Of the following, the safest type of investment is:

Under the mattress.
An FDIC-insured CD.
An international growth mutual fund.
An Internet stock.

Investments in CDs:

Are riskier than investments in stocks.
Are inferior to investments in 8-tracks and vinyl records.
Are always tax deferred.
Are insured by the FDIC, but have generally underperformed stock investments over the long run.

The total stock market (S&P 500) return during the 1990s was:

Predicted by most Wall Street analysts at the beginning of the decade.
Lower than the historical average
The highest of any decade in the 20th century.
Approximately the same as the total return during the 1970s.

Stocks whose returns are tied closely to the overall national economy are typically called:

Blue Chip stocks.
Defensive stocks.
Speculative stocks.
Cyclical stocks.

The P/E ratio:

Is the same for all firms in a given industry.
Does not change over time.
Is typically higher for firms whose earnings are expected to grow rapidly.
Is the same as the dividend yield.

Buying on margin::

Precludes the advantage of using leverage.
Is not affected by limits on borrowing established by ERISA.
Minimizes losses if the price of a security declines.
Is possible by borrowing from a broker.

A benchmark asset, commonly considered by investors to be risk-free:

Treasury Bill (T-Bill).
Share of preferred stock.
A Eurobond
A junk bond.

The strength of economic growth in the United States is reported as changes in the:

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The National Association of Securities Dealers Index (NASDAQ).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
The Wealth Index of Investments and Inflation (WIII).