Short‐term salmon price forecasting

This study establishes a benchmark for short‐term salmon price forecasting. The weekly spot price of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon is predicted 1–5 weeks ahead using data from 2007 to 2014. Sixteen alternative forecasting methods are considered, ranging from classical time series models to customized machine learning techniques to salmon futures prices. The best predictions are delivered by k‐nearest neighbors method for 1 week ahead; vector error correction model estimated using elastic net regularization for 2 and 3 weeks ahead; and futures prices for 4 and 5 weeks ahead. While the nominal gains in forecast accuracy over a naïve benchmark are small, the economic value of the forecasts is considerable. Using a simple trading strategy for timing the sales based on price forecasts could increase the net profit of a salmon farmer by around 7%.     

Point forecasting of intraday volume using Bayesian autoregressive conditional volume models

In this paper, we apply Bayesian inference to model and forecast intraday trading volume, using autoregressive conditional volume (ACV) models, and we evaluate the quality of volume point forecasts. In the empirical application, we focus on the analysis of both in‐ and out‐of‐sample performance of Bayesian ACV models estimated for 2‐minute trading volume data for stocks quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in Poland. We calculate two types of point forecasts, using either expected values or medians of predictive distributions. We conclude that, in general, all considered models generate significantly biased forecasts. We also observe that the considered models significantly outperform such benchmarks as the naïve or rolling means forecasts. Moreover, in terms of root mean squared forecast errors, point predictions obtained within the ACV model with exponential distribution emerge superior compared to those calculated in structures with more general innovation distributions, although in many cases this characteristic turns out to be statistically insignificant. On the other hand, when comparing mean absolute forecast errors, the median forecasts obtained within the ACV models with Burr and generalized gamma distribution are found to be statistically better than other forecasts.     

The use of encompassing tests for forecast combinations

This paper proposes an algorithm that uses forecast encompassing tests for combining forecasts when there are a large number of forecasts that might enter the combination. The algorithm excludes a forecast from the combination if it is encompassed by another forecast. To assess the usefulness of this approach, an extensive empirical analysis is undertaken using a US macroeconomic dataset. The results are encouraging; the algorithm forecasts outperform benchmark model forecasts, in a mean square error (MSE) sense, in a majority of cases. The paper also compares the empirical performance of different approaches to forecast combination, and provides a rule‐of‐thumb cut‐off point for the thick‐modeling approach. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forecasting with missing data: application to coastal wave heights

This paper presents a comparative analysis of linear and mixed models for short‐term forecasting of a real data series with a high percentage of missing data. Data are the series of significant wave heights registered at regular periods of three hours by a buoy placed in the Bay of Biscay. The series is interpolated with a linear predictor which minimizes the forecast mean square error. The linear models are seasonal ARIMA models and the mixed models have a linear component and a non‐linear seasonal component. The non‐linear component is estimated by a non‐parametric regression of data versus time. Short‐term forecasts, no more than two days ahead, are of interest because they can be used by the port authorities to notify the fleet. Several models are fitted and compared by their forecasting behaviour. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient Multistep Forecast Procedures for Multivariate Time Series

Upon the evidence that infinite‐order vector autoregression setting is more realistic in time series models, we propose new model selection procedures for producing efficient multistep forecasts. They consist of order selection criteria involving the sample analog of the asymptotic approximation of the h‐step‐ahead forecast mean squared error matrix, where h is the forecast horizon. These criteria are minimized over a truncation order n_T under the assumption that an infinite‐order vector autoregression can be approximated, under suitable conditions, with a sequence of truncated models, where n_T is increasing with sample size. Using finite‐order vector autoregressive models with various persistent levels and realistic sample sizes, Monte Carlo simulations show that, overall, our criteria outperform conventional competitors. Specifically, they tend to yield better small‐sample distribution of the lag‐order estimates around the true value, while estimating it with relatively satisfactory probabilities. They also produce more efficient multistep (and even stepwise) forecasts since they yield the lowest h‐step‐ahead forecast mean squared errors for the individual components of the holding pseudo‐data to forecast. Thus estimating the actual autoregressive order as well as the best forecasting model can be achieved with the same selection procedure. Such results stand in sharp contrast to the belief that parsimony is a virtue in itself, and state that the relative accuracy of strongly consistent criteria such as the Schwarz information criterion, as claimed in the literature, is overstated. Our criteria are new tools extending those previously existing in the literature and hence can suitably be used for various practical situations when necessary. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow of conjunctural information and forecast of euro area economic activity

