1. Explain the relationship between financial decisions and shareholders' wealth.
2. Explain how each of the following factors would affect the valuation of a firm's common stock, assuming that all other factors remain constant:
a. The general level of interest rates shifts upward, causing investors to require a higher rate of return on securities in general.
b. Increased foreign competition reduces the future growth potential of the firm's earnings and dividends.
c. Investors reevaluate upward their assessment of the risk of the firm's common stock as the result of increased South American investments by the firm.