Self Review Midterm

9/10/21, 5:09 PM Print Preview
Chapter : Summary
Midterm Self-Exam
Book Title: Financial Markets and Institutions
Printed By: Christine Joy Arancon (17101496@usc.edu.ph)
© 2021 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning
Midterm Self-Exam
Midterm Review
You have just completed all of the chapters focused on the financial markets. Here is a brief
summary of some of the key points in those chapters.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the types of financial markets, the securities that are
traded within those markets, and the financial institutions that serve those markets. Chapter
2 explains how general interest rate levels are driven by factors that affect the demand for
loanable funds (such as inflation and economic growth) and the supply of loanable funds
(such as the Fed’s monetary policy). Chapter 3 explains how interest rates vary among
securities in response to differences in credit risk, liquidity, tax status, and term to maturity.
Chapter 4 describes the Fed’s monetary policy, and Chapter 5 explains how the Fed’s policy
adjusts the supply of loanable funds to affect interest rates and economic conditions.
Chapter 6 explains how money market securities serve investors whose primary need is for
liquidity rather than high returns. Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 describe the
characteristics, pricing, and risk of capital market securities. In particular, Chapters 7, 8, and
9 focus on long-term debt securities and explain the sensitivity of long-term debt’s market
values to interest rate movements. Chapter 10 describes how stocks are placed and how
institutional investors attempt to ensure that managers of publicly traded companies make
decisions that maximize the stock’s value. Chapter 11 considers how the value of a stock is
influenced by the factors that influence the firm’s future cash flows or risk. Chapter 12
describes how stocks are traded and how the trading is regulated. Because money market
securities, long-term debt securities, and stocks have different characteristics, they serve
the needs of different investors. In addition, the sensitivity of their prices to various factors
differs among securities. Investors are therefore able to allocate their investments in
securities in a way that reflects their specific return and risk preferences.
Chapter 13 explains how interest rate futures contracts can be sold to speculate on
expectations of rising rates versus expectations of declining interest rates. In addition, this
chapter examines how interest rate futures can be sold to hedge the interest rate risk of
portfolios containing long-term debt securities and how stock index futures contracts can be
used to hedge the market risk of stock portfolios. Chapter 14 explains how investors can
use call (put) options to speculate on expectations of rising (falling) stock prices. It also
addresses the use of put options on stock indexes to hedge stock portfolios and the use of
put options on bond index futures to hedge long-term debt security portfolios. Chapter 15
describes the use of interest rate swaps to speculate on expectations of rising or declining
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interest rates, and Chapter 16 examines how foreign exchange markets are used to
facilitate the trading of international securities.
This Midterm Self-Exam exam does not cover all of the concepts that have been presented
up to this point, but rather allows you to test yourself on a general overview of key concepts.
You can simulate taking an actual exam by answering all of the questions without using your
book and your notes. The answer key is provided just after the exam. If you have any wrong
answers, you should reread the related material and then revisit any exam questions that
you had wrong.
This exam may not match the level of rigor in your course. Your instructor may provide
specific information about how this Midterm Self-Exam relates to the coverage and rigor of
the midterm exam in your course.
Midterm Self-Exam
1. Explain the meaning of asymmetric information, and describe how it can

influence trading in the stock market.
2. In the last year, the one-year risk-free interest rate increased from percent to
percent.
a. What is a likely reason for the large increase in the risk-free rate?
b. In the last year, the -year risk-free rate declined from percent to
percent. How can you reconcile the change in the short-term interest
rate with the change in the long-term interest rate? According to
expectations theory, what does the shift in the yield curve imply about
future interest rates?
3. The prevailing yield on a B-rated corporate bond is percent. Explain how the
yield offered on new B-rated bonds could be affected if economic conditions
deteriorate. Note that two forces deserve consideration.
4. Consider the components that determine the prevailing yield of a highly rated
corporate bond, such as the risk-free rate, the default risk premium, and the
liquidity premium. The yield offered on a corporate bond in the secondary
market changes over time. Which component do you think is typically the
main source of changes over time in the yield offered on a highly rated
corporate bond? Explain.
5. Recently, economic conditions have weakened. Although consumer prices

have not increased in the last year, oil prices have risen by percent in the
last month. The Fed wants to show its dedication to controlling inflation, so it
decides to restrict the money supply and increase the target federal funds rate
by percent.
a. If you were on the FOMC, would you support the Fed’s decision?
Explain.
b. Explain how prices of money market securities would change in

