Duration and Portfolio Immunization

Portfolio Duration Duration is a significant measurement of how sensitivity the change in price of a bond in the change of interest rate. It is broadly linked to the length of time before the bond is mature. Duration assists investors during the investment  decision making  process by expressing the relation between interest rate and price variables of the bond. Therefore, duration is useful measurement for investors because it protects investment from interest rate risk. When the duration of bond is lower that means investors can obtain the cash earlier and reinvest it at prevailing interest rate. As a result, the lower the duration of a bond, the lesser sensitive changes in the interest rate. Majority of investors are familiar with maturity which is the point of time when investors get back the principal of bond. However, duration is defined as the length of time before the maturity of the bond. Continue reading

Case Study: FERA Violations by ITC

ITC was started by UK-based tobacco major BAT (British American Tobacco). It was called the Peninsular Tobacco Company, for cigarette manufacturing, tobacco procurement and processing activities. In 1910, it set up a full-fledged sales organization named the Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. To cope with the growing demand, BAT set up another cigarette manufacturing unit in Bangalore in 1912. To handle the raw material (tobacco leaf) requirements, a new company called Indian Leaf Tobacco Company (ILTC) was incorporated in July 1912. By 1919, BAT had transferred its holdings in Peninsular and ILTC to Imperial. Following this, Imperial replaced Peninsular as BAT’s main subsidiary in India. By the late 1960s, the Indian government began putting pressure on multinational companies to reduce their holdings. Imperial divested its equity in 1969 through a public offer, which raised the shareholdings of Indian individual and institutional investors from 6.6% to 26%. After this, the Continue reading

What Is Arbitrage?

The cost of equity will rise by an amount just sufficient to offset any possible saving or loss. The supply of debt is determined by the lenders. The optimal level is simply the maximum amount of debt which lenders are prepared to subscribe in any given circumstances. For example, level of inflation, rate of economic growth, level of profits etc. The investors will exercise their own leverage by mixing their own portfolio with debt and equity. They call this the Arbitrage process. Under these conditions of investments the average cost of capital is constant. If two different firms which same level of business risks but with levels of gearing sold for different values, then shareholders would move from overvalued firm to the undervalued firm and adjust their level of borrowings through the market to maintain financial risk at the same level. The shareholders would increase their income through this method. Continue reading

Top Academic Programs for You To Consider in 2023

The world of academia is vast and diverse. With thousands of educational institutions in the United States and even more globally, the possibilities are virtually endless. However, among this sea of opportunities, certain fields of study have begun to stand out due to their industry relevance, growing demand, and future prospects. In this article, we delve into what we consider the top academic programs that you should consider in 2023. Master’s Programs in Behavior Analysis As societal complexities grow, the need to understand human behavior from a practical and therapeutic perspective is becoming significantly important. This is where a Master’s in Behavior Analysis comes into the picture. This field of study comprehensively covers the theories and practical applications of understanding, predicting, and changing behavior. Classes in these programs typically revolve around principles of applied behavior analysis, behavioral pharmacology, ethical and professional conduct, and behavioral assessment. A prime example of a Continue reading

Strategic Entrepreneurship

Strategic Entrepreneurship is integration of two disciplines: Entrepreneurship (Identifying opportunities through Innovation) and Strategic Management (Manage the firm’s resources/innovation efforts). So we can define strategic entrepreneurship as a firm’s efforts to exploit its today’s competitive advantages while exploring for the innovations that will be the foundation of tomorrow’s competitive advantages. Identifying opportunities to exploit through innovation is entrepreneurship dimension of strategic entrepreneurship, while determining the best way to manage the firm’s innovation efforts is the strategic dimension. Entrepreneur is a word derived from French language which means: “One who undertakes” and entrepreneurial capabilities are conditions in which new good or services can be launched to satisfy a need in the market. These opportunities exist because of the competitive imperfections in markets and among the factors of production and to produce them and when information about these imperfections is distributed asymmetrically among individuals. As a process, entrepreneurship results in creative destruction Continue reading

Corporate Restructuring Exercises by Procter & Gamble (P&G)

The case discusses the ‘Organization 2005’ program; a six-year long organizational restructuring exercise conducted by the US based Procter & Gamble (P&G), global leader in the fast moving consumer goods industry. The case examines in detail, the important elements of the restructuring program including changing the organizational structure, standardizing the work processes and revamping the corporate culture. The case elaborates on the mistakes committed by Durk Jager, the erstwhile CEO of P&G and examines the reasons as to why Organization 2005 program did not deliver the desired results. Finally, the case discusses how Alan George Lafley, the new CEO, accelerated the initiatives under the Organization 2005 program and revived P&G’s financial performance. Issues Gain insight into the common causes that contribute to steady decline over a period of time in the performance of a large multi-product multi-national company of high repute. Introduction The US based Procter and Gamble (P&G), one Continue reading