This study extends the call option pricing model developed by O’Brien (1986), which has as one of the parameters the expected return on the underlying asset, to index options. Market prices of call options on the Standard and Poor's 100 stock index are used to implicitly derive the expected rate of return on the index. Two previously documented seasonal mean shifts, at the weekend and the turn-...

In Foreign Exchange Markets Compound options (options on options) are traded frequently. Instalment options generalize the concept of Compound options as they allow the holder to prolong a Vanilla Call or Put option by paying instalments of a discrete payment plan. We derive a closed-form solution to the value of such an option in the Black-Scholes model and prove that the limiting case of an I...

We introduce and analyze an inter-temporal choice model where customer valuations are uncertain and evolve over time. The model leads directly to the study of call options on capacity that are similar to partially refundable fares. We show that the capacity provider earns significantly higher revenues by selling real options on capacity than low-to-high pricing. We also investigate the social i...

In this paper we analyse financial implications of exchangeability and similar properties of finite dimensional random vectors. We show how these properties are reflected in prices of some basket options in view of the well-known put-call symmetry property and the duality principle in option pricing. A particular attention is devoted to the case of asset prices driven by Lévy processes. Based o...

The duality principle in option pricing aims at simplifying valuation problems that depend on several variables by associating them to the corresponding dual option pricing problem. Here we analyze the duality principle for options that depend on several assets. The asset price processes are driven by general semimartingales, and the dual measures are constructed via an Esscher transformation. ...

In this survey we shall focus on the following issues related to jump-diffusion models for asset pricing in financial engineering. (1) The controversy over tailweight of distributions. (2) Identifying a risk-neutral pricing measure by using the rational expectations equilibrium. (3) Using Laplace transforms to pricing options, including European call/put options, path-dependent options, such as...

Solution to the optimal stopping problem V (x) = sup τ Eeg(x+Xτ ) is given, where X = {Xt}t≥0 is a Lévy process, τ is an arbitrary stopping time, δ ≥ 0 is a discount rate, and the reward function g takes the form gc(x) = (x−K) or gp(x) = (K−x) Results, interpreted as option prices of perpetual options in Bachelier’s model are expressed in terms of the distribution of the overall supremum in cas...

This paper presents a model where uninsurable income shocks and credit constraints generate a demand for liquidity. Infinitely lived agents purchase a risky asset to self insure themselves against their individual risk. They also trade call options to diversify the aggregate risk they face. In this economy, options are not redundant but complete the market for aggregate risk. We are able to cha...

The reload provision in an employee stock option entitles its holder to receive one new (reload) option from the employer for each share tendered as payment of strike upon the exercise of the stock option. The number of reloads allowed can be finite or infinite. The shout feature in a call option allows its holder to reset the option’s strike price to the prevailing stock price upon shouting. W...

In this work, we aim to gain a better understanding of the volatility smile observed in options markets through microsimulation (MS). We adopt two types of active traders in our MS model: speculators and arbitrageurs, and call and put options on one underlying asset. Speculators make decisions based on their expectations of the asset price at the option expiration time. Arbitrageurs trade at di...