2-1
Chapter 2
The Business,Tax,
and Financial
Environments
2-2
The Business,Tax,and
Financial Environments
?The Business Environment
?The Tax Environment
?The Financial Environment
2-3
The Business
Environment
? Sole Proprietorships
? Partnerships (general and limited)
? Corporations
? Limited liability companies
The U.S,has four basic forms of
business organization:
2-4
The Business
Environment
? Oldest form of business organization.
? Business income is accounted for on
your personal income tax form.
Sole Proprietorship -- A business
form for which there is one owner,
This single owner has unlimited
liability for all debts of the firm.
2-5
Summary for
Sole Proprietorship
Advantages
?Simplicity
?Low setup cost
?Quick setup
?Single tax filing
on individual form
Disadvantages
? Unlimited liability
? Hard to raise
additional capital
? Transfer of
ownership
difficulties
2-6
The Business
Environment
?Business income is accounted
for on each partner’s personal
income tax form.
Partnership -- A business form in
which two or more individuals
act as owners.
2-7
Types of Partnerships
Limited Partnership -- limited partners
have liability limited to their capital
contribution (investors only),At least
one general partner is required and all
general partners have unlimited liability.
General Partnership -- all partners have
unlimited liability and are liable for all
obligations of the partnership.
2-8
Summary for Partnership
Advantages
? Can be simple
? Low setup cost,higher
than sole
proprietorship
? Relatively quick setup
? Limited liability for
limited partners
Disadvantages
? Unlimited liability for
the general partner
? Difficult to raise
additional capital,but
easier than sole
proprietorship
? Transfer of ownership
difficulties
2-9
The Business
Environment
?An artificial entity that can own
assets and incur liabilities.
?Business income is accounted
for on the income tax form of the
corporation.
Corporation -- A business form
legally separate from its owners.
2-10
Summary for Corporation
Advantages
?Limited liability
?Easy transfer of
ownership
?Unlimited life
?Easier to raise large
quantities of capital
Disadvantages
?Double taxation
?More difficult to
establish
?More expensive
to set up and
maintain
2-11
The Business
Environment
?Business income is accounted for on
each member’s individual income tax
form.
Limited Liability Companies -- A
business form that provides its owners
(called members) with corporate-style
limited personal liability and the
federal-tax treatment of a partnership.
2-12
Limited Liability
Company (LLC)
? Limited liability
? Centralized management
? Unlimited life
? Transfer of ownership without other
owners?prior consent
Generally,an LLC will possess only the
first two of the following four standard
corporation characteristics
2-13
Summary for LLC
Advantages
? Limited liability
? Eliminates double
taxation
? No restriction on
number or type of
owners
? Easier to raise
additional capital
Disadvantages
? Limited life
(generally)
? Transfer of
ownership
difficulties
(generally)
2-14
Corp,T ax able I ncom e T ax
A t Lea st But < Rate T ax Ca lc ulation
$ 0 $ 5 0,00 0 15%,15x( In c > 0)
50,0 00 75,0 00 25% $ 7,50 0 +, 25 x(Inc > 5 0,00 0)
75,0 00 10 0,00 0 34% 1 3,75 0 +, 34 x(Inc > 7 5,00 0)
10 0,00 0 33 5,00 0 39% 22,2 50 +, 39 x(Inc > 1 00,0 00 )
33 5,00 0 10,0 00,0 00 34% 1 13,9 00 +, 34 x(Inc > 3 35,0 00 )
10,0 00,0 00 15,0 00,0 00 35% 3,40 0,00 0 +, 35 x(Inc > 1 0,00 0,00 0)
15,0 00,0 00 18,3 33,3 33 38% 5,15 0,00 0 +, 38 x(Inc > 1 5,00 0,00 0)
18,3 33,3 33 35% 6,41 6,66 7 +, 35 x(Inc > 1 8,33 3,33 3)
Corporate Income Taxes
2-15
Income Tax Example
Lisa Miller of Basket Wonders
(BW) is calculating the income tax
liability,marginal tax rate,and
average tax rate for the fiscal year
ending December 31.
BW‘s corporate taxable income for
this fiscal year was $250,000.
