xkcd Comics as a Minimal Example for Calling APIs, Downloading Files and Displaying PNG Images with R


xkcd webcomics is one of the institutions of the internet, especially for the nerd community. If you want to learn how to fetch JSON data from a REST API, download a file from the internet and display a PNG file in a ultra-simple example, read on!
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How to Catch a Thief: Unmasking Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme with Benford’s Law

One of my starting points into quantitative finance was Bernie Madoff’s fund. Back then because Bernie was in desperate need of money to keep his Ponzi scheme running there existed several so-called feeder funds.

One of them happened to approach me to offer me a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity. Or so it seemed. Now, there is this old saying that when something seems too good to be true it probably is. If you want to learn what Benford’s law is and how to apply it to uncover fraud, read on!
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Create Bart Simpson Blackboard Memes with R


Everybody knows the Simpsons, everybody loves the Simpsons and everybody can laugh about Bart Simpson writing funny lines on the blackboard! If you want to create your own Bart Simpson Blackboard Meme Generator with R read on!
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Financial Engineering: Static Replication of any Payoff Function


In the area of options strategy trading, it has always been a dream of mine to have a universal tool that is able to replicate any payoff function statically by combining plain vanilla products like calls, puts, and zerobonds.

Many years ago there was such a tool online but it has long gone since and the domain is inactive. So, based on the old project paper from that website I decided to program it in R and make it available for free here!
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