...Investment Choices By Karl Preissner, Xavier University Business Stats 500 Project Winter 2011 Problem Description This paper concerns a simple question, “What’s the best way to invest my money when presented with 13 alternative opportunities?” In this case, we’ll assume our investment goal is to maximize return while simultaneously minimizing the risk of loss. Since we cannot invest backwards in time, we need to develop an expectation for the future performance of our opportunities in order to make our choice. This leads to our two fundamental questions: 1. If investment skill exists, how can we find it? 2. Based on the above answer, what investment opportunity is most likely to maximize return while minimizing risk? Problem Discussion and Historical Review When did it start? The problem of appropriate expectations has been with us as long as financial markets themselves. For much of our history, adaptive expectations theory was commonly used to guide investment decisions. Adaptive expectations suggest that past data can be used to predict future expectations. More recently, and accelerating after WWI, the theory of rational expectations has come to dominate the conversation. This theory suggests that expectations are simply our best guess of the future using all available information. Two key implications of this theory are that arbitrage opportunities are quickly taken advantage of, and that as a result, we cannot predict the future ahead of...
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...Economic Consequences of Firms’ Depreciation Method Choice: Evidence from Capital Investments Scott B. Jackson* University of South Carolina Xiaotao (Kelvin) Liu Northeastern University Mark Cecchini University of South Carolina May 2009 * Corresponding author: Scott B. Jackson, School of Accounting, Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. E-mail: scott.jackson@moore.sc.edu. Phone: (803) 777-3100. Fax: (803) 777-0712. We gratefully acknowledge the comments of S.P. Kothari (the editor), an anonymous referee, Kin Blackburn, Tom Canace, Marc Caylor, Dutch Fayard, Victoria Glackin, Noah Jackson, Scott Whisenant, and Rich White. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1415976 Economic Consequences of Firms’ Depreciation Method Choice: Evidence from Capital Investments Abstract: This study identifies several interrelated reasons why firms’ depreciation method choice is likely to influence managers’ capital investment decisions. We find that firms that use accelerated depreciation make significantly larger capital investments than firms that use straight-line depreciation. Further, we find that there has been a migration away from accelerated depreciation to straight-line depreciation over the past two decades. Firms that make such accounting changes make smaller capital investments in the post-change periods than in the pre-change periods. These results suggest that a choice made for external financial reporting purposes...
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...As the CEO of a company that has to choose between making a $100 million investment in either Russia or Czech Republic the risk considerations have become critically important in choosing the best option. The risk considerations include evaluation of each nation’s political, economic and legal systems along with the cultural practices, education and skill levels and each countries stage of economic development. The political systems of a country shapes both the economic and legal systems (Hill, 45). These systems are interconnected and play a vital role in making a decision of which country to make an investment in. In evaluating the risks of making the investment in Russia, the most widely discussed risk that is found is the corruption in the country; this remains a major barrier success for businesses in the nation. There is a complex business environment in Russia along with known issues involving bribery. The corruption in the nation leads to a number of problems including non-transparent and inconsistent application of laws and regulations with the weak enforcement of laws and court decisions (Business Anti-Corruption Portal). This isn’t the only area where corruption is a problem in Russia, there is corruption in the area of licensing and permits with multiple inspections and red tape. Intentional and lengthy delays in the procedures for starting a business, getting required permits and licensing are additional risks along with the corruption. It does seem as though the...
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...3. Investment Climate POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STABILITY The Czech Republic is a fully-fledged parliamentary democracy, and is one of the faster growing economies as well as one of the ten countries that entered the European Union on 1 May 2004. The country’s economic policy is consistent and predictable. A strong and independent central bank (the Czech National Bank) has maintained an extraordinary degree of currency stability since 1991. The Czech Republic was the first CEE country to be admitted into the OECD. The country is a member of NATO and is fully integrated into other international organisations such as the WTO, IMF and EBRD. EU legislation was adopted in preparation for EU accession. Czech commercial, accounting and bankruptcy laws are compatible with Western standards. The Czech koruna is fully convertible. All international transfers (e.g. profits and royalties) related to an investment can be carried out freely and without delay. NON-DISCRIMINATION Under Czech law foreign and domestic entities are treated identically in all areas, from protection of property rights to investment incentives. The government does not screen any foreign investment projects with the exception of those in the defence and banking sectors. As an OECD member the Czech Republic is committed not to discriminate against foreign investors in privatisation sales, with the same exception as that mentioned above. INVESTMENT PROTECTION The Czech Republic is a member of the Multilateral Investment...
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...November 9th, 2011 MCS 2100 – Personal Finance Management: Case Study Abstract Jane is looking for possible investment ideas in order to obtain her future house down payment. She does not want to spend much time in managing her investments and has a medium-low risk level. Her goal on investment is seeking for growth for down payments on a house if she decides to pay 25 percent down payment. However, if she decides to pay less than 25 percent down payment, her investment goal is seeking for income. Different investment goal differentiates investment choices. The purpose of this case study is to recommend possible investment choices for Jane and the criteria used to evaluate those investment choices. Introduction Jane has inherited $30,000 from her grandmother and plans to invest this money for a future down payment on a house. Her plan is to buy a house outside of Toronto area in the next three to four years. She has a lost risk level of four out of ten as she does not want to lose the money she got from her grandmother. Moreover, she would like to obtain tax relief on her investment. At the same time, she only wants to spend about one hour per month in managing her investment. She has an adequate emergency fund on hand; therefore, she does not need to access these funds. Her travel expenses will be paid by her income. Investment Goals The primary investment goal is to obtain a future down payment on a house outside of Toronto in the next three to four years. She has...
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...Assemble a committee of stakeholders and experts 2) Identify vendors of both VoIP and old supported systems that offer products that generally meet the standards and requirements of the organization 3) Send out RFPs to identified vendors 4) Conduct a formal financial analysis with a scoring system that offers a fair valuation of either system in order to identify the preferred system that is aligned with Forest’s overall plans and strategies 5) Present the preferred choice to the executive with clear reasons why he thinks it is the preferred choice Proposed Detailed Action Plan Budget considerations According to Wickham, Wager and Glaser (2009), there are four classes of investment that reflect in an organization’s budgetary allocation in terms of importance to the organization that the vice president of support services will have to consider: 1) Transformation - These IT investments had an impact that would affect the entire organization or a large number of business units. The intent of the investment was to effect a significant improvement in overall performance or change the nature of the organization. 2) Renewal -...
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...Muller, III Pennsylvania State University Edward J. Riedl * Harvard Business School Thorsten Sellhorn Ruhr-Universität Bochum PRELIMINARY – PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE WITHOUT PERMISSION December 2007 ABSTRACT: We examine the determinants of investment property firms’ choice to use the cost or fair value model to account for their primary asset, real estate. Our examination exploits the European Union’s adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, which require firms to make this choice under IAS 40 – Investment Property. We hypothesize and find evidence that firms are more likely to choose the fair value model when the firm’s pre-IFRS domestic standards permitted or required fair values on the balance sheet, and when the firm exhibits a greater commitment to reporting transparency. We also find limited evidence that firms are more likely to choose the fair value model when ownership is more dispersed, and when the property market in which they operate has higher liquidity. Overall, our results reveal both the occurrence and causes of variation in firms’ reporting choices when differing accounting treatments are permitted. Key Terms: Fair value, accounting choice, IFRS, real estate, investment property, IAS 40 JEL Classification: M41, G15, G38 Acknowledgements: We appreciate useful discussion and data assistance from the following persons and their affiliated institutions: Hans Gronloh and Laurens te Beek of EPRA; Simon Mallinson of IPD;...
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...Risk and Return Tradeoff Memo Analyzing the risk and return tradeoffs associated with Casa Bonita’s portfolio Diversity is an important part of any portfolio; diversity in the industries chosen for investment and in the level of risk undertaken are the two most important factors when considering how to construct a corporate investment portfolio.(3) Casa Bonita is a growing company and it is important that we invest our capital wisely if we are planning to use the gains to fund expansion and corporate growth. As corporate officers we have a duty to our employees, our customers, and the corporate community to be measured and knowledgeable about every investment decision we make. Investment decisions should almost be methodical, however due to the nature of the stock market it is hard to be methodical as there is a certain level of predictability that must be present for us to become methodical in our investment decision making. Decisions made during the simulation As the Treasury Analyst for Casa Bonita during the simulation it was my job to build the corporate investment portfolio in a manner that would produce the largest amount of returns while taking the minimum amount of risk. Initially the market conditions were great with multiple stocks expected to perform above average, however it was still important to include stocks that would perform well even in an economic downturn in our portfolio. The inclusion of “recession proof” securities provides stability, or a foundation...
