Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Yield curve

Yield curve
Second try for this nomination. I believe all the concerns that were expressed the last time around have been fairly addressed. Its a central concept in finance, clearly expounded, with valuable references for those who would like to study the matter further. I've contributed to it some (although the bulk of the credit goes to others) so I guess I should call this a self nomination. --Christofurio 17:02, Mar 31, 2005 (UTC)


 * Object. The article is very confusing and flows poorly. Some initial suggestions:
 * 1) Use the normal yield curve as the top picture, and show the inverted one later (you wouldn't show a picture of a three legged dog in dog in the top section and then caption it "most dogs have four legs").
 * 2) Work in technical jargon slowly, and define, define, define. Why is it called a yield curve?  What is yield?  How is that relevant to the cost of money?
 * 3) The article needs to be reorganized -- maybe laid out to first establish a basic understanding of existing theory, then an example, then history. It's very confusing to introduce examples or history of development before the reader is made to understand the basic concepts.
 * 4) Consistency -- for example, on the table showing construction of the yield curve, it switches from % rate to (1 - % rate).
 * It's market convention to quote futures prices as 100-100*rate, so the article is correct in this respect. Pcb21| Pete 23:32, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * 1) Could use a thorough copy edit for spelling, grammar, and sentence structure too.
 * That should be enough to work on for now. - Bantman 19:08, Mar 31, 2005 (UTC)


 * object although there are some references, it's not clear which reference to use to check which material and there could be more. You could, for example, use a footnoting system such as Footnote3 or one of the other ones to make this clear.   Mozzerati 09:41, 2005 Apr 2 (UTC)
 * The article is appropriately referenced - it is a synthesis of material in those five books. You use footnotes to provide a cite for specific facts that otherwise the reader may not have confidence in. Which facts fall into this category? P.s. is five books really too few for an FA these days? Pcb21| Pete 09:49, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * five books is approximately a basic minimum (though it's impossible to be absolute; sometimes there just aren't that many sources). There are many many facts which I have no reason to be sure about in the article.  The nomenclature "curve" is used rather than "yield function" because when plotted on a graph, the function is a curve. - maybe this is true; maybe it isn't.  A good reference telling me which of those five books to look at and preferably which page to look on would really make it much more practical to check.  This theory perfectly explains perfectly?  Really?  Please at least give a reference for that.  ''"Liquidity preference theory...is also the most accepted theory of the three" seems total common sense, but again, what are the proportions of people accepting them? or do you mean economists?  etc.  I don't want to pick too many nits, since I don't think the "perfect" article is what we are asking for.  Just a level which stands out above other normal articles.  10 most interesting/important/surprising points would be great.
 * Excuse me, but these do seem to be rather small nits you're hunting. The explanation of the term "curve" will seem quite familiar to anyone with any background in economics, not to say finance -- even a single undergraduate course using Samuelson's textbook will render this familiar. I don't believe specific references of the sort you seem to want are necessary or appropriate where a point is notorious within the pertinent field, available virtually anywhere. --Christofurio 00:38, Apr 5, 2005 (UTC)
 * From a mathematical perspective, a curve is the result of plotting the graph of a function. I don't see the need for any more explanation of why the "yield curve" is called a curve. --Carnildo 21:15, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Sorry, but it's exactly this kind of misunderstanding which needs to be cleared up. A curve is not just any function, it must be a continuous function.  There is no obvious (to me) reason why the yield curve cannot be discontinous.  For example, maybe there is a known night in the future when it is advantagous to have cash.  Yields just before that day may be higher and those just after may be lower.  Another point: Samuelson isn't in the reference list.  Finally, if this really needs an undergraduate course to understand then it qualifies as too technical.  As I mentioned, these are specific minor symptoms of the difficulty of following the references.  If you rested more on your sources then less would have to be done in the article.. Mozzerati 19:45, 2005 Apr 7 (UTC)


 * "no obvious (to me) reason"... I'll lend you $1m for 1+delta years at 6% and you lend me $1m for (1-delta) years at 5%, for any delta of your choosing less than 1 second. You'll learn pretty quick :) Pcb21| Pete 10:25, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The so-called yield "curve" is not a well-defined function, let alone a continuous one. To be a function f(t) it would have to take one value (no more, no less) for every possible real value of t. What are the possible values of t? Is there a yield defined for every possible maturity? I doubt that.

Who cares? It is called a yield "curve" simply because market practitioners, who are not all mathematicians, will very often join the dots. This is a triviality.--Jonathan G. G. Lewis 20:10, 6 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Comment - the terms USD and GBP are used in the figures without definition. While I assume that they are US dollar and GB pound, this isn't immediately apparent to the reader.  Assuming that they are, could you are least link your captions to the appropriate articles?  Guettarda 14:48, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I changed the terms to US dollar and British pound in the image captions. - Marcika 22:58, 6 Apr 2005 (UTC)