Posted: February 10th, 2019

kaplan MM255 unit 7 assignment

Directions for Submitting Your Instructor Graded
Assignment
You must show your work on all
problems. You may type your answer right into this document. Total
points for project: 45 points. Projects must be submitted as a Microsoft
Word document and uploaded to the Dropbox for Unit 7. All Projects are due by
Tuesday at 11:59 PM ET of the assigned Unit. NOTE: Project problems
should not be posted to the Discussion threads. Questions on the project
problems should be addressed to the instructor by sending an email or by
attending office hours. You will be able to come back to the Dropbox and view your graded
work or in the Gradebook after your instructor evaluates it.
Project
Today’s investigators have various investing
options. One field of investment that can be very profitable in a short time is
the worldwide commodities market. Commodities are tangible items such as grains
(wheat, corn, rice), beef, hogs, pork bellies, metals (gold, silver, copper),
or agricultural products (soybeans, cotton, orange juice).
The commodities market is volatile: money can
be made or lost quickly depending on unpredictable factors such as drought,
flood, late or early frosts, hurricanes, workers’ strikes (mining, dock, or
transportation), fuel price increases, fuel shortages, or political unrest.
Grain companies, ranchers, and meat-packing houses invest in specific products
to use in their businesses to “lock in” the price ahead of time. For example,
in February a rancher may invest in 10,000 bushels of May corn to feed the
cattle all summer. The February price may be low because numerous acres of May
corn may have been planted worldwide. By May, the price may have increased
dramatically due to floods wiping out the U.S. corn crop. The rancher would
have saved money by purchasing the needed corn at the lower price.
Other commodities investors, like you, who
may have no personal knowledge of the commodities, typically invest in futures.
A futures investor buys the rights to purchase products that have not yet been
produced at a specific price, with the hope that the price will increase before
the investment is sold. Because commodity figures are typically held less than
a year before selling, a commodities market investor must be prepared to lose
the entire investment in a short time, usually with no warning.
Suppose that you invest $10,000 in an
agricultural crop commodity today.
1.
What commodity did you select? Why?
2.
Use the internet to check today’s prices as listed in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s crop reports at their worldwide website:www.usda.gov.
a.What is the
price now?
b.What was the
price a year ago?
c.If you bought the
commodity one year ago at the price back then; then would you have made a
profit or loss based on the price today?
d.For your profit
or loss, write a sentence offering a possible explanation for the profit or
loss?
3.
Research the benefits and risks associated with annuities. Based
on your research, select one particular type of annuity in which you might
consider investing. Write a page paper – Describe why you have selected this annuity and how it fits
into your personal financial picture. Note: You do not need to disclose personal
financial details, just be specific about how this annuity fits your plans.

Requirements:
·
Write your essay in this document. Do not save it in a separate
file.
·
You must clearly state your position with well-structured
paragraphs using proper grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.
·
This is not an “opinion” question. You must offer evidence to
support your position, using properly cited sources
·
Your answer must be between 150-250 words (about 1 page of text)
·
You must cite at least one source (book, website, periodical)
using APA format.
·
Do not use unreliable sources such as Wikipedia™ or Yahoo!®
Answers.