What are the three factors that influence the required rate of return by investors?
> Discuss the difference between a passive and an active dividend policy.
> What do we mean by capitalizing lease payments?
> What is a Eurobond?
> Explain how floating rate bonds can save the investor from potential embarrassments in portfolio valuations.
> What cost of capital is generally used in evaluating a bond refunding decision? Why?
> How does the bond rating affect the interest rate paid by a corporation on its bonds?
> Corporate debt has been expanding very dramatically in the last three decades. What has been the impact on interest coverage, particularly since 1977?
> If a company was looking for capital by way of a private placement, where would it look for funds?
> Discuss the reason for the differences between underwriting spreads for stocks and bonds.
> Discuss how an underwriting syndicate decreases risk for each underwriter and at the same time facilitates the distribution process.
> What is privatization?
> What advantages to the corporation and the stockholder do dividend reinvestment plans offer?
> How might a leveraged buyout eventually lead to high returns for companies?
> Why is secondary trading in the security markets important?
> What are electronic communication networks (ECNs)? Generally speaking, are they currently part of the operations of the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Stock Market?
> Do corporations rely more on external or internal funds as sources of financing?
> What are three forms of corporate securities discussed in the chapter?
> What is a key tax characteristic associated with state and local (municipal) securities?
> How does foreign investment help the U.S. government?
> What foreign industry has privatization been most important in?
> What was the purpose of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002?
> What act of Congress created the Securities and Exchange Commission?
> Does it make sense for a corporation to repurchase its own stock? Explain.
> What was the primary purpose of the Securities Act of 1933?
> How would you define efficient security markets?
> In addition to U.S. corporations, what government groups compete for funds in the U.S. capital markets?
> Assume a company, correlated with the economy, is evaluating six projects, of which two are positively correlated with the economy, two are negatively correlated, and two are not correlated with it at all. Which two projects would you select to minimize
> If corporate managers are risk-averse, does this mean they will not take risks? Explain.
> If a corporation has projects that will earn more than the cost of capital, should it ration capital?
> What does the term mutually exclusive investments mean?
> What is normally used as the discount rate in the net present value method?
> What are the weaknesses of the payback method?
> What are the important administrative considerations in the capital budgeting process?
> Preferred stock is often referred to as a hybrid security. What is meant by this term as applied to preferred stock?
> How are the weights determined to arrive at the optimal weighted average cost of capital?
> Why is the cost of issuing new common stock (Kn) higher than the cost of retained earnings (Ke)?
> Why is the cost of retained earnings the equivalent of the firm’s own required rate of return on common stock (Ke)?
> Explain why retained earnings have an associated opportunity cost?
> What are the two sources of equity (ownership) capital for the firm?
> In computing the cost of capital, do we use the historical costs of existing debt and equity or the current costs as determined in the market? Why?
> How does the cost of a source of capital relate to the valuation concepts presented previously in Chapter 10?
> What effect would inflation have on a company’s cost of capital?
> Why do we use the overall cost of capital for investment decisions even when only one source of capital will be used (e.g., debt)?
> What two conditions must be met to go from Formula 10-7 to Formula 10-8 in using the dividend valuation model?
> Why might management use a poison pill strategy?
> What type of dividend pattern for common stock is similar to the dividend payment for preferred stock?
> Why is a change in required yield for preferred stock likely to have a greater impact on price than a change in required yield for bonds?
> What are the three adjustments that have to be made in going from annual to semiannual bond analysis?
> If inflationary expectations increase, what is likely to happen to yield to maturity on bonds in the marketplace? What is also likely to happen to the price of bonds?
> Why might investors demand a lower rate of return for an investment in Microsoft as compared to United Airlines?
> How is the supernormal growth pattern likely to vary from the normal, constant growth pattern?
> What two components make up the required rate of return on common stock?
> How is valuation of any financial asset related to future cash flows?
> How is the present value of a single sum related to the present value of an annuity?
> During a rights offering, the underlying stock is said to sell “rights-on” and “ex-rights.” Explain the meaning of these terms and their significance to current stockholders and potential stockholders.
> How does the capital asset pricing model help explain changing costs of capital?
> How is the future value (Appendix A) related to the present value of a single sum (Appendix B)?
> What effect will disinflation following a highly inflationary period have on the reported income of the firm?
> Is there any validity in rule-of-thumb ratios for all corporations (for example, a current ratio of 2 to 1 or debt to assets of 50 percent)?
> What advantage does the fixed charge coverage ratio offer over simply using times interest earned?
> Assume you are looking at many companies with equal risk. Which ones will have the highest stock prices?
> If the accounts receivable turnover ratio is decreasing, what will be happening to the average collection period?
> In terms of the life of the securities offered, what is the difference between money and capital markets?
> Comment on why inflation may restrict the usefulness of the balance sheet as normally presented.
> How is the income statement related to the balance sheet?
> What are the three primary sections of the statement of cash flows? In what section would the payment of a cash dividend be shown?
> If common stockholders are the owners of the company, why do they have the last claim on assets and a residual claim on income?
> Explain how depreciation generates actual cash flows for the company.
> What document is necessary to form a corporation?
> In a corporation, what group has the ultimate responsibility for protecting and managing the stockholders' interests?
> What is the difference between accumulated depreciation and depreciation expense? How are they related?
> What advantages does a sole proprietorship offer? What is a major drawback of this type of organization?
