Fight Finance

Question 16  credit card, APR, effective rate

A credit card offers an interest rate of 18% pa, compounding monthly.

Find the effective monthly rate, effective annual rate and the effective daily rate. Assume that there are 365 days in a year.

All answers are given in the same order:

### r_\text{eff monthly} , r_\text{eff yearly} , r_\text{eff daily} ###

(a) 0.0072, 0.09, 0.0002.

(b) 0.0139, 0.18, 0.0005.

(c) 0.0139, 6.2876, 0.0055.

(d) 0.015, 0.1956, 0.0005.

(e) 0.015, 0.1956, 0.006.

Question 63  bond pricing, NPV, market efficiency

The theory of fixed interest bond pricing is an application of the theory of Net Present Value (NPV). Also, a 'fairly priced' asset is not over- or under-priced. Buying or selling a fairly priced asset has an NPV of zero.

Considering this, which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) The internal rate of return (IRR) of buying a bond is equal to the bond's yield.

(b) The present value of a fairly priced bond's coupons and face value is equal to its price.

(c) If the required return of a bond falls, its price will fall.

(d) Fairly priced discount bonds' yield is more than the coupon rate, price is less than face value, and the NPV of buying them is zero.

(e) The NPV of buying a fairly priced bond is zero.

Question 167  NPV, IRR

A project's net present value (NPV) is negative. Select the most correct statement.

(a) The project should be accepted.

(b) The project's IRR is less than its required return.

(c) The project's IRR is more than its required return.

(d) The project's IRR is equal to its required return.

(e) The project is under-priced.

Question 218  NPV, IRR, profitability index, average accounting return

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) If a project has a positive NPV, its Profitability Index (PI) will be more than 1.

(b) If a project has a negative NPV and the discount rate is zero, then the payback period will be infinite so the project will never pay back its costs.

(c) If a project's NPV is zero, then the PI must be 1.

(d) If a project has a negative NPV, its IRR will be negative.

(e) If a project has a positive NPV, its Average Accounting Return (AAR) is not necessarily positive, it could be positive, negative or zero.

Question 368  interest tax shield, CFFA

A method commonly seen in textbooks for calculating a levered firm's free cash flow (FFCF, or CFFA) is the following:

###\begin{aligned} FFCF &= (Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp)(1-t_c) + \\ &\space\space\space+ Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC + IntExp(1-t_c) \\ \end{aligned}###

Does this annual FFCF or the annual interest tax shield?

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.

(a) Real house prices must grow by more than the maximum target inflation rate in perpetuity.

(b) Real house prices must grow by less than or equal to the maximum target inflation rate in perpetuity.

(c) Nominal house prices must grow by more than the maximum target inflation rate in perpetuity.

(d) Nominal house prices must grow by less than or equal to the maximum target inflation rate in perpetuity.

(e) Real house prices must grow by more than nominal house prices in perpetuity.

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.

Question 590  future, market efficiency

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):

(a) The futures price quote ##(F_T)## is 'fair'. It's neither over- nor under-priced to the long or short trader.

(b) The futures price quote ##(F_T)## equals the expected underlying asset price at maturity.

(c) The futures price quote ##(F_0)## is initially zero.

(d) The value of the future ##(V_0)## is initially zero to both the long and short trader.

(e) If the value of the future ##(V_0)## rises for the long trader, it must have fallen for the short trader, and vice versa.

Question 689  future, hedging

An equity index fund manager controls a USD1 billion diversified equity portfolio with a beta of 1.3. The equity manager fears that a global recession will begin in the next year, causing equity prices to tumble. The market does not think that this will happen. If the fund manager wishes to reduce her portfolio beta to 0.5, how many S&P500 futures should she sell?

The US market equity index is the S&P500. One year CME futures on the S&P500 currently trade at 2,062 points and the spot price is 2,091 points. Each point is worth $250. How many one year S&P500 futures contracts should the fund manager sell?

(a) 970

(b) 1,530

(c) 1,552

(d) 2,487

(e) 2,522

Question 730  DDM, income and capital returns, no explanation

A stock’s current price is $1. Its expected total return is 10% pa and its long term expected capital return is 4% pa. It pays an annual dividend and the next one will be paid in one year. All rates are given as effective annual rates. The dividend discount model is thought to be a suitable model for the stock. Ignore taxes. Which of the following statements about the stock is NOT correct?

(a) The expected dividend yield is 6% pa.

(b) The expected growth rate of the dividend is 4% pa.

(c) The dividend in one year is expected to be $0.06.

(d) The price is expected to be $1.06 in one year, just before the dividend is paid.

(e) The price is expected to be $1.04 in one year, just after the dividend is paid.

Question 796  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing, option delta, no explanation

Which of the following quantities from the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula gives the risk-neutral probability that a European call option will be exercised?

(a) ##N[d_1]##

(b) ##N[d_2]##

(c) ##−N[−d_1]##

(d) ##−N[−d_2]##

(e) ##N[−d_2]##