1. What is the relationship between the concepts of net present value and shareholder wealth maximization?
2. Under pressure from outside investors, including corporate raider Carl Icahn, USX Corporation, the parent corporation for U.S. Steel and Marathon Oil, announced a plan to split its stock into separate steel and energy issues.
The market response to this action was immediately positive, with the stock price of USX increasing $2.37 to close at $31.25 on the day of the announcement. Why do you think this action by USX was so well received by the stock market?