Question: Answer the following; a. What is an

> How has technology had an impact on forecasting?

> Explain the trade-off between responsiveness and stability in a forecasting system that uses time-series data.

> New car sales for a dealer in Cook County, Illinois, for the past year are shown in the following table, along with monthly indexes (seasonal relatives), which are supplied to the dealer by the regional distributor. a. Plot the data. Does there seem to

> A pharmacist has been monitoring sales of a certain over-the-counter pain reliever. Daily sales during the last 15 days were as follows: a. Which method would you suggest using to predict future sales—a linear trend equation or trend-

> Obtain estimates of daily relatives for the number of customers at a restaurant for the evening meal, given the following data. a. Use the centered moving average method. (Hint: Use a seven-day moving average.) b. Use the SA method. Day Number

> The manager of a fashionable restaurant open Wednesday through Saturday says that the restaurant does about 35 percent of its business on Friday night, 30 percent on Saturday night, and 20 percent on Thursday night. What seasonal relatives would describe

> A tourist center is open on weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The owner-manager hopes to improve scheduling of part-time employees by determining seasonal relatives for each of these days. Data on recent traffic at the center have been tabulated a

> Compute seasonal relatives for this data using the SA method: Quarter Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 1 2 3 7 4 6. 10 18 14 3 2 6 8. 5 9 15 11 4,

> The following equation summarizes the trend portion of quarterly sales of condominiums over a long cycle. Sales also exhibit seasonal variations. Using the information given, prepare a forecast of sales for each quarter of next year (not this year), and

> Briefly describe the terms operations management and supply chain.

> Discuss the importance of each of the following: a. Matching supply and demand b. Managing a supply chain

> Why did Novo believe that its cost of capital was too high compared to its competitors? Why did Novo’s relatively high cost of capital create a competitive disadvantage?

> a. Define market segmentation. b. What are the six main causes of market segmentation? c. What are the main disadvantages for a firm to be located in a segmented market?

> In the context of preparing consolidated financial statements, are the words translate and convert synonyms?

> Answer the following questions: a. Define what is meant by the term market liquidity. b. What are the main disadvantages for a firm to be located in an illiquid market? c. If a firm is limited to raising funds in its domestic capital market, what happe

> A foreign subsidiary does not have an independent cost of capital. However, in order to estimate the discount rate for a comparable host country firm, the analyst should try to calculate a hypothetical cost of capital. As part of this process, the analys

> Taxes are classified on the basis of whether they are applied directly to income, called direct taxes, or to some other measurable performance characteristic of the firm, called indirect taxes. Identify each of the following as a “direct tax,” an “indire

> a. What is a bilateral tax treaty? b. What is the purpose of a bilateral tax treaty? c. What policies do most tax treaties cover?

> a. What is meant by the term “tax deferral”? b. Why do countries allow tax deferral on foreign-source income?

> Answer the following questions: a. Define what is meant by a “directed public share issue”. b. Why did Novo choose to make a $61 million directed public share issue in the United States in 1981?

> What are five alternative instruments that can be used to source equity in global markets?

> What is a functional currency? What is a non-functional currency?

> What are the main barriers to cross-listing abroad?

> What are the main reasons causing U.S. firms to cross-list abroad?

> Give five reasons why a firm might cross-list and sell its shares on a very liquid stock exchange.

> Portfolio asset allocation can be accomplished along many dimensions, depending on the investment objective of the portfolio manager. Identify the various dimensions.

> Distinguish between the three levels of commitment for ADRs traded in the United States.

> How is expropriation risk factored into the capital budgeting analysis of a foreign project?

> Define the following terms: a. ADRs. b. GRSs. c. Sponsored depositary receipts. d. Unsponsored depositary receipts.

> Exhibit 14.1 illustrates alternative paths to globalizing the cost and availability of capital. Identify the specific steps in Exhibit 14.1 that were taken by Novo Industry (Chapter 13) in chronological order to gain an international cost and availabilit

> What is the difference between a eurobond and a foreign bond, and why do two types of international bonds exist?

> Bank borrowing has long been the manner by which corporations and governments borrowed funds for short periods. What then, is the advantage over bank borrowing for each of the following? a. Syndicated loans. b. Euronotes. c. Euro-Commercial Paper. d.

> What is the difference between “internal” financing and “external” financing for a subsidiary? List three types of internal financing and three types of external financing available to a foreign subsidiary.

> Should foreign subsidiaries of multinational firms conform to the capital structure norms of the host country, or to the norms of their parent’s country? Discuss.

> What is the difference between a self-sustaining foreign subsidiary and an integrated foreign subsidiary?

> Many firms in many countries every year borrow at nominal costs which prove to be very different after the fact. For example, not too long ago Deutsche Bank borrowed funds at a nominal cost of 9.59% per annum, but at a later date that debt was selling to

> Both domestic and international portfolio managers are asset allocators. a. What is their portfolio management objective? b. What is the main advantage that international portfolio managers have compared to portfolio managers limited to domestic-only as

> If a multinational firm is able to diversify its sources of cash inflow so as to receive those flows from several countries and in several currencies, do you think that tends to increase or decrease its weighted average cost of capital?

> Define “marginal weighted average cost of capital”.

> How is foreign exchange risk sensitivity factored into the capital budgeting analysis of a foreign project?

> How does the availability of capital influence the theory of optimal capital structure for a multinational enterprise?

> As debt in a firm’s capital structure is increased from no debt to a significant proportion of debt (say, 60%), what tends to happen to the cost of debt, to the cost of equity, and to the overall weighted average cost of capital?

> Answer the following questions: a. What is the “cost of debt” and how is it determined? b. What is the “cost of equity” and how is it determined?

> What, in simple wording, is the objective sought by finding an optimal capital structure?

> a. What is a private equity fund? b. How do they differ from traditional venture capital firms? c. How do private equity funds raise their own capital, and how does this action give them a competitive advantage over local banks and investment funds?

> Answer the following questions: a. What is SEC Rule 144A? b. Why might a foreign firm choose to sell its equity in the United States under SEC Rule 144A?

> Define what is meant by a “Euroequity public share issue.”

> Apart from improving liquidity and escaping from a segmented home market, why might emerging market MNEs further lower their cost of capital by listing and selling equity abroad?

> What is the central problem involved in consolidating the financial statements of a foreign subsidiary?

> Define the following terms: a. Systematic risk. b. Beta (in the Capital Asset Pricing Model).

> What are the differences in the cash flows used in a project point of view analysis and a parent point of view analysis?

> Global integration has given many firms access to new and cheaper sources of funds beyond those available in their home markets. What are the dimensions of a strategy to capture this lower cost and greater availability of capital?

> The “Riddle” The riddle is an attempt to explain under what conditions an MNE would have a higher or lower debt ratio and beta than its domestic counterpart. Explain and diagram these conditions.

> Theoretically MNEs should be in a better position than their domestic counterparts to support higher debt ratios, because their cash flows are diversified internationally. However, recent empirical studies have come to the opposite conclusion. These stud

> It has been suggested that firms located in illiquid and segmented emerging markets could follow Novo’s proactive strategy to internationalize their own cost of capital. What are the preconditions that would be necessary to succeed in such a proactive st

> a. What was Novo’s strategy to internationalize its cost of capital? b. What is the evidence that Novo’s strategy succeeded?

> Novo believed that the Danish capital market was segmented from world capital markets. Explain the six characteristics of the Danish equity market that were responsible for its segmentation.

> Answer the following: a. Why do unexpected exchange rate changes contribute to operating exposure, but expected exchange rate changes do not? b. Explain the time horizons used to analyze unexpected changes in exchange rates.

> What reasons can you give for the observation that intrafirm trade is now greater than trade between nonaffiliated exporters and importers?

> For what reason might an exporter use standard international trade documentation (letter of credit, draft, order bill of lading) on an intrafirm export to its parent or sister subsidiary?

> Why might different documentation be used for an export to a nonaffiliated foreign buyer who is a new customer, as compared with an export to a nonaffiliated foreign buyer to whom the exporter has been selling for many years?

> Various governments have established agencies to insure against nonpayment for exports and/or to provide export credit. This shifts credit risk away from private banks and to the citizen taxpayers of the country whose government created and backs the age

> Assume that Great Britain charges a duty of 10% on shoes imported into the United Kingdom. Swishing Shoe Company, in question 11, discovers that it can manufacture shoes in Ireland and import them into Great Britain free of any import duty. What factor

> Swishing Shoe Company of Durham, North Carolina, has received an order for 50,000 cartons of athletic shoes from Southampton Footware, Ltd., of Great Britain, payment to be in British pounds sterling. The shoes will be shipped to Southampton Footware und

> In the context of evaluating foreign investment proposals, how should a multinational firm evaluate cash flows in the host foreign country that are blocked from being repatriated to the firm’s home country?

> Inca Breweries of Lima, Peru, has received an order for 10,000 cartons of beer from Alicante Importers of Alicante, Spain. The beer will be exported to Spain under the terms of a letter of credit issued by a Madrid bank on behalf of Alicante Importers. T

> List the steps involved in the export of lumber from Portland, Oregon, to Yokohama, Japan, using a confirmed letter of credit, payment to be made in 120 days.

> List the steps involved in the export of computer hard disk drives from Penang, Malaysia, to San Jose, California, using an unconfirmed letter of credit authorizing payment on sight.

