Business Homework Help?

Question by Angel Eyes: Business Homework Help?
Need a bit of help with these questions.

1. Financial assets represent ______ of total assets of U.S. Households.
A over 60%
B over 90%
C. under 10%
D. about 30%

2. Real assets in the economy include all but which one of the following?
A Land
B. Buildings
C. Consumer durables
D. Common stock.

29. U.S. Treasury bonds pay interest every six months and repay the principal at maturity. The U.S. Treasury routinely sells individual interest payments on these bonds to investors. This is an example of ___________.
A. unbundling
B. bundling
C. securitization
D. security selection

10. In a capitalist system capital resources are primarily allocated by ____________.
A. governments
B. the SEC
C. financial markets
D. investment bankers

Best answer:

Answer by Wukong
1) – b
2) – a
29) – d
10) – a

Give your answer to this question below!

Q&A: Private Equity, Assest Management and Investment Banking?

Question by Confused: Private Equity, Assest Management and Investment Banking?
I feel i get the gist of how these three differ. But I’m not entirely sure. Could someone define and describe these please?

Best answer:

Answer by FatHalo
PE’s are private companies (not listed on exchanges) who usually take over all or part of other businesses equity (and voting voices) in order to take control the management using different types of strategies (LBO’s, Venture Capital, Growth capital, Distressed, Mezzanine …) PE’s invest their money into companies in order to take them over, influence their management and/or finance a capital-strapped company on advantageous terms all in the objective of benefiting from long term return on equity.

Asset management firms are rather intermediaries who advise and invest in and manage funds on behalf of their clients. These firms apply ” financial analysis, asset selection, stock selection, plan implementation and ongoing monitoring” in order to provide portfolios that fits the needs, objectives and risk tolerance of their clients and reach the optimal return for the given risk. They are not behind a specific stock, company, bond or any other asset class (that might include PE), they just manage the allocation of funds among these.

Investment banking is a little bit fuzzy word, but in its strict meaning, it refers to firms that help in the securitization, security issuance (equity or bonds), IPO’s, mergers and acquisitions, underwriting, … So, investment banks do not actually own the shares they help issue in case of an IPO (well sometimes they do) but it is only with the intention of selling them on the secondary market, with hopefully high enough spreads.

So few criteria to distinguish between the 3 if you will is the level of ownership of assets, degree of involvement and holding horizon. I would rank the 3 companies from ‘high’ on all these 3 criteria (PE) to ‘low’ (IB). PE’s make big and long term commitments by taking over a majority or minority parts of a company (think about Cerberus in GMAC) in order to either influence its management or take advantage of a long-term capital need. Asset managements only construct portfolios of different assets on behalf of their clients and do not own these assets themselves (If one asset loses value, only investors holding that specific asset lose money, the AM company itself do not incure any loss, whereas for an PE, if a company make a loss, the loss is reflected in the value of PE and all investors in PE take that loss). IBs theoretically do not get involved in the asset price or value beyond their function as advisors and underwritters (well they could lose money in some cases)

Add your own answer in the comments!

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Q&A: the subprime meltdown econ test?

Question by taylah.: the subprime meltdown econ test?
i have a test on the subprime meltdown need to know these key words just basically their defiinition and the role they play in a meltdown….
the fed
the prime rate
alan greenspan
NASDAQ bubble
ben bernanke
subprime loan
FICO
liquidity
equity
types of subprime loans
adjustable rate (ARM – balloon)
securities
SEC-securities exchange commission
dervatives
securitization
diversifying risk
off balance sheet entities
TARP
troubled assets
taxpayer protection
making homes affordable plan
office of financial stability
ARRA (the stimulus) – discription
keynesian economics
supply side economics – reaganomics – milton friedman)

Best answer:

Answer by Bored Goblin
“the fed” are the upper-class people, who benefitted by ripping off the “the hungry” during the crisis.

you can look up other terms here: http://wikipedia.org

What do you think? Answer below!

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Why are people still hoodwinked into believing the Community Reinvestment Act is major reason why we’re here?

Question by Change Now: Why are people still hoodwinked into believing the Community Reinvestment Act is major reason why we’re here?
What a load of propaganda crap that the right has plopped on the American psyche.

