Unit III (Invest Rates and Investment Demand)

What is Investment?

- Money spent or expenditures on:

• New plants (factories)
• Capital equipment (machinery)
• Technology (hardware & software)
• Inventories(goods sold by producers)

Expected Rates of Return

1. How does business make investment decisions?
1. Cost/ benefit analysis
2. How does business determine the benefits?
1. Expected rate of return
3. How does business count the cost?
1. Interest costs
4. How does business determine the amount of investment they undertake?
1. Compare expected rate of return to interest cost
• If expected return > interest cost, then invest
• If expected return < interest cost, then do not invest

Real (r%) vs. Nominal (i%)

What’s the difference?

-Nominal is the observable rate of interest. Real subtracts out inflation (π%) and is only known ex post facto.

1. How do you compute the real interest rate (r%)?
1. Formula: r% = i% - pi%
2. What then, determines the cost of an investment decision?
1. The real interest rate (r%)