Exam 6: International Parity Conditions

Assume a nominal interest rate on one-year U.S. Treasury Bills of 2.60% and a real rate of interest of 1.00%. Using the Fisher Effect Equation, what is the approximate expected rate of inflation in the U.S. over the next year?

Phillips NV produces DVD players and exports them to the United States. Last year the exchange rate was $1.25/euro and Phillips charged 120 euro per player in Euroland and $150 per DVD player in the United States. Currently the spot exchange rate is $1.45/euro and Phillips is charging $160 per DVD player. What is the degree of pass through by Phillips NV on their DVD players?

Empirical tests prove that PPP is an accurate predictor of future exchange rates.

Assume the current U.S. dollar-British spot rate is £0.6993/$. If the current nominal one-year interest rate in the U.S. is 5% and the comparable rate in Britain is 6%, what is the approximate forward exchange rate for 360 days?

Empirical studies show that the Fisher Effect works best for short-term securities.

Consider the price elasticity of demand. If a product has price elasticity less than one, it is considered to have relatively elastic demand.

Jaguar has full manufacturing costs of their S-type sedan of £22,803. They sell the S-type in the UK with a 20% margin for a price of £27,363. Today these cars are available in the U.S. for $55,000 which is the UK price multiplied by the current exchange rate of $2.01/£. Jaguar has committed to keeping the U.S. price at $55,000 for the next six months. If the UK pound appreciates against the USD to an exchange rate of $2.15/£, and Jaguar has not hedged against currency changes, what is the amount the company will receive in pounds at the new exchange rate?

With covered interest arbitrage:

The price elasticity of demand for DVD players manufactured by Sony of Japan is greater than one. If the Japanese yen appreciates against the U.S. dollar by 10% and the price of the Sony DVD players in the U.S also rises by 10%, then other things equal, the total dollar sales revenues of Sony DVDs would:

The relationship between the percentage change in the spot exchange rate over time and the differential between comparable interest rates in different national capital markets is known as:

The current U.S. dollar-yen spot rate is ¥125/$. If the 90-day forward exchange rate is ¥127/$ then the yen is at a forward premium.

________ states that the spot exchange rate should change in an equal amount but in the opposite direction to the difference in interest rates between two countries.

Some forecasters believe that foreign exchange markets for the major floating currencies are "efficient" and forward exchange rates are unbiased predictors of future spot exchange rates. Explain the rationale of this statement including the assumptions made, the meaning of "efficient" and "unbiased," and the empirical evidence.

If exchange markets were efficient, the deviation of the actual future quote and today's forward rate will be zero.

Covered interest arbitrage moves the market ________ equilibrium because ________.

If the forward rate is an unbiased predictor of the expected spot rate, which of the following is NOT true?

If a market basket of goods cost $100 in the U.S. and €70 in France, then the PPP exchange rate would be $.70/€.

Assume the implied PPP rate of exchange of Mexican Pesos per U.S. dollar is 8.50 according to the Big Mac Index. Further, assume the current exchange rate is Peso 10.80/$1. Thus, according to PPP and the Law of One Price, at the current exchange rate the peso is:

Use interest rate parity to answer this question. A U.S. investor has a choice between a risk-free one-year U.S. security with an annual return of 4%, and a comparable British security with a return of 5%. If the spot rate is $1.43/£, the forward rate is $1.44/£, and there are no transaction costs, the investor should invest in the U.S. security.

Jaguar has full manufacturing costs of their S-type sedan of £22,803. They sell the S-type in the UK with a 20% margin for a price of £27,363. Today these cars are available in the U.S. for $55,000 which is the UK price multiplied by the current exchange rate of $2.01/£. Jaguar has committed to keeping the U.S. price at $55,000 for the next six months. If the UK pound appreciates against the USD to an exchange rate of $2.15/£, and Jaguar has not hedged against currency changes, what is the percentage margin the company will realize given the new exchange rate?