Uys, Nadia2006-04-242006-04-242006-04-24http://hdl.handle.net/10539/350Degree: Master of Science Department: ScienceThe superharmonic characterization of the value function is proved, under the assumption that an optimal stopping time exists. The fair price of an American contingent claim is established as an optimal stopping problem. The price of the perpetual Russian option is derived, using the dual martingale measure to reduce the dimension of the problem. American barrier options are discussed, and the solution to the perpetual American up-and-out put is derived. The price of the American put on a finite time horizon is shown to be the price of the European put plus an early exercise premium, through the use of a local time-space formula. The optimal stopping boundary is characterised as the unique increasing solution of a non-linear integral equation. Finally, the integral representation of the price of an American floating strike Asian call with arithmetic averaging is derived.546702 bytesapplication/pdfenoptimalstopping problemsamericanThesis