Finding market structure by sales count dynamics—Multivariate structural time series models with hierarchical structure for count data—

In this paper, we propose a multivariate time series model for sales count data. Based on the fact that setting an independent Poisson distribution to each brand’s sales produces the Poisson distribution for their total number, characterized as market sales, and then, conditional on market sales, the brand sales follow a multinomial distribution, we first extend this Poisson–multinomial modeling to a dynamic model in terms of a generalized linear model. We further extend the model to contain nesting hierarchical structures in order to apply it to find the market structure in the field of marketing. As an application using point of sales time series in a store, we compare several possible hypotheses on market structure and choose the most plausible structure by using several model selection criteria, including in-sample fit, out-of-sample forecasting errors, and information criterion.     

Improving weighted information criterion by using optimization

Although artificial neural networks (ANN) have been widely used in forecasting time series, the determination of the best model is still a problem that has been studied a lot. Various approaches available in the literature have been proposed in order to select the best model for forecasting in ANN in recent years. One of these approaches is to use a model selection strategy based on the weighted information criterion (WIC). WIC is calculated by summing weighted different selection criteria which measure the forecasting accuracy of an ANN model in different ways. In the calculation of WIC, the weights of different selection criteria are determined heuristically. In this study, these weights are calculated by using optimization in order to obtain a more consistent criterion. Four real time series are analyzed in order to show the efficiency of the improved WIC. When the weights are determined based on the optimization, it is obviously seen that the improved WIC produces better results.     

Does a Bayesian approach generate robust forecasts? Evidence from applications in portfolio investment decisions

We employ a statistical criterion (out-of-sample hit rate) and a financial market measure (portfolio performance) to compare the forecasting accuracy of three model selection approaches: Bayesian information criterion (BIC), model averaging, and model mixing. While the more recent approaches of model averaging and model mixing surpass the Bayesian information criterion in their out-of-sample hit rates, the predicted portfolios from these new approaches do not significantly outperform the portfolio obtained via the BIC subset selection method.     

Time series forecasting with neural network ensembles: an application for exchange rate prediction

This paper investigates the use of neural network combining methods to improve time series forecasting performance of the traditional single keep-the-best (KTB) model. The ensemble methods are applied to the difficult problem of exchange rate forecasting. Two general approaches to combining neural networks are proposed and examined in predicting the exchange rate between the British pound and US dollar. Specifically, we propose to use systematic and serial partitioning methods to build neural network ensembles for time series forecasting. It is found that the basic ensemble approach created with non-varying network architectures trained using different initial random weights is not effective in improving the accuracy of prediction while ensemble models consisting of different neural network structures can consistently outperform predictions of the single ‘best’ network. Results also show that neural ensembles based on different partitions of the data are more effective than those developed with the full training data in out-of-sample forecasting. Moreover, reducing correlation among forecasts made by the ensemble members by utilizing data partitioning techniques is the key to success for the neural ensemble models. Although our ensemble methods show considerable advantages over the traditional KTB approach, they do not have significant improvement compared to the widely used random walk model in exchange rate forecasting.     

Forecasting foreign exchange rates with adaptive neural networks using radial-basis functions and Particle Swarm Optimization

The motivation for this paper is to introduce a hybrid neural network architecture of Particle Swarm Optimization and Adaptive Radial Basis Function (ARBF–PSO), a time varying leverage trading strategy based on Glosten, Jagannathan and Runkle (GJR) volatility forecasts and a neural network fitness function for financial forecasting purposes. This is done by benchmarking the ARBF–PSO results with those of three different neural networks architectures, a Nearest Neighbors algorithm (k-NN), an autoregressive moving average model (ARMA), a moving average convergence/divergence model (MACD) plus a na?¨ve strategy. More specifically, the trading and statistical performance of all models is investigated in a forecast simulation of the EUR/USD, EUR/GBP and EUR/JPY ECB exchange rate fixing time series over the period January 1999–March 2011 using the last 2 years for out-of-sample testing.     

