Solution Manual For Derivatives Markets, 3rd Edition

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Chapter 1
Introduction to Derivatives

Question 1.1

This problem offers different scenarios in which some companies may have an interest to hedge
their exposure to temperatures that are detrimental to their business. In answering the problem, it
is useful to ask the question: Which scenario hurts the company, and how can it protect itself?

a) A soft drink manufacturer probably sells more drinks when it is abnormally hot. She dislikes
days at which it is abnormally cold because people are likely to drink less, and her business
suffers. She will be interested in a cooling-degree-day futures contract because it will make
payments when her usual business is slow. She hedges her business risk.

b) A ski-resort operator may fear large losses if it is warmer than usual. It is detrimental to her
business if it does not snow in the beginning of the season or if the snow is melting too fast at
the end of the season. She will be interested in a heating-degree-day futures contract because
it will make payments when her usual business suffers, thus compensating the losses.

c) During the summer months, an electric utility company, such as one in the south of the
United States, will sell a lot of energy during days of excessive heat because people will use
their air conditioners, refrigerators, and fans more often, thus consuming a lot of energy and
increasing profits for the utility company. In this scenario, the utility company will have less
business during relatively colder days, and the cooling-degree-day futures offers a possibility
to hedge such risk.

Alternatively, we may think of a utility provider in the northeast during the winter months, a
region where people use many additional electric heaters. This utility provider will make
more money during unusually cold days and may be interested in a heating-degree-day
contract because that contract pays off if the primary business suffers.

d) An amusement park operator fears bad weather and cold days because people will abstain
from going to the amusement park during cold days. She will buy a cooling-degree-day
future to offset her losses from ticket sales with gains from the futures contract.

Question 1.2

A variety of counterparties are imaginable. For one, we could think about speculators who have
differences in opinion and who do not believe that we will have excessive temperature variations
during the life of the futures contracts. Thus, they are willing to take the opposing side, receiving
a payoff if the weather is stable.

Alternatively, there may be opposing hedging needs: Compare the ski-resort operator and the
soft drink manufacturer. The cooling-degree-day futures contract will pay off if the weather is
relatively mild, and we saw that the resort operator will buy the futures contract. The buyer of

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