Developing a hybrid hidden MARKOV model using fusion of ARMA model and artificial neural network for crude oil price forecasting

Crude oil price forecasting is an important component of sustainable development of many countries as crude oil is an unavoidable product that exist on earth. Crude oil price forecasting plays a very vital role in economic development of many countries in the world today. Any fluctuation in crude oil price tremendously affects many economies in terms of budget and expenditure. In view of this, it is of great concern by economists and financial analysts to forecast such a vital commodity. However, Hidden Markov Model, ARMA Model and Artificial Neural Network has many drawbacks in forecasting such as linear limitations of ARMA model which is in contrast to the financial time series which are often nonlinear, ANN is very weak in terms of out-sample forecast and it has very tedious process of implementation, HMM is very weak in an in-sample forecast and has issue of a large number of unstructured parameters. In view of this drawbacks of these three models (ANN, ARMA and HMM), we developed an efficient Hybrid Hidden Markov Model using fusion of ARMA Model and Artificial Neural Network for crude oil price forecasting, MATLAB was employed to develop the four models (Hybrid HMM, HMM, ARMA and ANN). The models were evaluated using three different evaluation techniques which are Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), Absolute Error (AE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The findings showed that Hybrid Hidden Markov Model was found to provide more accurate crude oil price forecast than the other three models in which. The results of this study indicate that Hybrid Hidden Markov Model using fusion of ARMA and ANN is a potentially promising model for crude oil price forecasting

Forecasting the Prices of Cryptocurrencies using a Novel Parameter Optimization of VARIMA Models

This work is a comparative study of different univariate and multivariate time series predictive models as applied to Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, and other related financial time series data. ARIMA models, long regarded as the gold standard of univariate financial time series prediction due to both its flexibility and simplicity, are used a baseline for prediction. Given the highly correlative nature amongst different cryptocurrencies, this work aims to show the benefit of forecasting with multivariate time series models—primarily focusing on a novel parameter optimization of VARIMA models outlined in this paper. These models are trained on 3 years of historical data, aggregated from different cryptocurrency exchanges by Coinmarketcap.com, which includes: daily average prices and trading volume. Historical time series data of traditional market data, including the stock Nvidia, the de facto leading manufacture of gaming GPU’s, is also analyzed in conjunction with cryptocurrency prices, as gaming GPU’s have played a significant role in solving the profitable SHA256 hashing problems associated with cryptocurrency mining and have seen equivalently correlated investor attention as a result. Models are trained on this historical data using moving window subsets, with window lengths of 100, 200, and 300 days and forecasting 1 day into the future. Validation of this prediction against the actually price from that day are done with following metrics: Directional Forecasting (DF), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Mean Squared Error (MSE)

A factor augmented vector autoregressive model and a stacked de-noising auto-encoders forecast combination to predict the price of oil

The following dissertation aims to show the benefits of a forecast combination between an econometric and a deep learning approach. On one side, a Factor Augmented Vector Autoregressive Model (FAVAR) with naming variables identification following Stock and Watson (2016)1; on the other side, a Stacked De-noising Auto-Encoder with Bagging (SDAE-B) following Zhao, Li and Yu (2017)2 are implemented. From January 2010 to September 2018 Two-hundred-eighty-one monthly series are used to predict the price of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI). The model performance is analysed by Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and Directional Accuracy (DA). The combination benefits from both SDAE-B’s high accuracy and FAVAR’s interpretation features through impulse response functions (IRFs) and forecast error variance decomposition (FEVD)

Forecasting: theory and practice

Forecasting has always been in the forefront of decision making and planning. The uncertainty that surrounds the future is both exciting and challenging, with individuals and organisations seeking to minimise risks and maximise utilities. The lack of a free-lunch theorem implies the need for a diverse set of forecasting methods to tackle an array of applications. This unique article provides a non-systematic review of the theory and the practice of forecasting. We offer a wide range of theoretical, state-of-the-art models, methods, principles, and approaches to prepare, produce, organise, and evaluate forecasts. We then demonstrate how such theoretical concepts are applied in a variety of real-life contexts, including operations, economics, finance, energy, environment, and social good. We do not claim that this review is an exhaustive list of methods and applications. The list was compiled based on the expertise and interests of the authors. However, we wish that our encyclopedic presentation will offer a point of reference for the rich work that has been undertaken over the last decades, with some key insights for the future of the forecasting theory and practice

Forecasting: theory and practice

Forecasting has always been at the forefront of decision making and planning. The uncertainty that surrounds the future is both exciting and challenging, with individuals and organisations seeking to minimise risks and maximise utilities. The large number of forecasting applications calls for a diverse set of forecasting methods to tackle real-life challenges. This article provides a non-systematic review of the theory and the practice of forecasting. We provide an overview of a wide range of theoretical, state-of-the-art models, methods, principles, and approaches to prepare, produce, organise, and evaluate forecasts. We then demonstrate how such theoretical concepts are applied in a variety of real-life contexts. We do not claim that this review is an exhaustive list of methods and applications. However, we wish that our encyclopedic presentation will offer a point of reference for the rich work that has been undertaken over the last decades, with some key insights for the future of forecasting theory and practice. Given its encyclopedic nature, the intended mode of reading is non-linear. We offer cross-references to allow the readers to navigate through the various topics. We complement the theoretical concepts and applications covered by large lists of free or open-source software implementations and publicly-available databases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Forecasting: theory and practice

