Q&A Hero

Q: Which of the following statements are true? A) An increase in tax rates will increase the demand for Treasury bonds, lowering their interest rates. B) Because the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds was of little benefit to bond holders when tax rates were low, they had higher interest rates than U.S. government bonds before World War II. C) Interest rates on municipal bonds will be higher than comparable bonds without the tax exemption. D) Because coupon payments on municipal bonds are exempt from federal income tax, the expected after-tax return on them will be higher for individuals in lower income tax brackets.

Q: Everything else held constant, abolishing all taxes will A) increase the interest rate on corporate bonds. B) reduce the interest rate on municipal bonds. C) increase the interest rate on municipal bonds. D) increase the interest rate on Treasury bonds.

Q: Everything else held constant, if income tax rates were lowered, then A) the interest rate on municipal bonds would fall. B) the interest rate on Treasury bonds would rise. C) the interest rate on municipal bonds would rise. D) the price of Treasury bonds would fall.

Q: Everything else held constant, the interest rate on municipal bonds rises relative to the interest rate on Treasury securities when A) income tax rates are lowered. B) income tax rates are raised. C) municipal bonds become more widely traded. D) corporate bonds become riskier.

Q: Everything else held constant, a decrease in marginal tax rates would likely have the effect of ________ the demand for municipal bonds, and ________ the demand for U.S. government bonds. A) increasing; increasing B) increasing; decreasing C) decreasing; increasing D) decreasing; decreasing

Q: Everything else held constant, an increase in marginal tax rates would likely have the effect of ________ the demand for municipal bonds, and ________ the demand for U.S. government bonds. A) increasing; increasing B) increasing; decreasing C) decreasing; increasing D) decreasing; decreasing

Q: Municipal bonds have default risk, yet their interest rates are lower than the rates on default-free Treasury bonds. This suggests that A) the benefit from the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds is less than their default risk. B) the benefit from the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds equals their default risk. C) the benefit from the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds exceeds their default risk. D) Treasury bonds are not default-free.

Q: Everything else held constant, if the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds were eliminated, then A) the interest rates on municipal bonds would still be less than the interest rate on Treasury bonds. B) the interest rate on municipal bonds would equal the rate on Treasury bonds. C) the interest rate on municipal bonds would exceed the rate on Treasury bonds. D) the interest rates on municipal, Treasury, and corporate bonds would all increase.

Q: Which of the following statements is true? A) State and local governments cannot default on their bonds. B) Bonds issued by state and local governments are called municipal bonds. C) All government issued bonds local, state, and federal are federal income tax exempt. D) The coupon payment on municipal bonds is usually higher than the coupon payment on Treasury bonds.

Q: The risk premium on corporate bonds reflects the fact that corporate bonds have a higher default risk and are ________ U.S. Treasury bonds. A) less liquid than B) less speculative than C) tax-exempt unlike D) lower-yielding than

Q: A decrease in the liquidity of corporate bonds will ________ the price of corporate bonds and ________ the yield of Treasury bonds, everything else held constant. A) increase; increase B) decrease; decrease C) increase; decrease D) decrease; increase

Q: An increase in the liquidity of corporate bonds will ________ the price of corporate bonds and ________ the yield of Treasury bonds, everything else held constant. A) increase; increase B) reduce; reduce C) increase; reduce D) reduce; increase

Q: A(n) ________ in the liquidity of corporate bonds will ________ the price of corporate bonds and ________ the yield on corporate bonds, all else equal. A) increase; increase; decrease B) increase; decrease; decrease C) decrease; increase; increase D) decrease; decrease; decrease

Q: An increase in the liquidity of corporate bonds, other things being equal, shifts the demand curve for corporate bonds to the ________ and the demand curve for Treasury bonds shifts to the ________. A) right; right B) right; left C) left; left D) left; right

Q: A decrease in the liquidity of corporate bonds, other things being equal, shifts the demand curve for corporate bonds to the ________ and the demand curve for Treasury bonds shifts to the ________. A) right; right B) right; left C) left; left D) left; right

Q: When the Treasury bond market becomes less liquid, other things equal, the demand curve for corporate bonds shifts to the ________ and the demand curve for Treasury bonds shifts to the ________. A) right; right B) right; left C) left; right D) left; left

Q: When the Treasury bond market becomes more liquid, other things equal, the demand curve for corporate bonds shifts to the ________ and the demand curve for Treasury bonds shifts to the ________. A) right; right B) right; left C) left; right D) left; left

Q: Corporate bonds are not as liquid as government bonds because A) fewer corporate bonds for any one corporation are traded, making them more costly to sell. B) the corporate bond rating must be calculated each time they are traded. C) corporate bonds are not callable. D) corporate bonds cannot be resold.

