15) Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a.Subordinated debt has less default risk than senior debt
b.Convertible bonds have lower coupon rates than non-convertible bonds of similar
default risk because they offer the possibility of capital gains
c.Junk bonds typically provide a lower yield to maturity than investment-grade bonds
d.A debenture is a secured bond that is backed by some or all of the firm’s fixed assets
e.Junior debt is debt that has been more recently issued, and in bankruptcy it is paid off
after senior debt because the senior debt was issued first
16) Which of the following would be most likely to lead to a decrease in a firm’s
dividend payout ratio?
a. Its access to the capital markets increases
b. Its R&D efforts pay off, and it now has more high-return investment opportunities
c. Its accounts receivable decrease due to a change in its credit policy
d. Its stock price has increased over the last year by a greater percentage than the
increase in the broad stock market averages
e. Its earnings become more stable
17) Stocks A, B, and C are similar in some respects: Each has an expected return of
10% and a standard deviation of 25%. Stocks A and B have returns that are independent
of one another; i.e., their correlation coefficient, r, equals zero. Stocks A and C have
returns that are negatively correlated with one another; i.e., r is less than 0. Portfolio AB
is a portfolio with half of its money invested in Stock A and half in Stock B. Portfolio
AC is a portfolio with half of its money invested in Stock A and half invested in Stock
C. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a.Portfolio AC has an expected return that is greater than 25%
b.Portfolio AB has a standard deviation that is greater than 25%
c.Portfolio AB has a standard deviation that is equal to 25%
d.Portfolio AC has a standard deviation that is less than 25%
e.Portfolio AC has an expected return that is less than 10%