Fight Finance

Question 41  DDM, income and capital returns

The following is the Dividend Discount Model (DDM) used to price stocks:

### P_0 = \frac{d_1}{r-g} ###

Assume that the assumptions of the DDM hold and that the time period is measured in years.

Which of the following is equal to the expected dividend in 3 years, ## d_3 ##?

(a) ## d_1(1+g)^3 ##

(b) ## P_3(r-g) ##

(c) ## d_2(1+g)^2 ##

(d) ## P_0(1+g)^3(r-g) ##

(e) ## P_0(1+g)^2(r-g) ##

Question 245  foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, foreign exchange rate direct quote, no explanation

Investors expect Australia's central bank, the RBA, to leave the policy rate unchanged at their next meeting.

Then unexpectedly, the policy rate is reduced due to fears that Australia's GDP growth is slowing.

What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate? Direct and indirect quotes are given from the perspective of an Australian.

The Australian dollar will:

(a) Appreciate against the USD, so the 'direct quote' of the AUD (AUD per USD) will increase.

(b) Depreciate against the USD, so the 'direct quote' of the AUD (AUD per USD) will decrease.

(c) Appreciate against the USD, so the 'direct quote' of the AUD (AUD per USD) will decrease.

(d) Depreciate against the USD, so the 'direct quote' of the AUD (AUD per USD) will increase.

(e) Depreciate against the USD, so the 'indirect quote' of the AUD (USD per AUD) will increase.

Question 324  foreign exchange rate

The Chinese government attempts to fix its exchange rate against the US dollar and at the same time use monetary policy to fix its interest rate at a set level.

To be able to fix its exchange rate and interest rate in this way, what does the Chinese government actually do?

1. Adopts capital controls to prevent financial arbitrage by private firms and individuals.
2. Adopts the same interest rate (monetary policy) as the United States.
3. Fixes inflation so that the domestic real interest rate is equal to the United States' real interest rate.

Which of the above statements is or are true?

(a) I only.

(b) II only.

(c) III only.

(d) I and II.

(e) II and III.

Question 416  real estate, market efficiency, income and capital returns, DDM, CAPM

A residential real estate investor believes that house prices will grow at a rate of 5% pa and that rents will grow by 2% pa forever.

All rates are given as nominal effective annual returns. Assume that:

• His forecast is true.
• Real estate is and always will be fairly priced and the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is true.
• Ignore all costs such as taxes, agent fees, maintenance and so on.
• All rental income cash flow is paid out to the owner, so there is no re-investment and therefore no additions or improvements made to the property.
• The non-monetary benefits of owning real estate and renting remain constant.

Which one of the following statements is NOT correct? Over time:

(a) The rental yield will fall and approach zero.

(b) The total return will fall and approach the capital return (5% pa).

(c) One or all of the following must fall: the systematic risk of real estate, the risk free rate or the market risk premium.

(d) If the country's nominal wealth growth rate is 4% pa and the nominal real estate growth rate is 5% pa then real estate will approach 100% of the country's wealth over time.

(e) If the country's nominal gross domestic production (GDP) growth rate is 4% pa and the nominal real estate rent growth rate is 2% pa then real estate rent will approach 100% of the country's GDP over time.

Question 637  option, option payoff at maturity, no explanation

Which of the below formulas gives the payoff ##(f)## at maturity ##(T)## from being short a call option? Let the underlying asset price at maturity be ##S_T## and the exercise price be ##X_T##.

(a) ##f_{SC,T}=max⁡(S_T-X_T,0)##

(b) ##f_{SC,T}=max⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

(c) ##f_{SC,T}=-max⁡(S_T-X_T,0)##

(d) ##f_{SC,T}=-max⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

(e) ##f_{SC,T}=min⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

Question 677  option, option profit, no explanation

Which of the below formulas gives the profit ##(\pi)## from being long a put option? Let the underlying asset price at maturity be ##S_T##, the exercise price be ##X_T## and the option price be ##f_{LP,0}##. Note that ##S_T##, ##X_T## and ##f_{LP,0}## are all positive numbers.

(a) ##\pi_{LP}=-max⁡(S_T-X_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

(b) ##\pi_{LP}=-max⁡(X_T-S_T,0) + f_{LP,0}##

(c) ##\pi_{LP}=max⁡(S_T-X_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

(d) ##\pi_{LP}=max⁡(X_T-S_T,0) + f_{LP,0}##

(e) ##\pi_{LP}=max(X_T-S_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

Question 771  debt terminology, interest expense, interest tax shield, credit risk, no explanation

You deposit money into a bank account. Which of the following statements about this deposit is NOT correct?

(a) You have a debt asset.

(b) The bank sold you its promise to pay back interest and principal payments.

(c) The bank is exposed to your credit risk, it’s afraid that you’ll default on your debt.

(d) The interest income you’re paid is taxable income for you.

(e) The interest expense that the bank pays is tax-deductible for the bank.

Question 772  interest tax shield, capital structure, leverage

A firm issues debt and uses the funds to buy back equity. Assume that there are no costs of financial distress or transactions costs. Which of the following statements about interest tax shields is NOT correct?

(a) Higher debt leads to higher interest expense.

(b) Higher interest expense leads to lower profit before tax, following on from above.

(c) Lower profit before tax leads to lower tax payments, following on from above.

(d) Lower tax payments lead to higher cash flow from assets, following on from above.

(e) Lower profit after tax leads to a lower share price, following on from above.

Question 795  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing, option delta, no explanation

Which of the following quantities from the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula gives the Delta of a European put option?

(a) ##N[d_1]##

(b) ##N[d_2]##

(c) ##−N[−d_1]##

(d) ##−N[−d_2]##

(e) ##N[−d_2]##

Question 828  future, future valuation, no explanation

You bought a 1.5 year (18 month) futures contract on oil. Oil storage costs are 4% pa continuously compounded and oil pays no dividends. The futures contract is entered into when the oil price is $40 per barrel and the risk-free rate of interest is 10% per annum with continuous compounding.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) The initial futures price is $49.3471.

(b) The initial value of the futures contract is zero.

(c) If the oil price falls to $35 per barrel in one year then the value of the futures contract at that time would be -$11.2334.

(d) If the oil price is still at $40 per barrel in one year then the value of the futures contract at that time would be zero.

(e) If the oil price rises to $45 per barrel in one year then the value of the futures contract at that time would be -$1.0314.