individuals, academics and anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating and often mysterious world of privately managed money. Written by one of the most respected practitioners and academics in the area of hedge funds." —Greg N. Gregoriou, Professor of finance and research coordinator in the School of Business and Economics at Plattsburgh State University of New York "This is a landmark book on quantitative approaches to hedge funds. All those with a stake in building hedge fund portfolios will highly profit from this exhaustive guide. A must read for all those involved in hedge fund investing." —Pascal Botteron, Ph.D., Head of Hedge Fund Product Development, Pictet Asset Management "François-Serge Lhabitant's second book will prove to be a bestseller too - just like Hedge Funds: Myths and Limits. He actually manages to make quantitative analysis 'approachable'- even for those less gifted with numbers. This book, like its predecessor, includes an unprecedented mix of common sense and sophisticated technique. A fantastic guide to the 'nuts and bolts' of hedge fund analysis and a 'must' for every serious investor." —Barbara Rupf Bee, Head of Alternative Fund Investment Group, HSBC Private Bank, Switzerland "An excellent book, providing deep insights into the complex quantitative analysis of hedge funds in the most lucid and intuitive manner. A must-have supplement to Lhabitant's first book dealing with the mystical and fascinating world of hedge funds. Highly recommended!" —Vikas Agarwal, Assistant Professor of Finance, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University "Lhabitant has done it again! Whereas most books on hedge funds are nothing more than glorified marketing brochures, Lhabitant's new book tells it how it is in reality. Accessible and understandable but at the same time thorough and critical." —Harry M. Kat, Ph.D., Professor of Risk Management and Director Alternative Investment Research Centre, Cass Business School, City University "Lhabitant's latest work on hedge funds yet again delivers on some ambitious promises. Successfully bridging theory and practice in a highly accessible manner, those searching for a thorough yet unintimidating introduction to the quantitative methods of hedge fund analysis will not be disappointed." —Christopher L. Culp, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of Finance, Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago and Principal, Chicago Partners LLC

The current economic crisis has called into question the long term viability of the decoupling between multinational firms and the banking system. It has also cast serious doubts on the US dollar-centred monetary system, and invited reassessment of the long term viability of US-China economic relations based on a US current account deficit absorbed by Chinese financial institutions. It is also an opportunity to analyse the rise in property prices, particularly in fast-growing economies. Long term food security is also an issue, bringing to the fore the multinational firms from emerging economies (such as China and India) and calling into question the response strategies of multinational firms from the West and Japan. This book engages these key issues within the broad theme of integration, to give an up-to-date consideration of the subject, opening debate on the future stimulating role that Asia could play vis-à-vis the West, particularly the European Union.

International Academic Conference on Management, Economics, Business and Marketing in Vienna, Austria 2016 (IAC-MEBM 2016), November 25 - 26, 2016