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...TITLE: Globalization and location choice: an analysis of US multinational firms in 1980 and 2000 SOURCE: Journal of International Business Studies v38 no7 p1187-210 D 2007 COPYRIGHT: The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in violation of the copyright is prohibited. To contact the publisher: http://www.jibs.net/ In this paper we examine foreign location choices of the top 100 US multinational corporations (MNCs) in 1980 and 2000. We first ask whether there has been a change in MNC foreign location choice in this two-decade period. Second, we explore the underlying reasons of location change by focusing on country-level factors, accounting for firm-, industry — and regional-level explanations. Our findings suggest, first, that the extent of MNCs’ activities around the globe is more extensive than assumed by regionalists’ arguments and well beyond Ohmae’s TRIAD, but still less widespread than claimed by the globalists — the two main traditions within the globalizationregionalization debate. Second, we uncover an interesting de-location pattern in this period. Third, we develop an integrative framework where both economic and institutional-cultural arguments are shown to influence MNCs’ foreign location choice in different ways. We conclude with a discussion of our findings, and provide suggestions for future research. Keywords: MNC foreign location choice; host country factors; global...
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... When the fair value of an investment in debt securities exceeds its amortized cost, how should each of the following debt securities be reported at the end of the year? Debt securities classified as Held-to-maturity Available-for-sale a. Amortized cost Amortized cost b. Amortized cost Fair value c. Fair value Fair value d. Fair value Amortized cost CPA-00263 Explanation Choice "b" is correct. According to SFAS 115, debt securities (bonds) classified as held-to-maturity are reported at amortized cost (that is, cost adjusted for amortization of premium or discount; approaches face value). Debt securities classified as available-for-sale are reported at fair value. Note that SFAS 130 changes the treatment of unrealized holding gains and losses from available-for-sale securities. Such gain/loss is excluded from earnings (per SFAS 115), however, per SFAS 130, it is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income. Choice "a" is incorrect. While amortized cost is the appropriate treatment for debt securities classified as held-to-maturity, this is not the correct treatment for securities classified as available-for-sale. Choice "c" is incorrect. Fair value is not the appropriate treatment for debt securities classified as held-to- maturity. Choice "d" is incorrect. Fair value is not the...
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...Duration of the zero = 1 years 14 = (wz)(5) + (1 – wz)26; wz = 57.14% Learning Objective: 11-04 Formulate fixed-income immunization strategies for various investment horizons. Multiple Choice Difficulty: 3 Hard award: 1.00 point You own a bond that has a duration of 5 years. Interest rates are currently 6%, but you believe the Fed is about to increase interest rates by 29 basis points. Your predicted price change on this bond is ________. (Select the closest answer.) +1.37% → –1.37% –4.72% +4.72% D* = 5/1.06 = 4.72 ∆P/P = –D*(∆y) = –4.72(0.29%) = –1.37% Learning Objective: 11-02 Compute the duration of bonds; and use duration to measure interest rate sensitivity. Multiple Choice Difficulty: 2 Medium 1 of 13 11/29/2014 1:56 PM Assignment Print View http://ezto.mheducation.com/hm_finance.tpx award: 1.00 point You have purchased a guaranteed investment contract (GIC) from an insurance firm that promises to pay you a 7% compound rate of return per year for 5 years. If you pay $10,000 for the GIC today and receive no interest along the way, you will get __________ in 6 years (to the nearest dollar). $13,500 $14,071 → $14,026 $13,108 (10,000)(1.07)5 = $14,026 Learning Objective: 11-04 Formulate fixed-income immunization strategies for various investment horizons. Multiple Choice Difficulty: 1 Easy award: 1.00 point A...
