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Question 1015  RBA cash rate, monetary policy

Former Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Phil Lowe says that the RBA cash rate is the interest rate in the Australian:



Question 1016  RBA cash rate, monetary policy

Former RBA Governor Phil Lowe says that if the economy is growing very strongly, then prices might be growing too:



Question 1017  RBA cash rate, monetary policy

Former RBA Governor Phil Lowe says that when the RBA raise interest rates, homeowners' mortgage loan interest expense will be:



Question 1019  RBA cash rate, monetary policy, wealth effect

Former RBA Governor Phil Lowe says that when the RBA raise the cash rate, asset prices tend to:



Question 843  monetary policy, institution, no explanation

The Australian central bank implements monetary policy by directly controlling which interest rate?



Question 850  gross domestic product, gross domestic product per capita

Below is a table showing some countries’ GDP, population and GDP per capita.

Countries' GDP and Population
  GDP Population GDP per capita
  USD million millions of people USD
United States 18,036,648 325 55,492
China 11,158,457 1,383 8,066
Japan 4,383,076 127 34,586
Germany 3,363,600 83 40,623
Norway 500,519 5 95,027
 

 

Source: "GDP and its breakdown at current prices in US Dollars" United Nations Statistics Division. December 2016.

Using this data only, which one of these countries’ citizens have the highest living standards?



Question 1039  gross domestic product, inflation, business cycle

In this business cycle graph shown in the RBA's article explaining recessions, how might 'output' on the y-axis be measured?

The ‘output’ y-axis amount in the business cycle chart can be measured by:



Question 852  gross domestic product, inflation, employment, no explanation

When the economy is booming (in an upswing), you tend to see:



Question 1040  monetary policy, business cycle

When implementing monetary policy, do central banks attempt to or the swings in the business cycle?


Question 1042  monetary policy, business cycle

The central bank would be likely to implement contractionary monetary policy in the or phases of the business cycle?


Question 1043  fiscal policy, business cycle

The elected government would be likely to implement expansionary fiscal policy in the or phases of the business cycle?


Question 846  monetary policy, fiscal policy

Below is the Australian central bank’s cash rate.

Graph

From 2011 to 2017 the Australian central bank has implemented:



Question 848  monetary policy, no explanation

Which of the following is NOT the Australian central bank’s responsibility?



Question 1074  monetary policy, inflation, no explanation

From 2:31 up to 4:00, Glenn Stevens discusses different shocks and how they affect inflation:

Which of the following shocks might reduce Australian inflation?



Question 842  monetary policy, institution

Which Australian institution is in charge of monetary policy?



Question 1018  RBA cash rate, monetary policy, foreign exchange rate

RBA Governor Phil Lowe says that when the RBA raises the cash rate (by surprise), the Australian dollar (AUD) tends to:



Question 478  income and capital returns

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 477  income and capital returns

An asset's total expected return over the next year is given by:

###r_\text{total} = \dfrac{c_1+p_1-p_0}{p_0} ###

Where ##p_0## is the current price, ##c_1## is the expected income in one year and ##p_1## is the expected price in one year. The total return can be split into the income return and the capital return.

Which of the following is the expected capital return?



Question 151  income and capital returns

A share was bought for $30 (at t=0) and paid its annual dividend of $6 one year later (at t=1).

Just after the dividend was paid, the share price fell to $27 (at t=1). What were the total, capital and income returns given as effective annual rates?

The choices are given in the same order:

##r_\text{total}## , ##r_\text{capital}## , ##r_\text{dividend}##.



Question 278  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year.

After one year, would you be able to buy , exactly the as or than today with the money in this account?


Question 353  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 6% 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.



Question 992  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

You currently have $100 in the bank which pays a 10% pa interest rate.

Oranges currently cost $1 each at the shop and inflation is 5% pa which is the expected growth rate in the orange price.

This information is summarised in the table below, with some parts missing that correspond to the answer options. All rates are given as effective annual rates. Note that when payments are not specified as real, as in this question, they're conventionally assumed to be nominal.

Wealth in Dollars and Oranges
Time (year) Bank account wealth ($) Orange price ($) Wealth in oranges
0 100 1 100
1 110 1.05 (a)
2 (b) (c) (d)
 

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Your:



Question 993  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

In February 2020, the RBA cash rate was 0.75% pa and the Australian CPI inflation rate was 1.8% pa.

You currently have $100 in the bank which pays a 0.75% pa interest rate.

Apples currently cost $1 each at the shop and inflation is 1.8% pa which is the expected growth rate in the apple price.