Combining forecasts, we analyse the role of information flow in computing short‐term forecasts up to one quarter ahead for the euro area GDP and its main components. A dataset of 114 monthly indicators is set up and simple bridge equations are estimated. The individual forecasts are then pooled, using different weighting schemes. To take into consideration the release calendar of each indicator, six forecasts are compiled successively during the quarter. We found that the sequencing of information determines the weight allocated to each block of indicators, especially when the first month of hard data becomes available. This conclusion extends the findings of the recent literature. Moreover, when combining forecasts, two weighting schemes are found to outperform the equal weighting scheme in almost all cases. Compared to an AR forecast, these improve by more than 40% the forecast performance for GDP in the current and next quarter. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forecasting US employment growth using forecast combining methods

We examine different approaches to forecasting monthly US employment growth in the presence of many potentially relevant predictors. We first generate simulated out‐of‐sample forecasts of US employment growth at multiple horizons using individual autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models based on 30 potential predictors. We then consider different methods from the extant literature for combining the forecasts generated by the individual ARDL models. Using the mean square forecast error (MSFE) metric, we investigate the performance of the forecast combining methods over the last decade, as well as five periods centered on the last five US recessions. Overall, our results show that a number of combining methods outperform a benchmark autoregressive model. Combining methods based on principal components exhibit the best overall performance, while methods based on simple averaging, clusters, and discount MSFE also perform well. On a cautionary note, some combining methods, such as those based on ordinary least squares, often perform quite poorly. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combining forecasts using optimal combination weight and generalized autoregression

In this paper, we consider a combined forecast using an optimal combination weight in a generalized autoregression framework. The generalized autoregression provides not only a combined forecast but also an optimal combination weight for combining forecasts. By simulation, we find that short‐ and medium‐horizon (as well as partly long‐horizon) forecasts from the generalized autoregression using the optimal combination weight are more efficient than those from the usual autoregression in terms of the mean‐squared forecast error. An empirical application with US gross domestic product confirms the simulation result. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forecasting house prices in OECD economies

In this paper, we forecast real house price growth of 16 OECD countries using information from domestic macroeconomic indicators and global measures of the housing market. Consistent with the findings for the US housing market, we find that the forecasts from an autoregressive model dominate the forecasts from the random walk model for most of the countries in our sample. More importantly, we find that the forecasts from a bivariate model that includes economically important domestic macroeconomic variables and two global indicators of the housing market significantly improve upon the univariate autoregressive model forecasts. Among all the variables, the mean square forecast error from the model with the country's domestic interest rates has the best performance for most of the countries. The country's income, industrial production, and stock markets are also found to have valuable information about the future movements in real house price growth. There is also some evidence supporting the influence of the global housing price growth in out‐of‐sample forecasting of real house price growth in these OECD countries.     

Updating ARMA predictions for temporal aggregates

This article develops and extends previous investigations on the temporal aggregation of ARMA predications. Given a basic ARMA model for disaggregated data, two sets of predictors may be constructed for future temporal aggregates: predictions based on models utilizing aggregated data or on models constructed from disaggregated data for which forecasts are updated as soon as the new information becomes available. We show that considerable gains in efficiency based on mean‐square‐error‐type criteria can be obtained for short‐term predications when using models based on updated disaggregated data. However, as the prediction horizon increases, the gain in using updated disaggregated data diminishes substantially. In addition to theoretical results associated with forecast efficiency of ARMA models, we also illustrate our findings with two well‐known time series. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are 16‐month‐ahead forecasts useful? A directional analysis of Japanese GDP forecasts

Past literature casts doubt on the ability of long‐term macroeconomic forecasts to predict the direction of change. We re‐examine this issue using the Japanese GDP forecast data of 37 institutions, and find that their 16‐month‐ahead forecasts contain valuable information on whether the growth rate accelerates or not. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley _ Sons, Ltd.     