Forecasting has always been at the forefront of decision making and planning. The uncertainty that surrounds the future is both exciting and challenging, with individuals and organisations seeking to minimise risks and maximise utilities. The large number of forecasting applications calls for a diverse set of forecasting methods to tackle real-life challenges. This article provides a non-systematic review of the theory and the practice of forecasting. We provide an overview of a wide range of theoretical, state-of-the-art models, methods, principles, and approaches to prepare, produce, organise, and evaluate forecasts. We then demonstrate how such theoretical concepts are applied in a variety of real-life contexts. We do not claim that this review is an exhaustive list of methods and applications. However, we wish that our encyclopedic presentation will offer a point of reference for the rich work that has been undertaken over the last decades, with some key insights for the future of forecasting theory and practice. Given its encyclopedic nature, the intended mode of reading is non-linear. We offer cross-references to allow the readers to navigate through the various topics. We complement the theoretical concepts and applications covered by large lists of free or open-source software implementations and publicly-available databases

Four essays on quantitative economics applications to volatility analysis in Emerging Markets and renewable energy projects

[ES]Las decisiones financieras se pueden dividir en decisiones de inversión y decisiones de financiación. En lo que respecta a las decisiones de inversión, la incertidumbre acerca de la dinámica futura de las variables económicas y de las financieras tiene un rol fundamental. Eso, se explica porque los retornos esperados por las empresas y por los inversionistas se pueden ver afectados por los movimientos adversos en los mercados financieros y por los altos niveles de volatilidad. Como consecuencia, resulta crucial realizar un adecuado análisis y modelación de la volatilidad para el proceso de toma de decisiones financieras, por parte de las empresas y el diseño de estrategias de inversión y cobertura por parte de los inversionistas. En este sentido, el estudio de la volatilidad se ha convertido en uno de los temas más interesantes de la investigación en finanzas. Lo anterior ha cobrado mayor relevancia en los últimos años, teniendo en cuenta el escenario de alta volatilidad e incertidumbre que afrontan los mercados a nivel global. Este documento tiene como objetivo abordar cuatro cuestiones centrales, las cuales están relacionadas con la volatilidad financiera como campo de investigación. Esas cuestiones son, la transmisión y spillovers de volatilidad en mercados emergentes, la calibración de la superficie de volatilidad para proyectos de energía renovable y el pronóstico de los rendimientos de activos energéticos y spillovers de volatilidad a través de técnicas de machine learning. En el primer capítulo del documento, se examinan los efectos de transmisión de volatilidad entre un índice de energía y un índice financiero para los Mercados Emergentes. En consecuencia, mediante el uso de un modelo DCC, se muestra que los efectos de transmisión de volatilidad entre los índices empleados para la crisis subprime y la crisis del COVID-19 fueron diferentes. Lo anteriormente dicho, considerando que la primera crisis se originó en el sector financiero y luego se extendió al resto de la economía, mientras que la segunda se originó en el sector real y posteriormente afectó al resto de la economía. Teniendo en cuenta que la relación entre la volatilidad de los mercados es cambiante en el tiempo, en el segundo capítulo se llevó a cabo un análisis dinámico de los spillovers de volatilidad entre materias primas, Bitcoin y un índice de Mercados Emergentes. Así, empleando la metodología propuesta por Diebold y Yilmaz (2012), se concluyó que los efectos de los spillovers de volatilidad entre los activos analizados no son constantes en dirección e intensidad a través del tiempo. En particular, para períodos de crisis como el de la pandemia del COVID-19, hay reversiones en la dirección de los spillovers de volatilidad debido al sector en el que se originó la crisis. Además, en este capítulo se explota la naturaleza dinámica de los spillovers de volatilidad. Por lo tanto, se planteó que el índice de spillovers de volatilidad propuesto por Diebold y Yilmaz puede ser usado como una medida para pronosticar periodos de alta turbulencia. Lo anterior se desarrolló a través de modelos econométricos tradicionales y de técnicas de machine learning. En el tercer capítulo del documento, se propone un modelo que predice los retornos de los precios del carbono y del petróleo. En este sentido, se desarrolló un modelo híbrido, el cual combina las proyecciones obtenidas a partir de diferentes técnicas de machine learning y modelos econométricos tradicionales, obteniéndose resultados los cuales muestran las ventajas de emplear modelos híbridos que incorporan técnicas de machine learning, exclusivamente, para pronosticar variables financieras. Finalmente, en el capítulo cuatro, se presenta una metodología para la estimación de la volatilidad en la valoración de proyectos de energías renovables mediante opciones reales. En esta metodología, la cual es una extensión del enfoque de volatilidad implícita empleada para las opciones financieras, la volatilidad de un proyecto es la volatilidad implícita obtenida a partir de la superficie de la volatilidad de empresas comparables, según una determinada fecha de valoración y dada la relación deuda-capital de un proyecto de energía renovable. En este análisis, se utilizó el modelo estocástico 'alfa-beta-rho' para calibrar la superficie de la volatilidad para la valoración mediante opciones reales. Por último, al final del documento se presentan las conclusiones derivadas de los capítulos mencionados, así como algunas recomendaciones para las futuras investigaciones. [EN]Financial decisions can be divided in investment and financing decisions. Concerning investment decisions, the uncertainty about the future dynamics of financial and economic variables has a central role, considering that the returns expected by firms and investors can be affected by the adverse movements in financial markets and their high volatility. In consequence, the adequate volatility analysis and modeling is crucial for the firm’s financial decision-making process and the design of investing and hedging strategies by investors. In this regard, the study of volatility has become one of the most interesting topics in finance research. The foregoing has become more relevant in recent years considering the scenario of high volatility and uncertainty faced by markets globally. This document aims to address four central issues related to financial volatility as a research area. These are, volatility transmission and spillovers in Emerging Markets, the calibration of the volatility surface for renewable energy projects and the forecast of energy assets returns and volatility spillovers through machine learning techniques. In the first chapter of the document, the volatility transmission effects between an energy index and a financial index for Emerging Markets are examined. Then, by using a DCC model, it is shown that the volatility transmission effects between the employed indices for the subprime crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic were different. This, considering that the former crisis originated in the financial sector and spread to the rest of the economy, while the second originated in the real sector and trasmitted to the rest of the economy posteriorly. Considering that the relationship between markets volatility is time-varying, in the second chapter, a dynamic analysis of volatility spillovers between commodities, Bitcoin and an Emerging Markets index is developed. Employing the methodology proposed by Diebold and Yilmaz (2012), it is concluded that the volatility spillovers effects between the analyzed assets is not constant in direction and intensity over time. In particular, for periods of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemics, there are reversals in the direction of volatility spillovers due to the sector in which the crises originate. In addition, in this chapter the dynamic nature of volatility spillovers is exploited. Hence, the volatility spillover index proposed by Diebold and Yilmaz is forecasted to be used as a measure to anticipate high turbulence periods. This, through both traditional econometric models and machine learning techniques. In the third chapter, a model for the prediction of carbon and oil prices is proposed. In this sense, a hybrid model that ensembles the forecasts obtained from different machine learning techniques and traditional econometric models is developed, obtaining results that show the advantages of employing hybrid models which combine machine learning techniques, exclusively, to forecast financial variables. In Chapter four, a methodology for the estimation of volatility in renewable energy projects valuation through real options is presented. In this methodology, which is an extension of the implied volatility approach employed for financial options, the volatility of the project is the implied volatility obtained from the volatility surface of comparable firms for a certain valuation date and given debt-to-equity relation of a renewable energy project. In this analysis, the stochastic ‘alpha-beta-rho’ model is utilized to calibrate the volatility surface for real option valuation purposes. Finally, the conclusions derived from the mentioned chapters are presented at the end of the document as well as some recommendations for future research

