1) A derivative is a financial instrument with a value derived from a:
A) regulatory body such as the FTC.
B) primitive or underlying asset.
C) specified risk.
D) negotiated contract.
E) probability of occurrence.
Answer: B
2) Derivatives can be used to either hedge or speculate. These strategies:
A) increase risk in both cases.
B) decrease risk in both cases.
C) spread or minimize risk in both cases.
D) offset risk by hedging and increase risk by speculating.
E) offset risks by speculating and increase risk by hedging.
Answer: D
3) A forward contract is described as agreeing today to either purchase or sell an asset or
security:
A) at a later date at a price to be set in the future.
B) today at the current market price.
C) at a later date at a price set today.
D) if it is advantageous to do so in the future.
E) with delivery today and payment in the future.
Answer: C
4) The buyer of a forward contract will be:
A) taking delivery of the goods today at today's price.
B) making delivery of the goods at a later date at that date's price.
C) making delivery of the goods today at today's price.
D) taking delivery of the goods at a later date at a pre-specified price.
E) deciding on a future date whether or not to take delivery at a pre-specified price.
5) The main difference between a forward contract and a cash transaction is:
A) a forward contract provides an option while a cash transaction is an obligation.
B) a forward contract is fulfilled at a later date while the cash transaction is carried out
immediately.
C) the price of a forward contract is decided at a later date while a cash transaction occurs at the
current spot rate.
D) a cash transaction can be reversed but a forward contract cannot.
E) the forward contract can be negotiated while a cash transaction cannot.
6) Which one of the following is not associated with forward contracts?
A) Making delivery
B) Taking delivery
C) Deliverable instrument
D) Cash transaction
E) Delayed delivery
7) A potential disadvantage of forward contracts versus futures contracts is:
A) the extra liquidity required to cover the potential outflows that can occur prior to delivery.
B) the higher incentive for a particular party to default.
C) that the buyers and sellers don't know each other and never meet.
D) the obligatory requirements rather than the optional opportunities.
E) the increased ability to close out a position prior to expiration.
8) A 3-month futures contract on gold is priced at $1,200 per troy ounce when the contract is
initiated. If the price of gold rises every day over the 3-month period, then when the contract is
settled, the buyer will ________ and the seller will ________.
A) lose; gain
B) gain; lose
C) gain; break even
D) gain; gain
E) lose; lose
9) Futures contracts contrast with forward contracts by:
A) providing an option for the buyer rather than an obligation.
B) marking to the market on a weekly basis.
C) allowing the seller to deliver any day during the delivery month.
D) allowing the parties to negotiate the contract size.
E) requiring contract fulfillment by the two originating parties.
10) Futures contracts:
A) are traded off-exchange.
B) require delivery on a specific date.
C) are standardized.
D) are individually negotiated.
E) marked to market on a weekly basis.
11) Which one of these parties would generally have the most reason to take a short hedge
position in the agricultural futures market?
A) A local bakery
B) A wheat farmer
C) A major breakfast food company
D) A beverage maker
E) An international investor
12) A miller who needs wheat to mill into flour most likely uses the futures market for taking a:
A) long hedge position to lock in production costs.
B) short hedge position to lock in delivery.
C) long hedge position to lock in a sales price for flour.
D) seller's position in wheat.
E) speculator's position in wheat.
Answer: A
13) The party most apt to take a long position in agriculture futures is the firm that:
A) harvests lumber.
B) raises corn.
C) harvests cotton.
D) uses cocoa to make candy.
E) supplies pigs to slaughter houses.
14) If the producer of a product has entered into a fixed price sale agreement for that output, the
producer generally faces:
A) a nice steady profit because the output price is fixed.
B) an uncertain profit if the input prices are volatile. This risk can be reduced by a short hedge.
C) an uncertain profit if the input prices are volatile. This risk can be reduced by a long hedge.
D) a modest profit if the input prices are stable. This risk can be reduced by a long hedge.
E) a modest profit if the input prices are stable. This risk can be reduced by a short hedge.
Answer: C.
