“The International Financial Environment”

Ryan Dawkins
Prepared for Dr. Creepy
Finance 535
April 23, 2011

ASSESSMENT 1

The International Financial Environment
Mesa Company specializes in the production of small fancy picture frames, which are exported from the U.S. to the United Kingdom. Mesa invoices the exports in pounds and converts the pounds to dollars when they are received. The British demand for these frames is positively related to economic conditions in the United Kingdom. Assume that British inflation and interest rates are similar to the rates in the U.S. Mesa believes that the U.S. balance-of-trade deficit from trade between the U.S. and the United Kingdom will adjust to changing prices between the two countries, while capital flows will adjust to interest rate differentials. Mesa believes that the value of the pound is very sensitive to changing international capital flows, and is moderately sensitive to international trade flows. Mesa is considering the following information:

The U.K. inflation rate is expected to decline, while U.S. inflation rate is expected to rise.
British interest rates are expected to decline, while U.S. interest rates are expected to increase.

1.Explain how the international trade flows should initially adjust in response to the changes in inflation (holding exchange rates constant). Explain how the international capital flows should adjust in response to the changes in interest rates (holding exchange rates constant).

Holding exchange rates at a constant rate would allow for Mesa Company to export there products to the United Kingdom and gain a significant profit. The exchange rate comparison for the British pound and the United States dollars is evaluated at 0.99967 to U.S. 1.651251 according to (http://www.oanda.com/currency/comparison 2011). This shows a exchange rate of 0.651581, this