Fight Finance

Question 221  credit risk

You're considering making an investment in a particular company. They have preference shares, ordinary shares, senior debt and junior debt.

Which is the safest investment? Which has the highest expected returns?

(a) Junior debt is the safest. Preference shares have the highest expected returns.

(b) Preference shares are the safest. Ordinary shares have the highest expected returns.

(c) Senior debt is the safest. Ordinary shares have the highest expected returns.

(d) Junior debt is the safest. Ordinary shares have the highest expected returns.

(e) Senior debt is the safest. Junior debt have the highest expected returns.

Question 375  interest tax shield, CFFA

One formula for calculating a levered firm's free cash flow (FFCF, or CFFA) is to use net operating profit after tax (NOPAT).

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

Does this annual FFCF or the annual interest tax shield?

Question 411  WACC, capital structure

A firm plans to issue equity and use the cash raised to pay off its debt. No assets will be bought or sold. Ignore the costs of financial distress.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct, all things remaining equal?

(a) The firm's WACC before tax will rise.

(b) The firm's WACC after tax will rise.

(c) The firm's required return on equity will be lower.

(d) The firm's net income will be higher.

(e) The firm's free cash flow will be lower.

Question 456  inflation, effective rate

In the 'Austin Powers' series of movies, the character Dr. Evil threatens to destroy the world unless the United Nations pays him a ransom (video 1, video 2). Dr. Evil makes the threat on two separate occasions:

• In 1969 he demands a ransom of $1 million (=10^6), and again;
• In 1997 he demands a ransom of $100 billion (=10^11).

If Dr. Evil's demands are equivalent in real terms, in other words $1 million will buy the same basket of goods in 1969 as $100 billion would in 1997, what was the implied inflation rate over the 28 years from 1969 to 1997?

The answer choices below are given as effective annual rates:

(a) 0.5086% pa

(b) 1.5086% pa

(c) 5.0859% pa

(d) 50.8591% pa

(e) 150.8591% pa

Question 599  bond pricing

On 22-Mar-2013 the Australian Government issued series TB139 treasury bonds with a combined face value $23.4m, listed on the ASX with ticker code GSBG25.

The bonds mature on 21-Apr-2025, the fixed coupon rate is 3.25% pa and coupons are paid semi-annually on the 21st of April and October of each year. Each bond's face value is $1,000.

At market close on Friday 11-Sep-2015 the bonds' yield was 2.736% pa.

At market close on Monday 14-Sep-2015 the bonds' yield was 2.701% pa. Both yields are given as annualised percentage rates (APR's) compounding every 6 months. For convenience, assume 183 days in 6 months and 366 days in a year.

What was the historical total return over those 3 calendar days between Friday 11-Sep-2015 and Monday 14-Sep-2015?

There are 183 calendar days from market close on the last coupon 21-Apr-2015 to the market close of the next coupon date on 21-Oct-2015.

Between the market close times from 21-Apr-2015 to 11-Sep-2015 there are 143 calendar days. From 21-Apr-2015 to 14-Sep-2015 there are 146 calendar days.

From 14-Sep-2015 there were 20 coupons remaining to be paid including the next one on 21-Oct-2015.

All of the below answers are given as effective 3 day rates.

(a) -0.035%

(b) 0.0267%

(c) 0.035%

(d) 0.2667%

(e) 0.3078%

Question 674  CAPM, beta, expected and historical returns

A stock has a beta of 1.5. The market's expected total return is 10% pa and the risk free rate is 5% pa, both given as effective annual rates.

Over the last year, bad economic news was released showing a higher chance of recession. Over this time the share market fell by 1%. So ##r_{m} = (P_{0} - P_{-1})/P_{-1} = -0.01##, where the current time is zero and one year ago is time -1. The risk free rate was unchanged.

What do you think was the stock's historical return over the last year, given as an effective annual rate?

(a) -12.5% pa

(b) -4% pa

(c) -1.5% pa

(d) -1% pa

(e) 12.5% pa

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:

(a) 230.258509% pa

(b) 10.536052% pa

(c) 10.517092% pa

(d) 10.468982% pa

(e) 9.531018% pa

Question 715  return distribution

If a variable, say X, is normally distributed with mean ##\mu## and variance ##\sigma^2## then mathematicians write ##X \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##.

If a variable, say Y, is log-normally distributed and the underlying normal distribution has mean ##\mu## and variance ##\sigma^2## then mathematicians write ## Y \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##.

The below three graphs show probability density functions (PDF) of three different random variables Red, Green and Blue.

Select the most correct statement:

(a)##Red \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##,   ##Green \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##   and   ##Blue \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##

(b) ##Red \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##,   ##Green \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##   and   ##Blue \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##

(c) ##Red \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##,   ##Green \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##   and   ##Blue \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##

(d) ##Red \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##,   ##Green \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##   and   ##Blue \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##

(e) ##Red \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##,   ##Green \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##   and   ##Blue \sim \mathbf{ln} \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)##

Question 728  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, income and capital returns, no explanation

Which of the following statements about gold is NOT correct? Assume that the gold price increases by inflation. Gold has a:

(a) Nil income cash flow.

(b) Real total return of zero.

(c) Real capital return equal to the inflation rate.

(d) Real income return of zero.

(e) Nominal income return of zero.

Question 890  foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, no explanation

The market expects the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to increase the policy rate by 25 basis points at their next meeting. The current exchange rate is 0.8 USD per AUD.

Then unexpectedly, the RBA announce that they will increase the policy rate by 50 basis points due to increased fears of inflation.

What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate on the day when the surprise announcement is made? The Australian dollar is likely to suddenly:

(a) Remain at 0.8 USD per AUD.

(b) Appreciate against the USD to be, say, 0.81 USD per AUD.

(c) Appreciate against the USD to be, say, 0.79 USD per AUD.

(d) Depreciate against the USD to be, say, 0.81 USD per AUD.

(e) Depreciate against the USD to be, say, 0.79 USD per AUD.