Learning Objectives To understand the fundamental principles of how countries measure international business activity, the balance of payments To examine the similarities of the current and capital accounts of the balance of payments To understand the critical differences between trade in merchandise and services and why international investment activity has recently been controversial in the United States To review the mechanical steps of how exchange rates are transmitted into altered trade prices and eventually trade volumes To understand how countries with different government policies toward international trade and investments, or different levels of economic development, differ in their balance of payments