D076- Finance skills for managers TESTS

1What are the purposes of financial markets? - To provide liquidity and determine prices A company is trying to finance a project with a mortgage loan from a bank. The company's assessment of the project indicates that the company may experience several years of loss until the project becomes profitable. This means that the company might lose its ability to pay back the loan and the interest on the mortgage. What action might the bank take to protect its interest? - Set a strict covenant that the company cannot easily achieve. A company's officers and board of directors are selling their stocks in the firm at higher prices due to false accounting reports that made the stock seem more valuable than it truly was. Which ethical issue is occurring in this situation? - Agency problem due to conflicting interests A large corporation is looking to merge with another large corporation. Which financial institution can help them do this? - Investment bank A local start-up company just hit its five-year anniversary and is planning an initial public offering sometime this year. In order to issue public stock, which market will the company use? - Primary market About a year ago, the short-term Treasury bill had 1.54% interest and the long-term Treasury note had 2.54% interest. This week, the 1-year Treasury bill has an interest rate of 3.13%, while the 10-year Treasury note has an interest rate of 2.28%. What does this information indicate about the future economy? - It may indicate an economic downturn Hannah is the financial manager of a firm. A project that she has recommended has been approved and will cost $5 million. Since the company does not have enough cash on reserve, Hannah must figure out how to raise enough money to start the project. She can choose whether to issue new bonds, new stocks, a mortgage loan, or some combination of those options. What task is Hannah performing in this scenario? - Making a financing decision How can agency costs be mitigated? - Aligning managers' interests with shareholders' interests How can agency problems be reduced through corporate control? - Executive compensation How do insurance companies pay policyholders when a claim is made? - They use returns from stocks and bonds. In what way are coincident indicators useful? - They are analyzed during economic shifts to provide information about the current state of the economy. In which financial market are securities such as stocks and bonds are traded after their initial issuance? - Secondary market In which type of market would a company issue bonds or stocks for the first time? - Primary market Jack is a personal financial advisor. He is with a new client, and the client is asking him what he recommends for her portfolio. Jack knows that his firm's investment product performed well last year, but its performance changes from year to year—some years it is better than the market, and some years it is not. Also, the fee to invest in the product is higher than the fee to invest in a market index fund. If Jack sells his company's investment product, the customer's loyalty to the company is doubled. Which actions should Jack take? - Give a personal recommendation of the company's product while explaining its performance relative to the market over the past several years. Maria and Mateo are setting financial goals. They decide that they need to save $200 each month to reach their goal of taking their children to visit their grandparents in Spain next summer. What is the objective of setting such a goal? - To maximize individual utility