There are people out there who actually think that the CRA brought down our economy. What fools,

The CRA was created at a time when subprimes could be easily absorbed into the market. They would make up less than 5% of all mortgages.

The current catastrophe was caused by SECURITIZATION of mortgages. Harvard MBA’s used derivatives and came up with a mathematical model for rich people to get richer because they weren’t making enough money thru other fixed returns like T-Bills.

The banks made tons and tons of money by packaging this load of crap and selling them onto pension funds, etc. all around the world.

When people couldn’t pay the monthly minimums and the underlying asset prices stopped rising and began to fall, the whole house of cards came crashing down. The CRA loans to poor folks with small loan balances played a small role. Most of the bad loans were on speculators or on big mortgages

Best answer:

Answer by M Taylor
The root of the problem is that the average American is a moron. Its not PC to say this and plenty of people who profit from those morons will be quick to feign indignation if anyone says it, but it doesn’t make it any less true.

There is a reason that you have more votes for American Idol then the next President of the United States.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Do we need another FDR to save the Banks?Its official the worst banking crisis since the great depression?

Question by james T: Do we need another FDR to save the Banks?Its official the worst banking crisis since the great depression?
A fews month before FDR was president, every bank in the nation failed.Its unanimous he Reversed the 1933 Banking Crisis.Hes the reason we have the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. He openeded Federal reserve banks in 12 cities, created the security exchange commision. The reason we are having problems today is because of Securitization in structured finance he actually created reforms in this but Truman deleted this component of reform.I like Truman, but he wasn’t as savvy about Banks as FDR was.FDR is the greatest president ever not because of war because he saved our banking system with reforms…..

Do we need a new FDR?

Best answer:

Answer by labowu
Are you’re asking do we need a President with intergrity, courage, foresight, and wisdom? Of course we do. They’re just hard to come by.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Why did the Federal Government sue the Wall Street banks that sold Fannie and Freddie bad mortgages?

Question by ideogenetic: Why did the Federal Government sue the Wall Street banks that sold Fannie and Freddie bad mortgages?
Shouldn’t the “buyer beware”* or is there a role for regulation to prevent criminal economic activity in the debt securitization markets that lead to catastrophic financial collapses?

* Since S&P had ‘AAA’ ratings on the junk paper, how would the buyer know?
For those who missed it:
“Federal Regulators Sue Big Banks Over Mortgages”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/business/bank-suits-over-mortgages-are-filed.html

Best answer:

Answer by TheOnlyBeldin
Because Barney won’t let them go after the true culprit: Fannie and Freddie themselves.

Add your own answer in the comments!

is anyone good with international relations?

Question by Amanda: is anyone good with international relations?
15. How are international organizations changing the practice of international politics? Do they represent a fundamental force, or simply a minor detail?
16. How are transnational advocacy networks changing the practice of international politics? Do they represent a fundamental force, or simply a minor detail?
17. What are the major approaches to international ethics? [What are the main problems with applying each approach in practice?]
18. Will environmental problems lead to greater cooperation or increased conflict in the international system; or will they have little effect? [why?]
19. What are the links between international environmental problems and economic development?
20. How is “security” being redefined in the contemporary world?
21. How does globalization facilitate transnational crime?
22. What is a “collective action” problem, and how does that concept help us understand international
politics? [Discuss an important collective action problem in international politics as well as the possible solutions.]

Best answer:

Answer by George D
This test is gonna suck tmrw, but 17 is impossible im pretty sure, if u figured it out or 22 post it as a comment on here if you could

15. How are international organizations changing the practice of international politics? Do they represent a fundamental force, or simply a minor detail?

•IO’s Changing
oStarted Effects of a Cause (need ppl to contain problems)
oMoving toward a Cause → Effect (acting, making agendas)
oThousands of IO’s
•Link governmental decisions
•Norms being established
•Affairs are being regulated without an “all-powerful” international government
•Fundamental Force
oTruly Effective when states work together
oUN
•Can apply military force
•Can make agendas on what to try and fix
•Decides members of the int’l community
oEU
•Democratization of Europe
•Brings power to Europe
•Pooled Sovereignty

16.How are transnational advocacy networks changing the practice of international politics? Do they represent a fundamental force, or simply a minor detail?