The Application of Deep Learning and Cloud Technologies to Data Science

Machine Learning and Cloud Computing have become a staple to businesses and educational institutions over the recent years. The two forefronts of big data solutions have garnered technology giants to race for the superior implementation of both Machine Learning and Cloud Computing. The objective of this thesis is to test and utilize AWS SageMaker in three different applications: time-series forecasting with sentiment analysis, automated Machine Learning (AutoML), and finally anomaly detection. The first study covered is a sentiment-based LSTM for stock price prediction. The LSTM was created with two methods, the first being SQL Server Data Tools, and the second being an implementation of LSTM using the Keras library. These results were then evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, f-1 score, mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), and symmetric mean absolute percentage error (SMAPE). The results of this project were that the sentiment models all outperformed the control LSTM. The public model for Facebook on SQL Server Data Tools performed the best overall with 0.9743 accuracy and 0.9940 precision. The second study covered is an application of AWS SageMaker AutoPilot which is an AutoML platform designed to make Machine Learning more accessible to those without programming backgrounds. The methodology of this study follows the application of AWS Data Wrangler and AutoPilot from beginning of the process to completion. The results were evaluated using the metrics of: accuracy, precision, recall, and f-1 score. The best accuracy is given to the LightGBM model on the AI4I Maintenance dataset with an accuracy of 0.983. This model also scored the best on precision, recall, and F1 Score. The final study covered is an anomaly detection system for cyber security intrusion detection system data. The Intrusion Detection Systems that have been rule based are able to catch most of the cyber threats that are prevalent in network traffic; however, the copious amounts of alerts are nearly impossible for humans to keep up with. The methodology of this study follows a typical taxonomy of: data collection, data processing, model creation, and model evaluation. Both Random Cut Forest and XGBoost are implemented using AWS SageMaker. The Supervised Learning Algorithm of XGBoost was able to have the highest accuracy of all models with Model 2 giving an accuracy of 0.6183. This model also showed a Precision of 0.5902, Recall of 0.9649, and F1 Score 0.7324