A stock has a beta of 0.5. Its next dividend is expected to be $3, paid one year from now. Dividends are expected to be paid annually and grow by 2% pa forever. Treasury bonds yield 5% pa and the market portfolio's expected return is 10% pa. All returns are effective annual rates.
What is the price of the stock now?
Diversification in a portfolio of two assets works best when the correlation between their returns is:
Question 247 cross currency interest rate parity, no explanation
In the so called 'Swiss Loans Affair' of the 1980's, Australian banks offered loans denominated in Swiss Francs to Australian farmers at interest rates as low as 4% pa. This was far lower than interest rates on Australian Dollar loans which were above 10% due to very high inflation in Australia at the time.
In the late-1980's there was a large depreciation in the Australian Dollar. The Australian Dollar nearly halved in value against the Swiss Franc. Many Australian farmers went bankrupt since they couldn't afford the interest payments on the Swiss Franc loans because the Australian Dollar value of those payments nearly doubled. The farmers accused the banks of promoting Swiss Franc loans without making them aware of the risks.
What fundamental principal of finance did the Australian farmers (and the bankers) fail to understand?
Value the following business project to manufacture a new product.
| Project Data | ||
| Project life | 2 yrs | |
| Initial investment in equipment | $6m | |
| Depreciation of equipment per year | $3m | |
| Expected sale price of equipment at end of project | $0.6m | |
| Unit sales per year | 4m | |
| Sale price per unit | $8 | |
| Variable cost per unit | $5 | |
| Fixed costs per year, paid at the end of each year | $1m | |
| Interest expense per year | 0 | |
| Tax rate | 30% | |
| Weighted average cost of capital after tax per annum | 10% | |
Notes
- The firm's current assets and current liabilities are $3m and $2m respectively right now. This net working capital will not be used in this project, it will be used in other unrelated projects.
Due to the project, current assets (mostly inventory) will grow by $2m initially (at t = 0), and then by $0.2m at the end of the first year (t=1).
Current liabilities (mostly trade creditors) will increase by $0.1m at the end of the first year (t=1).
At the end of the project, the net working capital accumulated due to the project can be sold for the same price that it was bought. - The project cost $0.5m to research which was incurred one year ago.
Assumptions
- All cash flows occur at the start or end of the year as appropriate, not in the middle or throughout the year.
- All rates and cash flows are real. The inflation rate is 3% pa.
- All rates are given as effective annual rates.
- The business considering the project is run as a 'sole tradership' (run by an individual without a company) and is therefore eligible for a 50% capital gains tax discount when the equipment is sold, as permitted by the Australian Tax Office.
What is the expected net present value (NPV) of the project?
Question 322 foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, American and European terms
The market expects the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to decrease the policy rate by 25 basis points at their next meeting.
Then unexpectedly, the RBA announce that they will decrease the policy rate by 50 basis points due to fears of a recession and deflation.
What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate? The Australian dollar will:
Total cash flows can be broken into income and capital cash flows. What is the name given to the income cash flow from owning shares?
Question 548 equivalent annual cash flow, time calculation, no explanation
An Apple iPhone 6 smart phone can be bought now for $999. An Android Kogan Agora 4G+ smart phone can be bought now for $240.
If the Kogan phone lasts for one year, approximately how long must the Apple phone last for to have the same equivalent annual cost?
Assume that both phones have equivalent features besides their lifetimes, that both are worthless once they've outlasted their life, the discount rate is 10% pa given as an effective annual rate, and there are no extra costs or benefits from either phone.
Question 760 time calculation, interest only loan, no explanation
Five years ago (##t=-5## years) you entered into an interest-only home loan with a principal of $500,000, an interest rate of 4.5% pa compounding monthly with a term of 25 years.
Then interest rates suddenly fall to 3% pa (##t=0##), but you continue to pay the same monthly home loan payments as you did before. Will your home loan be paid off by the end of its remaining term? If so, in how many years from now? Measure the time taken to pay off the home loan from the current time which is 5 years after the home loan was first entered into.
Assume that the lower interest rate was given to you immediately after the loan repayment at the end of year 5, which was the 60th payment since the loan was granted. Also assume that rates were and are expected to remain constant.
Which of the following is NOT the Australian central bank’s responsibility?