Wall Street Journal Assignment on International Finance

Use a recent issue of the WSJ and go to the "Currencies" table to answer the following questions, assuming the U.S. dollar is the home currency:

1. What are the direct quote and indirect quote of the U.S. dollar versus the currency whose issuing country's name starts with the same letter (or closest letter) as your own last name.

2. Relative to this currency, did the U.S. dollar appreciate or depreciate since the beginning of the year (YTD stands for Year to Date)?

3. How many Japanese Yens equal one Euro? Alternatively, calculate this rate using the U.S. equivalent rate for the Euro and the Yen. Show your work!

4. Consider the six-month forward market. What is the U.S.$ equivalent forward rate for the Canadian dollar? Is the forward Canadian dollar exchange rate selling at premium or discount compared to the spot Canadian dollar exchange rate? Explain why! (If your argument is based on comparing numbers please include them in your answer). If the forward rates for the Canadian dollar are not provided, then in its place consider another currency (such as Japanese Yen), for which the forward rates are provided.

5. In which section of the WSJ was the tables printed?