CHAPTER 2
Mechanics of Futures Markets
Practice Questions
Problem 2.1.
Distinguish between the terms open interest and trading volume.
The open interest of a futures contract at a particular time is the total number of long positions outstanding. (Equivalently, it is the total number of short positions outstanding.) The trading volume during a certain period of time is the number of contracts traded during this period. Problem 2.2.
What is the difference between a local and a futures commission merchant?
A futures commission merchant trades on behalf of a client and charges a commission. A local trades on his or her own behalf.
Problem 2.3.
Suppose that you enter into a short futures contract to sell July silver for $17.20 per ounce. The size of the contract is 5,000 ounces. The initial margin is $4,000, and the maintenance margin is $3,000. What change in the futures price will lead to a margin call? What happens if you do not meet the margin call?
There will be a margin call when $1,000 has been lost from the margin account. This will occur when the price of silver increases by 1,000/5,000 = $0.20. The price of silver must therefore rise to $17.40 per ounce for there to be a margin call. If the margin call is not met, your broker closes out your position.
Problem 2.4.
Suppose that in September 2015 a company takes a long position in a contract on May 2016 crude oil futures. It closes out its position in March 2016. The futures price (per barrel) is $88.30 when it enters into the contract, $90.50 when it closes out its position, and $89.10 at the end of December 2015. One contract is for the delivery of 1,000 barrels. What is the company’s total profit? When is it realized? How is it taxed if it is (a) a hedger and (b) a speculator? Assume that the company has a December 31 year-end.
The total profit is ($90.50 - $88.30) ⨯ 1,000 = $2,200. Of this ($89.10 - $88.30) ⨯ 1,000  or $800 is realized on a day-by-day basis between September 2015 and December 31, 2015. A further ($90.50 - $89.10) ⨯ 1,000  or $1,400  is realized on a day-by-day basis between January
1, 2016, and March 2016. A hedger would be taxed on the whole profit of $2,200 in 2016. A speculator would be taxed on $800 in 2015 and $1,400 in 2016.
Problem 2.5.
What does a stop order to sell at $2 mean? When might it be used? What does a limit order to sell at $2 mean? When might it be used?
A stop order to sell at $2 is an order to sell at the best available price once a price of $2 or less is reached. It could be used to limit the losses from an existing long position. A limit order to sell at $2 is an order to sell at a price of $2 or more. It could be used to instruct a broker that a short position should be taken, providing it can be done at a price more favorable than $2.
Problem 2.6.
What is the difference between the operation of the margin accounts administered by a clearing hous
e and those administered by a broker?
The margin account administered by the clearing house is marked to market daily, and the clearing house member is required to bring the account back up to the prescribed level daily. The margin account administered by the broker is also marked to market daily. However, the account does not have to be brought up to the initial margin level on a daily basis. It has to be brought up to the initial margin level when the balance in the account falls below the maintenance margin level. The maintenance margin is usually about 75% of the initial margin.
Problem 2.7.
What differences exist in the way prices are quoted in the foreign exchange futures market, the foreign exchange spot market, and the foreign exchange forward market?
In futures markets, prices are quoted as the number of US dollars per unit of foreign currency. Spot and forward rates are quoted in this way for the British pound, euro, Australian dollar, and New Zealand dollar. For other major currencies, spot and forward rates are quoted as the number of units of foreign currency per US dollar.
Problem 2.8.
The party with a short position in a futures contract sometimes has options as to the precise asset that will be delivered, where delivery will take place, when delivery will take place, and so on. Do these options increase or decrease the futures price? Explain your reasoning.
编程工具那个最好用These options make the contract less attractive to the party with the long position and more attractive to the party with the short position. They therefore tend to reduce the futures price.
凡科建站appProblem 2.9.
What are the most important aspects of the design of a new futures contract?
The most important aspects of the design of a new futures contract are the specification of the underlying asset, the size of the contract, the delivery arrangements, and the delivery months.  Problem 2.10.
Explain how margin accounts protect investors against the possibility of default.
A margin is a sum of money deposited by an investor with his or her broker. It acts as a guarantee that the investor can cover any losses on the futures contract. The balance in the margin account is adjusted daily to reflect gains and losses on the futures contract. If losses are above a certain level, t
he investor is required to deposit a further margin. This system makes it unlikely that the investor will default. A similar system of margin accounts makes it unlikely that the investor’s broker will default on the contract it has with the clearing house member and unlikely that the clearing house member will default with the clearing house.
clean是闭音节吗Problem 2.11.position of the day
A trader buys two July futures contracts on frozen orange juice. Each contract is for the delivery of 15,000 pounds. The current futures price is 160 cents per pound, the initial margin is $6,000 per contract, and the maintenance margin is $4,500 per contract. What price change would lead to a margin call? Under what circumstances could $2,000 be withdrawn from the margin account?