This information is summarised in the table below, with some parts missing that correspond to the answer options. All rates are given as effective annual rates. Note that when payments are not specified as real, as in this question, they're conventionally assumed to be nominal.

Wealth in Dollars and Apples
Time (year) Bank account wealth ($) Apple price ($) Wealth in apples
0 100 1 100
1 100.75 1.018 (a)
2 (b) (c) (d)
 

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Your:



Question 456  inflation, effective rate

In the 'Austin Powers' series of movies, the character Dr. Evil threatens to destroy the world unless the United Nations pays him a ransom (video 1, video 2). Dr. Evil makes the threat on two separate occasions:

  • In 1969 he demands a ransom of $1 million (=10^6), and again;
  • In 1997 he demands a ransom of $100 billion (=10^11).

If Dr. Evil's demands are equivalent in real terms, in other words $1 million will buy the same basket of goods in 1969 as $100 billion would in 1997, what was the implied inflation rate over the 28 years from 1969 to 1997?

The answer choices below are given as effective annual rates:


Question 525  income and capital returns, real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation

Which of the following statements about cash in the form of notes and coins is NOT correct? Assume that inflation is positive.

Notes and coins:



Question 578  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

Which of the following statements about inflation is NOT correct?



Question 727  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

The Australian Federal Government lends money to domestic students to pay for their university education. This is known as the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). The nominal interest rate on the HECS loan is set equal to the consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate. The interest is capitalised every year, which means that the interest is added to the principal. The interest and principal does not need to be repaid by students until they finish study and begin working.

Which of the following statements about HECS loans is NOT correct?



Question 728  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, income and capital returns, no explanation

Which of the following statements about gold is NOT correct? Assume that the gold price increases by inflation. Gold has a:



Question 744  income and capital returns, real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation

If someone says "my shares rose by 10% last year", what do you assume that they mean? The effective annual:



Question 745  real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation, income and capital returns

If the nominal gold price is expected to increase at the same rate as inflation which is 3% pa, which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 466  limited liability, business structure

Which business structure or structures have the advantage of limited liability for equity investors?



Question 473  market capitalisation of equity

The below screenshot of Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (CBA) details were taken from the Google Finance website on 7 Nov 2014. Some information has been deliberately blanked out.

Image of CBA on Google finance on 7 Nov 2014

What was CBA's market capitalisation of equity?



Question 515  corporate financial decision theory, idiom

The expression 'you have to spend money to make money' relates to which business decision?



Question 444  investment decision, corporate financial decision theory

The investment decision primarily affects which part of a business?



Question 467  book and market values

Which of the following statements about book and market equity is NOT correct?



Question 221  credit risk

You're considering making an investment in a particular company. They have preference shares, ordinary shares, senior debt and junior debt.

Which is the safest investment? Which has the highest expected returns?



Question 664  real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation, no explanation

What is the present value of real payments of $100 every year forever, with the first payment in one year? The nominal discount rate is 7% pa and the inflation rate is 4% pa.



Question 4  DDM

For a price of $13, Carla will sell you a share paying a dividend of $1 in one year and every year after that forever. The required return of the stock is 10% pa.

Would you like to Carla's share or politely ?


Question 479  perpetuity with growth, DDM, NPV

Discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation prices assets by finding the present value of the asset's future cash flows. The single cash flow, annuity, and perpetuity equations are very useful for this.

Which of the following equations is the 'perpetuity with growth' equation?



Question 517  DDM

A stock is expected to pay its next dividend of $1 in one year. Future annual dividends are expected to grow by 2% pa. So the first dividend of $1 will be in one year, the year after that $1.02 (=1*(1+0.02)^1), and a year later $1.0404 (=1*(1+0.02)^2) and so on forever.

Its required total return is 10% pa. The total required return and growth rate of dividends are given as effective annual rates.

Calculate the current stock price.



Question 518  DDM

A stock just paid a dividend of $1. Future annual dividends are expected to grow by 2% pa. The next dividend of $1.02 (=1*(1+0.02)^1) will be in one year, and the year after that the dividend will be $1.0404 (=1*(1+0.02)^2), and so on forever.

Its required total return is 10% pa. The total required return and growth rate of dividends are given as effective annual rates.

Calculate the current stock price.



Question 28  DDM, income and capital returns

The following equation is the Dividend Discount Model, also known as the 'Gordon Growth Model' or the 'Perpetuity with growth' equation.

### P_{0} = \frac{C_1}{r_{\text{eff}} - g_{\text{eff}}} ###

What would you call the expression ## C_1/P_0 ##?



Question 497  income and capital returns, DDM, ex dividend date

A stock will pay you a dividend of $10 tonight if you buy it today. Thereafter the annual dividend is expected to grow by 5% pa, so the next dividend after the $10 one tonight will be $10.50 in one year, then in two years it will be $11.025 and so on. The stock's required return is 10% pa.

What is the stock price today and what do you expect the stock price to be tomorrow, approximately?



Question 289  DDM, expected and historical returns, ROE

In the dividend discount model:

###P_0 = \dfrac{C_1}{r-g}###

The return ##r## is supposed to be the:



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?



Question 148  DDM, income and capital returns

The following equation is the Dividend Discount Model, also known as the 'Gordon Growth Model' or the 'Perpetuity with growth' equation.

### p_0 = \frac{d_1}{r - g} ###

Which expression is NOT equal to the expected dividend yield?



Question 441  DDM, income and capital returns

A fairly valued share's current price is $4 and it has a total required return of 30%. Dividends are paid annually and next year's dividend is expected to be $1. After that, dividends are expected to grow by 5% pa in perpetuity. All rates are effective annual returns.

What is the expected dividend income paid at the end of the second year (t=2) and what is the expected capital gain from just after the first dividend (t=1) to just after the second dividend (t=2)? The answers are given in the same order, the dividend and then the capital gain.



Question 753  NPV, perpetuity, DDM

The following cash flows are expected:

  • A perpetuity of yearly payments of $30, with the first payment in 5 years (first payment at t=5, which continues every year after that forever).
  • One payment of $100 in 6 years and 3 months (t=6.25).

What is the NPV of the cash flows if the discount rate is 10% given as an effective annual rate?



Question 1086  DDM

A stock is expected to pay its first $1 dividend in 6 years from now. The dividend is expected to be paid annually forever and grow by 2% pa. The discount rate is 7% pa. Estimate the current stock price. The current stock price should be:



Question 1087  Annuity, NPV

Find the present value of 30 annual payments of $4,000 per annum where the first payment is made 11 years from now. So there are 30 annual payments from t=11 to t=40 inclusive. The discount rate is 7% pa. The present value of these payments is:



Question 1088  DDM, IRR

Find the market-implied total required return on equity of buying a $10 stock now that's expected to pay annual dividends forever, with the next $0.50 dividend to be paid in one year (t=1). The dividend is expected to grow forever at 2% per annum. Therefore the second dividend (paid at t=2) is expected to be $0.51 (=0.5*(1+0.02)^1). Assume that the stock can be accurately valued with the DDM. The stock's market-implied total required return on equity is:



Question 2  NPV, Annuity

Katya offers to pay you $10 at the end of every year for the next 5 years (t=1,2,3,4,5) if you pay her $50 now (t=0). You can borrow and lend from the bank at an interest rate of 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate. Ignore credit risk.

Will you or politely Katya's deal?


Question 481  Annuity

This annuity formula ##\dfrac{C_1}{r}\left(1-\dfrac{1}{(1+r)^3} \right)## is equivalent to which of the following formulas? Note the 3.

In the below formulas, ##C_t## is a cash flow at time t. All of the cash flows are equal, but paid at different times.



Question 356  NPV, Annuity

Your friend overheard that you need some cash and asks if you would like to borrow some money. She can lend you $5,000 now (t=0), and in return she wants you to pay her back $1,000 in two years (t=2) and every year after that for the next 5 years, so there will be 6 payments of $1,000 from t=2 to t=7 inclusive.

What is the net present value (NPV) of borrowing from your friend?

Assume that banks loan funds at interest rates of 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.



Question 499  NPV, Annuity

Some countries' interest rates are so low that they're zero.

If interest rates are 0% pa and are expected to stay at that level for the foreseeable future, what is the most that you would be prepared to pay a bank now if it offered to pay you $10 at the end of every year for the next 5 years?

In other words, what is the present value of five $10 payments at time 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 if interest rates are 0% pa?



Question 288  Annuity

There are many ways to write the ordinary annuity formula.

Which of the following is NOT equal to the ordinary annuity formula?



Question 137  NPV, Annuity

The following cash flows are expected:

  • 10 yearly payments of $60, with the first payment in 3 years from now (first payment at t=3 and last at t=12).
  • 1 payment of $400 in 5 years and 6 months (t=5.5) from now.

What is the NPV of the cash flows if the discount rate is 10% given as an effective annual rate?



Question 957  Annuity, NPV

The present value of an annuity of 3 annual payments of $5,000 in arrears (at the end of each year) is $12,434.26 when interest rates are 10% pa compounding annually.

If the same amount of $12,434.26 is put in the bank at the same interest rate of 10% pa compounded annually and the same cash flow of $5,000 is withdrawn at the end of every year, how much money will be in the bank in 3 years, just after that third $5,000 payment is withdrawn?



Question 19  fully amortising loan, APR

You want to buy an apartment priced at $300,000. You have saved a deposit of $30,000. The bank has agreed to lend you the $270,000 as a fully amortising loan with a term of 25 years. The interest rate is 12% pa and is not expected to change.

What will be your monthly payments? Remember that mortgage loan payments are paid in arrears (at the end of the month).



Question 134  fully amortising loan, APR

You want to buy an apartment worth $400,000. You have saved a deposit of $80,000. The bank has agreed to lend you the $320,000 as a fully amortising mortgage loan with a term of 30 years. The interest rate is 6% pa and is not expected to change. What will be your monthly payments?



Question 172  fully amortising loan, APR

You just signed up for a 30 year fully amortising mortgage loan with monthly payments of $2,000 per month. The interest rate is 9% pa which is not expected to change.

How much did you borrow? After 5 years, how much will be owing on the mortgage? The interest rate is still 9% and is not expected to change.



Question 222  fully amortising loan, APR

You just agreed to a 30 year fully amortising mortgage loan with monthly payments of $2,500. The interest rate is 9% pa which is not expected to change.

How much did you borrow? After 10 years, how much will be owing on the mortgage? The interest rate is still 9% and is not expected to change. The below choices are given in the same order.



Question 29  interest only loan

You want to buy an apartment priced at $300,000. You have saved a deposit of $30,000. The bank has agreed to lend you the $270,000 as an interest only loan with a term of 25 years. The interest rate is 12% pa and is not expected to change.

What will be your monthly payments? Remember that mortgage payments are paid in arrears (at the end of the month).



Question 107  interest only loan

You want to buy an apartment worth $300,000. You have saved a deposit of $60,000.

The bank has agreed to lend you $240,000 as an interest only mortgage loan with a term of 30 years. The interest rate is 6% pa and is not expected to change. What will be your monthly payments?



Question 751  NPV, Annuity

Telsa Motors advertises that its Model S electric car saves $570 per month in fuel costs. Assume that Tesla cars last for 10 years, fuel and electricity costs remain the same, and savings are made at the end of each month with the first saving of $570 in one month from now.

The effective annual interest rate is 15.8%, and the effective monthly interest rate is 1.23%. What is the present value of the savings?



Question 1066  NPV, Annuity

It's the first day of the year and you currently have $4,500 in the bank. You plan to deposit $200 at the end of every year for the next 57 years, with the first payment made 1 year from now (from t=1 to t=57 inclusive).

If bank interest rates are 8% pa, how much money will be in your bank account a moment after making your last deposit in 57 years?



Question 491  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

A man is thinking about taking a day off from his casual painting job to relax.

He just woke up early in the morning and he's about to call his boss to say that he won't be coming in to work.

But he's thinking about the hours that he could work today (in the future) which are:



Question 492  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

A man has taken a day off from his casual painting job to relax.

It's the end of the day and he's thinking about the hours that he could have spent working (in the past) which are now:



Question 485  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

A young lady is trying to decide if she should attend university or not.

The young lady's parents say that she must attend university because otherwise all of her hard work studying and attending school during her childhood was a waste.

What's the correct way to classify this item from a capital budgeting perspective when trying to decide whether to attend university?

The hard work studying at school in her childhood should be classified as:



Question 486  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

A young lady is trying to decide if she should attend university. Her friends say that she should go to university because she is more likely to meet a clever young man than if she begins full time work straight away.

What's the correct way to classify this item from a capital budgeting perspective when trying to find the Net Present Value of going to university rather than working?

The opportunity to meet a desirable future spouse should be classified as:



Question 655  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

The 'time value of money' is most closely related to which of the following concepts?



Question 44  NPV

The required return of a project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time.

What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project?

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -100
1 0
2 121
 



Question 37  IRR

If a project's net present value (NPV) is zero, then its internal rate of return (IRR) will be:



Question 59  NPV

The required return of a project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time.

What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project?

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -100
1 11
2 121
 



Question 167  NPV, IRR

A project's net present value (NPV) is negative. Select the most correct statement.



Question 182  NPV, IRR, pay back period

A project's NPV is positive. Select the most correct statement:



Question 500  NPV, IRR

The below graph shows a project's net present value (NPV) against its annual discount rate.

For what discount rate or range of discount rates would you accept and commence the project?

All answer choices are given as approximations from reading off the graph.



Question 501  NPV, IRR, pay back period

The below graph shows a project's net present value (NPV) against its annual discount rate.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 1064  NPV, IRR, payback period

Your 18 year old friend is considering what to do with their working life until they retire at age 65. They've sought your advice.

For simplicity, ignore taxes and assume that wages will be paid annually in arrears and will be constant (zero growth). The abbreviation 'k' (Greek kilo) means thousands, so 1k is 1000.

Let the present be time zero (t=0) and the year that you retire be time 47 (t=47).

Your friend is deciding between working as a:

  • Builder's apprentice for 2 years earning $20k pa (2 payments from t=1 to t=2 inclusive), then beginning work as a builder for $90k pa (45 annual payments from t=3 to 47 inclusive);
  • Retail shop salesperson for $50k pa (47 payments from t=1 to t=47 inclusive).

You estimate that the required return is 5% pa with either career, and that they're equally risky. The cashflows are shown below:

Career Choices and Cash Flows
Time Builder Retailer
0 0 0
1 20 50
2 20 50
3 90 50
4 90 50
... ... ...
47 90 50
 

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Comparing the two alternatives, being a builder compared to a retail salesperson, the:



Question 1065  NPV, IRR, payback period

Your 18 year old friend is considering what to do with their working life until they retire at age 65. They've sought your advice.

For simplicity, ignore taxes and assume that wages will be paid annually in arrears and will be constant (zero growth). The abbreviation 'k' (Greek kilo) means thousands, so 1k is 1000.

Let the present be time zero (t=0) and the year of retirement is time 47 (t=47).

Your friend is deciding between:

  • Studying at university for 3 years, costing $30k at the start of each year (3 cash outflows at t=0, 1 & 2), then beginning work as a financial planner for $100k pa (44 annual payments from t=4 to 47 inclusive);
  • Working as a builder's apprentice for 2 years, earning $20k pa (2 cash inflows at t=1 and t=2), then beginning work as a builder for $90k pa (45 annual payments from t=3 to 47 inclusive);

You estimate that the required return is 5% pa with either career, and that they're equally risky. The cashflows are shown below:

Career Choices and Cash Flows
Time Planner Builder
0 -30 0
1 -30 20
2 -30 20
3 0 90
4 100 90
... ... ...
47 100 90
 

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Comparing the two alternatives, being a financial planner compared to a builder, the:



Question 192  NPV, APR

Harvey Norman the large retailer often runs sales advertising 2 years interest free when you purchase its products. This offer can be seen as a free personal loan from Harvey Norman to its customers.

Assume that banks charge an interest rate on personal loans of 12% pa given as an APR compounding per month. This is the interest rate that Harvey Norman deserves on the 2 year loan it extends to its customers. Therefore Harvey Norman must implicitly include the cost of this loan in the advertised sale price of its goods.

If you were a customer buying from Harvey Norman, and you were paying immediately, not in 2 years, what is the minimum percentage discount to the advertised sale price that you would insist on? (Hint: if it makes it easier, assume that you’re buying a product with an advertised price of $100).



Question 532  mutually exclusive projects, NPV, IRR

An investor owns a whole level of an old office building which is currently worth $1 million. There are three mutually exclusive projects that can be started by the investor. The office building level can be:

  • Rented out to a tenant for one year at $0.1m paid immediately, and then sold for $0.99m in one year.
  • Refurbished into more modern commercial office rooms at a cost of $1m now, and then sold for $2.4m when the refurbishment is finished in one year.
  • Converted into residential apartments at a cost of $2m now, and then sold for $3.4m when the conversion is finished in one year.

All of the development projects have the same risk so the required return of each is 10% pa. The table below shows the estimated cash flows and internal rates of returns (IRR's).

Mutually Exclusive Projects
Project Cash flow
now ($)
Cash flow in
one year ($)
IRR
(% pa)
Rent then sell as is -900,000 990,000 10
Refurbishment into modern offices -2,000,000 2,400,000 20
Conversion into residential apartments -3,000,000 3,400,000 13.33
 

Which project should the investor accept?



Question 991  NPV

The required return of a building project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time.

The building firm is just about to start the project and the client has signed the contract. Initially the firm will pay $100 to the sub-contractors to carry out the work and then will receive an $11 payment from the client in one year and $121 when the project is finished in 2 years. Ignore credit risk.

But the building company is considering selling the project to a competitor at different points in time and is pondering the minimum price that they should sell it for.