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...Investment Report Jane & Douglas Breighton Investment Report Jane & Douglas Breighton Best Choice Investment Solutions | FINM3008 Best Choice Investment Solutions | FINM3008 Minggang Gu|u5108473 Kejie Wang|u5133766 Tutorial Thursday 4pm Suggested Asset Allocation Breighton Holdings 14% Australian Equities 0% World Equities, Unhedged 0% World Equities, Hedged 11% Emerging Markets 13% EQUITIES 38% Australian Fixed Income 13% World Fixed Income, Hedged 19% Australian Index-Linked Bonds 0% Australian Cash 1% FIXED INCOME 33% Australian Listed Property 8% Australian Direct Property 9% PROPERTY 17% Hedge Funds 9% Commodities 1% US Private Equity 2% ALTERNATIVES 12% TOTAL 100% Contents Some critical assumption……………………………2 Asset Class Considerations………………………….2 Equities…………………………………………………..2 Fixed Income………………………………………….3 Alternatives and Property………………………4 Analysis Mothod………………………………………….5 Historical 3 Year Rolling Returns…………….5 Bootstrap Analysis………………………………….5 Mean-Variance Optimizer……………………..6 Results…………………………………………………………7 Final Recommendation……………………………….8 Building a Concrete Portfolio for Jane and Douglas Breighton………………………………….8 Appendices………………………………………………….9 References………………………………………………..13 Minggang Gu|u5108473 Kejie Wang|u5133766 Tutorial...
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...Week 2 DQ1 Choice 1 What is the difference between present and future values? How would you use present and future value techniques in preparing a financial retirement plan? How would various required rates of return affect the decisions? Explain you answer. Present value and future value measures the value at a specific period of time. Present value represents the value of an investment at the beginning of the investment period. For example, what the worth is currently would represent what the value would be today. Future value represents the value of an investment at the end of the investment period. For example, what the worth is in the future would represent what the value would be in specific amount of time. These values each provide techniques in preparing a financial retirement plan. The future value technique of a series of deposits consists of determining future values of regular deposit amount multiplied by the future value of retirement equals the future value amount of regular retirement deposits. For example, the amount of current savings will increase based on a certain interest rate and time period that is also referred to compounding. The present value technique of a series of deposits consists of determining a regular amount to be withdrawn multiplied by the present value of retirement equals present value amount. For example, the current value for a future amount is based on certain interest rate and time period that is also referred to as discounting. The...
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...successfully established in the global market. The central theory introduced in this article is developed based on a comprehensive framework of the entry modes choices. These modes of choices would determine the success factor of the international business strategy, and to choose these choices there are several important factors to be considered. These factors include situational firm factors, foreign environment review, and moderating factors that would directly influence the firm’s desired mode of choice. Referring to Appendix A is the mode choice of framework by Driscoll that depicts the whole concept discussed. To briefly illustrate, the firm would need to evaluate the two situational factors that would directly affect its desired level of different modes of characteristics. Subsequent from the selected desired modes, the firm would also need to determine the potential moderating influences, which would affect the desired mode. Thus, reassessment based on the moderators would take place to determine the most effective modes of entry. By selecting the right mode of entry, the firm would incorporate an effective business strategy for its international business plans. The article written by Driscoll is set to present an argument for the development of a comprehensive framework for understanding the mode of entry choices. In the article, she illustrated about the different modes of entry to international markets, analyzed on the different characteristics of the entry modes...
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...MARKET ENTRY CHOICES IN THE CONTEXT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT Ram Mudambi University of Reading and Case Western Reserve University Susan McDowell Mudambi John Carroll University Address for correspondence: Dr. Susan McDowell Mudambi Department of Management, Marketing and Logistics Boler School of Business John Carroll University University Heights OH 44118 Phone: FAX: Email: (216) 397-3094 (216) 397-1728 smudambi@jcu.edu DIVERSIFICATION AND MARKET ENTRY CHOICES IN THE CONTEXT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT Abstract Multinational enterprises consider many factors when making decisions in the context of foreign direct investment (FDI). In deciding what to produce, the multinational enterprise (MNE) must decide whether to diversify or to concentration on its main line of business. This paper offers insights into influences on this choice, and identifies a number of conditions under which diversification is more likely to be chosen. Factors affecting the foreign entry mode decision are also analyzed. The international business literature has generally treated these strategic choices as independent. This paper introduces a more realistic selection model, in which the diversification choice and the entry mode choice are made sequentially and are therefore related. The model is tested using a data set of FDI into the United Kingdom by MNEs in engineering and related industries. The analysis indicates a strong relationship between the diversification choice and the entry...
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