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1. Arbitrage is a transaction designed to capture profits resulting from market

ID: 2755116 • Letter: 1

Question

1. Arbitrage is a transaction designed to capture profits resulting from market efficiency

       True
       False

2. 2. If the initial margin is 11,000, the maintenance margin is $5,500 and your balance is $3,000, how much must you deposit?

       $2,500
       $1,500
       $8,000
       8,500
       5,500

3. 3. Open interest is:

       demand for derivatives
       minimum volume
       number of futures contracts outstanding
       number of option contracts in default
       number of investors asking for a specific investment vehicle

4. 4. Most forward contracts are closed by

       delivery
       offset
       exercise
       default
       none of the above

5. 5. Which of the following duties is performed by the clearinghouse?

       holding margin deposits
       negotiating prices between buyers and sellers
       setting prices for securities
       lending money to meet margin requirements
       none of the above

6. 6. Futures prices differ from spot prices by which one of the following factors?

       the systematic risk
       the cost of carry
       the spread
       the risk premium
       none of the above

7. 7. Suppose there is a risk premium of $1.00. The spot price is $10 and the futures price is $12. What is the expected spot price at expiration?

       $22.00
       $13.00
       $11.00
       $10.00
       $9.00

8. 8. Suppose it is currently December. The January futures price is $50 and the March futures price is $52. What does the spread of $2 represent?

       the cost of carry from December to January
       the expected risk premium from December to March
       the cost of carry from January to March
       the expected risk premium from January to March
       none of the above

9. 9. Margin in a futures transaction differs from margin in a stock transaction because

       stock transactions are much smaller
       delivery occurs immediately in a stock transaction
       no money is borrowed in a futures transaction
       futures are much more volatile
       none of the above

10. 10. Which of the following correctly orders the process of daily settlement?

       clearinghouse officials establish a settlement price; each account is marked to market; accounts of those holding long/short positions are credited/debited appropriately; differences between today’s settlement price and the previous days settlement price are determined
       clearinghouse officials establish a settlement price; each account is marked to market; differences between today’s settlement price and the previous day’s settlement price are determined; accounts of those holding long/short positions are credited/debited appropriately
       differences between today’s settlement price and the previous day’s settlement price are determined; accounts are marked to market; clearinghouse officials establish a settlement price; accounts of those holding long/short positions are credited/debited appropriately
       clearinghouse officials establish a settlement price; differences between today’s settlement price and the previous days settlement price are determined; accounts of those holding long/short positions are credited/debited appropriately; each account is marked to market
       differences between today’s settlement price and the previous day’s settlement price are determined; accounts are marked to market; clearinghouse officials establish a settlement price; accounts of those holding long/short positions are credited/debited appropriately

11. 11. Why is the initial value of a futures contract zero?

       the futures is immediately marked-to-market
       you do not pay anything for it
       the basis will converge to zero
       the expected profit is zero
       because the futures price and spot price will be the same at expiration

12. 12. You are trying to see if there is an arbitrage opportunity. Current US interest rate is 4%. The spot rate for US/EUR is 2.5 while the forward rate for a year is 2. If the current interest rate in Germany is 30%. What should be done?

       Borrow in US and convert money to Euros, invest in Germany and after a year convert back to US dollars.
       Borrow in Germany and convert to US dollars at spot rate, invest in US and after a year convert back to Euros at forward rate
       Borrow Euros in Germany and invest in Germany, wait for a year and then convert to dollars using the forward rate.
       Borrow dollars in US, invest in US, wait for a year and convert to Euros at Forward rate and invest in Germany
       There is no arbitrage with these numbers, so you must invest in your native nation

13. 13. A market in which the price doesn't equal the intrinsic value

       has a risk-free component
       will not be profitable
       is normal
       is inefficient
       all of the above

14. 14. Determine the annualized implied repo rate on a Treasury bond spread in which the March is bought at 60 and the June is sold at 61.5. The March CF is 1.1 and the June CF is 1.14. The accrued interest as of March 1 is 1.15 and the accrued interest as of June 1 is 1.3. (due to calculator precision, pick the closest answer)

       21%
       23%
       28%
       35%
       31%

15. 15. A call option gives the writer

       the obligation to buy something
       the right to sell something
       the right to buy something
       the obligation to sell something
       none of the above

16. 16. A call option priced at $2 with a current stock price of $30 in the market and an exercise price of $35 would be worth (you don't own the stock)?

       $2
       $32
       $3
       -$2
       $35

17. 17. A put option in which the stock price is $21.5 and the exercise price is $22 is said to be

       in-the-money
       out-of-the-money
       at-the-money
       exercisable
       none of the above

18. 18. The option price is also referred to as the

       strike
       spread
       premium
       fee
       none of the above

19. 19. You are the purchaser of a call option with $10 premium and $120 exercise price. You bought this option when the stock price was $130. If the stock price now is $120, what is the net cash flow to you if you exercise?

       -$5
       $5
       $10
       -$10
       0

20. 20. You are the purchaser of a put option where the premium is $6 and exercise price is $52. You bought this option when the stock price was $50. If the stock price is $54 right now (and you're at expiration), what is your net cash flow from this investment?

       negative $4
       negative $6
       $4
       negative $2
       $2

21. 21. The maximum loss of the purchaser of a put option with a premium of $3 and exercise price of $120 would be:

       unlimited
       $120
       $117
       $3
       $123

22. 22. The maximum gain of the writer of a call option with a premium of $3 and an exercise price of $120 would be

       unlimited
       $3
       $117
       $120
       $123

23. 23. You have the following information:
S=52, X=50, T=1, r=0, C=5, P=5

Evaluating the situation from a Put-Call Parity framework, what steps would you take to implement an arbitrage strategy?

       Sell Call, Buy Put, Short Stock, Invest remainder
       Sell Call, Buy Put, Buy Stock, Borrow remainder
       Buy Call, Sell Put, Buy Stock, Borrow remainder
       Buy Call, Sell Put, Short Stock, Invest remainder
       Buy Call, Sell Put, Short Stock, Borrow remainder

24. 24. Using the information and the solution from the previous (Q23), what would be the final arbitrage amount? (approximately)

       If S>X or S<X then the arbitrage will be $2
       If S>X then $7, if S<X then $5
       If S>X or S<X then the arbitrage will be $3

       If S>X then $3, if S<X then $6

       If S>X or S<X then the arbitrage will be $5

25. 25. You have the following information:
S=18, E=15, r=2%, t=3 (years), standard deviation=0.25

Using the Black-Scholes Model, calculate the approximate Call price (Points : 4)

       $2.33
       $5.10
       $4.05
       $1.59
       $7.21

26. 26. You have the following information:
Put: X=$40, Premium=$4
Call: X=$50, Premium=$6
You bought the stock at $45

Scenarios: S=15, S=45, S=55

Given above information, please calculate the net payouts for a collar strategy for each different scenario.

       -$3, $2, $7
       -$30, $0, $10
       -$28, $2, $12
       -$4, $0, $6
       $4, $0, -$6

1. Arbitrage is a transaction designed to capture profits resulting from market efficiency

       True
       False

Explanation / Answer

1. False If all markets were perfectly efficient, there would never be any arbitrage opportunities