We model term structure dynamics using a recursive cascade of heterogeneously persistent factors. The cascade naturally orders the factors by their adjustment speeds, and generates smooth zero-coupon bond prices and forward curves in closed form. For a class of specifications, the number of...

Asset pricing tests often replace ex ante return expectation with ex post realization. The large deviation between the two drastically weakens the power of these tests. This paper proposes to use analysts consensus price target for a stock as the market expectation of the stock's future price to...

This paper examines the capability of firm fundamentals in explaining the cross-sectional variation of credit default swap (CDS) spreads. The paper constructs a fundamental-based CDS valuation by combining the Merton distance-to-default measure with a long list of firm fundamental...

Economic theory suggests that the magnitude and direction of a company's currency risk exposure depends crucially on its fundamental involvement in international trade. For U.S. industries, we find that the stock performance of import-oriented companies moves positively with the performance of...