CHAPTER 5 —THE COST OF MONEY (INTEREST RATES)
TRUE/FALSE
1. The nominal rate of interest is defined as the sum of the nominal risk-free rate of return and the
expected inflation rate.
2. If the Federal Reserve tightens the money supply, other things held constant, short-term interest
rates will be pushed upward, and this increase probably will be greater than the increase in rates
in the long-term market.
3. The term structure is defined as the relationship between interest rates and maturities of similar
securities.
4. During or near peaks of business activity, yield curves that are flat or downward sloping (possibly
with humps) often are prevalent.
5. The expectations theory postulates that the term structure of interest rates is based on expectations
regarding future inflation rates.
6. The fact that a percentage of the interest income received by one corporation is excluded from
taxable income has encouraged firms to use more debt financing relative to equity financing.
7. If the tax laws stated that $0.50 out of every $1.00 of interest paid by a corporation was allowed
as a tax-deductible expense, it would probably encourage companies to use more debt financing
than they presently do, other things held constant.
8. The real rate of interest is composed of a risk-free rate of interest plus a premium that reflects the
riskiness of the security.
9. The yield curve is downward sloping, or inverted, if the long-term rates are higher than the short-
term rates.
Chapter 5 The Cost of Money 83
10. The liquidity preference theory states that each borrower and lender has a preferred maturity and
that the slope of the yield curve depends on supply and demand for funds in the long-term market
relative to the short-term market.
11. If you have information that a recession is ending, and the economy is about to enter a boom, and
your firm needs to borrow money, it should probably issue long-term rather than short-term debt.
12. The two reasons most experts give for the existence of a positive maturity risk premium are (1)
because investors are assumed to be risk averse, and (2) because investors prefer to lend long
while firms prefer to borrow short.
13. An investor with a six-year investment horizon believes that interest rates are determined only by
expectations about future interest rates, (i.e., this investor believes in the expectations theory).
This investor should expect to earn the same rate of return over the 6-year time horizon if he or
she buys a 6-year bond or a 3-year bond now and another 3-year bond three years from now
(ignore transaction costs).
14. The existence of an upward sloping yield curve proves that the liquidity preference theory is
correct, because an upward sloping curve necessarily implies that firms must offer a maturity risk
premium in order to induce investors to lend for longer periods.
15. Suppose financial institutions, such as savings and loans, were required by law to make long-
term, fixed interest rate mortgages, but, at the same time, were largely restricted, in terms of their
capital sources, to deposits that could be withdrawn on demand. Under these conditions, these
financial institutions should prefer a “normal” yield curve to an inverted curve.
16. Investors with a higher time preference for consumption will demand a lower rate of return to
forego current consumption and save than investors with a lower time preference for
consumption.
17. Firms with the most profitable investment opportunities are willing and able to pay the most for
capital, so they tend to attract it away from less efficient firms or from those whose products are
not in demand.
18. Bonds with higher liquidity will demand higher interest rates in the market since they can be
easily converted into cash on short notice at or near the fair market value for that bond.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following statements is most correct? Other things held constant.
a.
the “liquidity preference theory” would generally lead to an upward sloping yield curve.
84 Chapter 5 The Cost of Money
b.
the “market segmentation theory” would generally lead to an upward sloping yield curve.
c.
the “expectations theory” would generally lead to an upward sloping yield curve.
d.
the yield curve under “normal” conditions would be horizontal (i.e., flat).
e.
a downward sloping yield curve would suggest that investors expect interest rates to
increase in the future.
2. Your uncle would like to restrict his interest rate risk and his default risk, but he still would like to
invest in corporate bonds. Which of the possible bonds listed below best satisfies your uncle’s
criteria?
a.
AAA bond with 10 years to maturity.
b.
BBB perpetual bond.
c.
BBB bond with 10 years to maturity.
d.
AAA bond with 5 years to maturity.
e.
BBB bond with 5 years to maturity.
3. If the yield curve is downward sloping, what is the yield to maturity on a 10-year Treasury
coupon bond, relative to that on a 1-year T-bond?
a.
