Interest rates are among the most closely watched variables in the economy. Theirmovements are reported almost daily by the news media, because they directly affectour everyday lives and have important consequences for the health of the economy.They affect personal decisions such as whether to consume or save, whether to buy ahouse, and whether to purchase bonds or put funds into a savings account. Interestrates also affect the economic decisions of businesses and households, such aswhether to use their funds to invest in new equipment for factories or to save theirmoney in a bank.Before we can go on with the study of money, banking, and financial markets, wemust understand exactly what the phrase interest rates means. In this chapter, we seethat a concept known as the yield to maturity is the most accurate measure of interestrates; the yield to maturity is what economists mean when they use the term interestrate. We discuss how the yield to maturity is measured and examine alternative (butless accurate) ways in which interest rates are quoted. We’ll also see that a bond’sinterest rate does not necessarily indicate how good an investment the bond isbecause what it earns (its rate of return) does not necessarily equal its interest rate.Finally, we explore the distinction between real interest rates, which are adjusted forinflation, and nominal interest rates, which are not.Although learning definitions is not always the most exciting of pursuits, it isquan trọng để đọc một cách cẩn thận và hiểu các khái niệm trình bày trong chương này.Không chỉ họ tiếp tục được sử dụng trong suốt phần còn lại của văn bản này, nhưng một công tynắm bắt những điều khoản này sẽ cung cấp cho bạn một sự hiểu biết rõ ràng hơn về vai trò của lãi suất tỷ giáchơi trong cuộc sống của bạn cũng như trong nền kinh tế nói chung.
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