Answer Key
Second Midterm Exam: Section 1
Econ 353: Money and Banking

Course Offering: Spring 1999
Last Updated: 6 April 1999

Course Instructor:
Professor Leigh Tesfatsion
tesfatsi@iastate.edu

ANSWER KEY
SECOND MIDTERM EXAM:  70 POINTS TOTAL         L. Tesfatsion
                                              Econ 353/Section 1
                                              April 6, 1999

1-1 If a borrower receives a simple loan on January 1, 1999 in amount
    $1000 and agrees to pay the lender $1100 on June 1, 2001, then the
    simple interest rate on this loan is _________.
   A. 1 percent
X  B. 10 percent
   C. $100
   D. 5 percent


2-1 Which of the following are true in general for coupon bonds?
   A. The owner of the coupon bond receives a fixed interest payment every
      year until the maturity date, when the face value is repaid.
   B. U.S. Treasury bonds and notes are examples of coupon bonds.
   C. Corporate bonds are examples of coupon bonds.
X  D. All of the above
   E. Only A and B of the above


3-1 Under the terms of a coupon bond, the borrower agrees to pay the
    lender
   A. a periodic fixed coupon payment until a specified maturity date, where
      the fixed coupon payment includes both principal and interest.
   B. the face value of the bond plus principal, both at the maturity date.
X  C. a periodic fixed coupon payment until a specified maturity date, plus
      the face value of the bond at the maturity date.
   D. only one payment, the face value of the bond at the maturity date,
      where the face value is more than the purchase price of the bond.


4-1 The current yield on a coupon bond with a purchase price of $80, a $100
    face value, annual coupon payments of $10, and a 2-year maturity is
X  A. the coupon payment $10 divided by the purchase price $80.
   B. the present value of all payments (coupon payments plus face value).
   C. the coupon payment $10 divided by the face value $100.
   D. the present value of all coupon payments.


5-1 If the annual interest rate is 10 percent, the present value of a payment
    of $400 to be received two years from now is

   A. $400 multiplied by (1 + .10)@2

X  B. $400 divided by (1 + .10)@2

   C. $400 divided by (1 + .20)

   D. $400 divided by 2


6-1 Letting "*" denote multiplication, if the annual interest rate is 5
    percent, then the present value of a payment stream ($10, $50) with $10
    to be received at the end of the first year and $50 to be received at the
    end of the second year is given by

   A. $10*(1 + .05)  +  $50*(1 + .05)@2

   B. $10/(1 + .10)  +  $50/(1 + .10)

X  C. $10/(1 + .05)  +  $50/(1 + .05)@2

   D. [$10 + $50] divided by 2


7-1 The yield to maturity i on a coupon bond with a purchase price $180,
    a face value $200, a coupon payment stream ($20,$20), and a 2-year
    maturity is calculated as follows:
   A. Total coupon payments $40 divided by the maturity 2.
X  B. The annual interest rate i that, when used to calculate the present
      value PV(i) of ($20,$220), gives a value for PV(i) equal to $180.
   C. The coupon payment $20 divided by the purchase price $180.
   D. The present value of the coupon payment stream ($20, $20).


8-1 For a coupon bond, its purchase price is _________ than its face value
    if and only if its coupon rate is __________ than its yield to maturity.
   A. higher; lower
   B. lower;  higher
X  C. lower;  lower
   D. none of the above.


9-1 Which of the following are true for the current yield of a coupon bond?
   A. The current yield is defined as the coupon payment divided by the
      price of the bond.
   B. The formula for the current yield is identical to the formula
      describing the yield to maturity for a consol.
   C. The current yield will be a close approximation for the yield to
      maturity the longer the time to maturity, and also the closer the bond
      price is to its face value.
X D. All of the above are true
  E. Only A and B of the above are true.


10-1 Which of the following $1000 face-value securities has the LOWEST
    yield to maturity?
X  A. A  5 percent coupon bond selling for $1,000
   B. A 10 percent coupon bond selling for $1,000
   C. A 15 percent coupon bond selling for $1,000
   D. A 15 percent coupon bond selling for $900


11-1 In which of the following situations would you prefer to be BORROWING?
   A. The nominal interest rate is 9 percent and the expected inflation rate
      is 7 percent.
   B. The nominal interest rate is 4 percent and the expected inflation rate
      is 1 percent.
   C. The nominal interest rate is 13 percent and the expected inflation rate
      is 15 percent.
X  D. The nominal interest rate is 25 percent and the expected inflation rate
      is 50 percent.

