14 PA R T I Introduction Source: Bank of Canada, www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/interest-look.html Although you have located an accurate source of historical interest rate data, getting it onto a spreadsheet will be very tedious You recall that Excel (Microsoft Excel) will let you convert text data into columns Begin by indicating that you want to display the data in CSV format, sorted by date Under the monthly series frequency, click on V122530, V122504, and V122491, specify dates by choosing the start and end dates, and click on Get Rates A new screen should appear with a link to download the CSV data to your computer You now want to analyze the interest rates by graphing them Use Excel to open the CSV file you downloaded Click on the Chart Wizard icon on the tool bar (or INSERT/CHART) Select scatter diagram and choose any type of scatter diagram that connects the dots Let the Excel wizard take you through the steps of completing the graph CON CLU DI N G RE MA RKS The topic of money, banking, and financial markets is an exciting field that directly affects your life interest rates influence earnings on your savings and the payments on loans you may seek on a car or a house, and monetary policy may affect your job prospects and the prices of goods in the future Your study of money, banking, and financial markets will introduce you to many of the controversies about the conduct of economic policy that are hotly debated in the political arena and will help you gain a clearer understanding of economic phenomena you hear about in the news media The knowledge you gain will stay with you and benefit you long after your course is done