. (a) Thailand's rice subsidy and state-buying program resulted in a stockpile of 12.8 million tonnes of rice by 2020, or about a third of the global export market. The program has now ended and Thailand is selling off its stockpile. Who in Thailand and other Asian countries will lose and who will gain from ending the subsidy and state-buying program?

(b). You are a foreign exchange trader and you receive the following two quotes for spot trading: Bank A is willing to trade at $1.50 per Swiss franc; Bank B is willing to trade at 0.50 Swiss franc per dollar. Is there an opportunity to make an arbitrage profit? If there is, explain what you will do. If there is not, why not?