Fight Finance

A European company just issued two bonds, a

• 1 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 8% pa, and a
• 2 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 10% pa.

What is the company's forward rate over the second year (from t=1 to t=2)? Give your answer as an effective annual rate, which is how the above bond yields are quoted.

A highly levered risky firm is trying to raise more debt. The types of debt being considered, in no particular order, are senior bonds, junior bonds, bank accepted bills, promissory notes and bank loans.

Which of these forms of debt is the safest from the perspective of the debt investors who are thinking of investing in the firm's new debt?

In mid 2009 the listed mining company Rio Tinto announced a 21-for-40 renounceable rights issue. Below is the chronology of events:

• 04/06/2009. Share price opens at $69.00 and closes at $66.90.

• 05/06/2009. 21-for-40 rights issue announced at a subscription price of $28.29.

• 16/06/2009. Last day that shares trade cum-rights. Share price opens at $76.40 and closes at $75.50.

• 17/06/2009. Shares trade ex-rights. Rights trading commences.

All things remaining equal, what would you expect Rio Tinto's stock price to open at on the first day that it trades ex-rights (17/6/2009)? Ignore the time value of money since time is negligibly short. Also ignore taxes.

Stocks in the United States usually pay quarterly dividends. For example, the retailer Wal-Mart Stores paid a $0.47 dividend every quarter over the 2013 calendar year and plans to pay a $0.48 dividend every quarter over the 2014 calendar year.

Using the dividend discount model and net present value techniques, calculate the stock price of Wal-Mart Stores assuming that:

• The time now is the beginning of January 2014. The next dividend of $0.48 will be received in 3 months (end of March 2014), with another 3 quarterly payments of $0.48 after this (end of June, September and December 2014).
• The quarterly dividend will increase by 2% every year, but each quarterly dividend over the year will be equal. So each quarterly dividend paid in 2015 will be $0.4896 (##=0.48×(1+0.02)^1##), with the first at the end of March 2015 and the last at the end of December 2015. In 2016 each quarterly dividend will be $0.499392 (##=0.48×(1+0.02)^2##), with the first at the end of March 2016 and the last at the end of December 2016, and so on forever.
• The total required return on equity is 6% pa.
• The required return and growth rate are given as effective annual rates.
• All cash flows and rates are nominal. Inflation is 3% pa.
• Dividend payment dates and ex-dividend dates are at the same time.
• Remember that there are 4 quarters in a year and 3 months in a quarter.

What is the current stock price?

One and a half years ago Frank bought a house for $600,000. Now it's worth only $500,000, based on recent similar sales in the area.

The expected total return on Frank's residential property is 7% pa.

He rents his house out for $1,600 per month, paid in advance. Every 12 months he plans to increase the rental payments.

The present value of 12 months of rental payments is $18,617.27.

The future value of 12 months of rental payments one year in the future is $19,920.48.

What is the expected annual rental yield of the property? Ignore the costs of renting such as maintenance, real estate agent fees and so on.

Which of the following is NOT a synonym of 'required return'?

A residential investment property has an expected nominal total return of 6% pa and nominal capital return of 2.5% pa. Inflation is expected to be 2.5% pa.

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

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

The answer choices below are given in the same order.

Which of the following statements about the capital and income returns of an interest-only loan is correct?

Assume that the yield curve (which shows total returns over different maturities) is flat and is not expected to change.

An interest-only loan's expected:

Alice, Bob, Chris and Delta are traders in the futures market. The following trades occur over a single day in a newly-opened equity index future that matures in one year which the exchange just made available.

1. Alice buys a future from Bob.

2. Chris buys a future from Delta.

3. Bob buys a future from Chris.

These were the only trades made in this equity index future. What was the trading volume and what is the open interest?

You're thinking of buying an investment property that costs $1,000,000. The property's rent revenue over the next year is expected to be $50,000 pa and rent expenses are $20,000 pa, so net rent cash flow is $30,000. Assume that net rent is paid annually in arrears, so this next expected net rent cash flow of $30,000 is paid one year from now.

The year after, net rent is expected to fall by 2% pa. So net rent at year 2 is expected to be $29,400 (=30,000*(1-0.02)^1).

The year after that, net rent is expected to rise by 1% pa. So net rent at year 3 is expected to be $29,694 (=30,000*(1-0.02)^1*(1+0.01)^1).

From year 3 onwards, net rent is expected to rise at 2.5% pa forever. So net rent at year 4 is expected to be $30,436.35 (=30,000*(1-0.02)^1*(1+0.01)^1*(1+0.025)^1).

Assume that the total required return on your investment property is 6% pa. Ignore taxes. All returns are given as effective annual rates.

What is the net present value (NPV) of buying the investment property?