1. Main Goals The theory of asset pricing has grown markedly more
sophisticated in the last two decades, with the application of powerful
mathematical tools such as probability theory, stochastic processes and
numerical analysis. The main goal of this book is to provide a
systematic exposition, with practical appli- cations, of the
no-arbitrage theory for asset pricing in financial engineering in the
framework of a discrete time approach. The book should also serve well
as a textbook on financial asset pricing. It should be accessible to a
broad audi- ence, in particular to practitioners in financial and
related industries, as well as to students in MBA or graduate/advanced
undergraduate programs in finance, financial engineering, financial
econometrics, or financial information science. The no-arbitrage asset
pricing theory is based on the simple and well ac- cepted principle that
financial asset prices are instantly adjusted at each mo- ment in time
in order not to allow an arbitrage opportunity. Here an arbitrage
opportunity is an opportunity to have a portfolio of value aat an
initial time lead to a positive terminal value with probability 1
(equivalently, at no risk), with money neither added nor subtracted from
the portfolio in rebalancing dur- ing the investment period. It is
necessary for a portfolio of valueato include a short-sell position as
well as a long-buy position of some assets.