Business

i) Suppose Caterpillar Inc. has 665 million shares outstanding and each share is priced at $74.77. The company has now $25 billion in debt. Assume that Caterpillar maintains a constant debt-equity ratio in the next three years. At the end of the third year, if Caterpillar has 700 million shares outstanding and each share is priced at $83, how much debt will Caterpillar have? (5 marks)(ii) Alpha plc plans to issue €100 million of bonds with a face value of €50,000, coupon rate of 4 per cent and 10 years to maturity. The current market interest rate on these bonds is 7 per cent. In one year, the interest rate on the bonds will be either 8 per cent with 60 percent probability or 5 per cent with 40 percent probability.(a) If the bonds are non-callable, what is the price of the bonds today? (10 marks)(b) If the bonds are callable one year from today, will their price be greater than or less than the price you computed in (a)? Discuss your answer from investor’s point of view. (5 marks)(c) If a call price is £50,000, would the firm call the bonds? Please explain your answer (5 marks)

If our expectations regarding the underlying price direction are correct & it decreases below or equal to the lower strike of $350, both puts are in-the-money (ITM) at expiration & the total value of the position is equal to the difference between the strike prices i.e. $370 – $350 = $20 x 100 (no. of contacts) = $2,000. Taking our initial costs into consideration, we achieve a total profit of £2,000 – $840 = $1,160.Between Strikes: If the underlying price ends up somewhere between both strikes ($351: $369), only the higher strike put expires ITM. The trade’s profit/loss then depends on how far S is above the lower strike, which will determine whether amount that can be gained from exercising the option will be greater than the initial cost of the position. The closer S gets the $350, the higher the value, & gains from the position.Breakeven: The breakeven point of the trade is the underlying price of NFLX stocks such that the value of K2 is equal to the initial cost of opening the position i.e. (K2 – Initial Cost), which is equal to £370 – $8.40 = £361.6

1. How would you assess your Zoom participation for the Transportation (3/9) and Carbon Sinks (4/6) meetings based on the above criteria (on a scale of 1-10)? Please provide a sentence explaining your reasoning.2. How would you assess the average quality of your Writing Reflections (or Flipgrid videos) for the Transportation, Buildings, Individual Explorations, Carbon Sinks, and Health and Education weeks, based on the above criteria (on a scale of 0-40)? Please provide a sentence or two explaining your reasoning.3. Do you have any other feedback that you’d like to share (e.g. things that are working, that would be helpful to know, or that could be improved for the final weeks of the semester)?Thanks for your input!

Financial managers have access to a variety of tools to help them make well informed financial and investment decisions. Some of the most common strategic concepts are break-even analysis, the cost of capital concept, and optimal capital structure. Write an academic paper of between 1000 and 1475 words (4 to 5 pages) describing how financial managers can improve their performance by using different techniques. Where there are related ethical or legal issues, be sure to include them in your paper. Your paper should include discussion on:Differences between financial structure and capital structure.Objectives of capital structure management.Optimal capital structure.Assumptions of the break-even analysis.Weakness points of the break-even analysis.The nonlinear break-even analysis.Ethical and legal issues related to these concepts.Be sure to:Follow accepted research approaches and citation format (APA style).Convey your understanding of the readings and concepts and their application to the topic.Write in an organized and coherent way.Check for and correct spelling, sentence structure, and grammatical errors.Demonstrate graduate-level analytical skills. [MO6.3]

A Skills Approach: Excel 2016 Chapter 8: Exploring Advanced Data Analysis1 | Page Challenge Yourself 8.4 Last Updated 4/9/18Challenge Yourself 8.4 In this project, you will use scenarios and a scenario summary to analyze car purchasing options. The data forthis project were downloaded from: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/download.shtml You will use customfiltering to find the data you are interested in and copy it from this very large data set to another worksheet.You will then use Advanced Filter, conditional formatting, sorting, and subtotals to further analyze this subsetof data. You will manipulate a PivotTable created from the main vehicle data set. Finally, you will use Solverto solve a business problem to help you pay for your new car.Skills needed to complete this project: • Creating What-If Analysis Scenarios• Creating Scenario Summary Reports• Creating a Custom Filter• Using Advanced Filter• Creating New Conditional Formatting Rules• Sorting Data on Multiple Criteria• Adding Subtotals• Changing the Look of a PivotTable• Filtering PivotTable Data• Activating the Solver Add-Inn• Using Solver1. Open the start file EX2016-ChallengeYourself-8-4. The file will be renamed automatically to includeyour name. Change the project file name if directed to do so by your instructor, and save it.2. If the workbook opens in Protected View, click the Enable Editing button in the Message Bar at the]top of the workbook so you can modify the workbook.3. You want to purchase a new car. Your current car is worth $3,500 as a trade-in. The base sticker price onthe car you want is $24,595. The first financing offer from the dealer is 1.9% APR for 24 months, withno cash back. The original financing offer terms are listed in cells A3:B9 on the Car Loan worksheet. CellB10 contains a formula with a PMT function to calculate the monthly payment. Use what-if analysis toolsto compare financing options. Create scenarios to compare financing options for the car loan.a. Create names for the following cells on the Car Loan worksheet to make the scenarios easier to

Based on examples from one of the recommended articles selected by you, the lecture notes, the text, and other sources, discuss one or several of the themes: the importance of capacity and constraint management in corporations; financial planning & management and decision making on project and corporate levels; quantitative and qualitative decision making-takeaways and lessons learned.

(1) Marketing Managers are accountable for the impact of their actions on profit and cash flow.Therefore, they need a working knowledge of basic accounting and finance concepts. Whatinformation would you tell a NEW Marketing Manager that they need to understand in regard tothe above statement?(2) What is segmenting and targeting and why are they important to use in Marketing?(3) A Breakeven Analysis is a powerful management tool, and one that is critical in planning,decision-making, and expense control. It can be invaluable in determining whether to buy orlease, expand into a new area, build a new plant, and many other such considerations.T or F(4) According to the segmentation process, a market segment should be:o Measurable.o Differentiable.o Accessible.o Substantial.o ALL OF THE ABOVE.o NONE OF THE ABOVE.(5) What specifically is a break-even analysis and how is this tool important in our marketingefforts?(6) What is a SWOT Analysis and how might a Marketing Manager utilize this in their efforts?(7) To really understand the answers to questions like, “Which customers are most profitable? Isthe commission or bonus structure in each sales area fair and consistent? What products areproviding the best return? A Marketing Manager better get acquainted with an important, yetsimple tool called – Contribution Analysis.T or F(8) Please explain what is meant by a market opportunity analysis:(9) What are the key components in a Marketing Plan and how is this used by aMarketing Manager?(10) A marketing mix typically encompasses activities controllable by the organization. Theseinclude the kind of product, service, or idea offered (product strategy), how it will becommunicated to buyers (communication strategy), the method for distributing the offering tobuyers (channel strategy), and the amount buyers will pay for the offering (price strategy).T or F(11) What is meant by DECIDE in marketing decision making?(12) The strategic alternatives of a company are influenced by a number of factors. The factorsthat a Marketing Manager must consider are three types: external, financial, and internal. Tor F(13) Strategic Planning is the process which involves the review of:o Market Conditionso Customer Needso Competitive Strengths and Weaknesseso Sociopolitical, Legal and Economic Conditionso Technological Developmentso Resource Availabilityo ALL OF THE ABOVEo NONE OF THE ABOVE(14) What are the 4 things that a Marketing Plan does for an organization – if done correctly?(15) What is meant by segmentation and how can this benefit a company in regards to theirmarketing efforts?(16) The major benefits to a S.W.O.T Analysis are:o Simple to use.o Reduces the costs of strategic planning.o Flexible.o Integrates and synthesizes diverse information.o Fosters collaboration among managers of different functional areas.o ALL OF THE ABOVE.o NONE OF THE ABOVE.(17) What are the 3 predominant areas of a market opportunity analysis that we must take intoconsideration as Marketing Managers?(18) The ultimate goal of any segmentation process is to allow us to position our offering in themarketplace in the most strategic fashion.T or F(19) Positioning is the act of designing an organization’s offering and image so that it occupies adistinct and valued place in the target customer’s mind relative to competitive offerings. Tor F(20) What is meant by brand equity and how is this achieved through our marketing efforts?(21) Factors that can influence our efforts in establishing our promotional campaign are:• Type of product and market.• Push vs. Pull Strategy.• Buyer readiness stage.• Product Life Cycle Stage.• ALL OF THE ABOVE.• NONE OF THE ABOVE.(22) What is meant by IMC and what are the steps involved in developing an effective one?(23) It is vital that a Marketing Manager state their promotional objective prior to generation ofany promotional efforts. If you do not accomplish this task, it makes it extremely difficult tomeasure the effectiveness of your overall campaign. T or F(24) What are some positioning strategies that a Marketing Manager can utilize in their pursuit ofa strategic advantage?25) What strategy should Jones Blair have adopted to reach the segment(s) sought?

Dissertation Abstract submissionTitleThe thesis title should give a clear indication of the topic being studied.Keep in mind: There is always the possibility to improve the wording at later stages of your research. Your future employer may ask you about the topic of your dissertation so try to make it interesting!? The Problem: The proposal should contain a description of the study problem which includes specification of the study question(s), in relation to previous research and to the literature.Keep in mind: A well – stated description of the problem will also help you to stay focused during your research? Theoretical Framework and Background Information: the proposal should discuss the major theoretical premises and the salient concepts which underlie the problem or question(s). The proposal should then outline a framework, based on literature, for analyzing the problem and question(s).? Design and Methods The questions and/or hypotheses for the thesis are formulated clearly and in such a way that all the study variables and their anticipated relationships are specified. Procedures should be clearly outlined, including details of about data (for empirical projects) and resources (for literature review) that will be used.Keep in mind: The objectives of your thesis should be specific, measurable (you must know when you have reached your goal), achievable (don’t try to attempt too much given the time you have to complete your dissertation. A complete dissertation is always better than an incomplete one!), and realistic (for example, in the case of an empirical project do you have the resources needed to collect your data?).? Data Analysis (for empirical projects): The methods of analysis appropriate for the study design should be described.? Work Plan: The proposal should include a detailed work plan, with estimates of time needed to complete each phase of the proposed research.Keep in mind : You have time constraints!? Wordcount: min 500 – max 750 words

Week 8 – CLA1 – CLO 1, CLO 2, CLO 3, CLO 4, CLO 5In a 4 – 6 page paper based on your internship course experiences and the learning objectives achieved, review your internship experience successes and challenges leading to growth. You should demonstrate in your paper a description of your professional portfolio and also include any evidence of accomplishment that you have acquired during this session.Provide at least three (3) references including two (2) peer-reviewed sources. If you have completed this CLA assignment in an internship course prior to this class, select new examples and sources to support your response. For questions, contact your instructor.

Marketing Research Presentation to the President of Starbucks Coffee HouseYou are the marketing consultant to Starbucks coffee house and have been asked by the President, Charles Schultz, to perform market research and ascertain the feasibility of establishing new coffee houses in China.Plan the research design and presentation to Mr. Schultz. Include the following:Two to three alternative target customer segment(s) that you may use and why.The types of secondary research that you will use and why.The problem statement.One to two research questions that will guide the study.Who the major competitors are for this product.What the cultural, economic, and political factors are that need to be considered in the design of this project.Recommended length of this paper: five to seven pages, at least 8 primary resources (peer-reviewed articles or textbooks). This design will be incorporated into the Week 6 paper (with changes, if applicable)