2-16
Income Tax Example
Marginal tax rate = 39%
Average tax rate = $80,750 / $250,000
= 32.3%
Income tax liability
= $22,250 +,39 x ($250,000 - $100,000)
= $22,250 + $58,500
= $80,750
2-17
Depreciation
?Generally,profitable firms prefer to use
an accelerated method for tax
reporting purposes.
Depreciation represents the
systematic allocation of the cost of
a capital asset over a period of time
for financial reporting purposes,tax
purposes,or both.
2-18
Common Types of
Depreciation
? Straight-line (SL)
? Accelerated Types
? Double Declining Balance
(DDB)
? Modified Accelerated Cost
Recovery System (MACRS)
2-19
Depreciation Example
Lisa Miller of Basket Wonders (BW)
is calculating the depreciation on a
machine with a depreciable basis of
$100,000,a 6-year useful life,and a
5-year property class life.
She calculates the annual
depreciation charges using MACRS.
2-20
MACRS Example
? Assets are depreciated based on one
of eight different property classes,
? Generally,the half-year convention is
used.
? Depreciation in any particular year is
the maximum of DDB or straight-line,
A switch in depreciation methods is
made from DDB to SL during the life
of the asset.
2-21
MACRS Example
D e p rec i a ti o n D e p rec i a ti o n N e t B o o k
Y e a r C a l c u l a ti o n C h a rge V a l u e
0 --- --- $ 1 0 0,0 0 0
1, 5 X 2 X (1/ 5 ) X $ 1 0 0,0 0 0 $ 2 0,0 0 0 8 0,0 0 0
2 2 X ( 1 / 5 ) X $ 8 0,0 0 0 3 2,0 0 0 4 8,0 0 0
3 2 X ( 1 / 5 ) X $ 4 8,0 0 0 1 9,2 0 0 2 8,8 0 0
4 $ 2 8,8 0 0 / 2, 5 Y e a rs 1 1,5 2 0 1 7,2 8 0
5 $ 2 8,8 0 0 / 2, 5 Y e a rs 1 1,5 2 0 5,7 6 0
6 $ 2 8,8 0 0 / 2, 5 Y rs X, 5 5,7 6 0 0
2-22
MACRS Schedule
Re co v er y Pr ope rty Cl as s
Ye ar 3-Y ea r 5-Y ea r 7-Y ea r
1 3 3,33 % 2 0,00 % 1 4,29 %
2 4 4,45 3 2,00 2 4,49
3 1 4,81 1 9,20 1 7,49
4 7,41 1 1,52 1 2,49
5 1 1,52 8,93
6 5,76 8,92
7 8,93
8 4,46
2-23
Other Tax Issues
Quarterly Tax Payments require
corporations to pay 25% of their
estimated annual tax liability on the 15th
of April,June,September,and December.
Alternative Minimum Tax is a special tax
which equals 20% of alternative minimum
taxable income (generally not equal to
taxable income),Corporations pay the
maximum of AMT or regular tax liability.
2-24
Interest Deductibility
Interest Expense is the interest paid on
outstanding debt and is tax deductible.
Cash Dividend is the cash distribution of
earnings to shareholders and is not a tax
deductible expense.
The after-tax cost of debt is:
(Interest Expense) X ( 1 - Tax Rate)
Thus,debt financing has a tax advantage!
2-25
Handling Corporate
Losses and Gains
? Losses are generally carried back
first and then forward starting with
the earliest year with operating gains.
? Corporations that sustain a net
operating loss can carry that loss
back (Carryback) 3 years and forward
(Carryforward) 15 years to offset
operating gains in those years.
2-26
Corporate Losses
and Gains Example
Lisa Miller is examining the impact of
an operating loss at Basket Wonders
(BW) in 19X7,The following time line
shows operating income and losses,
What impact does the 19X7 loss have
on BW?
-$500,000$100,000$150,000$150,000
19X719X619X519X4
2-27
Corporate Losses
and Gains Example
The loss can offset the gain in each
of the years 19X4 through 19X6,The
remaining $100,000 can be carried
forward to 19X8 or beyond.
