Complex networks in stock market and stock price volatility pattern prediction are the important issues in stock price research. Previous studies have used historical information regarding a single stock to predict the future trend of the stock’s price, seldom considering comovement among stocks in the same market. In this study, in order to extract the information about relation stocks for prediction, we try to combine the complex network method with machine learning to predict stock price patterns. Firstly, we propose a new pattern network construction method for multivariate stock time series. The price volatility combination patterns of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500), the NASDAQ Composite Index (NASDAQ), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are transformed into directed weighted networks. It is found that network topology characteristics, such as average degree centrality, average strength, average shortest path length, and closeness centrality, can identify periods of sharp fluctuations in the stock market. Next, the topology characteristic variables for each combination symbolic pattern are used as the input variables for K-nearest neighbors (KNN) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms to predict the next-day volatility patterns of a single stock. The results show that the optimal models corresponding to the two algorithms can be found through cross-validation and search methods, respectively. The prediction accuracy rates for the three indexes in relation to the testing data set are greater than 70%. In general, the prediction ability of SVM algorithms is better than that of KNN algorithms.

This study examines the factors that influence successful equity crowdfunding, using data from the website www.dajiatou.com to develop models based on investors' willingness to invest, financing efficiency, and the herding effect, which are all related to the successful financing of projects. The results show that financing objectives, assignment of shares, and the number of inquiries have a significant impact on investors' willingness to invest; the minimum initial investment amount and the number of inquiries have a significant impact on financing efficiency, and early investment affects the decision-making behavior of investors later in the process via the herding effect.

We present a novel method for measuring the complexity of a time series by unraveling a chaotic attractor modeled on complex networks. The complexity index R, which can potentially be exploited for prediction, has a similar meaning to the Kolmogorov complexity (calculated from the Lempel-Ziv complexity), and is an appropriate measure of a series' complexity. The proposed method is used to research the complexity of the world's major capital markets. None of these markets are completely random, and they have different degrees of complexity, both over the entire length of their time series and at a level of detail. However, developing markets differ significantly from mature markets. Specifically, the complexity of mature stock markets is stronger and more stable over time, whereas developing markets exhibit relatively low and unstable complexity over certain time periods, implying a stronger long-term price memory process.

This study investigates a new opinion formation model of heterogeneous agents, a network stubborn individuals and orators (NSO) model based on game theory and complex social networks. Game theory solves economists’ rational choice-making problems, and complex social networks reflect the social impact on opinion evolution. The NSO model involves both social and individual heterogeneous characteristics. In a society, the more unequal the members, and the closer the social distances, the faster opinions spread. In the real world, the power-law degree distribution and the short paths in social networks can generate the rapid spread of an opinion. This study also investigates opinion control under the NSO model. The results show that opinion guidance is most likely to separate the public into different groups rather than converge to the guide’s opinion.

In this article, we propose a novel method for transforming a time series into a complex network graph. The proposed algorithm is based on the spatial distribution of a time series. The characteristics of geometric parameters of a network represent the dynamic characteristics of a time series. Our algorithm transforms, respectively, a constant series into a fully connected graph, periodic time series into a regular graph, linear divergent time series into a tree, and chaotic time series into an approximately power law distribution network graph. We find that when the dimension of reconstructed phase space increases, the corresponding graph for a random time series quickly turns into a completely unconnected graph, while that for a chaotic time series maintains a certain level of connectivity. The characteristics of the generated network, including the total edges, the degree distribution, and the clustering coefficient, reflect the characteristics of the time series, including diverging speed, level of certainty, and level of randomness. This observation allows a chaotic time series to be easily identified from a random time series. The method may be useful for analysis of complex nonlinear systems such as chaos and random systems, by perceiving the differences in the outcomes of the systems-the time series-in the identification of the systemic levels of certainty or randomness.