•TAN’s Changing
oLobbying governments in favor of policies
•Human Rights Watch
•Compel gov’s with stats and publication
oHelp IO’s by setting int’l agendas before issues arise
•Give IO’s easy way to deal with problems
oProvide services
•Delivery of aid
•Red Cross
•Minor Detail
oAlthough they help to do these things, they can be done by larger IO’s if required
oDoes give voice to those in need
oHelps to lighten the load for IO’s so they can focus on more important problems at hand.

17. What are the major approaches to international ethics? [What are the main problems with applying each approach in practice?]

18. Will environmental problems lead to greater cooperation or increased conflict in the international system; or will they have little effect? [why?]

•Conflict
oStart out as attempted cooperation
oFinger pointing is inevitable
oGet defensive and feel targeted
oStates take sides over restrictions
•Kyoto Protocol
•Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
•U.S. refused to sign b/c of fossil fuel usage

19. What are the links between international environmental problems and economic development?

•To Fix Environmental Problems, you have to cut back on things that are more efficient, or spend unnecessary money to do things a different “greener” way
•Tragedy of the commons
oShared resources over consumed, but every state needs them to sustain economic growth/stability
•Oil shortages are due to the fact that we have produced more than we can support
•Too many cars for amnt of oil
•Export Led Growth
oProduces high quantity of scrap or waste
oRecycling is expensive
oHow are countries supposed to make money if they have to spend money to keep it clean?

20.How is “security” being redefined in the contemporary world?

•Discussion of what constitutes a security threat
•When something is defined as a security issue, it is implicitly given higher priority
•Terrorism now included as a threat to security
•Securitization: the process in which an issue that didn’t used to be thought of as a security issue is now a security issue
oChanges the scope of possible responses
oExample: U.S. military spending lots of time and money to combat disease in Africa→sees this as a preventative measure to societal breakdown

21. How does globalization facilitate transnational crime?

•Borders provide safe havens for criminals; different jurisdictions within different borders
•Globalization helps money laundering→fast movement of money throughout banks around the world
•Globalization is good for smuggling →easier to hide contraband when so many things are moving around the world

Give your answer to this question below!

Since a new economists’ study traces the roots of the Recession to the 90s, is Clinton more to blame than Bush?

Question by Richard RIGHT: Since a new economists’ study traces the roots of the Recession to the 90s, is Clinton more to blame than Bush?
This study says it all comes down to there being nothing to back inter-bank loans: “The REPO market of interbank loans had always existed but it grew dramatically in the 1990s to support securitization. But since there was no deposit insurance for institutional loans measured in hundreds of millions of dollars, counterparties demanded collateral to back these overnight REPO loans that generally replaced demand deposits in the banking system.”

http://www.housingwatch.com/2010/02/26/it-wasnt-a-mortgage-recession-after-all-so-why-dont-we-feel-b/?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.housingwatch.com%2F2010%2F02%2F26%2Fit-wasnt-a-mortgage-recession-after-all-so-why-dont-we-feel-b%2F

Best answer:

Answer by Paul Grass™
Absolutely he is, so is the Democratic controlled congress

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Why is the US economy so bad?

Question by NONAME: Why is the US economy so bad?
I heard that it was because of the Jews.

Best answer:

Answer by simplicitus
Boy, those Jews must be pretty stupid. If I had that kind of power, I’d pull a Dr. Evil and demand a ransom NOT to destroy the U.S. economy. Surely the U.S. would rather pay several hundred billion dollars to avoid a recession rather than spend more than a trillion dollars to fix it once it was broken.

Actually, you have a choice of blaming Congress and the politicians or the financial services industry that bribed them. The root cause was the lack of regulation of several aspects of the financial industry, including derivatives trading and the securitization of mortgages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late-2000s_recession
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-Leach-Bliley_Act
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_conservative_origins_of_the_subprime_mortgage_crisis

Was President Bush Jewish? How about your two senators and your congress-critter (How did they vote when financial regulation came up in Congress – the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act for one – or don’t you know?)