-$500,000$100,000$150,000$150,000
19X719X619X519X4
-$150,000 -$150,000 -$100,000 $400,000
0 00 -$100,000
2-28
Corporate Capital
Gains / Losses
? Often historically,capital gains income
has received more favorable U.S,tax
treatment than operating income.
? Generally,the sale of a capital asset (as
defined by the IRS) generates a capital
gain (asset sells for more than original
cost) or capital loss (asset sells for
less than original cost).
2-29
Corporate Capital
Gains / Losses
? Capital losses are deductible
only against capital gains.
? Currently,capital gains are taxed
at ordinary income tax rates for
corporations,or a maximum 35%.
2-30
Personal Income Taxes
?The U.S,has a progressive tax
structure with four tax brackets of 15%,
28%,31%,and 36%.
?A 10% surtax is applied to certain high
income individuals raising their
marginal rate to 39.6%.
?Personal income taxes are determined
by taxable income,filing status,and
various credits.
2-31
Financial Environment
?Businesses interact continually with
the financial markets.
?Financial Markets are composed of all
institutions and procedures for
bringing buyers and sellers of financial
instruments together.
?The purpose of financial markets is to
efficiently allocate savings to ultimate
users.
2-32
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
INVESTMENT SECTOR
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
2-33
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
INVESTMENT
SECTOR
Businesses
Government
Households
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-34
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
SAVINGS
SECTOR
Households
Businesses
Government
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-35
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
FINANCIAL
BROKERS
Investment
Bankers
Mortgage
Bankers
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-36
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
Commercial Banks
Savings Institutions
Insurance Cos.
Pension Funds
Finance Companies
Mutual Funds
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-37
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
SECONDARY
MARKET
Security
Exchanges
OTC
Market
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-38
Allocation of Funds
?In a rational world,the highest expected
returns will be offered only by those
economic units with the most promising
investment opportunities.
?Result,Savings tend to be allocated to the
most efficient uses.
?Funds will flow to economic units that are
willing to provide the greatest expected
return (holding risk constant).
2-39
Risk-Expected
Return Profile
RISK
EX
PE
CT
ED
RE
TU
RN
(%
)
U.S,Treasury Bills (risk-free securities)
Prime-grade Commercial Paper
Long-term Government Bonds
Investment-grade Corporate Bonds
Medium-grade Corporate Bonds
Preferred Stocks
Conservative Common Stocks
Speculative Common Stocks
2-40
What Influences Security
Expected Returns?
?Marketability is the ability to sell
a significant volume of securities
in a short period of time in the
secondary market without
significant price concession.
?Default Risk is the failure to meet
the terms of a contract.
2-41
Ratings by Investment
Agencies on Default Risk
M O O D Y ’s INV S E R V IC E S T A N D A R D & P O O R ’s
A aa B es t Q u al it y AAA H ig h es t G ra d e
Aa H ig h Q u al it y AA H ig h G ra d e
A U p p er M ed G ra d e A H ig h er M ed G ra d e
B aa M ediu m G ra d e BBB M ediu m G ra d e
Ba P o ss es s S p ec u la ti v e
E le m ents
BB S p ec u la ti v e
C L o w es t G ra d e D In D ef ault
Investment grade represents the top four categories.
Below investment grade represents all other categories.
2-42
What Influences Expected
Security Returns?
?Taxability considers the expected
tax consequences of the security.
?Maturity is concerned with the life
of the security; the amount of
time before the principal amount
of a security becomes due.
2-43
Term Structure of
Interest Rates
A yield curve is a graph of the relationship between
yields and term to maturity for particular securities.
Upward Sloping Yield Curve
Downward Sloping Yield Curve
0
2
4
6
8
1
0
YIE
LD
(%
)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
(Usual)
(Unusual)
YEARS TO MATURITY
2-44
What Influences Expected
Security Returns?
?Inflation is a rise in the average
level of prices of goods and
services,The greater inflation
expectations,then the greater the
expected return.
?Embedded Options provide the
opportunity to change specific
attributes of the security.
