Fight Finance

Question 36  DDM, perpetuity with growth

A stock pays annual dividends which are expected to continue forever. It just paid a dividend of $10. The growth rate in the dividend is 2% pa. You estimate that the stock's required return is 10% pa. Both the discount rate and growth rate are given as effective annual rates. Using the dividend discount model, what will be the share price?

(a) $127.5

(b) $125

(c) $102

(d) $101.98

(e) $100

Question 282  expected and historical returns, income and capital returns

You're the boss of an investment bank's equities research team. Your five analysts are each trying to find the expected total return over the next year of shares in a mining company. The mining firm:

• Is regarded as a mature company since it's quite stable in size and was floated around 30 years ago. It is not a high-growth company;
• Share price is very sensitive to changes in the price of the market portfolio, economic growth, the exchange rate and commodities prices. Due to this, its standard deviation of total returns is much higher than that of the market index;
• Experienced tough times in the last 10 years due to unexpected falls in commodity prices.
• Shares are traded in an active liquid market.

Your team of analysts present their findings, and everyone has different views. While there's no definitive true answer, whose calculation of the expected total return is the most plausible? Assume that:

• The analysts' source data is correct and true, but their inferences might be wrong;
• All returns and yields are given as effective annual nominal rates.

(a) Alice says 5% pa since she calculated that this was the average total yield on government bonds over the last 10 years. She says that this is also the expected total yield implied by current prices on one year government bonds.

(b) Bob says 4% pa since he calculated that this was the average total return on the mining stock over the last 10 years.

(c) Cate says 3% pa since she calculated that this was the average growth rate of the share price over the last 10 years.

(d) Dave says 6% pa since he calculated that this was the average growth rate of the share market price index (not the accumulation index) over the last 10 years.

(e) Eve says 15% pa since she calculated that this was the discount rate implied by the dividend discount model using the current share price, forecast dividend in one year and a 3% growth rate in dividends thereafter, which is the expected long term inflation rate.

Question 300  NPV, opportunity cost

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:

(a) $98,385.98

(b) $97,915.91

(c) $75,130.29

(d) $54,018.93

(e) $27,523.89

Question 363  income and capital returns, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, real estate

A residential investment property has an expected nominal total return of 8% pa and nominal capital return of 3% pa.

Inflation is expected to be 2% pa. All rates are given as effective annual rates.

What are the property's expected real total, capital and income returns? The answer choices below are given in the same order.

(a) 5.8824%, 0.9804%, 4.902%.

(b) 5.8824%, 0.9804%, 2.9412%.

(c) 4.0000%, 1.0000%, 3.0000%.

(d) 3.9412%, 1.0000%, 2.9412%.

(e) 3.9216%, 0.9804%, 2.9412%.

Question 541  debt terminology

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Bond investors:

(a) Buy debt.

(b) Are debtors.

(c) Have debt assets.

(d) Provide debt funding.

(e) Are lenders.

Question 616  idiom, debt terminology, bond pricing

"Buy low, sell high" is a phrase commonly heard in financial markets. It states that traders should try to buy assets at low prices and sell at high prices.

Traders in the fixed-coupon bond markets often quote promised bond yields rather than prices. Fixed-coupon bond traders should try to:

(a) Buy at low yields, sell at high yields.

(b) Buy at high yields, sell at low yields.

(c) Buy at high yields, sell at high yields.

(d) Buy at low yields, sell at low yields.

(e) There is no preferable yield to buy or sell fixed-coupon debt.

Question 673  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.

In the last 5 minutes, bad economic news was released showing a higher chance of recession. Over this time the share market fell by 1%. The risk free rate was unchanged.

What do you think was the stock's historical return over the last 5 minutes, given as an effective 5 minute rate?

(a) -12.5%

(b) -4%

(c) -1.5%

(d) -1%

(e) 12.5%

Question 895  comparative advantage in trade, production possibilities curve

Adam and Bella are the only people on a remote island.

Luckily there are Coconut and Date palm trees on the island that grow delicious fruit. The problem is that harvesting the fruit takes a lot of work.

Adam can pick 7 coconuts per hour, 6 dates per hour or any linear combination of coconuts and dates. For example, he could pick 3.5 coconuts and 3 dates per hour.

Bella can pick 3 coconuts per hour, 5 dates per hour or any linear combination. For example, she could pick 1.5 coconuts and 2.5 dates per hour.

This information is summarised in the table and graph:

Harvest Rates Per Hour
	Coconuts	Dates
Adam	7	6
Bella	3	5

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) Adam’s opportunity cost of picking one date per hour is 7/6 coconuts, so he picks around 1.1667 coconuts per one date per one hour.

(b) Bella’s opportunity cost of picking one date per hour is 3/5 coconuts, so she picks around 0.6 coconuts per one date per one hour.

(c) Adam’s opportunity cost of picking one coconut per hour is 6/7 dates, so he picks around 0.8571 dates per one coconut per one hour.

(d) Bella’s opportunity cost of picking one coconut per hour is 5/3 dates, so she picks around 1.6667 dates per one coconut per one hour.

(e) The gradients (rise over run) of the lines in the graph are measured in dates per one coconut per hour.

Question 910  money market

Which of the following is NOT a money market security?

(a) Bank accepted bill (BAB).

(b) Certificate of deposit (CD).

(c) Fixed coupon bond.

(d) Promissory note (PN).

(e) Treasury note (TN) or bill.

Question 938  CAPM, SML

The market's expected total return is 10% pa and the risk free rate is 5% pa, both given as effective annual rates.

A stock has a beta of 0.7.

In the last 5 minutes, bad economic news was released showing a higher chance of recession. Over this time the share market fell by 2%. The risk free rate was unchanged. What do you think was the stock's historical return over the last 5 minutes, given as an effective 5 minute rate?

(a) -8.5%

(b) -2.7%

(c) -2%

(d) -1.4%

(e) 0.1%