7.2. Answer the questions:

1. What are the three basic feminist approaches on welfare?

2. What do those regulating mechanisms refer to?

3. What do explicit and implicit norms of institutions adjust?

4. Who connected “female work desirability” to the religion of a country?

5. Which cultural determinants do you know?

6. Can culture or institutional factors explain the differences between countries?

7. What are gender arrangements are used for?

8. Credit Market influences

8.1. Read the text.

Investors look for ways to make money in return for use of their money. How much they expect to make is influenced by the risk they are taking, what their alternatives are, and their perception of prospects for the future.

Variety of investments

There seem to be no limits on the kinds of investments that can be thought up. Investments can be loans to be paid back with interest or an ownership stake (equity) in a business venture, or a combination. Loans can be secured, convertible (into equity), have variable interest rates or none or some combination of the above.

Equities come in just as many flavors with classes of common and preferred shares

Business cycles show up in interest rates, economic growth (Gross Domestic Product [GDP]), unemployment, monetary growth, and inflation. In the past 100 years we have seen long periods of economic contraction, including deflation and panics; long periods of expansion; periods of inflation; long periods between recessions; and short periods between recessions. These all influenced their investment climate and were influenced by government policies of intervention or laissez faire or some combination

Central banking & Government influencing

In the U.S. our banking system is regulated by the federal government which delegated much of the oversight and administration to the Federal Reserve (the Fed) central banking system. We can get deeper into the Fed sometime, but for now, just know that the Fed manages our money supply and influences interest rates. Rest assured, the government is taking care of things for you.

8.2. Answer the questions:

1. What do investors of their money look for?

2. What does influence how much they can expect to earn?

3. How are investments - loans to be paid back?

4. What does an ownership stake mean?

5. What do Business cycles show up in?

6. What can an economic contraction include?

7. I wonder what an economic contraction influences and is influenced by?

9. Risk Market influences

9.1. Read the text.

All bond investments are subject to the market risk, this is a risk to keep in consideration in case our goal is to make a profit in a speculative way. That is, if we want to buy and sell securities before their due date at a higher price making a profit from the gain in the bond price.

The market risk influences only the price in the bonds market, when the bond value goes down the face value stays always the same that means that waiting will return the entire principal (plus interest) no matter the market value of the bond at that time.

One of the main reasons why the market price of a bond goes down is the rise of interest rates.

If the market price of the bond goes down it does not mean that the face value has changed, in fact it stays the same, in case the value of a bond goes down if you keep it until the due date the entire principal plus interest will be given back to you no matter the market value at that time.

The market risk while trading bonds is determined by the market price of securities at that time. Bond prices are determined by many factors:

—Volumes (number of bonds being sold in a transaction)

—Number of contracts (availability of bonds)

—Demand

—Size of the issue

—Call features (callabilities of bonds - option to repurchase the bond before its maturity)

Substantially the market value of a bond is entirely determined by the amount of people that find it interesting, because of its yield, its face value, its issuer or the price it self. Because all this factors determine the market value of a bond and its yield rates, data given by brokerage houses may be not precise. The market value of a bond is determined by the market itself at the time of a transaction.

The fluctuation of the market value of bonds is a risk to consider when investing in securities, the main cause of drop in the market value may be the rise of interest rates. The best way to prevent the market risk of investments is to buy securities that expire at the time the principal is needed, keeping bonds until their due date will gives immunity from the market price and helps to preserve the principal.