Chapter 2
The Business,Tax,
and Financial
Environments
2-2
The Business,Tax,and
Financial Environments
?The Business Environment
?The Tax Environment
?The Financial Environment
2-3
The Business
Environment
? Sole Proprietorships
? Partnerships (general and limited)
? Corporations
? Limited liability companies
The U.S,has four basic forms of
business organization:
2-4
The Business
Environment
? Oldest form of business organization.
? Business income is accounted for on
your personal income tax form.
Sole Proprietorship -- A business
form for which there is one owner,
This single owner has unlimited
liability for all debts of the firm.
2-5
Summary for
Sole Proprietorship
Advantages
?Simplicity
?Low setup cost
?Quick setup
?Single tax filing
on individual form
Disadvantages
? Unlimited liability
? Hard to raise
additional capital
? Transfer of
ownership
difficulties
2-6
The Business
Environment
?Business income is accounted
for on each partner’s personal
income tax form.
Partnership -- A business form in
which two or more individuals
act as owners.
2-7
Types of Partnerships
Limited Partnership -- limited partners
have liability limited to their capital
contribution (investors only),At least
one general partner is required and all
general partners have unlimited liability.
General Partnership -- all partners have
unlimited liability and are liable for all
obligations of the partnership.
2-8
Summary for Partnership
Advantages
? Can be simple
? Low setup cost,higher
than sole
proprietorship
? Relatively quick setup
? Limited liability for
limited partners
Disadvantages
? Unlimited liability for
the general partner
? Difficult to raise
additional capital,but
easier than sole
proprietorship
? Transfer of ownership
difficulties
2-9
The Business
Environment
?An artificial entity that can own
assets and incur liabilities.
?Business income is accounted
for on the income tax form of the
corporation.
Corporation -- A business form
legally separate from its owners.
2-10
Summary for Corporation
Advantages
?Limited liability
?Easy transfer of
ownership
?Unlimited life
?Easier to raise large
quantities of capital
Disadvantages
?Double taxation
?More difficult to
establish
?More expensive
to set up and
maintain
2-11
The Business
Environment
?Business income is accounted for on
each member’s individual income tax
form.
Limited Liability Companies -- A
business form that provides its owners
(called members) with corporate-style
limited personal liability and the
federal-tax treatment of a partnership.
2-12
Limited Liability
Company (LLC)
? Limited liability
? Centralized management
? Unlimited life
? Transfer of ownership without other
owners?prior consent
Generally,an LLC will possess only the
first two of the following four standard
corporation characteristics
2-13
Summary for LLC
Advantages
? Limited liability
? Eliminates double
taxation
? No restriction on
number or type of
owners
? Easier to raise
additional capital
Disadvantages
? Limited life
(generally)
? Transfer of
ownership
difficulties
(generally)
2-14
Corp,T ax able I ncom e T ax
A t Lea st But < Rate T ax Ca lc ulation
$ 0 $ 5 0,00 0 15%,15x( In c > 0)
50,0 00 75,0 00 25% $ 7,50 0 +, 25 x(Inc > 5 0,00 0)
75,0 00 10 0,00 0 34% 1 3,75 0 +, 34 x(Inc > 7 5,00 0)
10 0,00 0 33 5,00 0 39% 22,2 50 +, 39 x(Inc > 1 00,0 00 )
33 5,00 0 10,0 00,0 00 34% 1 13,9 00 +, 34 x(Inc > 3 35,0 00 )
10,0 00,0 00 15,0 00,0 00 35% 3,40 0,00 0 +, 35 x(Inc > 1 0,00 0,00 0)
15,0 00,0 00 18,3 33,3 33 38% 5,15 0,00 0 +, 38 x(Inc > 1 5,00 0,00 0)
18,3 33,3 33 35% 6,41 6,66 7 +, 35 x(Inc > 1 8,33 3,33 3)
Corporate Income Taxes
2-15
Income Tax Example
Lisa Miller of Basket Wonders
(BW) is calculating the income tax
liability,marginal tax rate,and
average tax rate for the fiscal year
ending December 31.
BW‘s corporate taxable income for
this fiscal year was $250,000.
