Fight Finance

Question 26  APR, effective rate

A European bond paying annual coupons of 6% offers a yield of 10% pa.

Convert the yield into an effective monthly rate, an effective annual rate and an 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) 0.0041, 0.05, 0.0001.

(b) 0.0080, 0.1, 0.0003.

(c) 0.0083, 0.1, 0.0003.

(d) 0.0083, 2.1384, 0.0031.

(e) 0.0083, 0.1047, 0.0033.

Question 228  DDM, NPV, risk, market efficiency

A very low-risk stock just paid its semi-annual dividend of $0.14, as it has for the last 5 years. You conservatively estimate that from now on the dividend will fall at a rate of 1% every 6 months.

If the stock currently sells for $3 per share, what must be its required total return as an effective annual rate?

If risk free government bonds are trading at a yield of 4% pa, given as an effective annual rate, would you consider buying or selling the stock?

The stock's required total return is:

(a) 9.55%, so buy the stock since its required return is too high for its low risk.

(b) 7.37%, so buy the stock since its required return is too high for its low risk.

(c) 7.37%, so sell the stock since its required return is too high for its low risk.

(d) 3.62%, so buy the stock since its required return is too low for its low risk.

(e) 3.62%, so sell the stock since its required return is too low for its low risk.

Question 338  market efficiency, CAPM, opportunity cost, technical analysis

A man inherits $500,000 worth of shares.

He believes that by learning the secrets of trading, keeping up with the financial news and doing complex trend analysis with charts that he can quit his job and become a self-employed day trader in the equities markets.

What is the expected gain from doing this over the first year? Measure the net gain in wealth received at the end of this first year due to the decision to become a day trader. Assume the following:

• He earns $60,000 pa in his current job, paid in a lump sum at the end of each year.
• He enjoys examining share price graphs and day trading just as much as he enjoys his current job.
• Stock markets are weak form and semi-strong form efficient.
• He has no inside information.
• He makes 1 trade every day and there are 250 trading days in the year. Trading costs are $20 per trade. His broker invoices him for the trading costs at the end of the year.
• The shares that he currently owns and the shares that he intends to trade have the same level of systematic risk as the market portfolio.
• The market portfolio's expected return is 10% pa.

Measure the net gain over the first year as an expected wealth increase at the end of the year.

(a) $110,000

(b) $50,000

(c) $45,000

(d) -$15,000

(e) -$65,000

Question 359  CFFA

Which one of the following will have no effect on net income (NI) but decrease cash flow from assets (CFFA or FFCF) in this year for a tax-paying firm, all else remaining constant?

Remember:

###NI=(Rev-COGS-FC-Depr-IntExp).(1-t_c )### ###CFFA=NI+Depr-CapEx - ΔNWC+IntExp###

(a) An increase in revenue (Rev).

(b) An increase in rent expense (a type of recurring fixed cost, FC).

(c) An increase in depreciation expense (Depr).

(d) An increase in inventories (a current asset).

(e) An decrease in interest expense (IntExp).

Question 523  income and capital returns, real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation

A low-growth mature stock has an expected nominal total return of 6% pa and nominal capital return of 2% pa. Inflation is expected to be 3% pa.

All of the above are effective nominal rates and investors believe that they will stay the same in perpetuity.

What are the stock's expected real total, capital and income returns?

The answer choices below are given in the same order.

(a) 2.9126%, 3.8835%, -0.9709%.

(b) 2.9126%, -0.9709%, 3.8835%.

(c) 2.9126%, -0.9709%, 0.9709%.

(d) -0.0291%, -1%, 0.9709%.

(e) 0%, -0.9709%, 0.9709%.

Question 593  future, arbitrage table

The price of gold is currently $700 per ounce. The forward price for delivery in 1 year is $800. An arbitrageur can borrow money at 10% per annum given as an effective discrete annual rate. Assume that gold is fairly priced and the cost of storing gold is zero.

What is the best way to conduct an arbitrage in this situation? The best arbitrage strategy requires zero capital, has zero risk and makes money straight away. An arbitrageur should sell 1 forward on gold and:

(a) Borrow $636.3636 and use it to buy 0.9091 ounces of gold right now (t=0). Then pay back the loan with $700 at the end (t=1).

(b) Borrow $700 and use it to buy 1 ounce of gold right now (t=0). Then pay back the loan with $770 at the end (t=1).

(c) Borrow $727.2727 and use it to buy 1 ounce of gold right now (t=0). Then pay back the loan with $800 at the end (t=1).

(d) Borrow $800 and use it to buy 1.1039 ounces of gold right now (t=0). Then pay back the loan with $880 at the end (t=1).

(e) Borrow $880 and use it to buy 1 ounce of gold right now (t=0). Then pay back the loan with $800 at the end (t=1).

Question 620  bond pricing, income and capital returns

Let the 'income return' of a bond be the coupon at the end of the period divided by the market price now at the start of the period ##(C_1/P_0)##. The expected income return of a premium fixed coupon bond is:

(a) Less than its expected total return.

(b) Equal to its expected total return.

(c) More than its expected total return.

(d) More than its coupon rate.

(e) Equal to its coupon rate.

Question 631  foreign exchange rate

The Australian dollar's value was:

1.4875 USD per AUD on 31 August 1974.
0.4890 USD per AUD on 31 March 2001.

Did the Australian dollar or against the US dollar between these dates?

Question 944  stock split, bonus issue, stock dividend

A 2-for-1 stock split is equivalent to a 1-for-1 bonus issue or a 100% stock dividend. or ?

Question 988  variance, covariance, beta, CAPM, risk, no explanation

Price Data Time Series
Sourced from Yahoo Finance Historical Price Data
Date	S&P500 Index (^GSPC)						Apple (AAPL)
	Open	High	Low	Close	Adj close		Open	High	Low	Close	Adj close
2007, Wed 3 Jan	1418	1429	1408	1417	1417		12.33	12.37	11.7	11.97	10.42
2008, Wed 2 Jan	1468	1472	1442	1447	1447		28.47	28.61	27.51	27.83	24.22
2009, Fri 2 Jan	903	935	899	932	932		12.27	13.01	12.17	12.96	11.28
2010, Mon 4 Jan	1117	1134	1117	1133	1133		30.49	30.64	30.34	30.57	26.6
Source: Yahoo Finance.

 

Which of the following statements about the above table which is used to calculate Apple's equity beta is NOT correct?

(a) Adjusted closing prices add back dividends and reverse the effect of stock splits.

(b) Apple's effective annual total return between the market close on 2 January 2008 and 2 January 2009 was -0.534269 (=(24.22-11.28)/24.22).

(c) Sample variance of the S&P500's effective annual total returns over the 3 year period was 0.084452.

(d) Sample covariance of effective total annual returns between Apple and the S&P500 index over the 3 year period was 0.041131.

(e) Apple's equity beta of annual total returns over the 3 year period was 3.530767.