The problem of optimally controlling a Wiener process until it leaves an interval (a; b) for the first time is considered in the case when the infinitesimal parameters of the process are random. When a = ��1, the exact optimal control is derived by solving the appropriate system of differential equations, whereas a very precise approximate solution in the form of a polynomial is obtained in the two-barrier case.

A boundary value problem for a non-linear difference equation of order three is considered. We show that this equation can be interpreted as the equation satisfied by the value function in a stochastic optimal control problem. We thus obtain an expression for the solution of the non-linear difference equation that can be used to find an explicit solution to this equation. An example is presented.