15) You hold a futures contract to take delivery of U.S. Treasury bonds in 6 months. If the entire
term structure of interest rates shifts down over the 6-month period, the value of the forward
contract will have ________ the date of delivery.
A) increased in value by
B) decreased in value by
C) the same value as when obtained on
D) either decreased in value or have a zero value by
E) zero value by
16) Mortgage bankers earn income principally by:
A) speculating in Treasury futures.
B) collecting interest on long-term mortgages.
C) offsetting long and short hedge positions in Treasury futures.
D) charging origination and servicing fees.
E) hedging all interest rate risk.
17) To protect against interest rate risk, the mortgage banker who has committed to lending
funds but has yet to raise those funds should:
A) buy futures, as this position will hedge losses if rates rise.
B) sell futures, as this position will hedge losses if rates rise.
C) sell futures, as this position will add to his gains if rates rise.
D) buy futures, as this position will add to his gains if rates rise.
E) avoid the futures market.
18) Futures market transactions are commonly used to reduce risk. The most risk reduction can
be obtained when the asset at risk and the futures contract:
A) have different maturities.
B) have payoff schedules that differ.
C) have differing volatilities.
D) have uncorrelated price movements.
E) have perfectly correlated price movements.
Answer: E
19) Hedging in the futures markets can reduce all risk if:
A) price movements in both the cash and futures markets are perfectly correlated.
B) price movements in both the cash and futures markets have zero correlation.
C) price movements in both the cash and futures markets are less than perfectly correlated.
D) the hedge is a short hedge, but not a long hedge.
E) the hedge is a long hedge, but not a short hedge.
20) Comparing long-term bonds with short-term bonds, long-term bonds are ________ volatile
and therefore experience ________ price change than short-term bonds for the same interest rate
shift.
A) less; less
B) less; more
C) more; more
D) more; less
E) more; the same
21) When interest rates shift, the price of zero coupon bonds are ________ volatile ________
A) more; if they have a short maturity rather than a long maturity.
B) not; because their duration always matches their maturity.
C) equally; regardless of their maturity.
D) less; than coupon bonds of the same maturity.
E) more; than coupon bonds of the same maturity.
22) The duration of a pure discount bond is:
A) equal to its half-life.
B) less than that of a comparable coupon bond.
C) independent of the bond's maturity.
D) is equal to the bond's maturity.
E) always equal to one year.
23) In percentage terms, higher coupon bonds experience a ________ price change compared
with lower coupon bonds of the same maturity given a stated change in market interest rates.
A) greater
B) smaller
C) similar
D) equal
E) zero
24) A bond manager who wishes to hold the bonds with the greatest potential price volatility
should acquire:
A) short-term, high-coupon bonds.
B) long-term, low-coupon bonds.
C) long-term, zero-coupon bonds.
D) short-term, zero-coupon bonds.
E) short-term, low-coupon bonds.
25) Which one of these bonds has the highest duration?
A) 15-year high coupon
B) 15-year zero coupon
C) 10-year zero coupon
D) 10-year high coupon
E) 15-year low coupon
26) Which one of these bonds will have the lowest percentage price change for a stated shift in
interest rates?
A) 5-year, zero coupon
B) 5-year, high coupon
C) 5-year, low coupon
D) 10-year, low coupon
E) 10-year, high coupon
27) A financial institution can hedge its interest rate risk by:
A) matching the duration of its assets to the duration of its liabilities.
B) setting the duration of its assets equal to half that of the duration of its liabilities.
C) matching the duration of its assets, weighted by the market value of its assets with the
duration of its liabilities, weighted by the market value of its liabilities.
D) setting the duration of its assets, weighted by the market value of its assets to one half that of
the duration of the liabilities, weighted by the market value of the liabilities.
E) setting the duration of its assets equal to 1.0.
28) Suenette wants to own bonds but also wants their market values to remain as steady as
possible. Which type of bonds are best suited to her wishes?
A) High-coupon, short-term
B) Zero-coupon, long-term
C) High-coupon, long-term
D) Low-coupon, short term
E) Zero coupon, short term
29) The duration of a coupon bond is:
A) equal to its number of payments.