Causal forces: Structuring knowledge for time-series extrapolation

This paper examines a strategy for structuring one type of domain knowledge for use in extrapolation. It does so by representing information about causality and using this domain knowledge to select and combine forecasts. We use five categories to express causal impacts upon trends: growth, decay, supporting, opposing, and regressing. An identification of causal forces aided in the determination of weights for combining extrapolation forecasts. These weights improved average ex ante forecast accuracy when tested on 104 annual economic and demographic time series. Gains in accuracy were greatest when (1) the causal forces were clearly specified and (2) stronger causal effects were expected, as in longer-range forecasts. One rule suggested by this analysis was: ‘Do not extrapolate trends if they are contrary to causal forces.’ We tested this rule by comparing forecasts from a method that implicitly assumes supporting trends (Holt's exponential smoothing) with forecasts from the random walk. Use of the rule improved accuracy for 20 series where the trends were contrary; the MdAPE (Median Absolute Percentage Error) was 18% less for the random walk on 20 one-year ahead forecasts and 40% less for 20 six-year-ahead forecasts. We then applied the rule to four other data sets. Here, the MdAPE for the random walk forecasts was 17% less than Holt's error for 943 short-range forecasts and 43% less for 723 long-range forecasts. Our study suggests that the causal assumptions implicit in traditional extrapolation methods are inappropriate for many applications.     

Forecast Combination and Bayesian Model Averaging: A Prior Sensitivity Analysis

In this study we evaluate the forecast performance of model‐averaged forecasts based on the predictive likelihood carrying out a prior sensitivity analysis regarding Zellner's g prior. The main results are fourfold. First, the predictive likelihood does always better than the traditionally employed ‘marginal’ likelihood in settings where the true model is not part of the model space. Secondly, forecast accuracy as measured by the root mean square error (RMSE) is maximized for the median probability model. On the other hand, model averaging excels in predicting direction of changes. Lastly, g should be set according to Laud and Ibrahim (1995: Predictive model selection. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B 57 : 247–262) with a hold‐out sample size of 25% to minimize the RMSE (median model) and 75% to optimize direction of change forecasts (model averaging). We finally apply the aforementioned recommendations to forecast the monthly industrial production output of six countries, beating for almost all countries the AR(1) benchmark model. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Linear constraints,robust-weighting and efficient composite modeling

Recent studies have shown that composite forecasting produces superior forecasts when compared to individual forecasts. This paper extends the existing literature by employing linear constraints and robust regression techniques in composite model building. Security analysts forecasts may be improved when combined with time series forecasts for a diversified sample of 261 firms with a 1980-1982 post-sample estimation period. The mean square error of analyst forecasts may be reduced by combining analyst and univariate time series model forecasts in constrained and unconstrained ordinary least squares regression models. These reductions are very interesting when one finds that the univariate time series model forecasts do not substantially deviate from those produced by ARIMA (0,1,1) processes. Moreover, security analysts' forecast errors may be significantly reduced when constrained and unconstrained robust regression analyses are employed.     

Efficient use of information in the formation of subjective industry forecasts

The paper considers the use of information by a panel of expert industry forecasters, focusing on their information-processing biases. The panel forecasts construction output by sector up to three years ahead. It is found that the biases observed in laboratory experiments, particularly ‘anchoring’, are observable. The expectations are formed by adjusting the previous forecast to take new information into account. By analysing forecast errors it is concluded that the panel overweight recently released information and do not understand the dynamics of the industry. However, their forecasts, both short and long term, are better than an alternative econometric model, and combining the two sources of forecasts leads to a deterioration in forecast accuracy. The expert forecasts can be ‘de-biased’, and this leads to the conclusion that it is better to optimally process information sources than to combine (optimally) alternative forecasts.     

