Pricing and Hedging Guaranteed Returns on Mix Funds

Abstract\ud In this paper we propose a valuation and hedging strategy for a guaranteed minimal rate of return on a mix fund, which participates in both bonds and stocks. For the case where a fixed amount of money is invested, we show that a European put option on the mix fund replicates the cash flows of this guarantee at all times and using the arbitrage-free pricing methodology, the market value of the guarantee can be obtained explicitly. Using historical data, we show that modeling the correlation between equity and bond returns is of fundamental importance when the stochastic nature of the term structure of interest rates is taken into account. For this model we define a hedging strategy which shows how the dependency of the option on the changing yield of the bond fund can be hedged away using mix fund contracts. We also show how Monte Carlo methods can be used to analyze the case where the guarantee is given on periodically invested fixed amounts of money instead of one single payment

Afro-Brazilian Pentecostal re-formations of relationships across two generations of Mozambican women

Scholars of Pentecostalism in Africa have repeatedly shown that this religion generally attracts younger generations who perceive the Pentecostal theology of liberation from the bonds of kinship, tradition, and elders as very powerful. This article contributes to the existing scholarly field by examining how different generations of working women and female students in Mozambique find the Afro-Brazilian Pentecostal teachings and practices attractive, particularly when it comes to reshaping their relationships with kin, (ancestral) spirits, and men. It considers how Afro-Brazilian Pentecostalism is helping both younger and older women to reorder their relationships. Drawing on the concept of heterotopia, the role of age is highlighted to demonstrate that Afro-Brazilian Pentecostalism actively seeks to erase important generational hierarchies and differences, turning them into spiritual issues that affect all women regardless of age or generation. © 2012 by Koninklijke Brill N.V., Leiden, The Netherlands

Two-dimensional anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet in a field

The classical, square lattice, uniaxially anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet in a magnetic field parallel to the easy axis is studied using Monte Carlo techniques. The model displays a long-range ordered antiferromagnetic, an algebraically ordered spin-flop, and a paramagnetic phase. The simulations indicate that a narrow disordered phase intervenes between the ordered phases down to quite low temperatures. Results are compared to previous, partially conflicting findings on related classical models as well as the quantum variant with spin S=1/2.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure