Fight Finance

You just signed up for a 30 year fully amortising mortgage loan with monthly payments of $1,500 per month. The interest rate is 9% pa which is not expected to change.

To your surprise, you can actually afford to pay $2,000 per month and your mortgage allows early repayments without fees. If you maintain these higher monthly payments, how long will it take to pay off your mortgage?

There are a number of ways that assets can be depreciated. Generally the government's tax office stipulates a certain method.

But if it didn't, what would be the ideal way to depreciate an asset from the perspective of a businesses owner?

What is the net present value (NPV) of undertaking a full-time Australian undergraduate business degree as an Australian citizen? Only include the cash flows over the duration of the degree, ignore any benefits or costs of the degree after it's completed.

Assume the following:

• The degree takes 3 years to complete and all students pass all subjects.
• There are 2 semesters per year and 4 subjects per semester.
• University fees per subject per semester are $1,277, paid at the start of each semester. Fees are expected to remain constant in real terms for the next 3 years.
• There are 52 weeks per year.
• The first semester is just about to start (t=0). The first semester lasts for 19 weeks (t=0 to 19).
• The second semester starts immediately afterwards (t=19) and lasts for another 19 weeks (t=19 to 38).
• The summer holidays begin after the second semester ends and last for 14 weeks (t=38 to 52). Then the first semester begins the next year, and so on.
• Working full time at the grocery store instead of studying full-time pays $20/hr and you can work 35 hours per week. Wages are paid at the end of each week and are expected to remain constant in real terms.
• Full-time students can work full-time during the summer holiday at the grocery store for the same rate of $20/hr for 35 hours per week.
• The discount rate is 9.8% pa. All rates and cash flows are real. Inflation is expected to be 3% pa. All rates are effective annual.

The NPV of costs from undertaking the university degree is:

Estimate Microsoft's (MSFT) share price using a price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only:

• Apple, Google and Microsoft are comparable companies,
• Apple's (AAPL) share price is $526.24 and historical EPS is $40.32.
• Google's (GOOG) share price is $1,215.65 and historical EPS is $36.23.
• Micrsoft's (MSFT) historical earnings per share (EPS) is $2.71.

Source: Google Finance 28 Feb 2014.

Some countries' interest rates are so low that they're zero.

If interest rates are 0% pa and are expected to stay at that level for the foreseeable future, what is the most that you would be prepared to pay a bank now if it offered to pay you $10 at the end of every year for the next 5 years?

In other words, what is the present value of five $10 payments at time 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 if interest rates are 0% pa?

The following cash flows are expected:

• 10 yearly payments of $80, with the first payment in 6.5 years from now (first payment at t=6.5).
• A single payment of $500 in 4 years and 3 months (t=4.25) from now.

What is the NPV of the cash flows if the discount rate is 10% given as an effective annual rate?

What is the present value of a nominal payment of $1,000 in 4 years? The nominal discount rate is 8% pa and the inflation rate is 2% pa.

A stock will pay you a dividend of $2 tonight if you buy it today.

Thereafter the annual dividend is expected to grow by 3% pa, so the next dividend after the $2 one tonight will be $2.06 in one year, then in two years it will be $2.1218 and so on. The stock's required return is 8% pa.

What is the stock price today and what do you expect the stock price to be tomorrow, approximately?

What derivative position are you exposed to if you have the obligation to sell the underlying asset at maturity, so you will definitely be forced to sell the underlying asset?

Which of the following is NOT a money market security?