2-16
Income Tax Example
Marginal tax rate = 39%
Average tax rate = $80,750 / $250,000
= 32.3%
Income tax liability
= $22,250 +,39 x ($250,000 - $100,000)
= $22,250 + $58,500
= $80,750
2-17
Depreciation
?Generally,profitable firms prefer to use
an accelerated method for tax
reporting purposes.
Depreciation represents the
systematic allocation of the cost of
a capital asset over a period of time
for financial reporting purposes,tax
purposes,or both.
2-18
Common Types of
Depreciation
? Straight-line (SL)
? Accelerated Types
? Double Declining Balance
(DDB)
? Modified Accelerated Cost
Recovery System (MACRS)
2-19
Depreciation Example
Lisa Miller of Basket Wonders (BW)
is calculating the depreciation on a
machine with a depreciable basis of
$100,000,a 6-year useful life,and a
5-year property class life.
She calculates the annual
depreciation charges using MACRS.
2-20
MACRS Example
? Assets are depreciated based on one
of eight different property classes,
? Generally,the half-year convention is
used.
? Depreciation in any particular year is
the maximum of DDB or straight-line,
A switch in depreciation methods is
made from DDB to SL during the life
of the asset.
2-21
MACRS Example
D e p rec i a ti o n D e p rec i a ti o n N e t B o o k
Y e a r C a l c u l a ti o n C h a rge V a l u e
0 --- --- $ 1 0 0,0 0 0
1, 5 X 2 X (1/ 5 ) X $ 1 0 0,0 0 0 $ 2 0,0 0 0 8 0,0 0 0
2 2 X ( 1 / 5 ) X $ 8 0,0 0 0 3 2,0 0 0 4 8,0 0 0
3 2 X ( 1 / 5 ) X $ 4 8,0 0 0 1 9,2 0 0 2 8,8 0 0
4 $ 2 8,8 0 0 / 2, 5 Y e a rs 1 1,5 2 0 1 7,2 8 0
5 $ 2 8,8 0 0 / 2, 5 Y e a rs 1 1,5 2 0 5,7 6 0
6 $ 2 8,8 0 0 / 2, 5 Y rs X, 5 5,7 6 0 0
2-22
MACRS Schedule
Re co v er y Pr ope rty Cl as s
Ye ar 3-Y ea r 5-Y ea r 7-Y ea r
1 3 3,33 % 2 0,00 % 1 4,29 %
2 4 4,45 3 2,00 2 4,49
3 1 4,81 1 9,20 1 7,49
4 7,41 1 1,52 1 2,49
5 1 1,52 8,93
6 5,76 8,92
7 8,93
8 4,46
2-23
Other Tax Issues
Quarterly Tax Payments require
corporations to pay 25% of their
estimated annual tax liability on the 15th
of April,June,September,and December.
Alternative Minimum Tax is a special tax
which equals 20% of alternative minimum
taxable income (generally not equal to
taxable income),Corporations pay the
maximum of AMT or regular tax liability.
2-24
Interest Deductibility
Interest Expense is the interest paid on
outstanding debt and is tax deductible.
Cash Dividend is the cash distribution of
earnings to shareholders and is not a tax
deductible expense.
The after-tax cost of debt is:
(Interest Expense) X ( 1 - Tax Rate)
Thus,debt financing has a tax advantage!
2-25
Handling Corporate
Losses and Gains
? Losses are generally carried back
first and then forward starting with
the earliest year with operating gains.
? Corporations that sustain a net
operating loss can carry that loss
back (Carryback) 3 years and forward
(Carryforward) 15 years to offset
operating gains in those years.
2-26
Corporate Losses
and Gains Example
Lisa Miller is examining the impact of
an operating loss at Basket Wonders
(BW) in 19X7,The following time line
shows operating income and losses,
What impact does the 19X7 loss have
on BW?
-$500,000$100,000$150,000$150,000
19X719X619X519X4
2-27
Corporate Losses
and Gains Example
The loss can offset the gain in each
of the years 19X4 through 19X6,The
remaining $100,000 can be carried
forward to 19X8 or beyond.
-$500,000$100,000$150,000$150,000
19X719X619X519X4
-$150,000 -$150,000 -$100,000 $400,000
0 00 -$100,000
2-28
Corporate Capital
Gains / Losses
? Often historically,capital gains income
has received more favorable U.S,tax
treatment than operating income.
