1. Assume you are a trader with Deutsche Bank. From the quote screen on your computer terminal, you notice that Dresdner Bank is quoting €0.7627/$1.00 and Credit Suisse is offering CHF1.1806/$1.00. You learn that UBS is making a direct market between the Swiss franc (CHF) and the euro, with a current €/CHF quote of 0.6395. Assume you have $5,000,000 with which to conduct the arbitrage.
(a) Show how you can make a triangular arbitrage profit by trading at these prices. Please list your strategies and determine the triangular arbitrage profit. (Ignore bid-ask spreads for this problem.)
(b) What happens if you initially sell dollars for Swiss francs?
(c) What €/CHF price will eliminate triangular arbitrage?
2. An investor believes that the price of a stock, say IBM's shares, will increase in the next 60 days. If the investor is correct, which combination of the following investment strategies will show a profit in all the choices? List all investment strategies that will generate positive returns and explain why.
(i) - buy the stock and hold it for 60 days
(ii) - buy a put option
(iii) - sell (write) a call option
(iv) - buy a call option
(v) - sell (write) a put option
3. A U.S. company has issued floating-rate notes with a maturity of 10 years, an interest rate of (6-month LIBOR+ 0.25%), and total face value of $10 million. The company now believes that interest rates will rise and wishes to protect itself against this by entering
into an interest rate swap. A dealer provides a quote on a 10-year swap whereby the company will pay a fixed rate 5 percent and receive 6-month LIBOR. Interest is paid semiannually. Assume the current LIBOR rate is 4%. Indicate how the company can use a swap to convert the debt to a fixed rate. Calculate the first net payment and indicate which party makes the payment. Also, what is the dealer's first net payment (or profit)? Assume that all payments are semiannual and made on the basis of 180/360.
4. A Japanese EXPORTER has a €1,000,000 receivable due in one year.
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Listed Options
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Strike
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Puts
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Calls
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Euro
€62,500
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$1.25 = €1.00
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$0.0075 per €
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$0.02 per €
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Yen
¥12,500,000
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$1.00 = ¥100
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$0.0075 per ¥100
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$0.02 per ¥100
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(a) Detail the hedging strategy with options.
(b) Estimate the cost today of an options strategy that will eliminate exchange rate risk.
5. Today's settlement price on a Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Yen futures contract is $0.8011/¥100. Your margin account currently has a balance of $1,800. The next three days' settlement prices are $0.8057/¥100, $0.7996/¥100, and $0.7985/¥100. (The contractual size of one CME Yen contract is ¥12,500,000). You have a short position in one futures contract.
(a) Calculate the changes in the margin account from daily marking-to-market and the balance of the margin account after the third day.
(b) Do the problem again assuming you have a long position in the futures contract.
6. Suppose that on Jan. 1, GE was awarded a contract to supply turbine blades to Luthansa. On Dec. 31, GE would receive payment of Euro10 million for these blades. The money market interest rates and foreign exchange rates are given as follows:
U.S. interest rate 10% per annum
Euro interest rate 15% per annum
Spot exchange rate $1/Euro
Forward exchange rate $0.957/Euro (one-year maturity)
(a) Explain the strategy and calculate the hedged value of GE's cash flow using a forward market hedge.
(b) Explain the strategy and calculate the hedged value of GE's cash flow using a money market hedge.