A hybrid spares demand forecasting method dedicated to mining industry

The paper addresses the problem of lumpy demand forecasting which is typical for spare parts. Several prediction methods are presented in the paper - traditional techniques based on time series and advanced methods which use artificial neural networks. The paper presents a new hybrid spares demand forecasting method dedicated to mining companies. The method combines information criteria, regression modeling and artificial neural networks. The paper also discusses simulation research related to efficiency assessment of the chosen variable selection methods and its application in the newly developed forecasting method. The assessment of this method is conducted by a comparison with traditional methods and is based on selected forecast errors.     

Optimal enough?

An alleged weakness of heuristic optimisation methods is the stochastic character of their solutions: instead of finding the truly optimal solution, they only provide a stochastic approximation of this optimum. In this paper we look into a particular application, portfolio optimisation. We demonstrate that the randomness of the ‘optimal’ solution obtained from the algorithm can be made so small that for all practical purposes it can be neglected. More importantly, we look at the relevance of the remaining uncertainty in the out-of-sample period. The relationship between in-sample fit and out-of-sample performance is not monotonous, but still, we observe that up to a point better solutions in-sample lead to better solutions out-of-sample. Beyond this point there is no more cause for improving the solution any further: any in-sample improvement leads out-of-sample only to financially meaningless improvements and unpredictable changes (noise) in performance.     

The opportunity cost of mean–variance choice under estimation risk

Mean–variance portfolio choice is often criticized as sub-optimal in the more general expected utility framework. It is argued that the expected utility framework takes into consideration higher moments ignored by mean variance analysis. A body of research suggests that mean–variance choice, though arguably sub-optimal, provides very close-to-expected utility maximizing portfolios and their expected utilities, basing its evaluation on in-sample analysis where mean–variance choice is sub-optimal by definition. In order to clarify this existing research, this study provides a framework that allows comparing in-sample and out-of-sample performance of the mean variance portfolios against expected utility maximizing portfolios. Our in-sample results confirm the results of earlier studies. On the other hand, our out-of-sample results show that the expected utility model performs worse. The out-of-sample inferiority of the expected utility model is more pronounced for preferences and constraints under which in-sample mean variance approximations are weakest. We argue that, in addition to its elegance and simplicity, the mean–variance model extracts more information from sample data because it uses the covariance matrix of returns. The expected utility model may reach its optimal solution without using information from the covariance matrix.     

Neural network forecasting for seasonal and trend time series

Neural networks have been widely used as a promising method for time series forecasting. However, limited empirical studies on seasonal time series forecasting with neural networks yield mixed results. While some find that neural networks are able to model seasonality directly and prior deseasonalization is not necessary, others conclude just the opposite. In this paper, we investigate the issue of how to effectively model time series with both seasonal and trend patterns. In particular, we study the effectiveness of data preprocessing, including deseasonalization and detrending, on neural network modeling and forecasting performance. Both simulation and real data are examined and results are compared to those obtained from the Box–Jenkins seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models. We find that neural networks are not able to capture seasonal or trend variations effectively with the unpreprocessed raw data and either detrending or deseasonalization can dramatically reduce forecasting errors. Moreover, a combined detrending and deseasonalization is found to be the most effective data preprocessing approach.     

基于神经网络的期货预测数据预处理问题研究

期货预测研究在期货价格数据预处理和预测方法上存在直接套用原始数据代入模型以及价格预测模型和原始数据模型不相匹配等问题,需要予以解决.本研究在采用通货膨胀率指数调整、平均周期项以及滤波等方法对铜期货价格时间序列数据进行预处理后,分别将预处理前后的期货价格数据输入到神经网络预测模型,通过比较两者预测结果来验证原始期货时间序列数据预处理的必要性.     

