Question
The following U.S. Treasury bonds pay coupons semi-annually and have a face value of $1,000 (the coupon rate in the table is the annual coupon
The following U.S. Treasury bonds pay coupons semi-annually and have a face value of $1,000 (the coupon rate in the table is the annual coupon rate).
Bond | Maturity | Coupon | Price |
A | 6 months | 8% | $936.00 |
B | 12 months | 6% | $871.60 |
The cash flow of the bond is
Bond | 6 months | 12 months |
A | 1040 |
|
B | 30 | 1030 |
- Using the principle of no arbitrage, calculate the prices of one-dollar zero-coupon bonds that mature in 6 and 12 months. That is, fill in the missing prices in the following table. [Hint: these prices are the same as the 6- and 12-month discount factors]
Bond | Price | 6 months | 12 months |
Z1 |
| 1 | 0 |
Z2 |
| 0 | 1 |
b. There is another U.S. Treasury bond with the following cash flows. Show that there is an arbitrage opportunity. Should you buy or sell Bond C to take advantage of the arbitrage?
Bond | Price | 6 months | 12 months |
C | $1,249.21 | $496.50 | $978.50 |
c. How would you trade to take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity? That is, describe the portfolio of bonds A and B that can be used to offset the future cash flows generated by trading 1 unit of bond C. How much would you earn from trading 1 unit of bond C?
Bond | Units | Today | 6 months | 12 months |
A |
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B |
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C |
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Net |
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