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Using the method of, this study constructs a tail risk predictor of the international commodity market to forecast US stock volatility. The in-sample results show that tail risk contains significant interpretive ability for stock volatility. Being of our interest, the tail risk predictor can successfully predict the US stock volatility from both statistical and economic viewpoints. The results of controlling 12 popular macroeconomic variables suggest that tail risk contains incremental information for stock volatility. To further confirm our findings, we examine the forecasting performance of the tail risk predictor for 12 industrial portfolios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has found the language sentiment in financial news to be a substantial driver of prices in financial markets, though there are two diametrically opposed interpretations for this: either markets perceive news sentiment as fundamental information (thus leading to changes in the valuation of assets) or news sentiment conveys a noise signal (thus contributing to the stochastic component of prices). The opposite roles are resolved in the context of crude oil prices by decomposing price movements into two components referring to fundamental and noise trading. Contrary to theoretical arguments in prior literature, we find empirical results supporting both interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the price dynamics between a selection of international staple food and cash crop futures prices. This price interaction is particularly relevant for developing countries that rely on cash crop export earnings to finance their staple food import requirements. We employ a multivariate Copula-DCC-GARCH model to characterize the cash crop and staple food price interaction over time and a rolling-sample volatility index to identify the direction of the volatility spillover for staple-cash commodity pairs. Results show that the intensity of interaction varies considerably over the sample time, but is, generally positive, and stronger during the period 2007–2012 associated with high commodity prices and financial market stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of investor sentiment pushes asset prices away from the equilibrium level justified by underlying fundamentals. While sentiment is not directly observable, identifying appropriate proxies and, quantifying the impact of sentiment on asset prices is an important topic. Asset prices that do not appropriately reflect fundamental values may result in inefficient allocation of capital – impacting portfolio allocation decisions and the cost of capital. Utilizing a number of sentiment proxies, over the period 1990–2015, we demonstrate a strong relationship between investor sentiment and stock returns that is consistent with theoretical explanations of sentiment. We determine that implied volatility index (VIX) is the preferred measure of sentiment in terms of improving model fit and adding explanatory power. Causality tests suggest that investor fear (VIX) drives returns across firm-size and value, and also across industry. We also illustrate that firms that are more subjective to value, or face limits to arbitrage, such as small-cap stocks, or those in the business equipment (technology) or telecoms industry, are most responsive to changes investor sentiment. Finally, we demonstrate that sentiment has a greater influence on market returns during recession, when sentiment is at its lowest ebb, and this is particularly true for those stocks most susceptible to speculative demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative investments, including managed futures, are primarily intended for institutional investors and for very wealthy individual investors. It therefore seems logical to assume, that the increase of wealth on a global scale can be a factor impacting the value of transactions in individual segments of the alternative-investment market. The purpose of this article is to indicate the factors affecting growth of managed futures transactions. Another research goal is to answer the question: Does the increase of wealth on a global scale affect the value of the managed futures transactions? The article will also present short-term forecasts of the transactions on the managed futures market for the years 2015–2017. The forecasts which will be constructed are meant to present possible scenarios of the market’s further development. Evolution of the alternative investment segment leads to development of those categories, which fulfil the expectations of market participants and meet the requirement and expiration of the remaining investments which do not attract investors and are no longer accepted by them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One reason that investors hold commodities is to receive diversification benefits. However, while an extensive set of existing studies demonstrate diversification benefits when investors hold international stocks or bonds, they are generally silent on the implications of holding commodities. Using an asset pricing framework, we investigate the benefits to investors from holding commodities, both individually and in portfolios. Generally, commodity and stock markets are integrated, although there are time-varying benefits to investors that are subject to sample period selection and investment horizon. We show that Asian investors receive positive risk adjusted returns in gold and rice markets but not in any of the other commodity markets investigated. The risk adjusted returns are time-varying: during the Asian financial crisis risk adjusted returns were negative – a penalty for investing in commodities – whereas during the global financial crisis the reverse was true and investors earned positive excess returns. The time-varying nature of the benefits that arise from diversification in commodities and their breakdown during periods of crisis, highlight the problems that investors may face when using commodities for long-term investment in addition to traditional holdings of stocks and bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market efficiency and unbiasedness are tested in four agricultural commodity futures markets – live cattle, hogs, corn, and soybean meal – using cointegration and error correction models with GQARCH-in-mean processes. Results indicate each market is unbiased in the long run, although cattle, hogs and corn futures markets exhibit short-run inefficiencies and pricing biases. Models for cattle and corn outperform futures prices in out-of-sample forecasting. Results also suggest short-run time-varying risk premiums in cattle and hog futures markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]