Question 100 market efficiency, technical analysis, joint hypothesis problem
A company selling charting and technical analysis software claims that independent academic studies have shown that its software makes significantly positive abnormal returns. Assuming the claim is true, which statement(s) are correct?
(I) Weak form market efficiency is broken.
(II) Semi-strong form market efficiency is broken.
(III) Strong form market efficiency is broken.
(IV) The asset pricing model used to measure the abnormal returns (such as the CAPM) had mis-specification error so the returns may not be abnormal but rather fair for the level of risk.
Select the most correct response:
Question 108 bond pricing, zero coupon bond, term structure of interest rates, forward interest rate
An Australian company just issued two bonds:
- A 1 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 10% pa, and
- A 2 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 8% pa.
What is the forward rate on the company's debt from years 1 to 2? Give your answer as an APR compounding every 6 months, which is how the above bond yields are quoted.
A share just paid its semi-annual dividend of $10. The dividend is expected to grow at 2% every 6 months forever. This 2% growth rate is an effective 6 month rate. Therefore the next dividend will be $10.20 in six months. The required return of the stock 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.
What is the price of the share now?
Question 180 equivalent annual cash flow, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows
Details of two different types of light bulbs are given below:
- Low-energy light bulbs cost $3.50, have a life of nine years, and use about $1.60 of electricity a year, paid at the end of each year.
- Conventional light bulbs cost only $0.50, but last only about a year and use about $6.60 of energy a year, paid at the end of each year.
The real discount rate is 5%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that all cash flows are real. The inflation rate is 3% given as an effective annual rate.
Find the Equivalent Annual Cost (EAC) of the low-energy and conventional light bulbs. The below choices are listed in that order.
Find World Bar's Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA), also known as Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), over the year ending 30th June 2013.
| World Bar | ||
| Income Statement for | ||
| year ending 30th June 2013 | ||
| $m | ||
| Sales | 300 | |
| COGS | 150 | |
| Operating expense | 50 | |
| Depreciation | 40 | |
| Interest expense | 10 | |
| Taxable income | 50 | |
| Tax at 30% | 15 | |
| Net income | 35 | |
| World Bar | ||
| Balance Sheet | ||
| as at 30th June | 2013 | 2012 |
| $m | $m | |
| Assets | ||
| Current assets | 200 | 230 |
| PPE | ||
| Cost | 400 | 400 |
| Accumul. depr. | 75 | 35 |
| Carrying amount | 325 | 365 |
| Total assets | 525 | 595 |
| Liabilities | ||
| Current liabilities | 150 | 205 |
| Non-current liabilities | 235 | 250 |
| Owners' equity | ||
| Retained earnings | 100 | 100 |
| Contributed equity | 40 | 40 |
| Total L and OE | 525 | 595 |
Note: all figures above and below are given in millions of dollars ($m).
Bonds X and Y are issued by the same company. Both bonds yield 10% pa, and they have the same face value ($100), maturity, seniority, and payment frequency.
The only difference is that bond X pays coupons of 6% pa and bond Y pays coupons of 8% pa. Which of the following statements is true?
A home loan company advertises an interest rate of 4.5% pa, payable monthly. Which of the following statements about the interest rate is NOT correct?
A stock's returns are normally distributed with a mean of 10% pa and a standard deviation of 20 percentage points pa. What is the 95% confidence interval of returns over the next year? Note that the Z-statistic corresponding to a one-tail:
- 90% normal probability density function is 1.282.
- 95% normal probability density function is 1.645.
- 97.5% normal probability density function is 1.960.
The 95% confidence interval of annual returns is between: