Deck 12: Managing Economic Exposure and Translation Exposure

Question 1

If a U.S. firm's expenses are more susceptible to exchange rate movements than revenue, the firm will ____ if the dollar ____.

A) benefit; weakens
B) be unaffected; weakens
C) be unaffected; strengthens
D) benefit; strengthens

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Rockford Co. is a U.S. manufacturing firm that produces goods in the U.S. and sells all products to retail stores in the U.K.; the goods are denominated in pounds. It finances a small portion of its business with pound-denominated loans from British banks. Which of the following is true? (Assume that the amount of products to be sold is guaranteed by contracts.)

A) The dollar value of sales is higher if the pound depreciates against the dollar.
B) The dollar value of sales is unaffected by the pound's exchange rate.
C) A and B
D) None of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Sycamore (a U.S. firm) has no subsidiaries and presently has sales to Mexican customers amounting to MXP98 million, while its peso-denominated expenses amount to MXP41 million. If it shifts its material orders from its Mexican suppliers to U.S. suppliers, it could reduce peso-denominated expenses by MXP12 million and increase dollar-denominated expenses by $800,000. This strategy would ____ the Sycamore's exposure to changes in the peso's movements against the U.S. dollar. Regardless of whether the firm shifts expenses, it is likely to perform better when the peso is valued ____ relative to the dollar.

A) reduce; high
B) reduce; low
C) increase; low
D) increase; high

Answer 3

D

Question 4

____ represents any impact of exchange rate fluctuations on a firm's future cash flows.

A) Translation exposure
B) Economic exposure
C) Transaction exposure
D) None of the above

Question 5

An effective way for an MNC to assess its economic exposure is to review the firm's:

A) income statement.
B) liquidity.
C) retained earnings.
D) level of stockholders' equity.

Question 6

If a firm does not have foreign subsidiaries, it is not subject to ____.

A) transaction exposure
B) economic exposure
C) A and B
D) translation exposure

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of economic exposure but not an example of transaction exposure?

A) An increase in the dollar's value hurts a U.S. firm's domestic sales because foreign competitors are able to increase their sales to U.S. customers.
B) An increase in the pound's value increases the U.S. firm's cost of British pound payables.
C) A decrease in the peso's value decreases a U.S. firm's dollar value of peso receivables.
D) A decrease in the Swiss franc's value decreases the dollar value of interest payments on a Swiss deposit sent to a U.S. firm by a Swiss bank.

Question 8

Wisconsin Inc. conducts business in Zambia. Years ago, Wisconsin established a subsidiary in Zambia that has consistently generated very large profits denominated in Zambian kwacha. Wisconsin wishes to restructure its operations to reduce economic exposure. Which of the following is not a feasible way of accomplishing this?

A) increase Zambian supply orders.
B) increase Zambian sales.
C) restructure debt to increase debt payments in Zambia.
D) reduce Zambian sales.

Question 9

Assume that a Japanese car manufacturer exports cars to U.S. dealerships, which are priced in yen. The demand for those cars declines when the yen is strong. The manufacturer also produces some cars in the U.S. with U.S. materials and those cars are priced in dollars. The manufacturer could reduce its economic exposure by:

A) closing down most of its plants in the U.S.
B) producing more automobiles in the U.S.
C) relying completely on Japanese suppliers for its parts.
D) pricing its exports in dollars.

Question 10

Which of the following firms is not exposed to translation exposure?

A) Firm X, with a fully owned subsidiary that periodically remits earnings generated in Great Britain to the U.S.-based parent.
B) Firm Y, with a fully owned subsidiary that periodically generates foreign losses in Sweden. The parent covers at least some of these losses.
C) Firm Z, with a fully owned subsidiary that generates substantial earnings in Germany. The subsidiary never remits earnings but reinvests them in Germany.
D) All of the above firms are exposed to translation exposure.

Question 11

Springfield Co., based in the U.S., has a cost from orders of foreign material that exceeds its foreign revenue. All foreign transactions are denominated in the foreign currency of concern. This firm would ____ a stronger dollar and would ____ a weaker dollar.

A) benefit from; be unaffected by
B) benefit from; be adversely affected by
C) be unaffected by; be adversely affected by
D) be unaffected by; benefit from
E) benefit from; benefit from

Question 12

It is generally least difficult to effectively hedge various types of:

A) translation exposure.
B) transaction exposure.
C) economic exposure.
D) A and C

Question 13

Laketown Co. has some expenses and revenue in euros. If its expenses are more sensitive to exchange rate movements than revenue, it could reduce economic exposure by ____. If its revenues are more sensitive than expenses, it could reduce economic exposure by ____.

A) decreasing foreign revenues; decreasing foreign expenses
B) decreasing foreign revenues; increasing foreign expenses
C) increasing foreign revenues; decreasing foreign revenues
D) decreasing foreign expenses; increasing foreign revenues

Question 14

Whitewater Co. is a U.S. company with sales to Canada amounting to C$8 million. Its cost of materials attributable to the purchase of Canadian goods is C$6 million. Its interest expense on Canadian loans is C$4 million. Given these exact figures above, the dollar value of Whitewater's "earnings before interest and taxes" would ____ if the Canadian dollar appreciates; the dollar value of Whitewater's cash flows would ____ if the Canadian dollar appreciates.

A) increase; increase
B) decrease; increase
C) decrease; decrease
D) increase; decrease
E) increase; be unaffected

Question 15

A perfect hedge (full coverage) on translation exposure can usually be achieved when:

A) using the money market hedge.
B) using the forward hedge.
C) using the futures hedge.
D) none of the above, since a perfect hedge is nearly impossible.

Question 16

With regard to hedging translation exposure, translation losses ____, and gains on forward contracts used to hedge translation exposure ____.

A) are not tax deductible; are taxed
B) are tax deductible; are taxed
C) are not tax deductible; are not taxed
D) are tax deductible; are not taxed

Question 17

Assume a U.S. firm uses a forward contract to hedge all of its translation exposure. Also assume that the firm underestimated what its foreign earnings would be. Assume that the foreign currency depreciated over the year. The firm would generate a translation ____, which would be ____ than the gain generated by the forward contract.

A) loss; smaller
B) loss; larger
C) gain; larger
D) gain; smaller

Question 18

Depreciation of the euro relative to the U.S. dollar will cause a U.S.-based multinational firm's reported earnings (from the consolidated income statement) to ____. If a firm desired to protect against this possibility, it could stabilize its reported earnings by ____ euros forward in the foreign exchange market.

A) be reduced; purchasing
B) be reduced; selling
C) increase; selling
D) increase; purchasing

Question 19

If the Singapore dollar appreciates against the U.S. dollar over this year, the consolidated earnings of a U.S. company with a subsidiary in Singapore will be ____ as a result of the exchange rate movement.

A) negative
B) adversely affected
C) favorably affected
D) unaffected

Question 20

Any restructuring of operations that ____ the difference between a foreign currency's inflows and outflows may ____ economic exposure.

A) reduces; increase
B) increases; reduce
C) reduces; reduce
D) A and B
E) none of the above

Question 21

All MNCs are subject to translation exposure.

Question 22

A foreign subsidiary with more susceptible expenses than revenue to exchange rate movements will be favorably affected by an appreciation of the foreign currency.

Question 23

U.S. firms can attempt to hedge their translation exposure of their European subsidiaries with a forward purchase of euros.

Question 24

To hedge translation exposure, MNCs could ____ that their foreign subsidiaries receive as earnings to create a cash outflow in the currency to offset the earnings received in that currency.

A) purchase the currency forward
B) sell the currency forward
C) purchase futures contracts of the currency
D) A or C
E) none of the above

Question 25

As opposed to transaction exposure, managing economic exposure involves developing a(n) ____ solution.

A) short-term
B) long-term
C) immediate
D) none of the above

Question 26

The translation gain (or loss) is simply a paper gain (or loss). Conversely, the gain (or loss) resulting from a hedge strategy is a real gain (or loss).

Question 27

In general, it is more difficult to effectively hedge economic or translation exposure than to hedge transaction exposure.

Question 28

____ exposure occurs when an MNC translates each subsidiary's financial data to its home currency for consolidated financial statements.