基于遗传算法和半参数回归的神经网络集成股市预测研究

股票时间序列预测在经济和管理领域具有重要的应用前景,也是很多商业和金融机构成功的基础.首先利用奇异谱分析对股市时间序列重构,降低噪声并提取趋势序列.再利用C-C算法确定股市时间序列的嵌入维数和延迟阶数,对股市时间序列进行相空间重构,生成神经网络的学习矩阵.进一步利用Boosting技术和不同的神经网络模型,生成神经网络集成个体.最后采用带有惩罚项的半参数回归模型进行集成,并利用遗传算法选择最优的光滑参数,以此建立遗传算法和半参数回归的神经网络集成股市预测模型.通过上证指数开盘价进行实例分析,与传统的时间序列分析和其他集成方法对比,发现该方法能获得更准确的预测结果.计算结果表明该方法能充分反映股票价格时间序列趋势,为金融时间序列预测提供一个有效方法.     

Forecasting nonlinear time series with a hybrid methodology

In recent years, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been used for forecasting in time series in the literature. Although it is possible to model both linear and nonlinear structures in time series by using ANNs, they are not able to handle both structures equally well. Therefore, the hybrid methodology combining ARIMA and ANN models have been used in the literature. In this study, a new hybrid approach combining Elman’s Recurrent Neural Networks (ERNN) and ARIMA models is proposed. The proposed hybrid approach is applied to Canadian Lynx data and it is found that the proposed approach has the best forecasting accuracy.     

Forecasting accuracy of behavioural models for participation in the arts

This paper assesses the forecasting performance of count data models applied to arts attendance. We estimate participation models for two artistic activities that differ in their degree of popularity – museums and jazz concerts – with data derived from the 2002 release of the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts for the United States. We estimate a finite mixture model – a zero-inflated negative binomial model – that allows us to distinguish between “true” non-attendants and “goers” and their respective behaviour regarding participation in the arts. We evaluate the predictive (in-sample) and forecasting (out-of-sample) accuracy of the estimated model using bootstrapping techniques to compute the Brier score. Overall, the results indicate the model performs well in terms of forecasting. Finally, we draw certain policy implications from the model’s forecasting capacity, thereby allowing the identification of target populations.     

期货套期保值模型选择:基于模型(误设)风险与估计风险视角

在市场环境发生变化时,针对复杂模型对套期保值的影响,从两个维度对样本检验来判断样本期是否存在市场环境突变,选取动态VAR-DCC-GARCH模型为主研模型,静态OLS、VAR、EC-VAR模型为基础模型,比较两类模型环境突变前后的套期保值表现.实证结果显示：样本内,静态模型和动态模型的套期保值表现并没有明显的差异.样本外,所有模型的套期保值效率均会下降.模型越复杂,效率下降幅度越大,其中动态模型的套期保值效率下降最大,样本外表现最差.表明复杂模型包含更多噪音,市场环境发生变化时,其表现会劣于简单模型.     

基于鲁棒二阶随机占优的投资组合优化模型研究

本文主要考虑一类经典的含有二阶随机占优约束的投资组合优化问题,其目标为最大化期望收益,同时利用二阶随机占优约束度量风险,满足期望收益二阶随机占优预定的参考目标收益。与传统的二阶随机占优投资组合优化模型不同,本文考虑不确定的投资收益率,并未知其精确的概率分布,但属于某一不确定集合,建立鲁棒二阶随机占优投资组合优化模型,借助鲁棒优化理论,推导出对应的鲁棒等价问题。最后,采用S&P 500股票市场的实际数据,对模型进行不同训练样本规模和不确定集合下的最优投资组合的权重、样本内和样本外不确定参数对期望收益的影响的分析。结果表明,投资收益率在最新的历史数据规模下得出的投资策略,能够获得较高的样本外期望收益,对未来投资更具参考意义。在保证样本内解的最优性的同时,也能取得较高的样本外期望收益和随机占优约束被满足的可行性。     

Selecting the Superpositioning of Models for Railway Freight Forecasting

The problem of selecting the optimum system of models for forecasting short-term railway traffic volumes is considered. The historical data is the daily volume of railway traffic between pairs of stations for different types of cargo. The given time series are highly volatile, noisy, and nonstationary. A system is proposed that selects the optimum superpositioning of forecasting models with respect to features of the historical data. A model of sliding averages, exponential and kernel-smoothing models, the ARIMA model, Croston’s method, and LSTM neural networks are considered as candidates for inclusion in superpositioning.     

