Which of the Following Statements Is CORRECT? Assume That the Firm

question 80

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is CORRECT? Assume that the firm is a publicly-owned corporation and is seeking to maximize shareholder wealth.

• A) If a firm has a beta that is less than 1.0,say 0.9,this would suggest that the expected returns on its assets are negatively correlated with the returns on most other firms' assets.
• B) If a firm's managers want to maximize the value of the stock,they should,in theory,concentrate on project risk as measured by the standard deviation of the project's expected future cash flows.
• C) If a firm evaluates all projects using the same cost of capital,and the CAPM is used to help determine that cost,then its risk as measured by beta will probably decline over time.
• D) Projects with above-average risk typically have higher-than-average expected returns.Therefore,to maximize a firm's intrinsic value,its managers should favor high-beta projects over those with lower betas.
• E) Project A has a standard deviation of expected returns of 20%,while Project B's standard deviation is only 10%.A's returns are negatively correlated with both the firm's other assets and the returns on most stocks in the economy,while B's returns are positively correlated.Therefore,Project A is less risky to a firm and should be evaluated with a lower cost of capital.

---

Definitions:

Operating Activities

Business activities related directly to the production, sale, and delivery of a company's products or services, often reflected in its cash flow.

Fixed Asset

Long-term tangible assets held for business use and not expected to be converted to cash in the coming fiscal year, such as buildings, machinery, and equipment.

Direct Method

An approach to preparing the cash flow statement that lists actual cash inflows and outflows from operating activities.

Operating Activities

The day-to-day actions and transactions that relate to the primary operations of a business, such as sales and purchasing.