Applied Mathematics and Optimization, Vol.42, No.3, 259-279, 2000
A barrier option of American type
We obtain closed-form expressions for the prices and optimal hedging strategies of American put-options in the presence of an "up-and-out" barrier, both with and without constraints on the short-selling of stock. The constrained case leads to a stochastic optimization problem of mixed optimal stopping/singular control type. This is reduced to a variational inequality which is then solved explicitly in two qualitatively separate cases, according to a certain compatibility condition among the market coefficients and the constraint.
Keywords:American option;barrier option;singular stochastic control;optimal stopping;variational inequality;hedging;elastic boundary condition;constrained portfolios