Suppose that the US government recently announced that subsidies for fresh milk producers will be gradually phased out over the next year. Newspapers say that there are expectations of a 40% increase in the spot price of fresh milk over the next year.
Option prices on fresh milk trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reflect expectations of this 40% increase in spot prices over the next year. Similarly to the rest of the market, you believe that prices will rise by 40% over the next year.
What option trades are likely to be profitable, or to be more specific, result in a positive Net Present Value (NPV)?
Assume that:
- Only the spot price is expected to increase and there is no change in expected volatility or other variables that affect option prices.
- No taxes, transaction costs, information asymmetry, bid-ask spreads or other market frictions.
A four year bond has a face value of $100, a yield of 9% and a fixed coupon rate of 6%, paid semi-annually. What is its price?
Question 415 income and capital returns, real estate, no explanation
You just bought a residential apartment as an investment property for $500,000.
You intend to rent it out to tenants. They are ready to move in, they would just like to know how much the monthly rental payments will be, then they will sign a twelve-month lease.
You require a total return of 8% pa and a rental yield of 5% pa.
What would the monthly paid-in-advance rental payments have to be this year to receive that 5% annual rental yield?
Also, if monthly rental payments can be increased each year when a new lease agreement is signed, by how much must you increase rents per year to realise the 8% pa total return on the property?
Ignore all taxes and the costs of renting such as maintenance costs, real estate agent fees, utilities and so on. Assume that there will be no periods of vacancy and that tenants will promptly pay the rental prices you charge.
Note that the first rental payment will be received at t=0. The first lease agreement specifies the first 12 equal payments from t=0 to 11. The next lease agreement can have a rental increase, so the next twelve equal payments from t=12 to 23 can be higher than previously, and so on forever.
Read the following financial statements and calculate the firm's free cash flow over the 2014 financial year.
| UBar Corp | ||
| Income Statement for | ||
| year ending 30th June 2014 | ||
| $m | ||
| Sales | 293 | |
| COGS | 200 | |
| Rent expense | 15 | |
| Gas expense | 8 | |
| Depreciation | 10 | |
| EBIT | 60 | |
| Interest expense | 0 | |
| Taxable income | 60 | |
| Taxes | 18 | |
| Net income | 42 | |
| UBar Corp | ||
| Balance Sheet | ||
| as at 30th June | 2014 | 2013 |
| $m | $m | |
| Assets | ||
| Cash | 30 | 29 |
| Accounts receivable | 5 | 7 |
| Pre-paid rent expense | 1 | 0 |
| Inventory | 50 | 46 |
| PPE | 290 | 300 |
| Total assets | 376 | 382 |
| Liabilities | ||
| Trade payables | 20 | 18 |
| Accrued gas expense | 3 | 2 |
| Non-current liabilities | 0 | 0 |
| Contributed equity | 212 | 212 |
| Retained profits | 136 | 150 |
| Asset revaluation reserve | 5 | 0 |
| Total L and OE | 376 | 382 |
Note: all figures are given in millions of dollars ($m).
The firm's free cash flow over the 2014 financial year was:
Question 529 DDM, real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation, real estate, no explanation
If housing rents are constrained from growing more than the maximum target inflation rate, and houses can be priced as a perpetuity of growing net rental cash flows, then what is the implication for house prices, all things remaining equal? Select the most correct answer.
Background: Since 1990, many central banks across the world have become 'inflation targeters'. They have adopted a policy of trying to keep inflation in a predictable narrow range, with the hope of encouraging long-term lending to fund more investment and maintain higher GDP growth.
Australia's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), has specifically stated their inflation target range is between 2 and 3% pa.
Some Australian residential property market commentators suggest that because rental costs comprise a large part of the Australian consumer price index (CPI), rent costs across the nation cannot significantly exceed the maximum inflation target range of 3% pa without the prices of other goods growing by less than the target range for long periods, which is unlikely.
Which of the following statements about futures contracts on shares is NOT correct, assuming that markets are efficient?
When an equity future is first negotiated (at t=0):
Question 604 inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows
Apples and oranges currently cost $1 each. Inflation is 5% pa, and apples and oranges are equally affected by this inflation rate. Note that when payments are not specified as real, as in this question, they're conventionally assumed to be nominal.
Which of the following statements is NOT correct?
Question 624 franking credit, personal tax on dividends, imputation tax system, no explanation
Which of the following statements about Australian franking credits is NOT correct? Franking credits:
Question 707 continuously compounding rate, continuously compounding rate conversion
Convert a 10% effective annual rate ##(r_\text{eff annual})## into a continuously compounded annual rate ##(r_\text{cc annual})##. The equivalent continuously compounded annual rate is:
Question 891 foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, no explanation
Suppose the market expects the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to decrease their short term interest rate by 15 basis points at their next meeting. The current short term interest rate is -0.1% pa and the exchange rate is 100 JPY per USD.
Then unexpectedly, the BoJ announce that they will leave the short term interest rate unchanged.
What do you expect to happen to Japan’s exchange rate on the day when the surprise announcement is made? The Japanese Yen (JPY) is likely to suddenly: