Category: Finance

By the due date assigned, respond to the discussion questions below and submit your responses to the Discussion Area. By the end of the week, comment on your classmates’ responses.
Respond to the questions using the lessons and vocabulary found in the reading.
Support your answers with examples and research and cite your research using the APA format.
Start reviewing and responding to the postings of your classmates as early in the week as possible.
Tasks:
Answer the following questions:
To determine how well an investment is doing, it is important to take into account its return and risk. Rational investors seek to obtain the highest amount of return from an investment with the least amount of risk. The CAPM and the arbitrage pricing theory are alternative methods of identifying the risk and return relationship in an investment or groups of investments. What are the similarities and differences between the two models? In your opinion, which model would be most appropriate for evaluation of a portfolio of investments? Why? Which method would you recommend for a single investment project? Why? Provide your rationale using examples.
When a firm uses debt in its capital structure, it is referred to as a leveraged firm and this concept is referred to as financial leverage. Operating leverage refers to a firm’s fixed costs of production. The higher the fixed costs, the greater the degree of operating leverage that is being employed. How does the degree of operating and financial leverage affect the beta of a firm? For a firm just beginning operations, what recommendations would you make about the use of debt in the capital structure? How would these recommendations affect the company’s beta coefficient and the investors’ required rate of return? Would your recommendations change if the firm were a long-established operation? Why or why not?

write a research paper on a topic of their choice with relevance to International Business or Finance.
The paper should be no more than 5 pages long.
The paper will be worth 20 points.
Make sure there is a strong connection between the introduction and conclusion.
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling 
Clarity of objective 
Analysis 
Conclusion based on Analysis 

The purpose of this assignment is to analyze an annual Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report and perform research in order to evaluate the financial strength, efficiency, and effectiveness of an organization.
Select a publicly traded company and submit to your instructor for approval.
Find the company’s 10-k in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (SEC.gov).
Read and analyze the “Management Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” sections of your selected company’s annual report (10k). Other sources of information include the company’s website or news publications.
Based on the information in the company’s financial statements, calculate one relevant ratio from each of the following four categories, providing a comparison (trend, cross-sectional, or industry comparative analysis):
Liquidity
Asset management
Financial leverage
Profitability
Refer to the “Company Financial Analysis Project Template.” Using your ratios and research, write a 750-1,000 word analysis, providing an assessment of the following items:
Include the company’s challenges, strategies, growth plans, product changes, and mission statement alignment.
Discuss recent trends in the company’s stock price.
Evaluate the overall financial strength of the company.
Based on your findings, provide an evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.
Include a minimum of three credible sources.  One must be from the Wall Street Journal, and one must be the company’s 10-K.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. 
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance. 
Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
3.1: Use financial statements in order to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization.
5.3: Evaluate budgeting and accounting reports to determine the financial strength of an organization or financial proposal.

Write a report 1700 words. You are a compliance manager in a financial institution. Your company wants to use blockchain for three purposes:
1. As a mechanism for secure digital transactions and smart contracts
2. As a way of managing digital identities
3. To offer clients the chance to invest in cryptocurrencies
You have been requested to prepare a report for management that will address the three key purposes above and to address the concerns raised by the executive. Your report should explain what blockchain is, explain these uses (applications) and how it will benefit yourself and the company auditors in a report, follow exactly a structure in a picture below.
Read and use the articles and attachment be given below and citiations them in the report. Beside, support the report at least 20 academic references. The articles: https://www.euromoney.com/learning/insights/blockchain/blockchain-explained/what-is-blockchain#
https://ethics.org.au/blockchain-some-considerations/#
https://nexia.com/insights/global-insight/blockchain-technology-opportunities-and-challenges-for-auditors/
https://consensys.io/blockchain-use-cases/digital-identity
https://www.venable.com/insights/publications/2018/01/big-data-and-fintech-avoiding-fair-lending-and-uda
https://www.deloitte.com/lu/en/Industries/technology/analysis/regtech-companies-compliance.html
https://builtin.com/articles/regtech-companies
https://www.g2.com/articles/fintech
https://aquare.la/en/the-future-of-financial-analysis-with-advanced-analytics/

Display examples of real-life sukuk issuances, such as those used for infrastructure projects, government
financing, or corporate fundraising. (300-400 words)

Your probationary period at the Cosmo K Manufacturing Group continues.
For this week’s project, Gerry has asked you to consider two mutually exclusive investments and incorporate risk considerations into the process of evaluation.
The Cosmo K Manufacturing Group is considering the addition of a new smelting machine or a new paving machine. The two investments are mutually exclusive; if one is selected, the other is rejected. The annual cash flows after taxes and the effects of depreciation, which begin one year from project start, and their respective probabilities are given below:
Smelting Machine
Paving Machine
Probability
Net Cash Flows per Year
Probability
Net Cash Flows per Year
0.2
$14,100.00
0.2
$2,000.00
0.5
$16,000.00
0.5
$16,000.00
0.2
$17,000.00
0.2
$22,000.00
0.1
$20,000.00
0.1
$33,000.00
Each project has an expected life of 4 years and will cost $45,000. The riskier project will be evaluated at the company’s WACC plus 3%, and the less risky project will be evaluated at the company’s WACC. Cosmo K has the following capital structure:
Debt:
30%
Preferred stock:
16%
Common stock:
54%
This capital structure is current and consistent with the company’s objectives and so will be used to raise any new funds. All new debt will be raised using long-term bonds, with no short-term debt being used for the new project. New bonds will have a coupon rate of 13%. The company’s common stock is currently selling for $65 per share, paid a dividend of $4.25 last year, and has an expected growth rate of 6% indefinitely. There will be no floatation costs on new common stock. Preferred stock can be sold for $90 per share and pays a dividend of $10, with a floatation cost of $2 per share. Currently, the market risk premium is 5% and the risk-free rate is 8%. Cosmo K’s beta coefficient is currently 1.23 and is expected to be consistent for the foreseeable future. The tax rate is expected to be 40% for the next decade.
Tasks:
Answer the following questions:
What is the component cost of capital for the company? Calculate using the CAPM.
What is the company’s WACC?
What are the expected cash flows for the investments?
What is the standard deviation for each investment?
What is the coefficient of variation for each investment?
Given the data above, which investment has the higher risk?
What is the expected net present value (NPV) for each investment?
What is the internal rate of return (IRR) of the investments?
According to the decision rules for the NPV and those for the IRR, is there an acceptable project? Explain your answer.
Is there a conflict between the two decision methods? If so, what would you use to recommend a project?
Submission Details:
Show the data used and the calculations for each question in a Microsoft Excel sheet and the analysis in a Microsoft Word document.
Name your Microsoft Excel sheet MBA6010_W4_LastName_
FirstName.xls and your Microsoft Word document MBA6010_W4_LastName_FirstName.doc.
Submit your assignment to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.

At the end of your class, you are required to create a project that reflects on your personal
development. You should consider your project not only a formal academic task but also a personal
opportunity to develop and apply your skills in communication, critical thinking, problem-solving,
and more. This project will be applied to income-generating commercial real estate, such as leased
residential properties, commercial centers, office buildings, warehouses, and commercial towers. ( I WILL GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED, SUCH AS THE AREA OF APPARTMENTS AND PRICES OF THEM IN METERS)

Watch the video and answer this question:
Is the U.S. in a market bubble?

write a 2 page paper (double spaced and 12 point font size) about what she feels would be the appropriate limits for car insurance for a car of her choosing.
I lectured in class about the 5 major categories of insurance and their coverage.
1. Liability
2. Collision
3. Comprehensive
4. Personal Injury
5. Underinsured / Uninsured
She will need to pick a car (her choice) and write about where she feels the limits on the car need to be. The older the car, the more she would just use Liability and Uninsured. The newer the car, she would more than likely have full coverage (everything on the list). She will need to have a city in mind (WLaf is fine if that is where she is wanting to live after school). You can use your own insurance as a guide to what the limits would be. I just want her to think about the tradeoffs of the different kinds of insurance and coverage she may need in the paper.

Hello,
Please follow the instructions. USE the PowerPoint to add all the materials taught in the class. COMPANY: TARGET instructions: Based on the financial statements provided in the most recent 10-k (annual report):
Please calculate the financial ratios, showing at least 2 ratios from each of the six ratio areas we reviewed in class (at least 12 in total). you must also include the DuPont model in your work.