> Assume that Rf = 6 percent and the market risk premium (Km – Rf) is 7.0 percent. Compute Kj for the following betas using Formula 11A-2. a. 0.6 b. 1.3 c. 1.9
> How did the recession of 2007–2009 compare with other recessions since the Great Depression in terms of length?
> Twenty-five-year B-rated bonds of Parker Optical Company were initially issued at a 12 percent yield. After 10 years, the bonds have been upgraded to Aa2. Such bonds are currently yielding 10 percent to maturity. Use Table 16-3 to determine the price of
> Frantic Fast Foods had earnings after taxes of $420,000 in the year 20X1 with 309,000 shares outstanding. On January 1, 20X2, the firm issued 20,000 new shares. Because of the proceeds from these new shares and other operating improvements, earnings afte
> Gary’s Pipe and Steel Company expects sales next year to be $800,000 if the economy is strong, $500,000 if the economy is steady, and $350,000 if the economy is weak. Gary believes there is a 20 percent probability the economy will be strong, a 50 percen
> Put an X by the security that has the feature best related to the following considerations.
> Boise Timber Co. computes its break-even point strictly on the basis of cash expenditures related to fixed costs. Its total fixed costs are $6,500,000, but 10 percent of this value is represented by depreciation. Its contribution margin (price minus vari
> Air Purifier Inc. computes its break-even point strictly on the basis of cash expenditures related to fixed costs. Its total fixed costs are $2,450,000, but 15 percent of this value is represented by depreciation. Its contribution margin (price minus var
> Calloway Cab Company determines its break-even strictly on the basis of cash expenditures related to fixed costs. Its total fixed costs are $450,000, but 5 percent of this value is represented by depreciation. Its contribution margin (price minus variabl
> Shawn Pen & Pencil Sets Inc. has fixed costs of $80,000. Its product currently sells for $5 per unit and has variable costs of $2.50 per unit. Mr. Bic, the head of manufacturing, proposes to buy new equipment that will cost $400,000 and drive up fixed co
> Eaton Tool Company has fixed costs of $255,000, sells its units for $66, and has variable costs of $36 per unit. a. Compute the break-even point. b. Ms. Eaton comes up with a new plan to cut fixed costs to $200,000. However, more labor will now be requir
> Therapeutic Systems sells its products for $13 per unit. It has the following costs: Separate the expenses between fixed and variable costs per unit. Using this information and the sales price per unit of $13, compute the break-even point.
> Delsing Canning Company is considering an expansion of its facilities. Its current income statement is as follows: The company is currently financed with 50 percent debt and 50 percent equity (common stock, par value of $10). In order to expand the fac
> Mr. Gold is in the widget business. He currently sells 1.5 million widgets a year at $6 each. His variable cost to produce the widgets is $4 per unit, and he has $1,550,000 in fixed costs. His sales-to-assets ratio is six times, and 30 percent of his ass
> The Lopez-Portillo Company has $10.6 million in assets, 80 percent financed by debt, and 20 percent financed by common stock. The interest rate on the debt is 9 percent and the par value of the stock is $10 per share. President Lopez-Portillo is consider
> Edsel Research Labs has $27 million in assets. Currently, half of these assets are financed with long-term debt at 5 percent and half with common stock having a par value of $10. Ms. Edsel, the vice president of finance, wishes to analyze two refinancing
> A small amount of preferred stock is participating. What would your reaction be if someone said common stock is also participating?
> DeSoto Tools Inc. is planning to expand production. The expansion will cost $300,000, which can be financed either by bonds at an interest rate of 14 percent or by selling 10,000 shares of common stock at $30 per share. The current income statement befor
> Sinclair Manufacturing and Boswell Brothers Inc. are both involved in the production of brick for the homebuilding industry. Their financial information is as follows: a. If you combine Sinclair’s capital structure with Boswellâ
> The Hartnett Corporation manufactures baseball bats with Pudge Rodriguez’s autograph stamped on them. Each bat sells for $35 and has a variable cost of $22. There are $97,500 in fixed costs involved in the production process. a. Compute the break-even po
> Firms in Japan often employ both high operating and financial leverage because of the use of modern technology and close borrower–lender relationships. Assume the Mitaka Company has a sales volume of 130,000 units at a price of $30 per unit; variable cos
> Sterling Optical and Royal Optical both make glass frames and each is able to generate earnings before interest and taxes of $132,000. The separate capital structures for Sterling and Royal are shown here: a. Compute earnings per share for both firms.
> The capital structure for Cain Supplies is presented next. Compute the stock price for Cain if it sells at 19 times earnings per share and EBIT is $50,000. The tax rate is 20 percent.
> Lenow’s Drug Stores and Hall’s Pharmaceuticals are competitors in the discount drug chain store business. The separate capital structures for Lenow and Hall are presented next. a. Compute earnings per share if earnin
> U.S. Steal has the following income statement data: a. Compute DOL based on the following formula: b. Confirm that your answer to part a is correct by re computing DOL using Formula 5–3. There may be a slight difference due to roundi
> International Data System’s information on revenue and costs is relevant only up to a sales volume of 105,000 units. After 105,000 units, the market becomes saturated and the price per unit falls from $14.00 to $8.80. Also, there are cost overruns at a p
> United Snack Company sells 50-pound bags of peanuts to university dormitories for $20 a bag. The fixed costs of this operation are $176,250, while the variable costs of peanuts are $.15 per pound. a. What is the break-even point in bags? b. Calculate th
> Why is the cumulative feature of preferred stock particularly important to preferred stockholders?
