Monday, February 6, 2012

Question Set 91 - Solution

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Jackson Corporation's bonds have 24 years remaining to maturity. Interest is paid annually, the bonds have a $1,000 par value, and the coupon interest rate is 7.5%. The bonds have a yield to maturity of 9%. What is the current market price of these bonds? Round your answer to the nearest cent.

Problem 5-2 : Yield to Maturity for Annual Payments

Wilson Wonders's bonds have 12 years remaining to maturity. Interest is paid annually, the bonds have a $1,000 par value, and the coupon interest rate is 10%. The bonds sell at a price of $850. What is their yield to maturity? Round your answer to two decimal places.



Problem 5-4: Determinant of Interest Rates

The real risk-free rate is 2%. Inflation is expected to be 3% this year and 5% during the next 2 years. Assume that the maturity risk premium is zero. What is the yield on 2-year Treasury securities? Round your answer to two decimal places.
What is the yield on 3-year Treasury securities? Round your answer to two decimal places.



Problem 5-5: Default Risk Premium

A Treasury bond that matures in 10 years has a yield of 3%. A 10-year corporate bond has a yield of 9%. Assume that the liquidity premium on the corporate bond is 0.3%. What is the default risk premium on the corporate bond? Round your answer to two decimal places.



Problem 5-6: Maturity Risk Premium

The real risk-free rate is 2%, and inflation is expected to be 2% for the next 2 years. A 2-year Treasury security yields 6.7%. What is the maturity risk premium for the 2-year security?



Yield to Maturity and Call with Semiannual Payments

Thatcher Corporation's bonds will mature in 10 years. The bonds have a face value of $1,000 and an 8% coupon rate, paid semiannually. The price of the bonds is $1,100. The bonds are callable in 5 years at a call price of $1,050. Round your answers to two decimal places. What is their yield to maturity?
What is their yield to call?



Problem 5-10: Yield to Maturity and Required Returns

The Brownstone Corporation's bonds have 5 years remaining to maturity. Interest is paid annually, the bonds have a $1,000 par value, and the coupon interest rate is 9%.

What is the yield to maturity at a current market price of $829? Round your answer to two decimal places.

What is the yield to maturity at a current market price of $1,104? Round your answer to two decimal places.

Would you pay $829 for one of these bonds if you thought that the appropriate rate of interest was 14% - that is, if rd = 14%.





Explain your answer.

You would not buy the bond as long as the yield to maturity at this price is greater than your required rate of return.

You would buy the bond as long as the yield to maturity at this price is greater than your required rate of return.

You would buy the bond as long as the yield to maturity at this price is less than your required rate of return.

You would buy the bond as long as the yield to maturity at this price equals your required rate of return.



Problem 5-12: Bond Yields and Rates of Return A 10-year, 12% semiannual coupon bond with a par value of $1,000 may be called in 4 years at a call price of $1,050. The bond sells for $1,050. (Assume that the bond has just been issued.)

What is the bond's yield to maturity? Round your answer to two decimal places.

What is the bond's current yield? Round your answer to two decimal places.

What is the bond's capital gain or loss yield? Round your answer to two decimal places.

What is the bond's yield to call? Round your answer to two decimal places.



Problem 5-14: Current Yield with Semiannual Payments

A bond that matures in 7 years sells for $1,020.The bond has a face value of $1,000 and a yield to maturity of 10.5883%. The bond pays coupons semiannually. What is the bond's current yield? Round your answer to two decimal places.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

New Zealand Food Prices Jumped 1 % in May 2008

A leap of 1 per cent in the food prices for the month of May 2008 drove the Food Price Index (FPI) up 6.8 per cent in the year 2008 to May 2008, reports Statistics New Zealand.

According to the reports released by the Statistics New Zealand on food prices in the month of May 2008, showing the prices of food edged higher 1.0% on month from 0.3% increase in April 2008.

For the year 2008 to May 2008, food prices rose 6.8%, with the most significant upward contribution came from higher prices for the grocery food subgroup, which was up 11.8% recorded in May, reports RTT News.

This increase in the food prices was mainly driven by higher prices for fruit and vegetables, non-alcoholic beverages and grocery food. Talking about fruit and vegetables subgroup, the main contributor for the food price rise was driven in particular by tomatoes, lettuce and broccoli.

Price and demand of soft drink became the main contributor for price rise in the non-alcoholic beverages subgroup and the grocery food subgroup price rose due to higher prices for a wide range of goods within this subgroup.