> Why would an exporter insist on a confirmed letter of credit?

> Define the following terms: a. Operating exposure b. Economic exposure c. Competitive exposure

> Identify each party to a letter of credit (L/C), and indicate its responsibility.

> What is the major difference between “currency risk” and “risk of noncompletion”? How are these risks handled in a typical international trade transaction?

> Explain the difference between a letter of credit (L/C) and a draft. How are they linked?

> What methods might the U.S. Internal Revenue Service use to determine whether allocations of distributed overhead are being fairly allocated to foreign subsidiaries?

> What is the difference between a “management fee”, a “technical assistance fee”, and a “license fee for patent usage”? Should they be treated differently for income tax purposes?

> Should the anticipated internal rate of return (IRR) for a proposed foreign project be compared to (1) alternative home country proposals, (2) returns earned by local companies in the same industry and/or risk class, or (3) both? Justify your answer.

> What are the differences between a “license fee” and a “royalty fee”? Do you think license and royalty fees should be covered by the tax rules that regulate transfer pricing? Why?

> Subsidiary Alpha in Country Able faces a 40% income tax rate. Subsidiary Beta in Country Baker faces only a 20% income tax rate. At present each subsidiary imports from the other an amount of goods and services exactly equal in monetary value to what eac

> In the context of unbundling cash flows from subsidiary to parent, explain how each of the following creates a conduit. What are the tax consequences of each? a. Imports of components from the parent. b. Payment to cover overhead expenses of parent manag

> What does this term mean? Why would unbundling be needed for international cash flows from foreign subsidiaries, but not for domestic cash flows between related domestic subsidiaries and their parent?

> Each of the following factors is sometimes a constraint on the free movement of funds internationally. Why would a government impose such a constraint? How might the management of a multinational argue that such a constraint is not in the best interests

> Answer the following: a. How can an MNE diversify operations? b. How can an MNE diversify financing?

> What is the difference between a foreign branch and a foreign subsidiary of a home-country bank?

> During the era of the French franc, France imposed a rule on its banks and subsidiaries of international companies operating in France that precluded those subsidiaries from netting cash flow obligations between France and non-French related entities. Wh

> Electro-Beam Company generates and disburses cash in the currencies of four countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. What would be the characteristics you might consider if charged with designing a centralized cash depository system for Ele

> The operating cash cycle of a multinational firm goes from cash collection from customers, cash holding for anticipated transaction needs (the transaction motive for holding cash), possible cash repositioning into another currency, and eventual cash disb

> Capital projects provide both operating cash flows and financial cash flows. Why are operating cash flows preferred for domestic capital budgeting, but financial cash flows given major consideration in international projects?

> Explain the difference between the “transaction motive” and the “precautionary motive” for holding cash.

> What are the advantages of a free trade zone? Are there any disadvantages?

> Merlin Corporation of the United States imports raw material from Indonesia on terms of 2/10, net 30. Merlin expects a 36% devaluation of the Indonesian rupiah at any moment. Should Merlin take the discount? Discuss aspects of the problem.

> Why might the time lag for intramultinational firm accounts receivable and payable (that is, all received or paid to a parent or sister subsidiary) differ substantially from the time lags reported for transactions with unaffiliated companies?

> Japanese industry is often praised for its “just-in-time” inventory practice between industrial buyers and industrial sellers. In the context of the “Day’s Receivables” turnover in Exhibit 19.5, what is the comparative impact of the “just-in-time” system

> Roberts and Sons, Inc., of Great Britain has just purchased inventory items costing kroner 1,000,000 from a Swedish supplier. The supplier has quoted terms 3/15, net 45. Under what conditions might Roberts and Sons reasonably take the discount, and when

> Merck is an MNE that has undertaken contractual hedging of its operating exposure. a. How do they accomplish this task? b. What assumptions do they make in order to justify contractual hedging of their operating exposure? c. How effective is such contra

> Assume a firm purchases inventory with one foreign currency and sells it for another foreign currency, neither currency being the home currency of the parent or subsidiary where the manufacturing process takes place. What can the firm do to reduce the am

> Is any accounting exposure created during the course of a firm’s operating cycle?

> Is any operating exposure created during the course of a firm’s operating cycle?

> Financial strategies are directly related to the OLI Paradigm. a. Explain how proactive financial strategies are related to OLI. b. Explain how reactive financial strategies are related to OLI.

> Assuming the flow illustrated in Exhibit 19.1, where does transaction exposure begin and end if inputs are purchased with one currency at t1, and proceeds from the sale are received at t5? Is there more than one interval of transaction exposure?

> As a financial manager, would you prefer that the accounts payable period end before, at the same time, or after the beginning of the accounts receivable period? Explain.