The expected rate of return on Delaware Shores, Inc. stock is based on three possible
states of the economy. These states are boom, normal, and recession which have
probabilities of occurrence of 20 percent, 75 percent, and 5 percent, respectively. Which
one of the following statements is correct concerning the variance of the returns on this
stock?
A. The variance must decrease if the probability of occurrence for a boom increases.
B. The variance will remain constant as long as the sum of the economic probabilities is
100 percent.
C. The variance can be positive, zero, or negative, depending on the expected rate of
return assigned to each economic state.
D. The variance must be positive provided that each state of the economy produces a
different expected rate of return.
E. The variance is independent of the economic probabilities of occurrence.
Answer:
A firm has total assets of $523,100, current assets of $186,500, current liabilities of
$141,000, and total debt of $215,000. What is the debt-equity ratio?
A. 0.48
B. 0.70
C. 1.10
D. 1.43
E. 2.13