Which of the following would cause a strengthening of the U.S. balance of payments?

An increase in imports of goods and services
An increase in transfer payments by Americans to their families abroad
An increase in investment by Americans in foreign companies
An increase in the Bank of England’s holding of U.S. dollars as foreign exchange reserves

Question

Which of the following would cause a strengthening of the U.S. balance of payments?
 	
	An increase in imports of goods and services
	An increase in transfer payments by Americans to their families abroad
	An increase in investment by Americans in foreign companies
	An increase in the Bank of England’s holding of U.S. dollars as foreign exchange reserves

anonymous · Answer

I'm not 100% sure but I think the answer is the first one. The rest result in a loss of capital for the US to a foreign company, and thus would not be a strengthening of the US balance of payments. This is just what my intuition says though - I may be misunderstanding the question.