Question & Answer

The Samsons are trying to determine whether they can claim their 22-year-old adopted son, Jason, as a dependent. Jason is currently a full-time student at an out-of-state university. Jason lived in his parents’ home for three months of the year, and he was away at school for the rest of the year. He received $9,500 in scholarships this year for his outstanding academic performance and earned $4,800 of income working a part-time job during the year. The Samsons paid a total of $5,000 to support Jason while he was away at college. Jason used the scholarship, the earnings from the part-time job, and the money from the Samsons as his only sources of support. Can the Samsons claim Jason as their dependent?

Irene is saving for a new car she hopes to purchase either four or six years from now. Irene invests $10,000 in a growth stock that does not pay dividends and expects a 6 percent annual before-tax return (the investment is tax deferred). When she cashes in the investment after either four or six years, she expects the applicable marginal tax rate on long-term capital gains to be 25 percent.    a) What will be the value of this investment four years from now? Six years from now? b) When Irene sells the investment, how much cash will she have after taxes to purchase the new car (four and six years from now)?

Your friend just told you about a penny stock that they purchased, which increased in price from $0.10 to $0.50 per share. You start investigating penny stocks, and after conducting a large amount of research, you find a stock with a quoted price of $0.05. Upon further investigation, you notice that the ask price for the stock is $0.08 and that the bid price is $0.01. Discuss the possible reasons for this wide bid–ask spread. (LO2)

A part to be turned in an engine lathe must have a surface finish of 1.5 µm. The part is made of a aluminum. The cutting speed is 1.5 m/s and the depth is 3.0 mm. The nose radius on the tool = 1.0 mm. Determine the feed that will achieve the specified surface finish.

What is accomplished when a bank integrates its liability management with its asset management? (LO1)

61. Joaquin is a 30 percent partner in the SBD Partnership, a calendar-year-end entity. As of the end of this year, Joaquin has an outside basis in his interest in SBD of $188,000, which includes his share of the $60,000 of partnership liabilities. On December 31, SBD makes a proportionate distribution of the following assets to Joaquin: Tax BasisFMV Cash $ 40,000 $40,000 Inventory 55,000 65,000 Land 30,000 45,000 Totals $ 125,000 $150,000 a. What are the tax consequences (amount and character of recognized gain or loss, basis in distributed assets) of the distribution to Joaquin if the distribution is an operating distribution? b. What are the tax consequences (amount and character of recognized gain or loss, basis in distributed assets) of the distribution to Joaquin if the distribution is a liquidating distribution? c. Compare and contrast the results from parts (a) and (b).

Dave LaCroix recently received a 10 percent capital and profits interest in Cirque Capital LLC in exchange for consulting services he provided. If Cirque Capital had paid an outsider to provide the advice, it would have deducted the payment as compensation expense. Cirque Capital’s balance sheet on the day Dave received his capital interest appears below: Assets: Basis Fair Market Value Cash $ 150,000 $ 150,000 Investments 200,000 700,000 Land 150,000 250,000 Totals $ 500,000 $1,100,000   Liabilities and capital: Nonrecourse liabilities 100,000 100,000 Tatsuki* 200,000 500,000 Robert* 200,000 500,000 Totals $ 500,000 $ 1,100,000

Merrito Inc. is a large U.S. firm that issued bonds several years ago. Its bond ratings declined over time and, about a year ago, the bonds were rated in the junk bond classification. Nevertheless, investors continued to buy the bonds in the secondary market because of the attractive yield they offered. Last week, Merrito defaulted on its bonds, and the prices of most other junk bonds declined abruptly on the same day. Explain why news of Meritto’s financial problems could cause the prices of junk bonds issued by other firms to decrease, even when those firms had no business relationships with Merrito. Explain why the prices of those junk bonds with less liquidity declined more than those with a high degree of liquidity. (LO2)

Arruza Co. is considering switching from the specific-goods LIFO approach to the dollar-value LIFO approach. Because the financial personnel at Arruza know very little about dollar-value LIFO, they ask you to answer the following questions. (a) What is a LIFO pool? (b) Is it possible to use a LIFO pool concept and not use dollar-value LIFO? Explain. (c) What is a LIFO liquidation? (d) How are price indexes used in the dollar-value LIFO method? (e) What are the advantages of dollar-value LIFO over specific-goods LIFO?