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -100
1 11
2 121
 

Which of the below statements is NOT correct? The project is worth:



Question 496  NPV, IRR, pay back period

A firm is considering a business project which costs $10m now and is expected to pay a single cash flow of $12.1m in two years.

Assume that the initial $10m cost is funded using the firm's existing cash so no new equity or debt will be raised. The cost of capital is 10% pa.

Which of the following statements about net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period is NOT correct?



Question 781  NPV, IRR, pay back period

You're considering a business project which costs $11m now and is expected to pay a single cash flow of $11m in one year. So you pay $11m now, then one year later you receive $11m.

Assume that the initial $11m cost is funded using the your firm's existing cash so no new equity or debt will be raised. The cost of capital is 10% pa.

Which of the following statements about the net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period is NOT correct?



Question 1089  NPV, Annuity

Find the net present value (NPV) of a mining project with the following cash flows:

  • -$3,000 at time zero (t=0). This is the initial cost to prepare and build the mine and facilities. This cost is all paid upfront, though the builders will take 4 years to finish construction.
  • $650 paid annually 45 times, where the first payment is made 5 years from now. So there are 45 annual payments from t=5 to t=49 inclusive. These are the positive cash flows from running the mine once it's built.
  • -$1,400 at t=49. This is the clean-up cost of burying the mine and replanting native vegetation at the end of the project. This cost is paid at the same time as the last positive cash flow is received from running the mine.

The required return is 15% pa. All dollar figures above and below are in millions. The NPV of this project is:



Question 1090  NPV, DDM, multi stage growth model

You're considering starting a software company with an initial (t=0) cost of $71.

The first positive cash flow will be $10 in one year (t=1), and will grow by 2% pa for 3 years. So the next cash flows will be:
$10 at t=1;
$10.2 (=10*(1+0.02)^1) at t=2;
$10.404 (=10*(1+0.02)^2) at t=3;
$10.6121 (=10*(1+0.02)^3) at t=4.

From t=4 onwards, these positive cash flows will grow at the lower rate -3% pa (note the negative sign) in perpetuity. So the subsequent cash flows will be:
$10.2937 (=10*(1+0.02)^3*(1-0.03)^1) at t=5;
$9.9849 (=10*(1+0.02)^3*(1-0.03)^2) at t=6;
$9.6854 (=10*(1+0.02)^3*(1-0.03)^3) at t=7, and so on forever.

The required return is 10% pa. What is the net present value (NPV) of starting this company? All results above are rounded to 4 decimal points, and answer options below to 2 decimal points. The NPV of starting this company is:



Question 1091  NPV, perpetuity with growth, IRR, mutually exclusive projects, real estate

An investor owns an empty block of land that was bought for $3 million a few years ago, but could be sold at auction for $2 million now. The land has local government approval to be developed into either:

  • Low-rise townhouses costing $11 million now (t=0) that can be rented for $2 million in the first year, paid at the end of that year (t=1), and then rent is expected to grow by 4% pa every year forever; or
  • High rise apartments costing $90 million now (t=0) that can be rented for $14 million in the first year, paid at the end of that year (t=1), and then rent is expected to grow by 1% pa every year forever.

The government will only allow a single development so the projects are mutually exclusive.

These projects have the same risk and 9% pa required return. Both will be fully constructed in one year, at which point tenants will move in and pay rent annually in advance, with the growth rates given. Ignore all maintenance costs, tenant vacancies, taxes and so on. All answer options are rounded to 6 decimal places. Compare the two projects against selling the land. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 1092  NPV, IRR

Your boss the chief financial officer (CFO) asked you to complete the analysis of 3 different projects under consideration by the company's board. All projects require an initial investment and then provide a perpetuity of cash flows with zero growth. All are equally risky with the same 10% pa required return. All figures are rounded to 4 decimal places. The projects can all be accepted and funded, they're not mutually exclusive.

The projects' initial costs and perpetual annual cash flows were provided by the engineering and marketing departments, and the CFO completed some of the NPV's and IRR's but ran out of time and gave it to you to finish. This data is believed to be accurate. You calculated the remaining NPV's and IRR's in bold, and made some conclusions about which projects to accept or reject (stated in answer option d). The CFO thanked you for your swift work, but said there's just one thing wrong with your calculations or conclusions, and asked you to fix it up before the table and conclusions are shown at the board meeting tomorrow.

Projects with 10% pa required return
  Initial cash
flow at t=0
Perpetual annual
cash flow from t=1
NPV IRR
  ($m) ($m) ($m) (% pa)
Project A -160 19 30 (a) 11.875
Project B -2,200 190 (b) -300 8.6364
Project C -20,000 1,600 (c) -4,000 8
 

 

Which one of the following calculations or conclusions is NOT correct?