B) less than that of a zero coupon bond of equal maturity.
C) equal to the zero coupon bond of the same maturity.
D) equal to its maturity.
E) increases as the time to maturity decreases.
30) A financial institution has equity equal to one-tenth of its assets. If its asset duration is
currently equal to its liability duration, then to immunize, the firm needs to:
A) decrease the duration of its assets.
B) increase the duration of its assets.
C) decrease the duration of its liabilities.
D) maintain the equal durations.
E) increase either the duration of its assets or of its liabilities.
31) If a financial institution has equated the dollar effects of interest rate risk on its assets with
the dollar effects on its liabilities, it has engaged in:
A) a long futures hedge.
B) a short futures hedge.
C) a protected swap.
D) hedging by matching.
E) hedging by swapping.
32) Duration is a measure of the:
A) yield to maturity of a bond.
B) coupon yield of a bond.
C) price of a bond.
D) effective maturity of a bond.
E) probability of a bond defaulting.
33) A swap is an arrangement for two counterparties to:
A) exchange cash flows over time.
B) permit fluctuation in interest rates.
C) help exchange markets clear.
D) temporarily exchange fixed assets.
E) insure natural catastrophes.
34) LIBOR stands for:
A) London Interest Basis Offered Rate.
B) London International Offered Rate.
C) London Interbank Offered Rate.
D) London Interagency Offered Rate.
E) London International Option Rate.
35) Interest rate swaps allow one party to exchange a:
A) floating interest rate for a fixed rate.
B) fixed interest rate for a lower fixed rate.
C) floating interest rate for a lower floating rate.
D) floating interest rate for a one-time immediate cash payment.
E) fixed interest rate for a one-time future cash payment.
36) A U.S. firm involved in foreign exports is most apt to highly engage in:
A) inverse floaters.
B) super floaters.
C) Treasury futures.
D) currency swaps.
E) interest rate swaps.
37) An inverse floater and a super-inverse floater probably become the most valuable to a
purchaser when:
A) interest rates remain constant.
B) interest rates fall.
C) interest rates rise.
D) their maturities are shorter rather than longer.
E) capped and floored.
38) Assume a firm has a floating-rate loan and purchases a 10 percent cap on that loan. As a
result, the firm will receive payments equal to:
A) .10 × Assets.
B) .10 × Annual interest payment.
C) (LIBOR − .10) × Principal loan amount.
D) (LIBOR + .10) × Principal loan amount.
E) .10 × Principal loan amount.
39) Caps and floors are used in conjunction with derivatives to:
A) limit any impact from interest rate changes.
B) increase the rate of return to the derivative holder.
C) increase the volatility of the at-risk asset.
D) offset the costs associated with establishing the derivative position.
E) lower acquisition costs irrespective of financing costs.
40) Credit default swaps:
A) have no standardized agreement template.
B) are traded on international exchanges.
C) are traded only on national exchanges.
D) are rarely used in actual practice.
E) must follow the structure outlined by the SEC.
41) Credit default swaps are most like:
B) call options on fixed assets.
C) an insurance policy.
D) an interest rate swap.
E) a delinquent loan.
42) There are always at least ________ counterparties in a credit default swap.
A) 0
B) 1
C) 2
D) 3
E) more than three
43) Which one of the following is true about the use of derivatives?
A) Derivatives usually appear explicitly in the financial statements.
B) Academic surveys account for much of our knowledge of corporate derivatives use.
C) Small firms are more likely to use derivatives than large firms.
D) The most frequently used derivatives are commodity and equity futures.
E) Derivatives are primarily used by firms that have easy access to capital markets.
44) Today, you purchased two natural gas futures contracts at the settle price for a May delivery.
The contract size is 10,000 MMBtu with quotes in dollars per MMBtu. The day's high was
2.954, the low was 2.939, and the settle was 2.948. What was the total amount you had to pay
today?
A) $14,740
B) $14,695
C) $14,770
D) $14,755
E) $0
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