CHAPTER 6

INTEREST RATE
 Morton Handley & Company

Maria Juarez is a professional tennis player, and your firm manages her
money. She has asked you to give her information about what determines
the level of various interest rates. Your boss has prepared some questions for
you to consider.

 Answer:
The four most fundamental factors affecting the cos
of money are:
1. Production opportunities

2. Time preferences for consumption

A.What are the four most fundamental 3. Risk

factors that affect the cost of money, 4.Inflation
or the general level of interest rates, in Producers’ expected returns on their business
the economy? investments set an upper limit to how much they can

pay for savings, while consumers’ time preferences
for consumption establish how much consumption
they are willing to defer, hence how much they will
save at different interest rates. Higher risk and highe
inflation also lead to higher interest rates.
1
B. What is the real risk-free rate of interest (r*) and the
nominal risk-free rate (RF)? How are these two rates
measured?

r = r* + IP + DRP + LP + MRP.
rRF= r*+IP