Rising oil prices is said to be another contributor for the food price rise not only for the country but through out the world. Also an increased demand and shift in eating habit from developing countries especially from China and India has created a gap in supply and demand for the food materials.

"Obviously if petrol prices and food prices do continue to rise from here, then we do risk inflation being a little bit higher than what the Reserve Bank expects," says Nick Tuffley, ASB Economist, reports One News.

According to the research analyst at Arth Business Research, “Skyrocketing oil prices and increasing prices of fruit and vegetables, non alcoholic beverages and food grocery along with increasing demand from developing countries is expected to increase the food prices further for the country.”

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Slower Domestic Demand Pushes Australian Retail Sales to Drop 0.2% in April 2008

A sharp drop in retail sales figures for April 2008 masks what economists consider is a flat result for the month.


Australian retail sales fell in April 2008, adding to evidence of slowing the nation's 17 years of economic expansion.


Sales fell 0.2 percent from March, when they climbed a revised 0.2 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. The median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 0.2 percent gain, reports Bloomberg.


Skyrocketing gasoline prices and a rise in borrowing cost by the central bank is the main reason behind the fall in the retail sales. Slowing economy along with higher borrowing cost tide the customer hands for further spending. Hence less domestic demand is creating the pressure on the retail sales industry and forcing its sales to drop down.


Also inflated food prices made the damage to the retail sales with decreasing spending on retail food products. The Australian turnover of retail sales decreased due to decline in sales by chain and large retailers. The sales decline for small retailers is expected to be marginal. At the same time decline in spending on the recreational goods made the retails sales to decline further.


"If we exclude the Easter effect, we can see that ex-food retail sales over the last two months have been flat," ANZ economist Katie Dean wrote in a note to clients. "This confirms the economy is slowing and should put the RBA out of the game. The big uncertainty is whether this slowdown will continue when the July tax cuts arrive," she adds, reports The Age.


According to research analyst at Arth Business Research, “ This decline in retail sales is expected to improve in coming months as the Australian government is expect to cut the income taxes which would increase the income of the wage earners marginally. Also some expected relief from RBA would help the retail sales to regain the ground.”

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

U.S. Mobile Handset Sales Decline In the First Quarter Of 2008

Sales of cell phones in the U.S. declined during the first quarter (January- March) of 2008, as the maturing market was hit by a slowing U.S. economy.

U.S. purchases of new cell phones declined in the first quarter (January- March, 2008) for the first time in several years, signaling that worries about an economic slowdown are hurting the handset market, according to two new studies, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Nearly 31 million handsets were sold in the U.S. during the first quarter of this year (2008), down 22 % from the same period a year ago, according to the NPD Group. Sales of mobile handsets generated USD 2.7 billion, down from USD 2.9 billion for the same period a year ago (2007), reports Cnet News.com.

The main reason for decline in mobile handset sale is a slowing economy and a maturing U.S. wireless market. Due to the maturing U.S. wireless market, in which more than eight in 10 Americans owning a cell phone, demand is dropping.

Also some factors like due to wider adoption of post-paid cellular plans and high end mobile phone sales has dropped the sales of pre-paid and basic cell phones, which in turn is reshaping the overall U.S. mobile handset market.

Some other important factors like growth in the sales of mobile handset are slowing down in the low income group and children and keeping the sales dry.

Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist for High Frequency Economics, said: “Mobile phones are, on the whole, a discretionary spend item. None of us really need to upgrade to a better model. The outlook for retail sales in the US is horrible. We expect it to be extraordinarily weak for the foreseeable future, and by that I mean definitely this year and probably next. We have not hit the bottom yet.” reports Times Online.

According to research analyst at Arth Business Research, “As the U.S. is facing an economic slowdown and at the same time mobile handset market is maturing with most of the people owns a handset is expected force the mobile handset market in U.S. to go slow further. Also declining demand from low income group and children who are the key motivator for the mobile handset market is expected to push the sales further.”

For more articles, blogs, company analysis, company profile, industry research reports plz contact at mr.jayantkumar@gmail.com

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Consumer Goods Demand Pushed China Retail Sales Up 22.0% in April

China's retail sales rose in April 2008 at the fastest pace since at least 1999, signaling that strong domestic consumption may help offset weak overseas demand.

China's retail sales of consumer goods in April 2008 rose 22.0 % year on year to 814.2 billion Yuan (USD 116.3 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday.

That brings China's retail sales of consumer goods in the first four months of this year (2008) to 3.3697 trillion Yuan, up 21.0 %, compared with 20.6 % growth rate recorded in the first quarter of this year, reports China Daily.