12-1 Which of the the following are true concerning the distinction between
interest rates and return rates.
   A. The return rate on a bond will not necessarily equal the interest
      rate on that bond.
   B. The return rate can be expressed as the sum of the current yield
      and the rate of capital gain or loss
   C. Measured from time T to time T+1, the return rate will be greater than
      the interest rate when the price of the bond rises between T and T+1.
X  D. All of the above are true.
   E. Only A and B of the above are true.

13-1 Holding everything else constant,
   A. if an asset's risk falls relative to that of alternative assets,
      the demand will rise.
   B. the more liquid an asset, relative to alternative assets, the
      greater will be the demand.
   C. the lower the expected return relative to alternative assets,
      the greater will be the demand.
   D. all of the above.
X  E. only A and B of the above.

14-1 Empirically, most savers find risk ___________ and return ___________.
    Consequently, if you offer a saver a choice of another asset portfolio
    than the one he currently owns, where both portfolios have the same total
    market value but the alternative portfolio has greater risk, the only way
    the saver would be willing to accept the alternative portfolio in place
    of his current portfolio is if the alternative portfolio has a_________
    expected return rate.
   A. desirable;   undesirable; lower
X  B. undesirable; desirable;   higher
   C. undesirable; desirable;   lower
   D. desirable;   undesirable; higher

15-1 If a portfolio is sufficiently diversified, the __________ risk of each
     asset contributes nothing to the total risk of the portfolio; consequently,
     only _________ risk remains.
   A. interest rate; default
X  B. nonsystematic; systematic
   C. default; interest rate
   D. systematic; nonsystematic


16-1 The __________ of an asset measures the extent to which its
     expected return rate varies directly with the expected return rate
     of __________, hence it constitutes a measure of its systematic risk.
   A. market price; the risk-free asset
   B. standard deviation; the market portfolio
   C. liquidity; the risk-free asset
X  D. beta; the market portfolio


17-1 CAPM theory assumes that, for any given level of ________, each
     saver prefers a higher level of ___________ to a lower level.
   A. expected return; risk
 X B. risk; expected return
   C. interest; liquidity
   D. liquidity; interest


18-1 The basic capital asset pricing (CAPM) postulates that the expected
     return rate of an asset can be explained by __________ of systematic
     risk as reflected by movements in ______________.
   A. two sources; its current yield and its capital gain or loss
X  B. a single source; the expected return rate of the market portfolio
   C. multiple sources; inflation rate, yield spread, and other factors
   D. its total amount; the purchase price of the asset


19-1 Arbitrage pricing theory (APT) postulates that the _______________
     of an asset can be explained ___________.
   A. price; by arbitrage conditions relating its price to its current yield
X  B. expected return rate; by multiple sources of systematic risk
   C. expected return rate; solely by movements in the market portfolio value
   D. systematic risk; by its degree of liquidity


20-1 When the interest rate on loans is _________ the equilibrium interest
     rate, there is an excess _________ for (of) loanable funds and the
     interest rate will tend to _______.
X  A. below; demand; rise
   B. below; demand; fall
   C. below; supply; fall
   D. above; supply; rise


21-1 When an increase occurs in the expected interest rate on bonds from
     period T+1 to period T+2, all else remaining constant, normally one
     would expect to see a _________ in the demand for bonds in period T
     because of ____________.
   A. increase; an expected increase in the price of bonds in period T+1
X  B. decrease; an expected decrease in the price of bonds in period T+1
   C. increase; an expected decrease in the price of bonds in period T+1
   D. decrease; an expected increase in the price of bonds in period T+1


22-1 In gross domestic product accounting, HC exports consist of all
     purchases by ________ of goods and services produced ___________.
   A. ROW; within the borders of ROW
   B. HC;  with ROW-owned assets of production
X  C. ROW; within the borders of the HC
   D. HC;  within the borders of ROW


23-1 In GDP accounting, ROW saving in relation to the HC is defined to be
     ___________  minus ______________.
   A. HC imports; HC exports
   B. ROW GDP; ROW consumption
X  C. Total income received by ROW from the HC; HC exports
   D. Total income received by ROW from the HC; HC imports


24-1 When the U.S. exchange rate for the French franc changes from 9 francs
     per dollar to 10 francs per dollar, then
   A. the franc has appreciated and the dollar has appreciated
X  B. the franc has depreciated and the dollar has appreciated
   C. the franc has appreciated and the dollar has depreciated
   D. the frand has depreciated and the dollar has depreciated


