hiya,
I've just found an interesting quirk in the starship/trading
rules in MT.
A Free Trader costs MCr36.915 (from the Imperial Encyclopedia p81).
The purchase a starship (same source p89), you put down 20% of
the purchase price (MCr7.383) leaving you with 80% to pay off (MCr29.532)
You pay MCr36.915 / 240 per month = Cr153812.5 You pay this for 480 months,
this is an interest rate of 5.57% per year. To me this seems a little low.
I'd rate a starship as a high risk investment (piracy, skipping repayments,
bad luck) and it would be quite a large investment. I don't know what the
interest rates for such investments in the USA are but here in Aust, they are
much much higher than 5.57% (but we do have excessively high interest rates ;-)
Either the Imperium's banks are a little on the stupid side, or they
get some kind of Imperial subsidy for financing free traders. No bank would
underwrite a loan on the conditions above (unless the person wanting the loan
could guarantee it in some way or they were a well known buisness-person).
Comments anyone?
Pauli
seeya
Paul Dale | Internet/CSnet: [email removed]
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