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Abstract:
We provide benchmarks to evaluate what is an optimal foreign debt and a maximal foreign debt (debt-max), when risk is explicitly considered. When the actual debt exceeds debt-max, then the economy will default when a "bad shock" occurs. This paper is an application of the stochastic optimal controls models of Fleming and Stein (2001), which gives empirical content to the question of how one should measure "vulnerability" to shocks, when there is uncertainty concerning the productivity of capital. We consider two sets of high-risk countries during the period 1978-99: a subset of 21 countries that defaulted on the debt, and another set of 13 countries that did not default. Default is a situation where the firms or government of a country reschedule the interest/principal payments on the external debt. We thereby explain how our analysis can anticipate default risk, and add another dimension to the literature of early warning signals of default/credit risk.

Default Risk, Foreign Debt, Stochastic Optimal Control, Debt Rescheduling, Uncertainty

Abstract:
This paper investigates the behaviour, from October 1999 to May 2001, of spreads on sovereign debt issuance from 15 countries located in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe using a homogeneous secondary market database. The research integrates standard Principal Components Analysis procedures with a VAR impulse response investigation. The latter provides information which is instrumental for the economic interpretation of the Principal Components. Convincing evidence is found of spread co-movements, within and across geographical areas, possibly due to cross-market "contagion" phenomena. Latin American and Asiatic spreads seem to be somehow interlinked whereas Eastern European spreads, but for the Turkish one, seem to react to idiosyncratic factors only. Our findings suggest that portfolio managers should take their investment decisions according to both cross-market and cross-(geographical) area diversification rules. At the same time emerging market countries should be aware of the danger of sudden capital outflows due to regional contagion.

spreads, emerging bond markets, PCA, VAR, contagion

Abstract:
The problem is to evaluate the likelihood that a country will face a currency or balance of payments crisis over a given horizon. When is it rational for market participants to expect a depreciation of the currency? On the basis of considerable empirical studies we know that in both banking and currency crises, there is a multitude of weak and deteriorating economic fundamentals. Our theme is that there is an economic logic to medium and longer-term movements in exchange rates, within the context of a consistent dynamic stock-flow model. The equilibrium real exchange rate is a trajectory, not a point. We provide objective measures of the real fundamentals that determine the moving equilibrium real exchange rate, and explain the dynamic economic mechanism whereby the actual exchange rate converges to this moving equilibrium exchange rate, called the NATREX. The fundamentals are primarily social consumption/GDP, which is generally driven by fiscal policy, and the productivity of the economy. Trends in social consumption/GDP, and in fiscal policy, reflected political regime changes in France, Germany and Italy.

Abstract:
This paper assesses empirically whether speculation affects oil price dynamics. The growing presence of financial operators in the oil markets has led to the diffusion of trading techniques based on extrapolative expectations. Strategies of this kind foster feedback trading that may cause large departures of prices from their fundamental values. We investigate this hypothesis using a modified CAPM that follows Shiller (1984) and Sentana and Wadhwani (1992). At first, a univariate GARCH(1,1)-M is estimated assuming that the risk premium is a function of the conditional oil price volatility. The single factor model, however, is outperformed by the multifactor ICAPM (Merton, 1973) which takes into account a larger investment opportunity set. The analysis is then carried out using a trivariate CCC GARCH-M model with complex nonlinear conditional mean equations where oil price dynamics are associated with both stock market and exchange rate behavior. We find strong evidence that oil price shifts are negatively related to stock price and exchange rate changes and that a complex web of time varying first and second order conditional moment interactions affect both the CAPM and feedback trading components of the model. Despite the difficulties, we identify a significant role of speculation in the oil market which is consistent with the observed large daily upward and downward shifts in prices. A clear evidence that it is not a fundamentals-driven market. Thus, from a policy point of view - given the impact of volatile oil prices on global inflation and growth - actions that monitor more effectively speculative activities on commodity markets are to be welcomed.

oil price dynamics, feedback trading, speculation, multivariate

Abstract:
This paper analyses the dynamic interrelationship between sovereign bond spreads in ten emerging markets. It investigates the nature of the volatility transmission in secondary bond markets through conditional covariance estimates obtained by orthogonal methods. This approach, which combines PCA with GARCH volatility modelling, filters away idiosyncratic news and focuses on spreads dynamics driven by common factors. We find convincing evidence of co-movements between spread changes; more within than across geographical areas. Conditional covariations increase in periods of turbulence and subsequently subside. The time varying minimum variance artificial portfolios, which are used here for model validation, show that, in spite of systemic risk, international portfolio diversification is still a powerful strategy for risk reduction.