25-1 If the U.S. dollar appreciates relative to the British pound,
X  A. British wool blankets will become cheaper in the U.S.
   B. American wheat will become cheaper in Great Britain
   C. British wool blankets will become more expensive in the U.S.
   D. None of the above


26-1 Given a world divided between HC and ROW, the purchasing power parity
     condition in level form asserts that
   A. the HC nominal exchange rate will stay constant over time
X  B. the HC real exchange rate will stay constant over time
   C. the HC real interest rate will stay constant over time
   D. the value of HC GDP and ROW GDP will stay equal over time


27-1 Given a world divided between HC and ROW, the purchasing power parity
     condition reduces to a straightforward application of the "law of one
     price" under the following conditions:
   A. HC and ROW produce one good of the same physical type
   B. there are no trade barriers between the HC and ROW
   C. every resident of the HC and ROW has complete information about
      the price and availability of goods anywhere in the world
X  D. all of the above.


28-1 Given a world divided between HC and ROW, the purchasing power parity
     condition in rates-of-change form predicts the following: If the 1996
     inflation rate in the HC is 8 percent, and the 1996 inflation rate in ROW
     is 6 percent, then the HC exchange rate E will _______ in 1997.
   A. rise by 7 percent
   B. rise by 2 percent
   C. remain unchanged
X  D. fall by 2 percent


29-1 Given a world divided between HC and ROW, the interest parity
     condition is _______ condition that attempts to help predict
     the short-run relation between _________ in the HC and ROW by
     determining a necessary condition for______________.
   A. a market equilibrium; currency reserves; demand = supply for HC currency
   B. an accounting; savings rates; equality of HC and ROW interest rates
X  C. an arbitrage; interest rates; the absence of profit opportunities
   D. a balance of payments; borrowing and lending; bond market equilibrium


30-1 Given a world divided between HC and ROW, according to the interest
    parity condition, a ROW saver attempting to decide between holding a bank
    deposit account in ROW and a bank deposit in the HC with the same _______
    will choose the investment with the highest ________ taking into account
    both _________ and _________.
   A. expected return; risk; default risk; interest rate risk
X  B. risk; expected return; interest rates; expected HC exchange rate changes
   C. risk; liquidity; inflation rates; price levels
   D. expected return; market value; the HC exchange rate; the HC price level


31-1 Given a world divided between HC and ROW, if the nominal interest rate
     in the HC is 4 percent in period T, and the nominal interest rate in ROW
     is 6 percent in period T, then the HC nominal exchange rate (measured in
     ROW currency units per HC currency unit) can be expected to _________
     by __________ from period T to T+1.
X  A. appreciate; 2 percent
   B. depreciate; 2 percent
   C. appreciate; 10 percent
   D. depreciate; 10 percent


32-1 As conventionally defined in GDP national income accounting in the
     United States, the _________  keeps track of __________________ .
X  A. capital account; net trades in existing financial and real assets
   B. capital account; net exports and net factor payments and net transfers
   C. current account; net trades in existing financial and real assets
   D. current account; net official reserve transactions


33-1 Holding other factors constant, which of the following would INCREASE
the size of the U.S. current account SURPLUS?
   A. Payments by the U.S. goverment to help emerging democracies in Africa
   B. Increased travel to Korea by U.S. college students
X  C. Payments by foreign governments to the U.S. to help pay for the
      Persian gulf war
   D. Both A and B of the above


34-1 Assuming the world is divided between HC and ROW, if the HC is running
   a current account deficit, then HC national saving _______ HC total
   investment and the HC is ___________ ROW.
   A. is greater than; lending to
   B. is greater than; borrowing from
   C. is less than; lending to
X  D. is less than; borrowing from


35-1 Assuming the world is divided between HC and ROW, that only the HC
  central bank holds offical reserve assets (HC and ROW currency
  reserves), and that the changes in ROW currency reserves ("official
  reserve asset transactions") undertaken by the HC central bank are included
  in the definition of the HC capital account, the balance of payments
  accounting identity for the HC requires that the sum of the _________ and
  the ___________ equals _____________
   A. HC current account; changes in ROW currency reserves; HC capital account
X  B. HC current account; HC capital account; 0
   C. HC current account; HC capital account; changes in ROW currency reserves
   D  HC capital account; changes in ROW currency reserves; 0