response to this policy. Why might bond prices be more sensitive than
money market securities to this change in the Fed’s policy? Why might
bond prices be less sensitive than money market securities to changes
in the Fed’s policy?
6. Assume that the Fed decided to reduce the federal funds rate by percent
today and that this decision was not anticipated by the financial markets.
a. Why might this change in monetary policy affect the yields paid by
corporations when they issue corporate bonds?
b. Why might the change in monetary policy have no effect on the yields
paid by corporations when they issue corporate bonds?
7. Why do bond market participants pay close attention to the fiscal policy
decisions of the U.S. government?
8. A Treasury bond’s coupon and principal payments are guaranteed. Does this
mean that the value of the Treasury bond is almost constant over time?
Explain.
9. Offer a logical explanation for why higher expected inflation could affect the
yield on new -year, fixed-rate mortgages. Why are secondary price
movements of fixed-rate mortgages correlated with price movements of
corporate bonds?
10. Assume that the Fed uses monetary policy to reduce the target federal funds
rate, and assume that the market does not anticipate this reduction. Use the
CAPM framework to explain why this policy could increase the prices of
stocks.
11. Assume that the standard deviation of a stock’s monthly returns is percent
and that the expected return of the stock over the next month is zero. Use the
value-at-risk method to estimate the maximum expected loss for a month
based on a percent confidence level.
12. Based on what you learned in the chapters on the bond markets and stock
markets, are these markets complements or substitutes from an issuer’s
perspective? From an investor’s perspective?
13. Explain why a publicly traded firm’s ability to place stock in a secondary
offering depends on the stock’s liquidity in the secondary market.
14. Why would a publicly traded firm go private? Why might the Sarbanes–Oxley
Act encourage some publicly traded firms to go private?
15. Why does the market for corporate control affect stock valuations? Offer a
reason why the market for corporate control will not always force corporate
managers to serve in the best interests of shareholders.
16. Charleston Investment Company just purchased Renfro stock for . It

engages in a covered call strategy whereby it sells call options on Renfro
stock. A call option on Renfro stock is available with an exercise price of ,
a one-year expiration date, and a premium of . Assume that the buyers of
the call option will exercise the option on the expiration date if it is feasible to
do so. Charleston will sell the stock at the end of one year even if the option is
not exercised. Determine the net profit per share for Charleston based on the
following possible prices for Renfro stock at the end of one year:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
17. a. Compare the purchase of stock index futures versus index options. Why
might institutional investors use futures to hedge their stock portfolios in
some periods and use options for that same purpose in other periods?
b. For hedging a stock portfolio, explain the trade-off involved when

purchasing a put option with an exercise price that is at the money
versus deep out of the money.
18. Assume that interest rate parity holds. Also assume that U.S. investors plan to
invest in a government security denominated in a foreign currency.
a. If the security has a higher interest rate than the U.S. interest rate, will
the forward rate of the currency represent a discount? Explain.
b. If the investors engage in covered interest arbitrage, will they achieve a

return that is higher than, lower than, or the same as the foreign interest
rate? Explain.
c. If the investors engage in covered interest arbitrage, will they achieve a

return that is higher than, lower than, or the same as the U.S. interest
rate? Explain.
Chapter : Summary
Midterm Self-Exam
Book Title: Financial Markets and Institutions
Printed By: Christine Joy Arancon (17101496@usc.edu.ph)
© 2021 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning
© 2021 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any form or by any means -
graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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9/10/21, 5:09 PM Print Preview

Book Title: Financial Markets and Institutions

Printed By: Christine Joy Arancon (17101496@usc.edu.ph)

© 2021 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

1. Explain the meaning of asymmetric information, and describe how it can

5. Recently, economic conditions have weakened. Although consumer prices

b. Explain how prices of money market securities would change in

16. Charleston Investment Company just purchased Renfro stock for . It

b. For hedging a stock portfolio, explain the trade-off involved when

b. If the investors engage in covered interest arbitrage, will they achieve a

c. If the investors engage in covered interest arbitrage, will they achieve a

Book Title: Financial Markets and Institutions

Printed By: Christine Joy Arancon (17101496@usc.edu.ph)

© 2021 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

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