Excel Activity: Interest Rate Determination and Yield Curves The data has been collected in the Microsoft Excel file below. Download the spreadsheet and perform the required analysis to answer the questions below. Do not round intermediate calculations. Download spreadsheet Interest Rate Determination and Yield Curves-01083.x.sx a. What effect would each of the following events likely have on the level of nominal interest rates? 1. Households dramatically increase their savings rate. This action will the supply of money; therefore, interest rates will 2. Corporations increase their demand for funds following an increase in investment opportunities. This action will cause interest rates to 3. The government runs a smaller-than-expected budget deficit. The smaller the federal deficit, other things held constant, the the level of interest rates. 4. There is a decrease in expected inflation. This expectation will cause interest rates to b. Suppose you are considering two possible investment opportunities: a 12-year Treasury bond and a 7-year, A-rated corporate bond. The current real risk-free rate is 4%, and inflation is expected to be 2% for the next 2 years, 3% for the following 4 years, and 4% thereafter. The maturity risk premium is estimated by this formula: MRP =0.02(t1)%. The liquidity premium (LP) for the corporate bond is estimated to be 0.2%. You may determine the default risk premium (DRP), given the company's bond rating, from the following table. Remember to subtract the bond's LP from the corporate spread given in the table to arrive at the bond's DRP. Suppose you are considering two possible investment opportunities: a 12-year Treasury bond and a 7-year, A-rated corporate bond. The current real risk-free rate is 4%, and inflation is expected to be 2% for the next 2 years, 3% for the following 4 years, and 4% thereafter. The maturity risk premium is estimated by this formula: MRP=0.02(t1)%. The liquidity premium (LP) for the corporate bond is estimated to be 0.2%. You may determine the default risk premium (DRP), given the company's bond rating, from the following table. Remember to subtract the bond's LP from the corporate spread given in the table to arrive at the bond's DRP. What yield would you predict for each of these two investments? Round your answers to three decimal places. 12-year Treasury yield: % 7-year Corporate yield: % d. Based on the information about the corporate bond provided in part b, calculate yields and then construct a new yield curve graph that shows both the Treasury and the corporate bonds. Round your answers to two decimal places. Choose the correct graph. The correct graph is e. Which part of the yield curve (the left side or right side) is likely to be most volatile over time? Short-term rates are volatile than longer-term rates; therefore, the side of the yield curve would be most volatile over time. f. Using the Treasury yield information in part c, calculate the following rates using geometric averages (round your answers to three decimal places): 1. The 1-year rate, 1 year from now % 2. The 5-year rate, 5 years from now % 3. The 10-year rate, 10 years from now % 4. The 10-year rate, 20 years from now %