? Generally,the sale of a capital asset (as
defined by the IRS) generates a capital
gain (asset sells for more than original
cost) or capital loss (asset sells for
less than original cost).
2-29
Corporate Capital
Gains / Losses
? Capital losses are deductible
only against capital gains.
? Currently,capital gains are taxed
at ordinary income tax rates for
corporations,or a maximum 35%.
2-30
Personal Income Taxes
?The U.S,has a progressive tax
structure with four tax brackets of 15%,
28%,31%,and 36%.
?A 10% surtax is applied to certain high
income individuals raising their
marginal rate to 39.6%.
?Personal income taxes are determined
by taxable income,filing status,and
various credits.
2-31
Financial Environment
?Businesses interact continually with
the financial markets.
?Financial Markets are composed of all
institutions and procedures for
bringing buyers and sellers of financial
instruments together.
?The purpose of financial markets is to
efficiently allocate savings to ultimate
users.
2-32
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
INVESTMENT SECTOR
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
2-33
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
INVESTMENT
SECTOR
Businesses
Government
Households
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-34
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
SAVINGS
SECTOR
Households
Businesses
Government
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-35
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
FINANCIAL
BROKERS
Investment
Bankers
Mortgage
Bankers
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-36
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
FINANCIAL
INTERMEDIARIES
Commercial Banks
Savings Institutions
Insurance Cos.
Pension Funds
Finance Companies
Mutual Funds
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-37
Flow of Funds
in the Economy
FI
NA
NC
IA
L
IN
TER
MED
IA
RI
ES
SAVINGS SECTOR
FINANCIAL BROKERS
SECONDARY MARKET
SECONDARY
MARKET
Security
Exchanges
OTC
Market
INVESTMENT SECTOR
2-38
Allocation of Funds
?In a rational world,the highest expected
returns will be offered only by those
economic units with the most promising
investment opportunities.
?Result,Savings tend to be allocated to the
most efficient uses.
?Funds will flow to economic units that are
willing to provide the greatest expected
return (holding risk constant).
2-39
Risk-Expected
Return Profile
RISK
EX
PE
CT
ED
RE
TU
RN
(%
)
U.S,Treasury Bills (risk-free securities)
Prime-grade Commercial Paper
Long-term Government Bonds
Investment-grade Corporate Bonds
Medium-grade Corporate Bonds
Preferred Stocks
Conservative Common Stocks
Speculative Common Stocks
2-40
What Influences Security
Expected Returns?
?Marketability is the ability to sell
a significant volume of securities
in a short period of time in the
secondary market without
significant price concession.
?Default Risk is the failure to meet
the terms of a contract.
2-41
Ratings by Investment
Agencies on Default Risk
M O O D Y ’s INV S E R V IC E S T A N D A R D & P O O R ’s
A aa B es t Q u al it y AAA H ig h es t G ra d e
Aa H ig h Q u al it y AA H ig h G ra d e
A U p p er M ed G ra d e A H ig h er M ed G ra d e
B aa M ediu m G ra d e BBB M ediu m G ra d e
Ba P o ss es s S p ec u la ti v e
E le m ents
BB S p ec u la ti v e
C L o w es t G ra d e D In D ef ault
Investment grade represents the top four categories.
Below investment grade represents all other categories.
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What Influences Expected
Security Returns?
?Taxability considers the expected
tax consequences of the security.
?Maturity is concerned with the life
of the security; the amount of
time before the principal amount
of a security becomes due.
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Term Structure of
Interest Rates
A yield curve is a graph of the relationship between
yields and term to maturity for particular securities.
Upward Sloping Yield Curve
Downward Sloping Yield Curve
0
2
4
6
8
1
0
YIE
LD
(%
)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
(Usual)
(Unusual)
YEARS TO MATURITY
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What Influences Expected
Security Returns?
?Inflation is a rise in the average
level of prices of goods and
services,The greater inflation
expectations,then the greater the
expected return.
?Embedded Options provide the
opportunity to change specific
attributes of the security.
