Part A:

i. When valuing European Vanilla Options in the Black-Scholes-Merton Model, there is one source of uncertainty. What is this uncertainty? Max 50 words

ii. Why does a short call position in a European vanilla option typically have negative delta ()? Max 75 words

Part B:

The current price of a non-dividend paying asset is $65, the riskless interest rate is 5% p.a. continuously compounded, and the option maturity is five years. What is the lower boundary for the value of a European vanilla put option on this asset with strike price of $80?

Part C:

Two companies have investments which pay the following rates of interest:

Firm A: Fixed- 6% / Float- LIBOR

Firm B: Fixed- 8% / Float- LIBOR + 0.5%

Assume A prefers a fixed rate and B prefers a floating rate. If an intermediary charges both parties equally a 0.1% fee and any benefits are spread equally between Firm A and Firm B, what rates could A and B receive on their preferred interest rate? Show all working.