694 ♦ Chapter 14
19. Positive leverage causes the rate earned on stockholders’ equity to exceed the rate earned on total
assets.
20. If a company borrows money at a 7% interest rate, it must generate a rate of return below 7% to be
successful.
21. Firms with significant debt and negative leverage are candidates for bankruptcy.
22. Positive leverage can improve a firm’s financial performance, without risk.
23. To be useful in assessing solvency, a ratio must relate to a business’s ability to pay its liabilities.
24. The current ratio does NOT consider the makeup of current assets.
25. For corporations with high ratios of debt to equity, the relative risk of the debt holders is normally
measured as the number of shares of stock to the interest charges.
26. The stock price and / or dividend performance are the analytical approaches used by shareholders
to assess performance of their equity investments.
27. Earnings per share is a profitability measure used by investors that is often quoted in the financial
press and is reported in the income statement.