![](https://static.youtibao.com/asksite/comm/h5/images/m_q_title.png)
Nowthe company plans to() (下放) parts of its responsibilities to branch offices.A、rev
Nowthe company plans to() (下放) parts of its responsibilities to branch offices.
A、revolve
B、devolve
C、evolve
D、involve
![](https://static.youtibao.com/asksite/comm/h5/images/solist_ts.png)
Nowthe company plans to() (下放) parts of its responsibilities to branch offices.
A、revolve
B、devolve
C、evolve
D、involve
In a plan dubbed "Station Renaissance" that it (4)_____ in November, JR East said that it would (5)_____ using its commercial spaces for shops and restaurants, extending them to (6)_____ more suitable for the information age. It wants train stations as pick-up (7)_____ for such goods, as books, flowers and groceries purchased (8)_____ the Internet. In a country (9)_____ urbanites depend heavily on trains (10)_____ commuting, about 16 million people a day go to its train stations anyway, the company (11)_____. So, picking up purchases at train stations spare (12)_____ extra travel and missed home deliveries.
JR East already has been using its station (13)_____ stores for this purpose, but it plans to create (14)_____ spaces for the delivery of Internet goods.
The company also plans to introduce (15)_____ cards—known in Japan as IC cards because they use integrated (16)_____ for holding information—(17)_____ train tickets and commuter passes (18)_____ the magnetic ones used today, integrating them into a single pass. This will save the company money, because (19)_____ for IC cards are much less expensive than magnetic systems. Increased use of IC cards should also (20)_____ the space needed for ticket vending.
A.privatized
B.individualized
C.personalized
D.characterized
Having gathered enough information concerning the company, the applicant is ready for the interview. The interviewer's first impression comes from the interviewee's appearance. For most interviews, appropriate dress for men is a conservative (保守的) dark- colored suit with a long-sleeve white or light blue shirt. For women a conservative, tailored suit or dress is appropriate. Both men and women should have neat, conservative length of hair.
Although hairstyle. and dress are matters of taste, many personnel directors judge interviewees from their appearance directly. For
example, one recent college graduate, who felt himself qualified, was interviewed for a public relations job. However, the personnel manager considered this young man unsuitable for this particular position for his long hair, sloppy (不整洁) dress, and casual manner.
1.Before the interview, a job applicant should be clear about().
A.the relationship between his career objective and the job
B.when and where the interview will take place
C.who will also take part in the interview
D.the process of the interview
2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the information the
applicant has to find out?()
A.The company's location
B.The company's financial status
C.The company's expansion plans
D.The company's history
3.According to the passage, which of following statements is true?()
A.Before the interview, the applicant may neglect the company's philosophy
B.Before the interview, the applicant should be clear about the name of the manager
C.In the interview, it's appropriate for the applicant to be dressed conservatively
D.In the interview, it's not suitable for the applicant to try to persuade the employer to employ him
4.The most suitable dressing for men in a job interview is to wear().
A.a colorful shirt
B.a sloppy dress
C.a pair of casual shoes
D.a dark-colored suit
5.From the example in the passage,we may conclude that().
A.self-confidence is the key point
B.first impression is vital
C.personal taste is essential
D.work experience is very important
Fence Co plans to invest in a project which is different to its existing business operations and has identified a company in the same business area as the project, Hex Co. The equity beta of Hex Co is 1·2 and the company has an equity market value of $54 million. The market value of the debt of Hex Co is $12 million.
The risk-free rate of return is 4% per year and the average return on the stock market is 11% per year. Both companies pay corporation tax at a rate of 20% per year.
Required:
(a) Calculate the current weighted average cost of capital of Fence Co. (7 marks)
(b) Calculate a cost of equity which could be used in appraising the new project. (4 marks)
(c) Explain the difference between systematic and unsystematic risk in relation to portfolio theory and the capital asset pricing model. (6 marks)
(d) Discuss the differences between weak form, semi-strong form. and strong form. capital market efficiency, and discuss the significance of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) for the financial manager. (8 marks)
These are tough times for Wal-Mart, America's biggest retailer. Long accused of (1)_____ small-town America mad condemned for the selfishness of its pay, the company has lately come under (2)_____ for its meanness over employees' health-care benefits. The charge is arguably (3)_____: the firm's health coverage, while (4)_____ less extensive than the average for big companies, is on equal terms (5)_____ other retailers'. But bad publicity, coupled with rising costs, has (6)_____ the Bentonville giant to action. WalMart is making changes that should shift the ground in America's healthcare debate.
One (7)_____ is to reduce the prices of many generic, or out-of-patent, prescription drugs. Wal-Mart's critics dismiss the move as a publicity (8)_____. The list of drugs includes only 143 different medicines and excludes many popular group. True, but short-sighted. Wal-Mart has (9)_____ retailing by using its size to squeeze suppliers and (10)_____ the gains on to consumers. It could (11)_____ the same with drugs. A "Wal-Mart effect" in drugs will not solve America's health-costs problem: group account for only a small share of drug costs, which in turn make (12)_____ only 10% of overall health spending. But it would (13)_____.
The firm's other initiative is more (14)_____. Wal-Mart is joining the small but fast-growing group of employers (15)_____ are controlling costs by shifting to health insurance with high deductibles.
Early evidence (16)_____ these plans do help firms control the cost of health insurance. But critics say that the savings are (17)_____. They argue that the plans shift costs to sicker workers, discourage preventative care and will anyway do little to (18)_____ overall health spending, (19)_____ most of the $2 trillion that America (20)_____ health care each year goes to people with multiple chronic diseases.
A.wrecked
B.wrecks
C.wreck
D.wrecking
Selling price and variable cost are given here in current price terms before taking account of forecast selling price inflation of 4% per year and variable cost inflation of 5% per year.
Incremental fixed costs of $500,000 per year in current price terms would arise as a result of producing the new product. Fixed cost inflation of 8% per year is expected.
The initial investment cost of production equipment for the new product will be $2·5 million, payable at the start of the first year of operation. Production will cease at the end of four years because the new product is expected to have become obsolete due to new technology. The production equipment would have a scrap value at the end of four years of $125,000 in future value terms.
Investment in working capital of $1·5 million will be required at the start of the first year of operation. Working capital inflation of 6% per year is expected and working capital will be recovered in full at the end of four years.
Hebac Co pays corporation tax of 20% per year, with the tax liability being settled in the year in which it arises. The company can claim tax-allowable depreciation on a 25% reducing balance basis on the initial investment cost, adjusted in the final year of operation for a balancing allowance or charge. Hebac Co currently has a nominal after-tax weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of 12% and a real after-tax WACC of 8·5%. The company uses its current WACC as the discount rate for all investment projects.
Required:
(a) Calculate the net present value of the investment project in nominal terms and comment on its financial acceptability. (12 marks)
(b) Discuss how the capital asset pricing model can assist Hebac Co in making a better investment decision with respect to its new product launch. (8 marks)
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)
In the 1960s, Peru's sugar industry was among the most efficient in the world. It was all downhill thereafter. A military government expropriated the sugar estates on the country' s north coast, turning them into government-owned co-operatives. Having peaked at 1m tonnes in 1975, output fell to 400,000 tonnes by the early 1990s. But since then the sugar industry has passed into private hands again. Over the past decade production has returned to its historic peak—and is now set to boom.
The change has been gradual. The government has sold its stake in the industry in tranches. But now investors are piling in. As in other parts of South and Central America they are attracted by higher prices for sugar because of its use for ethanol. Industry sources predict that land under sugar will expand by 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) a year, more than doubling output over the next decade. That would turn Peru into an exporter—though not on the scale of Brazil or Colombia.
Last year, local investors secured a controlling stake in Casa Grande, the largest sugar plantation. Bioterra, a Spanish company, plans a $ 90m ethanol plant nearby. Maple, a Texas company, has bought 10,600 hectares of land in the northern department of Piura. Its plans call for an investment of $120m and ethanol production of 120m litres a year. Brazilian and Ecuadorean investors are also active.