Q: Which of the following statements is true? A) A liquid asset is one that can be quickly and cheaply converted into cash. B) The demand for a bond declines when it becomes less liquid, decreasing the interest rate spread between it and relatively more liquid bonds. C) The differences in bond interest rates reflect differences in default risk only. D) The corporate bond market is the most liquid bond market.

Q: If you have a very low tolerance for risk, which of the following bonds would you be least likely to hold in your portfolio? A) a U.S. Treasury bond B) a municipal bond C) a corporate bond with a rating of Aaa D) a corporate bond with a rating of Baa

Q: During a "flight to quality" A) the spread between Treasury bonds and Baa bonds increases. B) the spread between Treasury bonds and Baa bonds decreases. C) the spread between Treasury bonds and Baa bonds is not affected. D) the change in the spread between Treasury bonds and Baa bonds cannot be predicted.

Q: The collapse of the subprime mortgage market increased the spread between Baa and default-free U.S. Treasury bonds. This is due to A) a reduction in risk. B) a reduction in maturity. C) a flight to quality. D) a flight to liquidity.

Q: The collapse of the subprime mortgage market A) did not affect the corporate bond market. B) increased the perceived riskiness of Treasury securities. C) reduced the Baa-Aaa spread. D) increased the Baa-Aaa spread.

Q: Risk premiums on corporate bonds tend to ________ during business cycle expansions and ________ during recessions, everything else held constant. A) increase; increase B) increase; decrease C) decrease; increase D) decrease; decrease

Q: During the Great Depression years 1930-1933 there was a very high rate of business failures and defaults, we would expect the risk premium for ________ bonds to be very high. A) U.S. Treasury B) corporate Aaa C) municipal D) corporate Baa

Q: The spread between interest rates on low quality corporate bonds and U.S. government bonds A) widened significantly during the Great Depression. B) narrowed significantly during the Great Depression. C) narrowed moderately during the Great Depression. D) did not change during the Great Depression.

Q: Which of the following securities has the lowest interest rate? A) Junk bonds B) U.S. Treasury bonds C) Investment-grade bonds D) Corporate Baa bonds

Q: Which of the following long-term bonds has the highest interest rate? A) Corporate Baa bonds B) U.S. Treasury bonds C) Corporate Aaa bonds D) Municipal bonds

Q: Which of the following bonds would have the highest default risk? A) Municipal bonds B) Investment-grade bonds C) U.S. Treasury bonds D) Junk bonds

Q: Bonds with relatively low risk of default are called ________ securities and have a rating of Baa (or BBB) and above; bonds with ratings below Baa (or BBB) have a higher default risk and are called ________. A) investment grade; lower grade B) investment grade; junk bonds C) high quality; lower grade D) high quality; junk bonds

Q: Bonds with relatively high risk of default are called A) Brady bonds. B) junk bonds. C) zero coupon bonds. D) investment grade bonds.

Q: Everything else held constant, if the federal government were to guarantee today that it will pay creditors if a corporation goes bankrupt in the future, the interest rate on corporate bonds will ________ and the interest rate on Treasury securities will ________. A) increase; increase B) increase; decrease C) decrease; increase D) decrease; decrease

Q: Which of the following statements are true? A) A decrease in default risk on corporate bonds lowers the demand for these bonds, but increases the demand for default-free bonds. B) The expected return on corporate bonds decreases as default risk increases. C) A corporate bond's return becomes less uncertain as default risk increases. D) As their relative riskiness increases, the expected return on corporate bonds increases relative to the expected return on default-free bonds.

Q: As their relative riskiness ________, the expected return on corporate bonds ________ relative to the expected return on default-free bonds, everything else held constant. A) increases; increases B) increases; decreases C) decreases; decreases D) decreases; does not change

Q: As default risk decreases, the expected return on corporate bonds ________, and the return becomes ________ uncertain, everything else held constant. A) increases; less B) increases; more C) decreases; less D) decreases; more

Q: As default risk increases, the expected return on corporate bonds ________, and the return becomes ________ uncertain, everything else held constant. A) increases; less B) increases; more C) decreases; less D) decreases; more

Q: A decrease in default risk on corporate bonds ________ the demand for these bonds, and ________ the demand for default-free bonds, everything else held constant. A) increases; lowers B) lowers; increases C) does not change; greatly increases D) moderately lowers; does not change