If you want to listen rather than read, I can suggest:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=355
http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=365
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=375
If you prefer reading:
http://baselinescenario.com/financial-crisis-for-beginners/

What do you think? Answer below!

can you understand this???? please help???

Question by joa: can you understand this???? please help???
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. (Nasdaq: HAYZ) today reported financial results for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2007. The results were in line with preliminary results announced on March 16, 2007 and with guidance the Company provided to investors in December 2006.

For the fiscal year, the automotive and commercial highway wheels and components maker reported sales of $ 2.06 billion, up 5.1% from sales of $ 1.96 billion in the prior fiscal year. Earnings from operations were $ 4.8 million for fiscal 2006, compared with a year earlier loss from operations of $ 215.2 million, which included $ 185.5 million of goodwill impairment charges. Capital expenditures for the fiscal year were $ 80.8 million, down from $ 95.2 million a year earlier. The foregoing results exclude the suspension components business reported as discontinued operations, which had sales of $ 230 million, a loss from operations of $ 46.0 million and capital expenditures of $ 9.1 million.

The Company reported a net loss of $ 166.9 million for fiscal 2006, compared to a net loss of $ 457.5 million for fiscal 2005. The Company reported a loss from continuing operations of $ 120.9 million, compared with a loss from continuing operations of $ 287.1 million a year earlier.

Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2006 (including the suspension components business) was $ 188.6 million, up 7.3% from $ 175.7 million a year earlier. For the full fiscal year, Hayes Lemmerz reported free cash flow of negative $ 9.1 million, excluding the impact of the Company’s securitization program, an improvement of $ 71.6 million from a year earlier.

“Hayes Lemmerz is a much stronger company today than it was five years ago,” said Curtis Clawson, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Hayes Lemmerz.

“We have significantly decreased our dependence on U.S. markets, and continue to grow our international business, especially in Asia. By divesting non-core businesses and focusing on high growth/high return markets, we are continuing to execute our strategic business plan and our drive toward profitability and positive free cash flow. Sales to GM, Ford and Chrysler in the U.S., excluding discontinued operations, now account for only about 18% of global sales. Given the extremely difficult conditions in our marketplace, our results for 2006 are encouraging.”

As previously announced, as part of its continuing profit-enhancing initiatives, the Company completed the sale of two aluminum suspension components plants in February 2007. “These divestitures further reduce our dependence on the North American automotive market and free us from a very capital-intensive business,” said Mr. Clawson.

“Our new business wins point the way toward our future. We won over $ 575 million in annualized sales in 2006, of which 75% is international business,” Mr. Clawson said. “We continue to win with Japanese and Korean manufacturers, including Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan and Honda, both in the U.S. and internationally. We continue to win new business with our European partners, and in the U.S. markets our new business wins diversify our product mix with more crossover and passenger vehicles,” he said.

As previously announced, the Company�s board of directors has approved a rights offering for existing shareholders, for up to $ 180 million of common stock. Proceeds will be used to repurchase the Company�s 10.5% Senior Notes. The offering must be approved by shareholders at a special meeting scheduled for May 4, 2007. “By raising new equity capital and retiring high-cost debt, we are de-leveraging, strengthening our balance sheet and significantly improving free cash flow,” Mr. Clawson commented.

For the full fiscal year 2007, Hayes Lemmerz expects to achieve sales of about $ 2.1 billion, Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $ 195 to $ 205 million, positive free cash flow (excluding securitization impact) and capital expenditures of approximately $ 85 to $ 90 million.

Conference Call
Hayes Lemmerz will host a telephone conference call to discuss the Company’s full fiscal year 2006 financial results this morning, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

To participate by phone, please dial 10 minutes prior to the call: (888) 295-5935 from the United States and Canada; (706) 758-0212 from outside the United States. Callers should ask to be connected to Hayes Lemmerz earnings conference call, Conference ID # 2107451. The conference call will be accompanied by a slide presentation, which can be accessed through the Company’s web site, in the Investor Kit presentations section at http://www.hayes-lemmerz.com/investor_kit/overview/presentations/www-presentations.html.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOW

Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. is a world leading global supplier of automotive and commercial highway wheels, brakes and powertrain components. The Company has 30 facilities and approximately 8,500 employees worldwide.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state. The Rights Offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the prospectus may be obtained from Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc., 15300 Centennial Drive, Northville, Michigan 48168, (734) 737-5000, Attention: Corporate Secretary.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
EBITDA, a measure used by management to measure operating performance, is defined as earnings from operations plus depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude asset impairment losses and other restructuring charges, reorganization items and other items. Management references these non-GAAP financial measures frequently in its decision making because they provide supplemental information that facilitates internal comparisons to historical operating performance of prior periods and external comparisons to competitors� historical operating performance. Institutional investors generally look to Adjusted EBITDA in measuring performance, among other things. The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA to facilitate quantification of planned business activities and enhance subsequent follow-up with comparisons of actual to planned Adjusted EBITDA. Free cash flow is defined as cash from operating activities minus capital expenditures plus cash from discontinued operations and the sale of assets. Management uses free cash flow to identify the amount of cash available to meet debt amortization requirements, pay dividends to stockholders or make corporate investments.

Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to our financial condition and business. All statements other than statements of historical fact made in this press release are forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, those statements including the words “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” believe,” and similar language. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ significantly from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, among others: (1) competitive pressure in our industry; (2) fluctuations in the price of steel, aluminum, and other raw materials; (3) changes in general economic conditions; (4) our dependence on the automotive industry (which has historically been cyclical) and on a small number of major customers for the majority of our sales; (5) pricing pressure from automotive industry customers and the potential for re-sourcing of business to lower-cost providers; (6) changes in the financial markets or our debt ratings affecting our financial structure and our cost of capital and borrowed money; (7) the uncertainties inherent in international operations and foreign currency fluctuations; (8) our ability to divest non-core assets and businesses; (9) the risks described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our periodic statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and (10) our ability to consummate the previously announced rights offering. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Contact:

Marika P. Diamond
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
(734) 737-5162

HOME | INVESTOR KIT | PRESS KIT | CAPABILITIES | PRODUCTS | LOCATIONS | ABOUT HAYES
Contact Hayes Lemmerz. � 1998-2007 Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Subject to Acceptable Usage Policy

Best answer:

Answer by pimpcess
i wish i could help you but sorry i dont get this=[

What do you think? Answer below!

Q&A: Explain the two main causes of market failure and give an example of each?

Question by zaar: Explain the two main causes of market failure and give an example of each?

Best answer:

Answer by LucaPacioli1492
One kind is the divorce of market prices from reality: sometimes called “irrational exuberance.” These occasion asset “bubbles” of various kinds that have occurred throughout history. The Dutch Tulip bubble of the 1630s, as do many, envisaged the continual, monotonic increase in the price of tulip bulbs. The fundamental idea that tulips represented an attractive future market ( Holland’s present market for tulips is larger than the total trade in tulips during Tulipomania ) but the prices outstripped any reasonable valuation. More to the point of similarity with other bubbles, the use of credit, leverage and new financial instruments ( such as options contracts, futures, etc. ) allowed unbridled buying that would have been less had it been limited to cash deals. Stock market crashes that are more familiar are 1929, the tech bubble of 2001 and the recent one starting in Summer 2008. The latter was initiated by the asset bubble in housing and, most importantly, the credit expansion that fueled it ( both the low interest rates artificially maintained too long by the Fed, the artificial stimulation provided by government through the Community Reinvestment Act and the provision of unsound credit through the sub-prime (meaning “bad risk”) lending fostered by the CRA. The invention of new financial instruments followed the historical pattern with mortgaged-backed securities ( combined with irrational ratings from agencies ) adding to the innovation of securitization to allow other financial markets to be tapped and the mortgage pool to be reloaded.

Another kind of market failure is when there just isn’t enough liquidity to sustain transactions ( usually where, as a consequence, the bid-asked spread becomes impossibly large.) A recent example of this is the market for “Auction-rate Preferreds” where seven-day paper was touted widely for almost 20 years as an alternative to money-market funds until February 2008 when the auctions failed and those backing these markets just withdrew and the whole market froze into illiquidity.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!