Why are Financial Markets Important?
Financial markets are crucial to promoting greater economic efficiency by channeling funds from people who do not have a productive use for them to those who do. Well functioning financial markets are a key factor in producing high economic growth, and poorly performing financial markets, vice versa. Financial markets and intermediaries have the basic function of getting people together by moving funds from those who have a surplus of funds to those who have a shortage of funds.
The Importance of Interest Rates
On a personal level, high interest rates can deter you from buying a house or a car because the cost of financing would be too high. Conversely, they could encourage you to save because you earn more interest by putting your money aside in savings. ON a more general level, interest rates affect the overall health of the economy because they affect not only consumers’ willingness to spend but also businesses’ investment decisions. High interest rates for example might cause a corporation to postpone building a new plant that would provide more jobs.
The Importance of Stocks
On a personal level the fluctuations in stock prices affect the size of people’s wealth and as a result may affect their willingness to spend. On a general level, it affects business investment decisions since the price of shares affects the amount of funds that can be raised by selling newly issued stock to finance investment spending. A higher price for a firm’s shares means that it can raise a larger amount of funds, which it can use to buy production facilities and equipment. A higher price means it can raise a larger amount of funds, which it can use to buy production facilities and equipment.
Role of Financial Intermediaries
Financial intermediaries are institutions that borrow funds from people who have saved and in turn make loans to others. Banks are included in