基于风险约束的套期保值模型及沪深300股指实证研究

提出利用风险价值VaR建立套期保值资产组合的风险约束.以套期保值资产组合收益最大为目标,以控制套期保值资产组合风险为约束,建立了基于风险约束的套期保值模型.该模型在有效控制风险的基础上,可以大幅提高套期保值资产组合的收益.对沪深300股指现货和期货的数据进行了实证分析,对比了现有研究的最小二乘((OLS)、向量自回归(VAR)、向量误差修正(VEC)三种模型以及本文建立的基于风险约束的期货套期保值模型.样本内检验结果表明,本模型比现有研究模型的收益有大幅提高,平均增加81.6%.同时并没有失去对风险的控制,与现有研究模型只有5.32%的差别.对于样本外检验,模型在控制风险和提高收益两个方面都要优于现有研究模型.模型比现有研究模型平均可提高收益21.4%,平均降低风险3.61%.     

Forecasting financial time series with Boltzmann entropy through neural networks

Neural networks have recently been established as state-of-the-art in forecasting financial time series. However, many studies show how one architecture, the Long-Short Term Memory, is the most widespread in financial sectors due to its high performance over time series. Considering some stocks traded in financial markets and a crypto ticker, this paper tries to study the effectiveness of the Boltzmann entropy as a financial indicator to improve forecasting, comparing it with financial analysts’ most commonly used indicators. The results show how Boltzmann’s entropy, born from an Agent-Based Model, is an efficient indicator that can also be applied to stocks and cryptocurrencies alone and in combination with some classic indicators. This critical fact allows obtaining good results in prediction ability using Network architecture that is not excessively complex.

     

Rainfall forecasting by technological machine learning models

Accurate forecasting of rainfall has been one of the most important issues in hydrological research. Due to rainfall forecasting involves a rather complex nonlinear data pattern; there are lots of novel forecasting approaches to improve the forecasting accuracy. Recurrent artificial neural networks (RNNS) have played a crucial role in forecasting rainfall data. Meanwhile, support vector machines (SVMs) have been successfully employed to solve nonlinear regression and time series problems. This investigation elucidates the feasibility of hybrid model of RNNs and SVMs, namely RSVR, to forecast rainfall depth values. Moreover, chaotic particle swarm optimization algorithm (CPSO) is employed to choose the parameters of a SVR model. Subsequently, example of rainfall values during typhoon periods from Northern Taiwan is used to illustrate the proposed RSVRCPSO model. The empirical results reveal that the proposed model yields well forecasting performance, RSVRCPSO model provides a promising alternative for forecasting rainfall values.     

基于ARMA-GARCH-SN模型的沪深300股指期货日内波动率研究与预测

运用五个交易日的股指期货高频数据(每秒两笔),本文主要研究了沪深300股指期货日内波动率特征并对日内波动率预测。研究发现高频股指期货日内收益率有明显的波动率聚集和条件异方差现象,但无尖峰厚尾现象,收益率序列分布符合有偏正态分布。因此,我们对时间序列建立了最优的ARMA-GARCH-SN模型,并对模型拟合充分性做了验证,拟合结果发现ARMA(1,2)-GARCH(1,1)-SN模型基本能够刻画股指期货高频日内波动特征,条件方差所受的冲击具有很强的持续性、日内波动也具有长记忆性,最后我们还利用自助法对高频股指期货日内波动率两步预测、利用滚动回归预测方法对样本做了样本内预测。预测结果表明,波动率预测结果能够较好地反映股指期货日内波动特征。