Mathematics of financial markets (Q1264184)

The aim of this book is to develop those mathematical concepts that are used in the field of mathematical finance, focusing on the remarkable range of current applications for martingale theory to financial markets. Since making choices and decision under conditions of uncertainty is inherent to all market trading, the most natural application in finance theory is the modern theory of probability and stochastic processes. The book provides just the necessary mathematical apparatus to modelling specific processes met on the financial markets, such as pricing and hedging for derivative securities, options, futures, swaps etc. The book addresses an audience having a sound mathematical background, especially in measure and probability theory, and wishing to learn about the rapidly expanding field of mathematical finance. The first part of the book (Chapters 1-5) presents the finance theory in a discrete-time framework and requires no stochastic calculus but only elementary probability theory and linear algebra. The second part (Chapters 6-10) gives the theory in the continuous-time approach. The idea of pricing by arbitrage (or, rather, by non-arbitrage) is introduced in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 presents the concept of a martingale measure for prize processes, which finds its application in self-financing trading strategies and hedging against trading risk. Chapter 3 gives the ``fundamental theorem of asset pricing'', which states that if the market does not contain arbitrage opportunities there is an equivalent martingale measure. Explicit constructions of such measures are met in the setting of finite market models. Completeness of marketing is investigated in Chapter 4. Stopping times, martingale convergence results, and American options are discussed in a discrete-time approach in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 reviews the stochastic calculus: stopping times, Brownian motion, stochastic integrals, and the Itô differentiation rate are defined and discussed, and properties of stochastic differential equations are developed. The continuous-time pricing of European options is developed in Chapter 7. In Chapter 8, optimal stopping results are applied to a thorough study of the pricing of American options, particularly the American put option. Chapter 9 considers selected results on term structure models, forward and future prices, and change of numéraire, while the formal Chapter 10 presents the basic framework for the study of investment and consumption problems.