The use of currency options has been grown widely during the latest years. This paper tries to answer whether hedge strategies using currency options are superior to forward exchange contracts or not.

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Previous studies have identified that the use of currency derivatives in order to minimize the risk involved with foreign trade can also increase a firm’s value. Evidence of this can be found in a paper such as Allayannis and Weston (2001) “Use of Foreign Derivatives and Firm Market Value”, which showed that companies in the U.S. that uses these currency derivatives has a higher firm value than companies that do not use them. However, there have not been any studies concerning the Swedish market. This is why the Swedish market is selected for this thesis but also since the Swedish market is a more open market than the U.S. market for instance. The more open, the more volatile is the exchange rate, which one could see as a reason to why Swedish companies should hedge even more. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the Swedish market and to find out if there is a relation between the firm value and hedging, analyzed with help of Tobin’s Q that gives us a measurement of the firm’s underlying value. The analysis is done on the 50 largest companies in Sweden, although some of the companies are ranked lower in the category total asset but since not all of the 50 largest companies met the requirements, the selection had to go further down the list. The data is received from the companies annual reports (2005), this to receive the latest data. The companies are analyzed with help of Tobin’s Q and also EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Tax), this to get a measurement of how the market value of the companies was towards each others with pr without hedging. The result is presented in the analyze and shows that there is no relation between firm value and hedging, at least not in this research and with this selection of companies in the Swedish market. This result contradicts the findings in the paper made on the U.S. market.

The master thesis is devoted to an analysis of equilibrium or reaction-function models in illiquidity markets of derivatives. The main equation is a nonlinear equation which is a perturbation of Black-Scholes model. By using analytical methods we study invariant and scaling properties for the considered model.

In this work we consider a problem of the computation of the components of the hedging portfolio structure. In literature often one can find valuations and estimations of the fair price of American options. But the formulas for hedging portfolio are interesting as well and are known for very particular cases only. In our work we study different cases of American Put and Russian options on finite and infinite horizon.

In Black-Scholes model, the parameters -a volatility and an interest rate were assumed as constants. In this thesis we concentrate on behaviour of the volatility as a function and we find more realistic models for the volatility, which elimate a risk connected with behaviour of the volatility of an underlying asset. That is the reason why we will study the Uncertain Volatility Model. In Chapter 1 we will make some theoretical introduction to the Uncertain Volatility Model introduced by Avellaneda, Levy and Paras and study how it behaves in the different scenarios. In Chapter 2 we choose one of the scenarios. We also introduce the BSB equation and try to make some modification to narrow the uncertainty bands using the idea of a static hedging. In Chapter 3 we try to construct the proper portfolio for the static hedging and compare the theoretical results with the real market data from the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

Background: For an investor inflation has always caused problems since it eatsaway portfolio returns, reducing the purchasing power. Russia hasbeen fighting high inflation for the last two decades primarily due tothe economic restructuring from central planning to a free marketeconomy, raising the price levels. Historically property has been regardedas a good hedge against inflation and multiple research studiessupport this assumption. The Russian market for real estate hasgrown significantly over the last decade and is very interesting froma investor perspective. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether Russian Real Estate Funds are an effective investment tool in a portfolio to hedgeagainst inflation. Method: To fulfill our purpose for this study a quantitative method with adeductive approach is used. The methodology constitutes as theframe for the thesis. In order to analyze the secondary data, We willmake use of statistical models proven from past research/literaturewithin in the field. Conclusion: The empirical findings of this study show that during the time period investigated, there exist no evidence that a portfolio holdingRussian real estate funds could act as an appropriate hedge againstinflation. We believe the results could be explained by the limitationin the Russian market when gathering data due to transparencyproblems. There are also relativity few empirical studies within thefield of study in markets with a high inflation rate. Finally We believethe study could enhance an investor’s choice in markets withsimilar conditions.

The high pace at which many of the world's energy markets have gradually been opened to competition have generated a significant amount of new financial activity. Both academicians and practitioners alike recently started to develop the tools of energy derivatives pricing/hedging as a quantitative topic of its own. The energy contract structures as well as their underlying asset properties set the energy risk management industry apart from its more standard equity and fixed income counterparts. This thesis naturaly contributes to these broad market developments in participating to the advances of the mathematical tools aiming at a better theory of energy contingent claim pricing/hedging. We propose many realistic two-factor and three-factor models for spot and forward price processes that generalize some well known and standard modeling assumptions. We develop the associated pricing methodologies and propose stable calibration algorithms that motivate the application of the relevant modeling schemes.

The CWB has the stated objective of increasing producer returns through maximizing sales revenue and minimizing operating costs. To maximize producer returns the CWB derives value from single-desk selling, price pooling and the initial price guarantee.<p> The initial price allows the CWB to offer a price floor to producers which is guaranteed by the Federal government. This guarantee has come under review in recent World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations with opponents stating that the Federal government is unfairly subsidizing producers. Therefore developing methods to hedge the initial payment and remove the CWB dependency on the Federal government guarantee has taken on considerable importance.<p> Hedging the initial price has two components, the first is commodity risk, and the second is currency risk. Commodity risk basically consists of the risk that wheat prices decrease significantly from the announcement of the initial payment resulting in a wheat pool account deficit. Currency risk relates to the risk of the Canadian dollar (CAD) increasing vis-à-vis the United States dollar (USD) resulting in lower wheat prices. This is due to the fact most sales are made in USD, necessitating the conversion of USD for CAD in order to pay Canadian producers. Given recent increases in exchange rate volatility this later risk is important. <p> The goal of this study is to evaluate the currency risk present in the initial payment and to examine alternate means of mitigating this risk. A number of call option strategies will be evaluated to determine its ability to reduce the probability of a wheat pool account deficit by offsetting the effect of a rising CAD.<p> The policy variables analyzed in the thesis are the initial payment as a percentage of the Pool Return Outlook for wheat and the strike price of the call options purchased. Therefore the study will examine the effect of inputting varying initial payment levels and different strike prices for the call options in the model. This will allow for quantifiable insight into cost versus risk reduction comparisons. These comparisons will be useful in determining the most efficient mode of action for the CWB.

The high pace at which many of the world's energy markets have gradually been opened to competition have generated a significant amount of new financial activity. Both academicians and practitioners alike recently started to develop the tools of energy derivatives pricing/hedging as a quantitative topic of its own. The energy contract structures as well as their underlying asset properties set the energy risk management industry apart from its more standard equity and fixed income counterparts. This thesis naturaly contributes to these broad market developments in participating to the advances of the mathematical tools aiming at a better theory of energy contingent claim pricing/hedging. We propose many realistic two-factor and three-factor models for spot and forward price processes that generalize some well known and standard modeling assumptions. We develop the associated pricing methodologies and propose stable calibration algorithms that motivate the application of the relevant modeling schemes.