Q: An increase in default risk on corporate bonds ________ the demand for these bonds, but ________ the demand for default-free bonds, everything else held constant. A) increases; lowers B) lowers; increases C) does not change; greatly increases D) moderately lowers; does not change

Q: A decrease in the riskiness of corporate bonds will ________ the yield on corporate bonds and ________ the yield on Treasury securities, everything else held constant. A) increase; increase B) decrease; decrease C) increase; decrease D) decrease; increase

Q: An increase in the riskiness of corporate bonds will ________ the yield on corporate bonds and ________ the yield on Treasury securities, everything else held constant. A) increase; increase B) reduce; reduce C) increase; reduce D) reduce; increase

Q: A decrease in the riskiness of corporate bonds will ________ the price of corporate bonds and ________ the price of Treasury bonds, everything else held constant. A) increase; increase B) reduce; reduce C) reduce; increase D) increase; reduce

Q: An increase in the riskiness of corporate bonds will ________ the price of corporate bonds and ________ the price of Treasury bonds, everything else held constant. A) increase; increase B) reduce; reduce C) reduce; increase D) increase; reduce

Q: A(n) ________ in the riskiness of corporate bonds will ________ the price of corporate bonds and ________ the yield on corporate bonds, all else equal. A) increase; increase; increase B) increase; decrease; increase C) decrease; increase; increase D) decrease; decrease;decrease

Q: Other things being equal, a decrease in the default risk of corporate bonds shifts the demand curve for corporate bonds to the ________ and the demand curve for Treasury bonds to the ________. A) right; right B) right; left C) left; right D) left; left

Q: Other things being equal, an increase in the default risk of corporate bonds shifts the demand curve for corporate bonds to the ________ and the demand curve for Treasury bonds to the ________. A) right; right B) right; left C) left; right D) left; left

Q: If the possibility of a default increases because corporations begin to suffer losses, then the default risk on corporate bonds will ________, and the bonds' returns will become ________ uncertain, meaning that the expected return on these bonds will decrease, everything else held constant. A) increase; less B) increase; more C) decrease; less D) decrease; more

Q: If a corporation begins to suffer large losses, then the default risk on the corporate bond will A) increase and the bond's return will become more uncertain, meaning the expected return on the corporate bond will fall. B) increase and the bond's return will become less uncertain, meaning the expected return on the corporate bond will fall. C) decrease and the bond's return will become less uncertain, meaning the expected return on the corporate bond will fall. D) decrease and the bond's return will become less uncertain, meaning the expected return on the corporate bond will rise.

Q: A bond with default risk will always have a ________ risk premium and an increase in its default risk will ________ the risk premium. A) positive; raise B) positive; lower C) negative; raise D) negative; lower

Q: If the probability of a bond default increases because corporations begin to suffer large losses, then the default risk on corporate bonds will ________ and the expected return on these bonds will ________, everything else held constant. A) decrease; increase B) decrease; decrease C) increase; increase D) increase; decrease

Q: The spread between the interest rates on bonds with default risk and default-free bonds is called the A) risk premium. B) junk margin. C) bond margin. D) default premium.

Q: U.S. government bonds have no default risk because A) they are backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government. B) the federal government can increase taxes to pay its obligations. C) they are backed with gold reserves. D) they can be exchanged for silver at any time.

Q: Which of the following bonds are considered to be default-risk free? A) Municipal bonds B) Investment-grade bonds C) U.S. Treasury bonds D) Junk bonds

Q: Bonds with no default risk are called A) flower bonds. B) no-risk bonds. C) default-free bonds. D) zero-risk bonds.

Q: The risk that interest payments will not be made, or that the face value of a bond is not repaid when a bond matures is A) interest rate risk. B) inflation risk. C) moral hazard. D) default risk.

Q: The risk structure of interest rates is A) the structure of how interest rates move over time. B) the relationship among interest rates of different bonds with the same maturity. C) the relationship among the term to maturity of different bonds. D) the relationship among interest rates on bonds with different maturities.