Question 505  equivalent annual cash flow

A low-quality second-hand car can be bought now for $1,000 and will last for 1 year before it will be scrapped for nothing.

A high-quality second-hand car can be bought now for $4,900 and it will last for 5 years before it will be scrapped for nothing.

What is the equivalent annual cost of each car? Assume a discount rate of 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.

The answer choices are given as the equivalent annual cost of the low-quality car and then the high quality car.



Question 180  equivalent annual cash flow, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

Details of two different types of light bulbs are given below:

  • Low-energy light bulbs cost $3.50, have a life of nine years, and use about $1.60 of electricity a year, paid at the end of each year.
  • Conventional light bulbs cost only $0.50, but last only about a year and use about $6.60 of energy a year, paid at the end of each year.

The real discount rate is 5%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that all cash flows are real. The inflation rate is 3% given as an effective annual rate.

Find the Equivalent Annual Cost (EAC) of the low-energy and conventional light bulbs. The below choices are listed in that order.



Question 211  equivalent annual cash flow

You're advising your superstar client 40-cent who is weighing up buying a private jet or a luxury yacht. 40-cent is just as happy with either, but he wants to go with the more cost-effective option. These are the cash flows of the two options:

  • The private jet can be bought for $6m now, which will cost $12,000 per month in fuel, piloting and airport costs, payable at the end of each month. The jet will last for 12 years.
  • Or the luxury yacht can be bought for $4m now, which will cost $20,000 per month in fuel, crew and berthing costs, payable at the end of each month. The yacht will last for 20 years.

What's unusual about 40-cent is that he is so famous that he will actually be able to sell his jet or yacht for the same price as it was bought since the next generation of superstar musicians will buy it from him as a status symbol.

Bank interest rates are 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate. You can assume that 40-cent will live for another 60 years and that when the jet or yacht's life is at an end, he will buy a new one with the same details as above.

Would you advise 40-cent to buy the or the ?

Note that the effective monthly rate is ##r_\text{eff monthly}=(1+0.1)^{1/12}-1=0.00797414##


Question 195  equivalent annual cash flow

An industrial chicken farmer grows chickens for their meat. Chickens:

  1. Cost $0.50 each to buy as chicks. They are bought on the day they’re born, at t=0.
  2. Grow at a rate of $0.70 worth of meat per chicken per week for the first 6 weeks (t=0 to t=6).
  3. Grow at a rate of $0.40 worth of meat per chicken per week for the next 4 weeks (t=6 to t=10) since they’re older and grow more slowly.
  4. Feed costs are $0.30 per chicken per week for their whole life. Chicken feed is bought and fed to the chickens once per week at the beginning of the week. So the first amount of feed bought for a chicken at t=0 costs $0.30, and so on.
  5. Can be slaughtered (killed for their meat) and sold at no cost at the end of the week. The price received for the chicken is their total value of meat (note that the chicken grows fast then slow, see above).

The required return of the chicken farm is 0.5% given as an effective weekly rate.

Ignore taxes and the fixed costs of the factory. Ignore the chicken’s welfare and other environmental and ethical concerns.

Find the equivalent weekly cash flow of slaughtering a chicken at 6 weeks and at 10 weeks so the farmer can figure out the best time to slaughter his chickens. The choices below are given in the same order, 6 and 10 weeks.



Question 299  equivalent annual cash flow

Carlos and Edwin are brothers and they both love Holden Commodore cars.

Carlos likes to buy the latest Holden Commodore car for $40,000 every 4 years as soon as the new model is released. As soon as he buys the new car, he sells the old one on the second hand car market for $20,000. Carlos never has to bother with paying for repairs since his cars are brand new.

Edwin also likes Commodores, but prefers to buy 4-year old cars for $20,000 and keep them for 11 years until the end of their life (new ones last for 15 years in total but the 4-year old ones only last for another 11 years). Then he sells the old car for $2,000 and buys another 4-year old second hand car, and so on.

Every time Edwin buys a second hand 4 year old car he immediately has to spend $1,000 on repairs, and then $1,000 every year after that for the next 10 years. So there are 11 payments in total from when the second hand car is bought at t=0 to the last payment at t=10. One year later (t=11) the old car is at the end of its total 15 year life and can be scrapped for $2,000.

Assuming that Carlos and Edwin maintain their love of Commodores and keep up their habits of buying new ones and second hand ones respectively, how much larger is Carlos' equivalent annual cost of car ownership compared with Edwin's?