Part of the attraction is that Peru has signed a free-trade agreement with the United States. Provided that it can satisfy the concerns of the new Democratic-controlled Congress in Washington D. C., about the enforcement of labour rights, this agreement should be approved later this year. It would render permanent existing trade preferences under which ethanol from Peru can enter the United States dutyfree. By contrast, ethanol exported from Brazil, the world's biggest producer, must pay a tariff of 54 cents a gallon.
Two harsh realities might sour these sweet dreams. Colombia, Central America and the Dominican Republic all enjoy similar preferences and have similar plans. Colombia already produces 360m litres a year of ethanol, much of it for export. The second question is whether sugar—a thirsty crop—is the best use of Peru's desert coastal strip, with its precarious water supply. One of the country's achievements of the past decade has been the private sector's development of new export crops. It would be ironic if these businesses were threatened by sugar's privatisation.
What information does not provide in the first paragraph?
A.Peru's sugar industry was very successful in 1960s.
B.Some sugar estates on the country's north coast used to be government-owned.
C.During the period of government owned, the sugar industry underwent a period of development.
D.There must be revolutions in 1960s.
VOIP's leading proponent is Skype, a small firm whose software allows people to make free calls to other Skype users over the internet, and very cheap calls to traditional telephones—all of which spells trouble for incumbent telecoms operators. On September 12th, eBay, the leading online auction-house, announced that it was buying Skype for $2.6 billion, plus an additional $1.5 billion if Skype hits certain performance targets in coming years.
This seems a vast sum to pay for a company that has only $60m in revenues and has yet to turn a profit. Yet eBay was not the only company interested in buying Skype. Microsoft, Yahoo!, News Corporation and Google were all said to have also considered the idea. Perhaps eBay, rather like some over-excited bidder in one of its own auctions, has paid too much. The company says it plans to use Skype's technology to make it easier for buyers and sellers to communicate, and to offer new "click to call" advertisements, but many analysts are sceptical that eBay is the best owner of Skype. Whatever the merits of the deal, however, the fuss over Skype in recent weeks has highlighted the significance of VOIP, and the enormous threat it poses to incumbent telecoms operators.
For the rise of Skype and other VOIP services means nothing less than the death of the traditional telephone business, established over a century ago. Skype is merely the most visible manifestation of a dramatic shift in the telecoms industry, as voice calling becomes just another data service delivered via high-speed internet connections. Skype, which has over 54m users, has received the most attention, but other firms routing calls partially or entirely over the internet have also signed up millions of customers.
At the beginning of the text, the author ______.
A.states the popularity of the term
B.indicates a clever new technology
C.undermines an existing technology
D.corrects a misconception
VOIP's leading proponent is Skype, a small firm whose software allows people to make free calls to other Skype users over the internet, and very cheap calls to traditional telephones—all of which spells trouble for incumbent telecoms operators. On September 12th, eBay, the leading online auction house, announced that it was buying Skype for $2.6 billion, plus an additional $1.5 billion if Skype hits certain performance targets in coming years.
This seems a vast sum to pay for a company that has only $60m in revenues and has yet to turn a profit. Yet eBay was not the only company interested in buying Skype. Microsoft, Yahoo!, News Corporation and Google were all said to have also considered the idea. Perhaps eBay, rather like some over-excited bidder in one of its own auctions, has paid too much. The company says it plans to use Skype's technology to make it easier for buyers and sellers to communicate, and to offer new "click to call" advertisements, but many analysts are sceptical that eBay is the best owner of Skype. Whatever the merits of the deal, however, the fuss over Skype in recent weeks has highlighted the significance of VOIP, and the enormous threat it poses to incumbent telecoms operators.
For the rise of Skype and other VOIP services means nothing less than the death of the traditional telephone business, established over a century ago. Skype is merely the most visible manifestation of a dramatic shift in the telecoms industry, as voice Galling becomes just another data service delivered via high-speed internet connections. Skype, which has over 54m users, has received the most attention, but other firms routing calls partially or entirely over the internet have also signed up millions of customers.
At the beginning of the text, the author ______.
A.states the popularity of the term
B.indicates a clever new technology
C.undermines an existing technology
D.corrects a misconception