Question

20-1 Assume that an investor buys one March NYSE Composite Index futures contract on February 1 at 67.5. The position is closed out after five days. The prices on the four days after purchase were 67.8, 68.1, 68, and 68.5. The initial margin is $3,500. a. Calculate the current equity on each of the next four days. b. Calculate the excess equity for these four days. c. Calculate the final gain or loss for the week. d. Recalculate (a), (b), and ( assuming that the investor had been short over this same period. 20-2 Given the information in Problem 20-1, assume that the investor holds until the con- tract expires. Ignore the four days after purchase and assume that on the next to last day of trading in March the investor was long and the final settlement price on that date was 70.5. Calculate the cumulative profit,