Bond yields, O-GARCH, O-EWMA, contagion

Abstract:
This paper investigates the high frequency behaviour of US, British and German stock market exuberance using an index provided by standard portfolio arbitrage relationships. Symmetric and asymmetric multivariate GARCH models are implemented to quantify international volatility comovements. In the period from January 1992 to April 2000 a change in the pattern of volatility transmission is detected at the beginning of summer 1997. Empirical analysis suggests that equity markets volatility modelling with exuberance indexes is more accurate than modelling with stock returns. Furthermore, the estimated conditional covariances between exuberance indexes fluctuate over time and tend to rise whenever volatility increases.

Equity market, arbitrage, GARCH

Abstract:
Monthly data from January 1985 to December 2004 are used to investigate reserves management in ten Asiatic and Latin American countries. Idiosyncratic explanatory variables enter cointegration relationships based on a stochastic buffer stock model, where a reserve variability measure is obtained via conditional variance approaches. International factors influence the cointegration residuals(representing the excess demands for reserves), which tend to co-move within and across geographical areas. Principal components analysis is implemented then to associate their common drivers with the US fed fund effective interest rate and real effective exchange rate. This two-step approach sheds light on some controversial aspects of reserves and exchange rate management in emerging markets such as "fear of floating" and mercantilist behavior. Our results suggest, contrary to common belief, that the size of recent excess reserves holdings is probably overstated.

Emerging Markets' International Reserves, Cointegration Analysis, Principal Components Analysis.

Abstract:
Emerging market economies have recently accumulated large stocks of foreign reserves. In this paper we address the question of what are the main factors explaining reserve holdings in nine developing countries located in Asia and Latin America. Monthly data from January 1985 to May 2006 are used to estimate for each country the long run equilibrium reserve demand, based on the buffer stock model, the short run dynamics governing the process of reserve accumulation (decumulation) and the factors which may influence the speed of adjustment of actual to desired reserves. Cointegration analysis suggests that the buffer stock precautionary model explains the optimal reserve demand reasonably well. The corresponding VECMs are further interpolated, using the permanent and transitory innovations decomposition procedure of Gonzalo and Ng (2001), in order to assess the relative impact of the time series to the convergence to equilibrium after a shock. Finally the (asymmetric) effect on the speed of convergence of positive/negative changes in signal variables - such as the excess reserves of the previous period, relative competitiveness and US monetary stance - is found to be significant, in ine with mercantilistic and fear of floating motives to hoard international reserves.

Emerging markets reserves, cointegration, P-T components decomposition, asymmetric adjustment

Abstract:
Since the mid-1990s, internationally active banks around the world have pursued policies to expand their presence in emerging markets. Growing volumes of cross border banking activities have triggered a burgeoning literature on financial FDI, mainly focused on merits and pitfalls of foreign-bank presence. Yet, little attention has been paid to how that presence is established. This paper aims to explain banks' location choices into emerging and transition markets from the perspective of the Italian banks. Entry decisions are analysed using ordered probit regressions that model organizational forms to be dependent on several "push" and "pull" factors. The former apply to home country/sector characteristics motivating internationally active banks to expand their operations abroad. The latter refer to host country/sector features that amplify the attractiveness of domestic markets. The results validate most of the ex-ante expectations but pose some questions. Firstly, the "follow the client" strategy appears fairly important but clearly not sufficient to explain the actual broadening of foreign activities of Italian banks. Second, the lack of significance of the variables representing risk, apart from the M2 ratio, together with the relevance of the index of comparative advantage in institutional quality requires further analyses on the spillovers from international banking activities, especially during crisis periods.

foreign direct investment, international banking, ordered probit

Abstract:
The growing presence of financial operators in the oil markets has modified oil price dynamics. The diffusion of techniques based on extrapolative expectations – such as feedback trading – leads to departures of prices from their fundamental values and increases their variability. Oil price changes are here associated with changes in stocks, bonds and effective USD exchange rate. The feedback trading mechanism is combined with an ICAPM and provides a model which is then estimated in a CCC GARCH-M framework, both the risk premium and the feedback trading components of the conditional means being nonlinear functions of the system’s conditional variances and covariances. The empirical analysis identifies a structural change in the year 2000. From then on oil returns tend to become more reactive to the remaining assets of the model and feedback trading more pervasive. A comparison is drawn between three and four asset minimum variance portfolios in the two sub-periods, 1992-1999 and 2000-2008. Oil acquires in the second period, besides its standard properties as a physical commodity, the characteristics of a financial asset. Indeed, the trade-off between risk and returns – measured here by the average return per unit of risk index – indicates that in the last decade oil diversifies away the empirical risk of our portfolio.

oil price dynamics, feedback trading, multivariate GARCH-M, portfolio allocation