FINC 551: Financial Markets  

For questions about the assignment contact Dr. James Angel

Bloomberg Exercises

1.       Create your own Bloomberg ID. 

2.      Look up the exchange rate between the euro and the dollar. Then print a graph of the exchange rate over the last year.  (Hint: try EURUSD {currency} gp {go} ). 

3.      Examine the latest Mexico mining statistics.  What has been the year on year (yoy) change in gold production?  (Hint: {commodity} MMST {go}).

4.      What is the latest water level on the Rhine River in Düsseldorf?  (Hint: {commodity} {go} RIVR).

5.      Search through the municipal bond database to find some bonds backed by Georgetown University. (Hint: {muni} SRC).  What are the bond ratings and the latest price? 

6.      Pick any stock of your choosing.  What is the percentage weight of the stock in two indices?  (Hint: ticker {equity} {go} DES and then page forward).

7.      For the stock you chose above, write a one sentence description of some litigation that it is involved in.  (Hint: {law} 38).

Time Value of Money Problems

1.       You want to borrow money to buy a $30,000 car with a conventional 5 year loan that requires equal monthly payments.  The interest rate from your credit union is 5.00% APR.  

a)      What is the monthly payment on a $30,000 loan?

b)      The auto manufacturer is running a special incentive offer:  You can take a choice of 0% financing for 60 months, or take $4,000 off the price of the car.  Which would you choose and why?  Give a quantitative answer.

2.      Do your own retirement planning.  Using your own personal life situation, calculate the following using Excel.  (Note:  to protect your financial privacy, you may turn in dummy numbers instead of your own for this exercise if you wish.)

a)      How long do you expect to live in retirement?

b)      How much do you want to spend each year?

c)      What rate of return do you expect to earn on your retirement savings?

d)      How much do you need to accumulate at your retirement date?

e)      How many years do you have until retirement?

f)       How much in the way of savings do you have now?

g)      How much do you need to save each year in order to retire on schedule?

If you are doing research for your job rather than for your program, I want to remind you that it will be very tempting to take the reports and articles you find in library-sponsored databases and pass them on. Passing on the reports and articles you find in these databases would be in violation of our agreements with the vendors. You may use the information you find in these resources for the purpose of YOUR educational studies only. If your company wants to read or take action on the information from these sources, they will have to purchase copies themselves.