What is an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)? Discuss the potential advantages that such mortgages offer a savings institution. (LO4)

What are the noteworthy properties of titanium?

Blue Devil Savings and Loan Association has a large number of 10-year fixed-rate mortgages and obtains most of its funds from short-term deposits. It uses the yield curve to assess the market’s anticipation of future interest rates. It believes that expectations of future interest rates are the major force in affecting the yield curve. Assume that an upward-sloping yield curve with a steep slope exists. Based on this information, should Blue Devil consider using financial futures as a hedging technique? Explain. (LO2)

Explain the process of proprietary trading by securities firms. How was it affected by the Volcker Rule? (LO1, LO5)

Explain how the credit crisis adversely affected many other people and institutions beyond homeowners and mortgage companies. (LO5)

How much flexibility do partnerships have in allocating partnership items to partners?

Describe spinning and laddering in the IPO market. How do you think these actions influence the price of a newly issued stock? Who is adversely affected as a result of these actions? (LO3)

To what extent do Keynesians and new classicists agree about the role of fixed exchange rates?

Rodriguez Corporation includes the following items in its liabilities at December 31, 2014. 1. Notes payable, $25,000,000, due June 30, 2015. 2. Deposits from customers on equipment ordered by them from Rodriguez, $6,250,000. 3. Salaries and wages payable, $3,750,000, due January 14, 2015. Instructions Indicate in what circumstances, if any, each of the three liabilities above would be excluded from current liabilities.

Explain how in 2022, the rising inflation and higher prices in the United States affected the demand for loanable funds, the supply of loanable funds, and interest rates in the United States (LO1)

What stock ownership tests must be met before a shareholder receives exchange treatment under the substantially disproportionate change-in-stock-ownership test in a stock redemption?  Why is a change-in-stock-ownership test used to determine the tax status of a stock redemption?

Hyundai is considering opening a plant in two neighboring states. One state has a corporate tax rate of 10 percent. If operated in this state, the plant is expected to generate $1,000,000 pretax profit. The other state has a corporate tax rate of 2 percent. If operated in this state, the plant is expected to generate $930,000 of pretax profit. Which state should Hyundai choose? Why do you think the plant in the state with a lower tax rate would produce a lower before-tax income?

On January 1, 2024, Janna has a tax basis of $15,000 in her Mimikaki stock (Mimikaki has been an S corporation since inception). In 2024, Janna was allocated $20,000 of ordinary income from Mimikaki. What are the amount and character of gain she recognizes from end-of-the-year distributions in each of the following alternative scenarios, and what is her stock basis following each distribution?

Compare the entity-level tax consequences for C corporations, S corporations, and business entities taxed as partnerships for both nonliquidating and liquidating distributions of noncash property. Do the tax rules tend to favor one entity type more than the others? Explain.

What are the two ways in which a bank should diversify its loans? Why? Is international diversification of loans a viable strategy for dealing with credit risk? Defend your answer. (LO4)

Nerwin, Inc. is a furniture manufacturing company with 50 employees. Recently, after a long negotiation with the local labor union, the company decided to initiate a pension plan as a part of its compensation plan. The plan will start on January 1, 2014. Each employee covered by the plan is entitled to a pension payment each year after retirement. As required by accounting  tandards, the controller of the company needs to report the pension obligation (liability). On the basis of a discussion with the supervisor of the Personnel Department and an actuary from an insurance company, the controller develops the following information related to the pension plan. Average length of time to retirement 15 years Expected life duration after retirement 10 years Total pension payment expected each year after retirement for all employees. Payment made at the end of the year. $700,000 per year The interest rate to be used is 8%. Instructions On the basis of the information above, determine the present value of the pension obligation (liability).