1. How prevalent has the agency problem been in corporate America during the last decade? During the late 1990s there was a boom in initial public offerings of Internet companies (dot.com companies). The boom was supported by skyhigh valuations often assigned to Internet startups that had no revenues or earnings. The boom came to an abrupt end in 2001, when the Nasdaq stock market collapsed, losing almost 80% of its value. Who do you think benefited most from this boom: investors (stockholders) in those companies, managers, or investment bankers?
2. Why is maximizing ROIC consistent with maximizing returns to stockholders?