Invest Up Hardware Operates a Chain of Hardware Stores

question 70

Essay

Invest Up Hardware operates a chain of hardware stores. Recent operations have been stable and profitable, resulting in a significant amount of cash inflows. During the past fiscal year ended December 31, the company made a number of investments, as described below.
a. Invest Up bought 30,000 shares of Machine Mart, a supplier of equipment for construction and renovations. With in-depth knowledge of the hardware retailing business, Invest Up's management believes that Machine Mart's shares are undervalued and that the company could make a quick profit selling the shares within the next 12 months. Invest Up purchased the shares at $18 each, and received $0.30 per share dividends during the year. The shares traded at $29 at the fiscal year-end.
b. The company purchased 12,000 units of a mutual fund which cost $28 each. Management had no specific trading intentions for this investment; rather, it was a means of parking excess cash. At the end of the year, the units had a quoted market value of $24.
c. At the beginning of the year, Invest Up bought 25% of the common shares in Builder Bee, one of its smaller suppliers, for $6 million. These shares had a fair value of $6.6 million at the end of the year. During the year, Builder Bee reported net income of $1,500,000 and paid total dividends of $10,000
Required:
Determine how Invest Up should report the above investments in its financial statements. Include both the effects on the balance sheet and the statement of comprehensive income.

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Definitions:

Wasted Resources

A form of inefficiency in which people expend money, effort, and time to cope with the shortages caused by a price ceiling.

Surplus

The amount by which the supply of a product exceeds its demand, often leading to lower prices.

Market For Butter

The economic platform where buyers and sellers engage in the exchange of butter, determining its price and quantity available.

Price Floor

A government or group-imposed price control that sets the minimum allowed price above the equilibrium price, potentially leading to surpluses.