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    Identify relative value between credit asset classes

    Thursday, October 29th, 2009

    One approach to identify relative value between the above-mentioned asset classes is to compare risk premia. For corporate bonds this is equivalent to the spread over government bonds. The comparison versus equities requires the estimation of the equity risk premium, that is the difference between the expected rate of return on the stock market and a risk-free interest rate, usually long-term government bond yields. While there are differences in the sector structure of the equity and corporate bond markets, for example with respect to technology exposure, the equity credit premium may nevertheless provide valuable insights into the relative valuation of both markets. This is because risk factors such as economic growth, risk aversion and implied equity volatility influence both markets in a similar manner.

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    Posted in banking, business patterns, campaigns, credit cards, developers, equity, finances, financial risks | Comments Off

    High growth and rising credit leverage

    Friday, October 23rd, 2009

    Phase 3 is characterized by high growth and rising leverage, as during the years 1997 to mid-2000. In this period M&A activity was rapidly accelerating, driven by a major focus on the creation of shareholder value. While earnings grew in this period, aggregate measures of corporate profitability like the ratio of after-tax profits of the nonfinancial corporate sector to GDP already declined. Deteriorating free cash flow measures also signaled heightened risk in the corporate sector. As one would generally expect in the expansion phase, equities performed well while credit spreads widened. In general, the high level of debt accumulated during the expansion makes companies vulnerable to economic downturns. Low growth and rising leverage increase the risk of defaults and rating downgrades, and are generally negative for credit as well as equity markets. The years 2000–02 are a typical example for this phase.

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    Posted in companies, credit cards, customer demand, developers, employee, equity, expenses | Comments Off

    A Good Reason to Have a Business Plan – part 1

    Monday, August 3rd, 2009

    A business plan helps you achieve your goals. It also helps discipline the way you think about what you’re doing. But business plans have another important purpose.

    Companies need business plans to apply for loans, grants, or other forms of funding to start or expand the business. Lenders and financial managers like to see something in writing that shows a firm is committed to its objectives and knows how it’s going to accomplish those objectives. Without a plan, serious outside funding—or any funding, for that matter— might not be available. After all, if you were in the business of investing money, how would you select the companies that would be the best risks?

    But that means you need to write your business plan in different ways for different financial participants:

    Plans used to attract equity investors—financial partners who will prosper as the business prospers—must be written to show how investors will gain from the company’s success. Investors expect a high rate of return, so they will be looking at growth and profit projections. Plans that project a successful profile are what equity investors are seeking.

    Plans designed to appeal to lenders must demonstrate methodologies for repaying loans. At the risk of being simplistic, lenders have little financial stake in the success or failure of the company. They’re interested in how the company plans to repay the principle and its interest. And lenders are more likely than equity investors to be
    concerned about cash flow. Your business plan should provide a timetable with repayment amounts the lenders believe your company will be able to make.

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    Posted in developers, equity, expenses, innovative marketing, loans, online bank | Comments Off

    Identify your competition

    Saturday, August 1st, 2009

    Identify your competition. This may seem obvious, but it’s not necessarily a simple task. For example, if you decide to start a magazine for the local business community, who are your competitors? If your answer is there are no other business magazines around, then you don’t understand the question. Maybe the local newspaper has a regular section devoted to business. That’s competition for coverage. Do you intend to sell ads? If so, you’re competing for advertising money with newspapers, radio, TV, and billboards. Do you intend to sell subscriptions? If so, then you’re competing for customer money, time, and loyalty with national business publications, and to a great extent, with any subscription publication. This example should show that identifying your competition can be far from simple.

    Pick out the two or three major advantages your company has that set it apart from your competitors. An accounting firm, for example, might have experience with not-for-profit businesses. Such a market advantage becomes a cornerstone of the firm’s business strategy.

    Some people call that particular segment of a specific economy a “niche.” It’s the slice of the dollar pie your business hopes to claim; that piece of the public consciousness you want to capture and hold. You need to understand what chunk of turf you want to stake out, or success in doing so will be primarily a matter of luck.

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    Posted in business goals, business publications, companies, developers, financial principles, funds | Comments Off

    When and How to Cut Costs – part 1

    Friday, July 31st, 2009

    If cash flow does become an issue, it’s obvious that the company will have to change the way it’s doing business if
    it wants to survive. Does that executive plant service still come in once a week to water the ficus and all the other office flora? As a manager, you may have to cancel the service, buy a $2.98 watering can, and start doing it yourself—or maybe just get rid of the plants altogether.

    That may seem a little obvious, but it’s amazing how many businesses fall into comfortable patterns during good times and don’t see them as unnecessary frills when cash becomes tight.

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    Posted in business patterns, cash demand, customer demand, developers, online bank | Comments Off

    Anticipating the Contingencies – part 2

    Thursday, July 30th, 2009

    Most suppliers understand that no company can sell from an empty store. Therefore, most suppliers usually work out financing arrangements that take into account when the company gets paid by its own customers. In other words, most suppliers have come to understand that when their customers are paid, they’ll be paid shortly thereafter. Otherwise, suppliers know they’ll get the unpopular merchandise back anyway when the companies close down—and that’s the last thing suppliers want.

    Success can lead to failure if you can’t master cash flow dynamics. If a company can’t keep up with the demand of its customers, it may need to scale down its expectations temporarily and hope to make the most of its growth opportunities later. If a company can’t keep up with payments to its suppliers, it should meet and negotiate, and maybe reduce its purchases in the future. Then it should establish better means of monitoring its cash flow and find ways to operate more efficiently.

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    Posted in developers, finances, management, merchandise, negotiationg | Comments Off

    Beware the Cash Crunch! – part 2

    Thursday, July 30th, 2009

    The size, nature, and complexity of a business may indicate up to one, two, or three years of losses before the business starts turning a profit in new ventures. Managers won’t know for sure until they have some operations time behind them and have begun retool-ing based on what the market is really like, rather than on what they think it’s like. Once managers have an understanding of what customers think of their products and services, they can make more realistic predictions about expenses, income, and profitability to minimize the chances of getting into a cash crunch.

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    Posted in customer demand, developers, finances, management | Comments Off

    What Is Cash Flow? – part 2

    Thursday, July 30th, 2009

    That’s good advice for any department head, no matter what the level of financial involvement. R & D managers might find need for additional research into other avenues affecting market or product, making additional expenditures necessary. Sales managers might suddenly be directed to fire several staff, incurring the cost of training and reduced productivity as part of these unanticipated changes. The product developer may find a need for more complex and expensive equipment, may see a sudden increase in the cost of raw materials, or may suddenly face new legislative restrictions on production.

    If either of these individuals or companies haven’t made plans to protect their enterprises and reserve against such risks, then the demand for their product won’t really matter, because they won’t have the resources to meet that demand.

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    Posted in accounting, customer demand, developers, payments | Comments Off