The yield on the 10-year bond is less than the yield on a 1-year bond.
b.
The yield on a 10-year bond will always be higher than the yield on a 1-year bond because
of maturity premiums.
c.
It is impossible to tell without knowing the coupon rates of the bonds.
d.
The yields on the two bonds are equal.
e.
It is impossible to tell without knowing the relative risks of the two bonds.
4. If the expectations theory of the term structure of interest rates is correct, and if the other term
structure theories are invalid, and we observe a downward sloping yield curve, which of the
following is a true statement?
a.
Investors expect short-term rates to be constant over time.
b.
Investors expect short-term rates to increase in the future.
c.
Investors expect short-term rates to decrease in the future.
d.
It is impossible to say unless we know whether investors require a positive or negative
maturity risk premium.
e.
The maturity risk premium must be positive.
5. Which of the following statements is correct?
a.
For the most part, our federal tax rates are progressive, because higher incomes are taxed
at higher average rates.
b.
Bonds issued by a municipality such as the city of Miami would carry a lower interest rate
than bonds with the same risk and maturity issued by a private corporation such as Florida
Power & Light.
c.
Our federal tax laws tend to encourage corporations to finance with debt rather than with
Chapter 5 The Cost of Money 85
equity securities.
d.
Our federal tax laws encourage the managers of corporations with surplus cash to invest it
in stocks rather than in bonds. However, other factors may offset tax considerations.
e.
All of the above statements are true.
6. Which of the following is not one of the four fundamental factors that affect the cost of money?
a.
production opportunities
b.
time preferences for consumption
c.
risk
d.
liquidity
e.
inflation
7. Interest rates on 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year Treasury bills are 5%, 6%, and 7% respectively.
Assume that the pure expectations theory holds and that the market is in equilibrium. Which of
the following statements is most correct?
a.
The maturity risk premium is positive.
b.
Interest rates are expected to rise over the next two years.
c.
The market expects one-year rates to be 5.5% one year from today.
d.
Answers a, b, and c are all correct.
e.
Only answers b and c are correct.
8. If the Federal Reserve sells $50 billion of short-term U.S. Treasury securities to the public, other
things held constant, what will this tend to do to short-term security prices and interest rates?
a.
Prices and interest rates will both rise.
b.
Prices will rise and interest rates will decline.
c.
Prices and interest rates will both decline.
d.
Prices will decline and interest rates will rise.
e.
There will be no changes in either prices or interest rates.
9. Assume that the current yield curve is upward sloping, or normal. This implies that
a.
Short-term interest rates are more volatile than long-term rates.
b.
Inflation is expected to subside in the future.
c.
The economy is at the peak of a business cycle.
d.
Long-term bonds are a better buy than short-term bonds.
e.
None of the above statements is necessarily implied by the yield curve given.
86 Chapter 5 The Cost of Money
10. Which of the following statements is correct?
a.
The maturity premiums embedded in the interest rates on U.S. Treasury securities are due
primarily to the fact that the probability of default is higher on long-term bonds than on
short-term bonds.
b.
Reinvestment rate risk is lower, other things held constant, on long-term than on short-
term bonds.
c.
According to the market segmentation theory of the term structure of interest rates, we
should normally expect the yield curve to slope downward.
d.
The expectations theory of the term structure of interest rates states that borrowers
generally prefer to borrow on a long-term basis while savers generally prefer to lend on a
short-term basis, and that as a result, the yield curve normally is upward sloping.
e.
If the maturity risk premium was zero and the rate of inflation was expected to decrease in
the future, then the yield curve for U.S. Treasury securities would, other things held
constant, have an upward slope.
11. Allen Corporation can (1) build a new plant which should generate a before-tax return of 11
percent, or (2) invest the same funds in the preferred stock of FPL, which should provide Allen
with a before-tax return of 9%, all in the form of dividends. Assume that Allen’s marginal tax rate
is 25 percent, and that 70 percent of dividends received are excluded from taxable income. If the
plant project is divisible into small increments, and if the two investments are equally risky, what
combination of these two possibilities will maximize Allen’s effective return on the money
invested?
a.