There is a margin call if more than $1,500 is lost on one contract. This happens if the futures price of frozen orange juice falls by more than 10 cents to below 150 cents per pound. $2,000 can be withdrawn from the margin account if there is a gain on one contract of $1,000. This will happen if the futures price rises by 6.67 cents to 166.67 cents per pound.
Problem 2.12.
Show that, if the futures price of a commodity is greater than the spot price during the delivery period, then there is an arbitrage opportunity. Does an arbitrage opportunity exist if the futures price is less than the spot price? Explain your answer.
tcpip传输的基本单位
tomcat为每个app创建一个loaderIf the futures price is greater than the spot price during the delivery period, an arbitrageur buys the asset, shorts a futures contract, and makes delivery for an immediate profit. If the futures price is less than the spot price during the delivery period, there is no similar perfect arbitrage strategy. An arbitrageur can take a long futures position but cannot force immediate delivery of the asset. The decision on when delivery will be made is made by the party with the short position. Nevertheless companies interested in acquiring the asset may find it attractive to enter
into a long futures contract and wait for delivery to be made.
Problem 2.13.
Explain the difference between a market-if-touched order and a stop order.
A market-if-touched order is executed at the best available price after a trade occurs at a specified price or at a price more favorable than the specified price. A stop order is executed at the best availa
ble price after there is a bid or offer at the specified price or at a price less favorable than the specified price.
Problem 2.14.
Explain what a stop-limit order to sell at 20.30 with a limit of 20.10 means.
A stop-limit order to sell at 20.30 with a limit of 20.10 means that as soon as there is a bid at
20.30 the contract should be sold providing this can be done at 20.10 or a higher price.  Problem 2.15.
At the end of one day a clearing house member is long 100 contracts, and the settlement price is $50,000 per contract. The original margin is $2,000 per contract. On the following day the member becomes responsible for clearing an additional 20 long contracts, entered into at a price of $51,000 per contract. The settlement price at the end of this day is $50,200. How much does the member have to add to its margin account with the exchange clearing house?
The clearing house member is required to provide 20$2000$40000
⨯,=, as initial margin for the new contracts. There is a gain of (50,200 - 50,000)⨯ 100 = $20,000 on the existing contracts. There is also a loss of (5100050200)20$16000
,-,⨯=, on the new contracts. The member must therefore add
,-,+,=,
400002000016000$36000
to the margin account.
Problem 2.16.
Explain why collateral requirements will increase in the OTC market as a result of new regulations introduced since the 2008 credit crisis.
Regulations require most standard OTC transactions entered into between derivatives dealers to be cleared by CCPs. These have initial and variation margin requirements similar to exchanges. There is also a requirement that initial and variation margin be provided for most bilaterally cleared OTC transactions.
Problem 2.17.
The forward price on the Swiss franc for delivery in 45 days is quoted as 1.1000. The futures price for a contract that will be delivered in 45 days is 0.9000. Explain these two quotes. Which is more favorable for an investor wanting to sell Swiss francs?
The 1.1000 forward quote is the number of Swiss francs per dollar. The 0.9000 futures quote is the number of dollars per Swiss franc. When quoted in the same way as the futures price the /.=.. The Swiss franc is therefore more valuable in the forward forward price is11100009091
market than in the futures market. The forward market is therefore more attractive for an investor wanting to sell Swiss francs.
Problem 2.18.
Suppose you call your broker and issue instructions to sell one July hogs contract. Describe what happens.
Live hog futures are traded by the CME Group. The broker will request some initial margin. The order will be relayed by telephone to your broker’s trading desk on the floor of the exchange (or to the tradi
ng desk of another broker).  It will then be sent by messenger to a commission broker who will execute the trade according to your instructions. Confirmation of the trade eventually reaches you. If there are adverse movements in the futures price your broker may contact you to request additional margin.
Problem 2.19.
“Speculation in futures markets is pure gambling. It is not in the public interest to allow speculators to trade on a futures exchange.” Discuss this viewpoint.
Speculators are important market participants because they add liquidity to the market. However, contracts must be useful for hedging as well as speculation. This is because regulators generally only approve contracts when they are likely to be of interest to hedgers as well as speculators.
Problem 2.20.
Explain the difference between bilateral and central clearing for OTC derivatives.
In bilateral clearing the two sides enter into an agreement governing the circumstances under which transactions can be closed out by one side, how transactions will be valued if there is a close out, ho
w the collateral posted by each side is calculated, and so on. In central clearing a CCP stands between the two sides in the same way that an exchange clearing house stands between two sides for transactions entered into on an exchange

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