Exam 6: Interest Rates

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Suppose the federal deficit increased sharply from one year to the next, and the Federal Reserve kept the money supply constant. Other things held constant, we would expect to see interest rates decline.

Niendorf Corporation's 5-year bonds yield 8.00%, and 5-year T-bonds yield 4.80%. The real risk-free rate is r* = 2.75%, the inflation premium for 5-year bonds is IP = 1.65%, the default risk premium for Niendorf's bonds is DRP = 1.20% versus zero for T-bonds, and the maturity risk premium for all bonds is found with the formula MRP = (t - 1) × 0.1%, where t = number of years to maturity. What is the liquidity premium (LP) on Niendorf's bonds?

If the Treasury yield curve is downward sloping, how should the yield to maturity on a 10-year Treasury coupon bond compare to that on a 1-year T-bill?

Because the maturity risk premium is normally positive, the yield curve is normally upward sloping.

Kop Corporation's 5-year bonds yield 6.50%, and T-bonds with the same maturity yield 4.40%. The default risk premium for Kop's bonds is DRP = 0.40%, the liquidity premium on Kop's bonds is LP = 1.70% versus zero on T-bonds, the inflation premium (IP) is 1.50%, and the maturity risk premium (MRP) on 5-year bonds is 0.40%. What is the real risk-free rate, r*?

Suppose the real risk-free rate is 3.50% and the future rate of inflation is expected to be constant at 2.20%. What rate of return would you expect on a 1-year Treasury security, assuming the pure expectations theory is valid? Include cross-product terms, i.e., if averaging is required, use the geometric average.

The four most fundamental factors that affect the cost of money are (1) production opportunities, (2) time preferences for consumption, (3) risk, and (4) the skill level of the economy's labor force.

Suppose the real risk-free rate is 3.50% and the future rate of inflation is expected to be constant at 2.20%. What rate of return would you expect on a 1-year Treasury security, assuming the pure expectations theory is valid? Disregard cross-product terms, i.e., if averaging is required, use the arithmetic average.

A bond trader observes the following information: • The Treasury yield curve is downward sloping. • Empirical data indicate that a positive maturity risk premium applies to both Treasury and corporate bonds. • Empirical data also indicate that there is no liquidity premium for Treasury securities but that a positive liquidity premium is built into corporate bond yields. On the basis of this information, which of the following statements is most CORRECT?

The four most fundamental factors that affect the cost of money are (1) production opportunities, (2) time preferences for consumption, (3) risk, and (4) weather conditions.

One of the four most fundamental factors that affect the cost of money as discussed in the text is the availability of production opportunities and their expected rates of return. If production opportunities are relatively good, then interest rates will tend to be relatively high, other things held constant.

Suppose the real risk-free rate is 3.00%, the average expected future inflation rate is 2.25%, and a maturity risk premium of 0.10% per year to maturity applies, i.e., MRP = 0.10%(t), where t is the years to maturity. What rate of return would you expect on a 1-year Treasury security, assuming the pure expectations theory is NOT valid? Disregard cross-product terms, i.e., if averaging is required, use the arithmetic average.

Short Corp just issued bonds that will mature in 10 years, and Long Corp issued bonds that will mature in 20 years. Both bonds promise to pay a semiannual coupon, they are not callable or convertible, and they are equally liquid. Further assume that the Treasury yield curve is based only on the pure expectations theory. Under these conditions, which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Suppose the real risk-free rate is 4.20%, the average expected future inflation rate is 3.10%, and a maturity risk premium of 0.10% per year to maturity applies, i.e., MRP = 0.10%(t), where t is the years to maturity, hence the pure expectations theory is NOT valid. What rate of return would you expect on a 4-year Treasury security? Disregard cross-product terms, i.e., if averaging is required, use the arithmetic average.

One of the four most fundamental factors that affect the cost of money as discussed in the text is the current state of the weather. If the weather is dark and stormy, the cost of money will be higher than if it is bright and sunny, other things held constant.

The real risk-free rate of interest is expected to remain constant at 3% for the foreseeable future. However, inflation is expected to increase steadily over the next 30 years, so the Treasury yield curve has an upward slope. Assume that the pure expectations theory holds. You are also considering two corporate bonds, one with a 5-year maturity and one with a 10-year maturity. Both have the same default and liquidity risks. Given these assumptions, which of these statements is CORRECT?

Because the maturity risk premium is normally positive, the yield curve must have an upward slope. If you measure the yield curve and find a downward slope, you must have done something wrong.

If the pure expectations theory is correct, a downward-sloping yield curve indicates that interest rates are expected to decline in the future.

One of the four most fundamental factors that affect the cost of money as discussed in the text is the risk inherent in a given security. The higher the risk, the higher the security's required return, other things held constant.