Which participant acts as the buyer to every seller and seller to every buyer in futures markets?
Explanation
The clearinghouse structure is central to futures market integrity.
Other questions
Which of the following best defines a derivative security?
Which of the following is a characteristic of exchange-traded derivatives compared to over-the-counter derivatives?
Which of the following instruments is classified as a forward commitment?
A contingent claim differs from a forward commitment in that a contingent claim:
In a forward contract, the party who agrees to buy the financial asset has a:
Which of the following statements about cash-settled forward contracts is correct?
A primary difference between futures contracts and forward contracts is that futures contracts:
The settlement price of a futures contract is:
In futures markets, the number of contracts outstanding at any given time is called:
The clearinghouse in futures markets guarantees traders will honor obligations by:
In futures trading, the 'initial margin' is best described as:
A futures trader has an account with an initial margin of $10,000 and a maintenance margin of $7,500. If the margin balance falls to $7,000 due to market movements, the trader must deposit:
If a futures contract price changes by an amount that exceeds the daily price limit, the price is said to be:
A swap contract is best described as:
In a plain vanilla interest rate swap, the 'pay-floating' party:
The 'tenor' of a swap refers to:
Which of the following derivatives is a contingent claim?
The buyer of a call option has the:
An American option differs from a European option in that the American option:
Which of the following positions has an obligation to sell the underlying asset if exercised?
A credit default swap (CDS) is essentially:
Consider a call option with a premium of $5 and a strike price of $50. If the stock price at expiration is $58, the profit to the buyer is:
For a put option with a premium of $4 and a strike price of $40, the breakeven price for the buyer is:
The maximum loss for the writer (seller) of a call option is:
The maximum gain for the buyer of a put option is limited to:
Options trading is described as a zero-sum game because:
A credit spread option typically provides a payoff when:
One benefit of derivative markets is that they:
Arbitrage is best defined as:
According to the law of one price, two portfolios with identical future payoffs must have:
Which of the following describes a 'basis swap'?
In futures markets, 'maintenance margin' is the:
A wheat farmer sells wheat futures to reduce uncertainty about the harvest price. This trader is acting as a:
If a futures trader receives a margin call, they must deposit funds to bring the balance up to the:
An option is 'in the money' if:
For a call option, the breakeven price for the seller is:
Which of the following statements about option premiums is correct?
An investor buys a put option with a strike of $50 for a premium of $3. If the stock price is $40 at expiration, the net profit is:
The 'tick size' in a futures contract refers to:
Which of the following is an example of a 'forward commitment'?
If a portfolio of assets produces a risk-free return, arbitrage ensures that this return must equal:
A Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) is effectively the same as:
In the context of options, the exercise price is also known as the:
Which derivative instrument typically requires no payment at initiation?
Marking to market in futures accounts occurs:
If a call option is 'out of the money', its value at expiration is:
A major criticism of derivatives is that they:
For a long forward position, the value at expiration is equal to:
If a stock is trading at $55 and a call option with a strike of $50 costs $5, the time value of the option is: