Tag Archives: Finance Math Puzzle

Puzzle #6: Treasury Debt

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Win Smith

Last week was historic for U.S. Treasury debt.  The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped below 1.44% to its lowest level ever, and the total debt held by the public* rose to $11,006,251,094,374.26. Some might argue that $11 trillion in public … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Economics, Fun, Math | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Puzzle #4: Bond Pricing

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Win Smith

Here’s another puzzle I’ve used to teach bond math. It’s not hard, but it requires some understanding of bond concepts that I will explain as we go (I beg the patience of bond mavens). Suppose you are the financial advisor … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Fun, Math, Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Puzzle #3: A Better Answer

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Win Smith

Puzzle #3 asked for the weighted average life (“WAL”) of the principal payments for a 30-year mortgage that is cut short by a balloon payment at 15 years. The following information was provided: $100,000 Principal; 5% Interest Rate; $536.82 Level … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Math, Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Puzzle #3: Mortgage with Balloon

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Win Smith

Puzzle #1 posed the question: given a $100,000 mortgage at 5% with monthly payments of $536.82 for 30 years, what is the average life of the principal payments? The puzzle was to be solved with just a few simple calculations. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Math, Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Puzzle #2: Answers to Follow-up Questions

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Win Smith

Puzzle #2 asked how a $6 million mortgage pool with a weighted average LTV of 80% could have a total property value of $9 million when the average LTV implies a value of $7.5 million. Chun Lee NG gave a good general … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Math, Mortgage-Backed Securities, Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Puzzle #2: Follow-up Questions

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Win Smith

Puzzle #2 asked how a $6 million mortgage pool with a weighted average LTV of 80% could have a total property value of $9 million when the average LTV implies a value of $7.5 million. Chun Lee NG provided a good explanation … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Math, Mortgage-Backed Securities, Puzzles | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Puzzle #2: Weighted Average LTV

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Win Smith

The loan-to-value ratio (“LTV”) of a mortgage equals the loan amount divided by the property’s value. The LTV is a key indicator of mortgage quality. The lower the LTV, the more likely it is that the mortgage can be paid off … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Math, Mortgage-Backed Securities, Puzzles | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Puzzle #1: Epilogue

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Win Smith

Puzzle #1 posed the question: given a $100,000 mortgage at 5% with monthly payments of $536.82 for 30 years, what is the average life of the principal payments? The puzzle was to be solved with just a few simple calculations. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Fun, Math, Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Answer to Puzzle #1

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Win Smith

The answer to Puzzle #1 is now visible as a comment from Ron Page under the original post. Ron has provided the only correct answer so far (he’s missing a pair of parentheses, but it’s clear what he means). His … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Math, Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Clue for Puzzle #1

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Win Smith

For anyone who needs a little help with Puzzle #1, I placed a clue in a comment to this post. Other Posts on Puzzle #1: Puzzle #1, Answer to Puzzle #1, Puzzle #1: Epilogue Other Puzzles: Puzzle #2, Puzzle #3, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Math | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments