Midterm exam
Covers Modules 1 through 3: alternative data in finance, data science and SQL, and consumer and luxury economics. Time: 75 minutes. Total: 100 points. Format: no-code sandbox at sandbox.altfndata.com; no API key is needed for this exam.
Read all three sections before starting. Section 2 requires the sandbox SQL editor; keep the schema tab open to confirm exact table and column names as you work. Use only the documented fields: designer, model, item_title, sale_date, usd_price_decimal, sale_estimates_high_usd_price, status, vendor, stock_ticker.
Section 1: Conceptual short answer (30 points, 6 points each)
1.1. Name the three ALT/FNDATA access surfaces and state which one is the primary classroom tool for students.
1.2. Explain, in three to four sentences, why auction and resale pricing data on physical luxury goods qualifies as alternative data rather than traditional financial data.
1.3. Define pricing power and state, in one sentence, what a ratio above 1.0 means about buyer behavior.
1.4. Define sell-through rate and identify the two status values that must both be counted in its denominator.
1.5. In three to four sentences, explain the recency caveat that applies to any time-bucketed (quarterly) metric built from this dataset, and state what an analyst should do about it before drawing a conclusion.
Section 2: Query writing (40 points)
Work in the sandbox SQL editor. For each problem, write a single SQL query. Confirm your table and column names in the schema tab before you begin.
2.1 (12 points): Write a query that returns item_title, designer, sale_date, and usd_price_decimal for the 15 most recent sold records for one designer of your choice.
-- your query here
2.2 (14 points): Write a query that computes pricing power (median or, if unavailable, average, of usd_price_decimal divided by sale_estimates_high_usd_price) for one designer, correctly restricted to sold records with a valid, non-zero high estimate.
-- your query here
2.3 (14 points): Write a query that computes sell-through rate for the same designer used in 2.2, correctly including both sold and unsold records in the denominator.
-- your query here
Section 3: Applied mini analysis (30 points)
Using the pricing power and sell-through figures you computed in Section 2, write a short analysis, 200 to 300 words, that:
a. States both figures clearly. b. Interprets what the combination of the two figures suggests about demand for this designer (refer to Problem set 3's four-category framework: high or low pricing power crossed with high or low sell-through, if it is useful, but you are not required to use that exact framework). c. Explicitly notes one limitation of drawing a conclusion from a single designer and a single snapshot in time, and what additional evidence would strengthen the analysis.
Submission. Turn in this file with all sections completed.