The real discount rate is 10% pa. All cash flows are real and are expected to remain constant. Inflation is forecast to be 3% pa. All rates are effective annual. Ignore capital gains tax and tax savings from depreciation since cars are tax-exempt for individuals.



Question 215  equivalent annual cash flow, effective rate conversion

You're about to buy a car. These are the cash flows of the two different cars that you can buy:

  • You can buy an old car for $5,000 now, for which you will have to buy $90 of fuel at the end of each week from the date of purchase. The old car will last for 3 years, at which point you will sell the old car for $500.
  • Or you can buy a new car for $14,000 now for which you will have to buy $50 of fuel at the end of each week from the date of purchase. The new car will last for 4 years, at which point you will sell the new car for $1,000.

Bank interest rates are 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that there are exactly 52 weeks in a year. Ignore taxes and environmental and pollution factors.

Should you buy the or the ?


Question 249  equivalent annual cash flow, effective rate conversion

Details of two different types of desserts or edible treats are given below:

  • High-sugar treats like candy, chocolate and ice cream make a person very happy. High sugar treats are cheap at only $2 per day.
  • Low-sugar treats like nuts, cheese and fruit make a person equally happy if these foods are of high quality. Low sugar treats are more expensive at $4 per day.

The advantage of low-sugar treats is that a person only needs to pay the dentist $2,000 for fillings and root canal therapy once every 15 years. Whereas with high-sugar treats, that treatment needs to be done every 5 years.

The real discount rate is 10%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that there are 365 days in every year and that all cash flows are real. The inflation rate is 3% given as an effective annual rate.

Find the equivalent annual cash flow (EAC) of the high-sugar treats and low-sugar treats, including dental costs. The below choices are listed in that order.

Ignore the pain of dental therapy, personal preferences and other factors.



Question 905  market capitalisation of equity, PE ratio, payout ratio

The below graph shows the computer software company Microsoft's stock price (MSFT) at the market close on the NASDAQ on Friday 1 June 2018.

Based on the screenshot above, which of the following statements about MSFT is NOT correct? MSFT's:



Question 358  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Estimate the Chinese bank ICBC's share price using a backward-looking price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only. Note that the renminbi (RMB) is the Chinese currency, also known as the yuan (CNY).

  • The 4 major Chinese banks ICBC, China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of China (BOC) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) are comparable companies;
  • ICBC 's historical earnings per share (EPS) is RMB 0.74;
  • CCB's backward-looking PE ratio is 4.59;
  • BOC 's backward-looking PE ratio is 4.78;
  • ABC's backward-looking PE ratio is also 4.78;

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 25 March 2014. Share prices are from the Shanghai stock exchange.



Question 348  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Estimate the US bank JP Morgan's share price using a price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only:

  • The major US banks JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Citi Group (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are comparable companies;
  • JP Morgan Chase's historical earnings per share (EPS) is $4.37;
  • Citi Group's share price is $50.05 and historical EPS is $4.26;
  • Wells Fargo's share price is $48.98 and historical EPS is $3.89.

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 24 March 2014.



Question 341  Multiples valuation, PE ratio

Estimate Microsoft's (MSFT) share price using a price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only:

  • Apple, Google and Microsoft are comparable companies,
  • Apple's (AAPL) share price is $526.24 and historical EPS is $40.32.
  • Google's (GOOG) share price is $1,215.65 and historical EPS is $36.23.
  • Micrsoft's (MSFT) historical earnings per share (EPS) is $2.71.

Source: Google Finance 28 Feb 2014.



Question 463  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Private equity firms are known to buy medium sized private companies operating in the same industry, merge them together into a larger company, and then sell it off in a public float (initial public offering, IPO).

If medium-sized private companies trade at PE ratios of 5 and larger listed companies trade at PE ratios of 15, what return can be achieved from this strategy?

Assume that:

  • The medium-sized companies can be bought, merged and sold in an IPO instantaneously.
  • There are no costs of finding, valuing, merging and restructuring the medium sized companies. Also, there is no competition to buy the medium-sized companies from other private equity firms.
  • The large merged firm's earnings are the sum of the medium firms' earnings.
  • The only reason for the difference in medium and large firm's PE ratios is due to the illiquidity of the medium firms' shares.
  • Return is defined as: ##r_{0→1} = (p_1-p_0+c_1)/p_0## , where time zero is just before the merger and time one is just after.



Question 1061  bid ask spread, limit order book

View the limit order book for CSL Limited (ASX:CSL) the Australian blood products company, published by stock broker CommSec.

Limit order book

Which of the below statements is NOT correct?