Can consumer sentiment and its components forecast Australian GDP and consumption?

This paper examines whether the disaggregation of consumer sentiment data into its sub‐components improves the real‐time capacity to forecast GDP and consumption. A Bayesian error correction approach augmented with the consumer sentiment index and permutations of the consumer sentiment sub‐indices is used to evaluate forecasting power. The forecasts are benchmarked against both composite forecasts and forecasts from standard error correction models. Using Australian data, we find that consumer sentiment data increase the accuracy of GDP and consumption forecasts, with certain components of consumer sentiment consistently providing better forecasts than aggregate consumer sentiment data. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of temperature density forecasts from GARCH and atmospheric models

Density forecasts for weather variables are useful for the many industries exposed to weather risk. Weather ensemble predictions are generated from atmospheric models and consist of multiple future scenarios for a weather variable. The distribution of the scenarios can be used as a density forecast, which is needed for pricing weather derivatives. We consider one to 10‐day‐ahead density forecasts provided by temperature ensemble predictions. More specifically, we evaluate forecasts of the mean and quantiles of the density. The mean of the ensemble scenarios is the most accurate forecast for the mean of the density. We use quantile regression to debias the quantiles of the distribution of the ensemble scenarios. The resultant quantile forecasts compare favourably with those from a GARCH model. These results indicate the strong potential for the use of ensemble prediction in temperature density forecasting. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mincer–Zarnowitz quantile and expectile regressions for forecast evaluations under aysmmetric loss functions

Forecasts are pervasive in all areas of applications in business and daily life. Hence evaluating the accuracy of a forecast is important for both the generators and consumers of forecasts. There are two aspects in forecast evaluation: (a) measuring the accuracy of past forecasts using some summary statistics, and (b) testing the optimality properties of the forecasts through some diagnostic tests. On measuring the accuracy of a past forecast, this paper illustrates that the summary statistics used should match the loss function that was used to generate the forecast. If there is strong evidence that an asymmetric loss function has been used in the generation of a forecast, then a summary statistic that corresponds to that asymmetric loss function should be used in assessing the accuracy of the forecast instead of the popular root mean square error or mean absolute error. On testing the optimality of the forecasts, it is demonstrated how the quantile regressions set in the prediction–realization framework of Mincer and Zarnowitz (in J. Mincer (Ed.), Economic Forecasts and Expectations: Analysis of Forecasting Behavior and Performance (pp. 14–20), 1969) can be used to recover the unknown parameter that controls the potentially asymmetric loss function used in generating the past forecasts. Finally, the prediction–realization framework is applied to the Federal Reserve's economic growth forecast and forecast sharing in a PC manufacturing supply chain. It is found that the Federal Reserve values overprediction approximately 1.5 times more costly than underprediction. It is also found that the PC manufacturer weighs positive forecast errors (under forecasts) about four times as costly as negative forecast errors (over forecasts).     

Forecasting European GNP data through common factor models and other procedures

In this paper we present an extensive study of annual GNP data for five European countries. We look for intercountry dependence and analyse how the different economies interact, using several univariate ARIMA and unobserved components models and a multivariate model for the GNP incorporating all the common information among the variables. We use a dynamic factor model to take account of the common dynamic structure of the variables. This common dynamic structure can be non‐stationary (i.e. common trends) or stationary (i.e. common cycles). Comparisons of the models are made in terms of the root mean square error (RMSE) for one‐step‐ahead forecasts. For this particular group of European countries, the factor model outperforms the remaining ones. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Power transformation models and volatility forecasting

This paper considers the forecast accuracy of a wide range of volatility models, with particular emphasis on the use of power transformations. Where one‐period‐ahead forecasts are considered, the power autoregressive models are ranked first by a range of error metrics. Over longer forecast horizons, however, generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity models are preferred. A value‐at‐risk‐based forecast assessment indicates that, while the forecast errors are independent, they are not independent and identically distributed, although this latter result is sensitive to the choice of forecast horizon. Our results are robust across a number of different asset markets. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.