What are the financial markets and what purposes do they serve?
Financial markets are where people and businesses buy and sell financial assets, such as stocks, bonds, and derivatives. They serve a number of purposes, including:
- Facilitating the flow of capital between savers and borrowers
- Providing a way for businesses to raise money
- Providing a way for investors to diversify their portfolios
- Providing a way for people to hedge against risk
What are financial intermediaries?
Financial intermediaries are institutions that help to facilitate the flow of money between savers and borrowers. They include banks, insurance companies, and investment firms. Financial intermediaries play an important role in the economy by providing liquidity and reducing risk.
How do these intermediaries function in the economy?
Financial intermediaries collect money from savers and lend it to borrowers. They do this by offering a variety of financial products, such as savings accounts, checking accounts, loans, and insurance policies. Financial intermediaries play an important role in the economy by providing liquidity and reducing risk.
What is a federal government budget deficit?
A federal government budget deficit is when the government spends more money than it takes in during a fiscal year. The national debt is the total amount of money that the government owes to its creditors.
How does a budget deficit affect the economy?
A budget deficit can have a number of effects on the economy, including:
- It can lead to higher interest rates, which can make it more expensive for businesses to borrow money and invest.
- It can lead to inflation, which can erode the purchasing power of consumers.
- It can lead to a weaker dollar, which can make it more expensive for American goods and services to be exported.
Why are consumers considered to be risk averse?
Consumers are considered to be risk averse because they prefer to avoid uncertainty. This means that they are willing to pay a premium to avoid taking on risk.
What methods could be used to deal with risk?
There are a number of methods that can be used to deal with risk, including:
- Diversification: This involves investing in a variety of assets, which can help to reduce the risk of losing money if one asset performs poorly.
- Hedging: This involves taking on an opposite position to reduce the risk of an uncertain outcome. For example, a farmer might hedge against the risk of a poor harvest by buying crop insurance.
- Insurance: This involves paying a premium to a company that will compensate you if you suffer a loss.
It has been said that a dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received tomorrow. What does this mean and what is the significance to the economy?
This means that money has a time value. This is because money can be invested and earn a return. Therefore, a dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received tomorrow because the dollar received today can be invested and earn a return over the next year.
The significance of this concept to the economy is that it encourages people to save money and invest. This helps to promote economic growth by providing businesses with the capital they need to invest and expand.
What is the difference between the present value of a future sum of money and the future value of a present sum of money?
The present value of a future sum of money is the amount of money that would be needed today to have the same purchasing power as a certain sum of money in the future. The future value of a present sum of money is the amount of money that a certain sum of money will be worth in the future, given a certain interest rate.
The significance of these concepts to economics is that they allow economists to compare the value of money at different points in time. This is important for making economic decisions, such as whether to invest or save money.
If you deposited $1,000 in an account paying 6% interest compounded annually, how long would it take to double?
If you deposited $1,000 in an account paying 6% interest compounded annually, it would take about 12 years to double. This is because the interest earned each year is added to the principal, which means that the amount of interest earned each year increases over time.