Q: 6.1 Risk Structure of Interest Rates

Q: If people expect real estate prices to increase significantly, the ________ curve for bonds will shift to the ________, everything else held constant. A) demand; right B) demand; left C) supply; left D) supply; right

Q: When rare coin prices become volatile, the ________ curve for bonds shifts to the ________, everything else held constant. A) demand; right B) demand; left C) supply; right D) supply; left

Q: A decrease in the brokerage commissions in the housing market from 6% to 5% of the sales price will shift the ________ curve for bonds to the ________, everything else held constant. A) demand; right B) demand; left C) supply; right D) supply; left

Q: When the government has a surplus, as occurred in the late 1990s, the ________ curve of bonds shifts to the ________, everything else held constant. A) supply; right B) supply; left C) demand; right D) demand; left

Q: The interest rate falls when either the demand for bonds ________ or the supply of bonds ________. A) increases; increases B) increases; decreases C) decreases; decreases D) decreases; increases

Q: When the interest rate changes, A) the demand curve for bonds shifts to the right. B) the demand curve for bonds shifts to the left. C) the supply curve for bonds shifts to the right. D) it is because either the demand or the supply curve has shifted.

Q: In the 1990s Japan had the lowest interest rates in the world due to a combination of A) inflation and recession. B) deflation and expansion. C) inflation and expansion. D) deflation and recession.

Q: Deflation causes the demand for bonds to ________, the supply of bonds to ________, and bond prices to ________, everything else held constant. A) increase; increase; increase B) increase; decrease; increase C) decrease; increase; increase D) decrease; decrease; increase

Q: When an economy grows out of a recession, normally the demand for bonds ________ and the supply of bonds ________, everything else held constant. A) increases; increases B) increases; decreases C) decreases; decreases D) decreases; increases

Q: When the economy slips into a recession, normally the demand for bonds ________, the supply of bonds ________, and the interest rate ________, everything else held constant. A) increases; increases; rises B) decreases; decreases; falls C) increases; decreases; falls D) decreases; increases; rises

Q: Everything else held constant, during a business cycle expansion, the supply of bonds shifts to the ________ as businesses perceive more profitable investment opportunities, while the demand for bonds shifts to the ________ as a result of the increase in wealth generated by the economic expansion. A) right; left B) right; right C) left; left D) left; right

Q: The economist Irving Fisher, after whom the Fisher effect is named, explained why interest rates ________ as the expected rate of inflation ________, everything else held constant. A) rise; increases B) rise; stabilizes C) fall; stabilizes D) fall; increases

Q: Everything else held constant, when the inflation rate is expected to rise, interest rates will ________; this result has been termed the ________. A) fall; Keynes effect B) fall; Fisher effect C) rise; Keynes effect D) rise; Fisher effect

Q: When the expected inflation rate increases, the demand for bonds ________, the supply of bonds ________, and the interest rate ________, everything else held constant. A) increases; increases; rises B) decreases; decreases; falls C) increases; decreases; falls D) decreases; increases; rises

Q: When the inflation rate is expected to increase, the ________ for bonds falls, while the ________ curve shifts to the right, everything else held constant. A) demand; demand B) demand; supply C) supply; demand D) supply; supply

Q: Factors that can cause the supply curve for bonds to shift to the right include A) an expansion in overall economic activity. B) a decrease in expected inflation. C) a decrease in government deficits. D) a business cycle recession.

Q: Higher government deficits ________ the supply of bonds and shift the supply curve to the ________, everything else held constant. A) increase; left B) increase; right C) decrease; left D) decrease; right

Q: An increase in the expected inflation rate causes the supply of bonds to ________ and the supply curve to shift to the ________, everything else held constant. A) increase; left B) increase; right C) decrease; left D) decrease; right

Q: When the expected inflation rate increases, the real cost of borrowing ________ and bond supply ________, everything else held constant. A) increases; increases B) increases; decreases C) decreases; increases D) decreases; decreases

Q: In a business cycle expansion, the ________ of bonds increases and the ________ curve shifts to the ________ as business investments are expected to be more profitable. A) supply; supply; right B) supply; supply; left C) demand; demand; right D) demand; demand; left

Q: During a recession, the supply of bonds ________ and the supply curve shifts to the ________, everything else held constant. A) increases; left B) increases; right C) decreases; left D) decreases; right

Q: Factors that decrease the demand for bonds include A) an increase in the volatility of stock prices. B) a decrease in the expected returns on stocks. C) a decrease in the inflation rate. D) a decrease in the riskiness of stocks.

Q: The reduction of brokerage commissions for trading common stocks that occurred in 1975 caused the demand for bonds to ________ and the demand curve to shift to the ________. A) fall; right B) fall, left C) rise; right D) rise; left

Q: Everything else held constant, when bonds become less widely traded, and as a consequence the market becomes less liquid, the demand curve for bonds shifts to the ________ and the interest rate ________. A) right; rises B) right; falls C) left; falls D) left; rises