All in the plant project.
b.
All in FPL preferred stock.
c.
60% in the project; 40% in FPL.
d.
60% in FPL; 40% in the project.
e.
50% in each.
Chapter 5 The Cost of Money 87
12. The normal yield curve is upward sloping implying that
a.
the return on short-term securities are higher than the return on long-term securities of
similar risk.
b.
the return on long-term securities are equal to the return on short-term securities of similar
risk.
c.
the return on short-term securities are lower than the return on long-term securities of
similar risk.
d.
the return on bonds with a higher default risk is higher than the returns on bonds with
lower default risk.
e.
the return on bonds with a lower default risk is higher than the returns on bonds with
higher default risk.
13. Carter Corporation has some money to invest, and its treasurer is choosing between City of
Chicago municipal bonds and U.S. Treasury bonds. Both have the same maturity, and they are
equally risky and liquid. If Treasury bonds yield 6 percent, and Carter’s marginal income tax rate
is 40 percent, what yield on the Chicago municipal bonds would make Carter’s treasurer
indifferent between the two?
a.
2.40%
b.
3.60%
c.
4.50%
d.
5.25%
e.
6.00%
14. As a corporate investor paying a marginal tax rate of 34 percent, if 70 percent of dividends are
excludable, what would be your after-tax dividend yield on preferred stock with a 16 percent
before-tax dividend yield?
a.
6.36%
b.
7.36%
c.
12.19%
d.
13.01%
e.
14.37%
15. Treasury securities that mature in 6 years currently have an interest rate of 8.5%. Inflation is
expected to be 5% each of the next three years and 6% each year after the third year. The maturity
risk premium is estimated to be 0.1%(t – 1), where t is equal to the maturity of the bond (i.e., the
maturity risk premium of a one-year bond is zero). The real risk-free rate is assumed to be
constant over time. What is the real risk-free rate of interest?
a.
0.25%
b.
0.50%
c.
1.00%
d.
1.75%
88 Chapter 5 The Cost of Money
e.
2.50%
16. Assume that the expectations theory holds, and that liquidity and maturity risk premiums are zero.
If the annual rate of interest on a 2-year Treasury bond is 10.5 percent and the rate on a 1-year
Treasury bond is 12 percent, what rate of interest should you expect on a 1-year Treasury bond
one year from now?
a.
9.0%
b.
9.5%
c.
10.0%
d.
10.5%
e.
11.0%
17. Assume that expected rates of inflation over the next 5 years are 4 percent, 7 percent, 10 percent,
8 percent, and 6 percent, respectively. What is the average expected inflation rate over this 5-year
period?
a.
6.5%
b.
7.5%
c.
8.0%
d.
6.0%
e.
7.0%
18. Your corporation has the following cash flows:
Operating income
$250,000
Interest received
10,000
Interest paid
45,000
Dividends received
20,000
Dividends paid
50,000
If the applicable income tax rate is 40 percent, and if 70 percent of dividends received are exempt
from taxes, what is the corporation’s tax liability?
a.
$74,000
b.
$88,400
c.
$91,600
d.
$100,000
Chapter 5 The Cost of Money 89
e.
$106,500
19. Assume that k* = 1.0%; the maturity risk premium is found as MRP = 0.2%(t – 1) where t = years
to maturity; the default risk premium for AT&T bonds is found as DRP = 0.07%(t – 1); the
liquidity premium is 0.50% for AT&T bonds but zero for Treasury bonds; and inflation is
expected to be 7%, 6%, and 5% during the next three years and then 4% thereafter. What is the
difference in interest rates between 10-year AT&T bonds and 10-year Treasury bonds?
a.
0.25%
b.
0.50%
c.
0.63%
d.
1.00%
e.
1.13%
kATT
=
1.0%
+
4.6%
+
0.63%
+
0.5%
+
1.8%
=
8.53%
=
1.0%
+
4.6%
+
0%
+
0%
+
1.8%
=
7.40%
Difference
1.13%
20. You are given the following data:
4%
7%
1%
3%
2%
Assume that a highly liquid market does not exist for long-term T-bonds, and the expected rate of
inflation is a constant. Given these conditions, the nominal risk-free rate for T-bills is
__________, and the rate on long-term Treasury bonds is __________.
a.
