8006 Exam Dumps : Exam I: Finance Theory Financial Instruments Financial Markets - 2015 Edition

Backwardation is said to occur when futures prices are lower than the current spot prices. This would happen only when carrying costs are negative. Carrying costs are equal to interest, plus storage costs and less any 'convenience yield'. The existence of large convenience yields may explain backwardation in commodity futures prices. Therefore Choice 'd' is the correct answer.

Contango is the 'normal' market situation where forward prices are higher than spot prices. Storage costs explain contango, not backwardation. Risk free rates, or the cost of funding for the futures position, are always positive and do not explain backwardation.

The duration of a perpetuity is 1/running yield. Therefore the correct answer is 1/.05 = 20 years

A utility function provides a description of an individual or a firm's risk attitude. It expresses how risk seeking or risk averse a firm or an individual is. The utility function would explain differences between risk seeking and risk averse behavior, for example, as an individual becomes richer, he may seek (or shun) risk more than before. A utility function incorporates all of this, and therefore Choice 'd' is the correct answer.