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[pt] Este trabalho mostra que o VIX e sua versão de mais curto prazo tem poder preditivo sobre a variância realizada do S e P 500 em dias de FOMC (reuniões do Banco Central do Estados Unidos – FED). Apesar disto, o resultado não persiste quando utilizamos o Índice de Volatilidade do S e P 500 de Longo Prazo (3 meses). / [en] This work shows that the VIX and its shorter-term version have predictive power over the variance of the S and P 500 on FOMC days (meetings of the United States Central Bank - FED). Despite this, the result does not persist when we use the Long Term S and P 500 Volatility Index (3 months).

In this study, it is determined that excess returns on the OMX 30 are confirmed to rise in anticipation of monetary policy decisions made by the central banks of Sweden and The United States of America. Those findings were manifested at a greater magnitude on the first day prior to the announcements and on a statistically significant level one day prior to monetary policy decisions from the Federal Open Market Committee. Moreover, excess returns beyond the average rate were found to be substantially higher on the first and third day prior monetary policy decisions from the Swedish Central bank (Riksbanken) albeit not on a statistically significant level. The results drawn from the data in the study were reinforced by findings in similar tests conducted during times of global recession.

本研究以1993年到2017年3月間的193篇FOMC Minutes作為研究素材，先採監督式學習方法，利用潛在語意分析（latent semantic analysis，LSA）萃取出升息、降息及不變樣本的潛在語意，再以線性判別分析(Linear Discriminant Analysis, LDA)進行分類；此外，本研究亦透過非監督式學習方法中的探索性資料分析(Exploratory Data Analysis, EDA)，試圖從FOMC Minutes中找尋相關變數。研究結果發現，LSA可大致區分出升息、降息及不變樣本的特徵，而EDA能找出不同時期或不同類別下的重要單詞，呈現文本的結構變化，亦能進行文本分群。 / In this study, 193 FOMC Minutes from 1993 to March 2017 were used as research materials. The latent semantic analysis (LSA) in supervised learning methods was used to extract the potential semantics of interest rate increased, decreased, and unchanged samples, and then linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used for classification. In addition, this study attempts to find relevant variables from FOMC Minutes through exploratory data analysis (EDA) in unsupervised learning methods. The results show that LSA can distinguish the characteristics of interest rate increased, decreased, and unchanged samples. EDA can find relevant words in different periods or different categories, show changes in the text structure, and can also classify the texts.

This dissertation studies the role of sterling during the Bretton Woods period (1944-1971). The Bretton Woods system has often been described as a dollar system with sterling having lost its relevance as reserve currency. However, despite being a secondary reserve currency and having lost importance, sterling was the 'first line of defence for the dollar' as contemporaries put it. They frequently stressed the fact that a sterling crisis would have consequences on the stability of the Bretton Woods system but economic historians have never tested this empirically. This dissertation argues that sterling played an important role in the stability of the international monetary system. Foreign exchange market participants globally monitored sterling and US policymaker stepped in to avoid devaluation of the British currency. US support to sterling was mainly due to the fear of a British devaluation, which could trigger a run on the dollar. When the UK finally devalued the pound in 1967, it marked the beginning of an instable period for the international monetary system. The Gold Pool, a syndicate to defend the US gold parity, collapsed in 1968 and this prefigured the end of the Bretton Woods system. This dissertation presents new data along with novel archival material from seven archives across continents to demonstrate how contagion from sterling to the dollar occurred. Modern econometric methods are used to analyse a new dataset with over 80,000 observations of offshore exchange rates, central bank intervention and reserves. This evidence shows that a secondary reserve currency can still play a key role in the stability of the international monetary system.