Retail sales of consumer goods in April in urban areas were up 22.9 % to 555.9 billion Yuan, while the retail sales of consumer goods at county level or below totaled 258.3 billion Yuan, up 20.1 %.

Rising inflation is the main reason which not only forced consumers to pay more for daily necessities, but also seemed to encourage spending on durable and luxury goods. Sales of consumer goods like garments, home appliances, furniture and recreational goods picked up due to inflation worries and hence pushed the retail sales to increase.

"With inflation at a decade-high level, it is not surprising to see nominal retail sales reaching a decade-high as well," Goldman Sachs' economists Song Yu and Liang Hong said in a research note, reports People’s Daily Online.

A heavy buying in foodstuff and beverages, grain and edible oil also helped the retail sales of china to rise amid rising food price inflation.

According to research analyst at Arth business Research, “As the demand for food prices is rising continuously with a greater pace than the supply and at the same the oil prices are hitting all time high, it is expected to force people to purchase more goods like garments, home appliances, and other luxury goods on the expectation that the price of these goods will go higher in near future which in turn will push the retail sales up further.”

For more articles, blogs, company analysis, company profile, industry research reports plz contact at mr.jayantkumar@gmail.com

Saturday, May 10, 2008

US Trade Deficit Narrowed As Import Dropped To a Record Level

US trade deficit shrunk as domestic demand for foreign made goods declined while foreign demand for US products increased due to weaken US dollar.

The US trade deficit shrank more than expected in March 2008 to USD 58.2 billion. The trade gap narrowed from a revised USD 61.7 billion in February 2008. Most economists had predicted that the deficit would narrow to 61.3 billion.

The trade gap shrank 5.7% in March 2008, the Commerce Department reported on Friday, much smaller than expected, reports The Age.

The reason for this record drop in US imports is slowing domestic demand due to inflating US economy is directly supporting the US trade balance in March 2008 despite record high oil prices. Also imports dropped as Americans; due to weak US dollar did not show interest to buy foreign-made cars and trucks, consumer goods, industrial supplies and certain foods among other goods.

The tumbling down dollar value against other world currencies had made US-made goods much more affordable for rest of the world and helped to create a big demand for US product in the international market and made the trade balance to shrink the deficit.

Also US exports which set records in 12 consecutive months helped the US economy afloat during a time of mayhem due to housing slump and spreading liquidity crisis and made the trade deficit to shrank.


"The weaker dollar against the euro, pound and Canadian dollar is boosting exports," said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland, reports AFP.

As per the research analyst at Arth Business Research, “With increasing oil prices and inflating US economy the domestic demand for foreign made products are expected remain low by crushing down slightly improving US dollar. Hence with slowing domestic demands and increasing exports is expected to narrow the US trade deficit further.”

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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Australian Trade Deficit Narrows as Export Rebound

Australia's trade deficit narrowed in March as exports jumped, stoking an economic expansion in its 17th year.

The seasonally adjusted balance on trade in goods and services narrowed to a deficit of AD 2.7 billion in March 2008 from a revised deficit of AD 3.3 billion in February 2008, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today, reports The Australian.

Imports rose by 1.0 per cent and exports climbed 4 per cent to produce the narrower-than-expected deficit in March. Analysts had expected a deficit of AD 2.9 billion. However, imports of household electrical items were 7 per cent lower while textiles, clothing and footwear imports eased 3 per cent in March from February.

The reason behind improvement in trade balance is an upward movement in coal, metal and mineral export. Coal export soared as flood ravaged areas in central Queensland were able to resume coal production following heavy rainfall. Wheat and rural export which include cereal and meat also helped the overall export to rise.

Increased demand of Australian products from Asian countries like Japan and china is one among the reasons for improvement in Australian trade balance. At the same time slowing domestic demand is resulting in a slowdown in import growth and hence improving the trade balance for the country.

UBS senior economist Adam Carr said rising global demand for commodities could eventually lead to a trade surplus. "With domestic demand slowing, import growth will slow and given those bulk commodity price gains, we would be very surprised if exports value dosen’t continues to grow at a strong clip," he said, reports The West.

According to research analyst at Arth Business Research, “Improvement in coal and wheat production due to good rainfall and at the same time increasing demand from Asian countries is expected to improve the export level in the coming months of the year (2008). Also lowering domestic demand is expected to decrease the growth rate for imports which are expected improve the trade balance of the country for this year (2008).”
For more articles, blogs, company analysis, company profile, industry research reports plz contact at mr.jayantkumar@gmail.com