Question 1. When considering the risk of a foreign investment, a higher risk might arise from exchange rate risk and political risk while lower risk might result from international diversification.
a. True
b. False
Question 2. If one Swiss franc can purchase $0.71 U.S. dollars, how many Swiss francs can one U.S. dollar buy?
a. 0.50
b. 0.71
c. 1.00
d. 1.41
e. 2.81
Question 3. The present value of the free cash flows discounted at the unlevered cost of equity is the value of the firm's operations if it had no debt.
a. True
b. False
Question 4. Bankruptcy laws have been used to help reach settlements in major product liability lawsuits. By using financial projections to show that contingent claims against the company jeopardize its existence, agreements are reached, partially satisfying claimants, and allowing the firm to continue operating.
a. True
b. False
Question 5. The Bankruptcy Act is designed to do which of the following?
a. Provide safeguards against the withdrawal of assets by the owners of the bankrupt firm.
b. Establish the rules of reorganization for firms with projected cash flows that eventually will be sufficient to meet debt payments.
c. Allow insolvent debtors to discharge all of their obligations and to start over unhampered by a burden of prior debt.
d. Answers a and b above.
e. Answers a and c above.
Question 6. Interest rate swaps allow a firm to exchange fixed for floating-rate payments, but a swap cannot reduce actual net interest expenses.
a. True
b. False
Question 7. A commercial bank recognizes that its net income suffers whenever interest rates increase. Which of the following strategies would protect the bank against rising interest rates?
a. Buying inverse floaters.
b. Entering into an interest rate swap where the bank receives a fixed payment stream, and in return agrees to make payments that float with market interest rates.
c. Purchase principal only (PO) strips that decline in value whenever interest rates rise.
d. Enter into a short hedge where the bank agrees to sell interest rate futures.
e. Sell some of the bank's floating-rate loans and use the proceeds to make fixed-rate loans.
Question 8. Preferred stock can provide a financing alternative for some firms when market conditions are such that they cannot issue either pure debt or common stock at any reasonable cost.
a. True
b. False
Question 9. A lease versus purchase analysis should compare the cost of leasing to the cost of owning, assuming that the asset purchased
a. is financed with short-term debt.
b. is financed with long-term debt.
c. is financed with debt whose maturity matches the term of the lease.
d. is financed with a mix of debt and equity based on the firm's target capital structure, i.e., at the WACC.
e. is financed with retained earnings.
Question 10. The cost of meeting SEC and possibly additional state reporting requirements regarding disclosure of financial information, the danger of losing control, and the possibility of an inactive market and an attendant low stock price are potential disadvantages of going public.
a. True
b. False
Question 11. Stock dividends and stock splits should, at least conceptually, have the same effect on shareholders' wealth.
a. True
b. False
Question 12. If the information content, or signaling, hypothesis is correct, then changes in dividend policy can have an important effect on the firm's value and capital costs.
a. True
b. False
Question 13. Which of the following would be most likely to lead to a decrease in a firm's dividend payout ratio?
a. Its earnings become more stable.
b. Its access to the capital markets increases.
c. Its R&D efforts pay off, and it now has more high-return investment opportunities.
d. Its accounts receivable decrease due to a change in its credit policy.
e. Its stock price has increased over the last year by a greater percentage than the increase in the broad stock market averages.
Question 14. In a world with no taxes, MM show that a firm's capital structure does not affect the firm's value. However, when taxes are considered, MM show a positive relationship between debt and firm value, i.e., its value rises as its debt is increased.
a. True
b. False
Question 15. Other things held constant, an increase in financial leverage will increase a firm's market (or systematic) risk as measured by its beta coefficient.
a. True
b. False
Question 16. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a. The capital structure that maximizes expected EPS also maximizes the price per share of common stock.
b. The capital structure that minimizes the interest rate on debt also maximizes the expected EPS.
c. The capital structure that minimizes the required return on equity also maximizes the stock price.
d. The capital structure that minimizes the WACC also maximizes the price per share of common stock.
e. The capital structure that gives the firm the best credit rating also maximizes the stock price.
Question 17. Free cash flows should be discounted at the firm's weighted average cost of capital to find the value of its operations.
a. True
b. False
Question 18. An investor who writes standard call options against stock held in his or her portfolio is said to be selling what type of options?
a. In-the-money
b. Put
c. Naked
d. Covered
e. Out-of-the-money
Question 19. Other things held constant, the value of an option depends on the stock's price, the risk-free rate, and the
a. Strike price.
b. Variability of the stock price.
c. Option's time to maturity.
d. All of the above.
e. None of the above.
Question 20. The primary operating goal of a publicly-owned firm interested in serving its stockholders should be to
a. Maximize the stock price per share over the long run, which is the stock's intrinsic value.
b. Maximize the firm's expected EPS.
c. Minimize the chances of losses.
d. Maximize the firm's expected total income.
e. Maximize the stock price on a specific target date.