1. Macroeconomic Environment. This section should focus on external factors that can cause markets to move and how and why those factors influence performance. You must:
   1. Assess how different economic environments, such as boom and bust cycles, affect markets both individually and collectively. In other words, how does economic growth or scarcity affect individual markets? How does the economic environment for one market affect others? Support your answer with examples from different markets and economic periods.
   2. Explain how social and political climates can affect market performance, risks, and returns. Use real-world examples from different markets to support your answer.
   3. Analyze how interest rates and inflation affect market performance, using real-world examples from different economic periods to support your answer. For example, how do interest rates affect business borrowing, personal investment, and lending?
   4. Compare and contrast how different types of financial instruments, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and commodities, respond to different macroeconomic environments. Analyze how that might affect a company's IPO success. For example, are investors more likely to purchase shares of a newly listed company in certain contexts more than others? Will the cost of key commodities or services be higher in certain contexts?