4%; 14%
b.
4%; 15%
c.
11%; 14%
d.
11%; 15%
Operating income
Interest received
Interest paid
Dividends received (taxable)
Taxable income
90 Chapter 5 The Cost of Money
e.
11%; 17%
21. You read in The Wall Street Journal that 30-day T-bills currently are yielding 8 percent. Your
brother-in-law, a broker at Kyoto Securities, has given you the following estimates of current
interest rate premiums:
Inflation premium
5%
Liquidity premium
1%
Maturity risk premium
2%
Default risk premium
2%
Based on these data, the real risk-free rate of return is
a.
0%
b.
1%
c.
2%
d.
3%
e.
4%
22. Assume that a 3-year Treasury note has no maturity premium, and that the real, risk-free rate of
interest is 3 percent. If the T-note carries a yield to maturity of 13 percent, and if the expected
average inflation rate over the next 2 years is 11 percent, what is the implied expected inflation
rate during Year 3?
a.
7%
b.
8%
c.
9%
d.
17%
e.
18%
Chapter 5 The Cost of Money 91
23. Assume that the current interest rate on a 1-year bond is 8 percent, the current rate on a 2-year
bond is 10 percent, and the current rate on a 3-year bond is 12 percent. If the expectations theory
of the term structure is correct, what is the 1-year interest rate expected during Year 3? (Base
your answer on an arithmetic rather than geometric average.)
a.
12.0%
b.
16.0%
c.
13.5%
d.
10.5%
e.
14.0%
24. Assume that the real risk-free rate, k*, is 4 percent, and that inflation is expected to be 9% in Year
1, 6% in Year 2, and 4% thereafter. Assume also that all Treasury bonds are highly liquid and
free of default risk. If 2-year and 5-year Treasury bonds both yield 12%, what is the difference in
the maturity risk premiums (MRPs) on the two bonds, i.e., what is MRP5 – MRP2?
a.
2.1%
b.
1.8%
c.
5.0%
d.
3.0%
e.
2.5%
92 Chapter 5 The Cost of Money
25. Solarcell Corporation has $20,000 which it plans to invest in marketable securities. It is choosing
between AT&T bonds which yield 11%, State of Florida municipal bonds which yield 8%, and
AT&T preferred stock with a dividend yield of 9%. Solarcell’s corporate tax rate is 40%, and
70% of the preferred stock dividends it receives are tax exempt. Assuming that the investments
are equally risky and that Solarcell chooses strictly on the basis of after-tax returns, which
security should be selected? Answer by giving the after-tax rate of return on the highest yielding
security.
a.
8.46%
b.
8.00%
c.
7.92%
d.
9.00%
e.
9.16%
26. A 9 percent coupon bond issued by the State of Pennsylvania sells for $1,000 and thus provides a
9 percent yield to maturity. What yield on a Synthetic Chemical Company bond would cause the
two bonds to provide the same after-tax rate of return to an investor in the 28 percent tax bracket?
a.
12.50%
b.
17.50%
c.
7.00%
d.
14.00%
e.
9.00%
Chapter 5 The Cost of Money 93
27. In 2000, Craig and Kathy Koehler owned a small business which was held as a proprietorship in
Kathy’s name. They were thinking of incorporating if that would lower their total tax liability.
The Koehlers expected the company to earn $100,000 before taxes next year. They planned to
take out a salary of $45,000, and to reinvest the rest in the business. Their personal deductions
total $10,750 and if they choose not to incorporate they will file a joint return. (1) What is their
expected total tax liability as a proprietorship? (2) As a corporation? (3) Should they incorporate?
a.
$19,393.50; $22,250.00; No
b.
$19,393.50; $13,887.50; Yes
c.
$6,793.50; $6,637.50; Yes
d.
$22,403.50; $15,753.50; Yes
e.
$20,777.50; $22,250.00; No