Using the option pricing methods developed by Black and Scholes as a general technique for contingent claims analysis, this paper examines a class of mutual funds known as Dual Purpose Funds. By constructing a simplified model for these funds under the ‘perfect hedge’ conditions of Black and Scholes, it is demonstrated that the asset value of the fund will always exceed the market value and that it is not inconsistent with market equilibrium or efficiency for the capital shares to sell at a discount. The simple model predicts price fluctuations in the seven dual funds studied quite well; however, there is a persistent downward bias in the predicted price level. Finally, refinements to the model are examined to determine the nature of the misspecification causing this bias.

[It is known that there is a one-to-one correspondence between stationary ARMAX and state space models. In order to estimate these it is necessary first to identify and further, having identified, to choose parameters. This paper discusses the properties a system of identification and parameterization might be desired to have in relation to various examples of identification. It also constructs a (known) canonical state space form (identification) out of the constants needed to specify the corresponding ARMAX form. It is argued that what is here called "simple identification" will be the best basis for identification even though some structures cannot be identified in this manner.]

Silvey [10]. For a model with nonstochastic regressors we show that a systematic inequality relation exists among the test statistics; namely, the value of the Wald statistic is greater than or equal to that of the LR statistic which, in turn, is greater than or equal to that of the LM statistic. When the null hypothesis is true, we find that the Wald, LR, and LM test statistics have identical limiting chi-square distributions. Since for a large sample test the three procedures employ the same critical region, the inequality relation among the test statistics implies that there exists a significance level such that the tests will produce conflicting inferences. These results are parallel to those obtained by Berndt and Savin [2] in the context of a multivariate regression model with independent disturbance vectors. We also consider the Wald and LR tests for a model with a lagged dependent variable. In this case the Wald statistic is not the same as in the nonstochastic regressor case with the result that the inequality between the Wald and LR test statistics no longer holds. We conclude the paper with an empirical example which illustrates the relation among the test statistics.

usefulness of prior information. Viewed broadly, this theme has encompassed such diverse topics as the estimation of a system of simultaneous structural equations, the specification and estimation of distributed lags, and the formal integration of stochastic prior and sample information through Bayes' theorem. Without exception, the results have encouraged the incorporation of further prior information into our statistical procedures, in the sense that the judicious use of such information has produced unambiguously better estimators. That this need not be the case in a typical linear regression application is thus somewhat surprising and constitutes the topic of this paper. Here, we develop the relationship between the specification of the deterministic and the stochastic components of a linear model and show that whenever the covariance structure of the disturbance process is effectively misspecified,2 one can no longer justify the use of prior information about the deterministic part of the model. If the error covariance matrix differs substantively from that required by the Gauss-Markov theorem, the imposition of correct linear restrictions on the regression coefficients leads to less efficient estimators of some estimable functions of the parameters.3 Prior information can hurt! We begin by introducing notation and examining the efficiency of least squares estimators in linear models with varying amounts of prior information. An application of the theory of regular pencils then produces the main results (Section 3), practical implications are drawn in Section 4, and we conclude with an application (Section 5).

A capital asset-pricing model which relates risk and return under conditions of changing price levels has been developed in this paper. The resulting model implies that price-level changes do not affect the expected real returns on individual assets except through their impact on the return of the market portfolio. If real market returns are independent of price-level movements, the model is very much like the standard capital asset-pricing model expressed in real returns. This version of the capital asset-pricing model does not, however, resolve all the difficulties associated with changing price levels, since we have assumed that the nominal default-free rate is determined outside the model and that relative prices do not change. These limitations, however, also apply to all other single-period capital asset-pricing models.In addition, the model was converted into nominal returns by assuming that price-level changes and the real market returns are uncorrelated. The resulting equation illustrates the difficulty involved in using nominal returns to test a model expressed in real returns. The same equation also provides a possible explanation for the noted discrepancies between the empirical' evidence found by Black, Jensen, and Scholes [3] and the prediction of the traditional capital asset-pricing model.

Michael E. Echols, Jan Walter Elliott, A Quantitative Yield Curve Model for Estimating the Term Structure of Interest Rates, The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Mar., 1976), pp. 87-114

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the New York Stock Exchange are concerned with the full disclosure of information insiders normally would be expected to possess about their company, including any facts that would materially affect the market's valuation of the firm's worth if they were publicly known. At present, the regulatory agencies have limited their activities to the collection and dissemination of historical information and facts. The motives of insiders, based in large part, presumably, on their knowledge regarding future operating results are hidden from the public eye. The SEC in compiling the Official Summary of Stock Transactions does not require insider to reveal his motivation for trading.

Armando J. Baqueiro, James J. Breen, David E. Mead, Donald E. Wise, The Labor Force Decision of Married Female Teachers: A Comment, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 58, No. 2 (May, 1976), pp. 241-244

Abstract Reviews the book "Accounting: The Language of Business," by Sidney Davidson, James S. Schindler, Clyde P. Stickney and Roman L. Weil.