Recitations
CONCEPTS (C) & DISCUSSIONS (D)
Exams, Quizzes, and other course duties take precedence. These may cancel recitations and discussions on any given day. Keep checking this website for frequent updates to the schedule.
Tr Sep 10 - (Chapter 1) C1. Define and explain the national debt | C2. Explain the composition of the debt | C3. Explain the national budget | D1. How is the federal debt related to the macroeconomy? How has it been financed? Is future financing a problem for the U.S.?
Great job! Esai; Satwik; Noah; Ruiqing; and Tim
Tr Sep 12 - FOMC Press Release!
Tu Sep 15 - (Chapter 2) C1. Briefly explain the Federal Reserve Act | C2. Define monetary aggregates (simple sum) | C3. Explain the Divisia monetary aggregate | D1. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of the Federal Reserve tracking monetary aggregates?
Great job! Noah; Colin; Jocelyn; Palmer; and Alec
Additional resources
Bank of England measures Divisia aggregates
Federal Reserve does not measure Divisia aggregates. The CFS does this for the U.S.
More on the power of tracking and understanding monetary aggregates (monetarism)
Tu Sep 22 - (Chapter 3) C1. Explain the concept of future value (FV) | C2. Explain the power of simple interest and compound interest and the Rule of 72. | C3. Explain the concept of present value (PV) | D1. Discuss why FV and PV are important to our understanding of financial markets.
Great job! Pablo; Charlie; Chris; Nancy; and Esther
Tr Sep 24 - (Chapter 5) C1. Explain the basic units of risk | C2. Explain payoff tables | C3. Define the two types of risk | D1. Discuss where and how we might find risk in financial markets.
Great job! Jayden; Logan; Nicholas; Aryan; and Anthony
Tu Sep 29 - No recitations. Finish Risk and Q&A
Tr Oct 1 - MIDTERM 1
Tu Oct 6 - MIDTERM 1 POSTMORTEM & (Chapter 6) C1. Explain the concept of a coupon bond | C2. Explain the concept of a discount bond | C3. Explain how bond yields and bond prices are connected | D1. Are higher interest rates always bad? Discuss
Tr Oct 8- (Chapter 6) C1. Explain the concept of current yield (cy) | C2. Explain the concept of yield to maturity (YTM) | C3. Explain the concept of holding period's rate of return (RoR) | D1. Discuss how cy, YTM, and RoR might affect your decision to invest in bonds.
(Some) turmoil in the bond market in October 1, 2026 https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/us-bond-yields-hit-highest-103338868.html
And in the UK gilt market https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/01/global-bond-sell-off-uk-long-term-borrowing-costs-us-bond-yield
Tr Oct 13- (Chapter 6) C1. Describe one risk of holding bonds | C2. Describe a different risk (different to C1) of holding bonds | C3. Describe a different risk (different to C1 and C2) of holding bonds. D1. Discuss: Let's say the fundamentals of bonds are: Face value (FV), maturity (n), and coupon rate (cr). When investors buy bonds do they have to be compensated for the risk of those fundamentals? If yes, how. If not, then do bond holders not require to be compensated for risk?
Great job! Austin; Aryan; Jocelyn; Nachiketh; and Fatima
Tr Oct 15- (Chapter 6) C1. Name one issuer of bonds and explain what they typically offer | C2. Do the same for a different issuer (different to C1) | C3. Do the same for a different issuer (different to C1 and C2) D1. Discuss the following: Do different issuers expose bond holders to the same risk? If yes, how...if not, how do they differ?
Tu Oct 20- (Chapter 6) C1. Explain Commercial Paper| C2. Explain Asset-Backed Commercial Paper | C3. Is Commercial paper rated in the same way as corporate bonds? D1. Discuss whether U.S. treasury bonds of different maturities pay the same rate/yields. If yes, why? If not, why do they differ? Are fundamentals of the bond (face value, coupon rate, maturity) the only determinants that fully explain YTM?
Tr Oct 22- (Chapter 7) D1. Discuss the expectations hypothesis (3 students) D2. Discuss the liquidity premium framework (3 students)