A) Translation
B) Transaction
C) Economic
D) None of the above

Question 29

An MNC expects to sell fixed assets it utilizes in Europe in the distant future. In order to hedge the sale of these assets in the distant future, the MNC could create a(n) ____ that ____ the expected value of the assets in the future.

A) asset; matches
B) asset; exceeds
C) liability; matches
D) liability; is less than

Question 30

Hedging translation exposure with forward contracts can backfire if the currency being hedged depreciates.

Question 31

U.S.-based MNCs invoicing in Asian currencies and incurring expenses in Asian currencies were probably less affected by the weakness of Asian currencies than U.S.-based MNCs that invoice in Asian currencies but do not incur expenses in those currencies.

Question 32

Managing economic exposure is generally perceived to be ____ managing transaction exposure.

A) more difficult than
B) less difficult than
C) just as difficult as
D) none of the above

Question 33

If revenues and costs are equally sensitive to exchange rate movements, MNCs may reduce their economic exposure by restructuring their operations to shift the sources of costs or revenues to other locations so that:

A) cash inflows exceed cash outflows in each foreign currency.
B) cash outflows exceed cash inflows in each foreign currency.
C) cash inflows match cash outflows in each foreign currency.
D) none of the above

Question 34

Long-term forward contracts are a possible way to hedge the distant sale of fixed assets in foreign countries, but they may not be available for many emerging market currencies.

Question 35

____ is (are) not a limitation of hedging translation exposure.

A) Inaccurate stock price forecasts
B) Inadequate forward contracts for some currencies
C) Taxation on gains from forward contracts
D) Increased transaction exposure

Question 36

An MNC is attempting to reduce its economic exposure by financing a portion of its business with loans in the foreign currency. If the foreign currency weakens, the MNC will need ____ of the foreign currency to cover the loan payment, while the MNC's foreign currency revenues will convert to ____ dollars.

A) more; fewer
B) more; more
C) less; fewer
D) less; more

Question 37

Cierra, Inc. is attempting to assess its degree of economic exposure in euros. In order to do so, it has applied regression analysis to determine whether the percentage change in its total cash flow is related to the percentage change in the euro. A ____ and statistically significant slope coefficient resulting from this analysis implies that the cash flows are ____ related to the percentage changes in the euro.

A) positive; positively
B) positive; negatively
C) negative; positively
D) B and C
E) none of the above

Question 38

Assume that an MNC's cash flows are positively related to the movements in a foreign currency. If the MNC expects the foreign currency to weaken, it could purchase the currency forward to reduce its degree of economic exposure.

Question 39

A limitation of hedging translation exposure is that translation losses are not tax deductible, whereas gains on forward contracts used to hedge translation exposure are taxed.

Question 40

Translation losses are ____, while gains on forward contracts used to hedge translation exposure are ____.

A) tax deductible; not taxed
B) not tax deductible; not taxed
C) not tax deductible; taxed
D) tax deductible; taxed

Question 41

A foreign subsidiary with more revenue than expenses denominated in a foreign currency will be favorably affected by appreciation of the foreign currency.

Question 42

Thornton Corporation has extensive liabilities denominated in Cyprus pounds resulting from imports from Cyprus. However, Thornton's revenues are denominated solely in U.S. dollars. Which of the following is probably not true?

A) Thornton would benefit from a depreciation of the Cyprus pound.
B) Thornton has at least some transaction exposure.
C) Thornton has at least some economic exposure.
D) Thornton has at least some translation exposure.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 43

Transaction exposure results when an MNC translates each subsidiary's financial data to its home currency for consolidated financial statements.

Question 44

Mercury Co. has a subsidiary based in Italy and is exposed to translation exposure. Mercury forecasts that its earnings next year will be €10 million. Mercury decides to hedge the expected earnings by selling €10 million forward. During the next year, the euro appreciated. Mercury's consolidated earnings were ____ affected by the euro's movement, and Mercury's hedge position was ____ affected by the euro's movement.

A) favorably; favorably
B) favorably; adversely
C) adversely; favorably
D) adversely; adversely

Question 45

If a U.S. firm has much more revenue than expenses denominated in euros, the firm will likely ____ if the euro ____.

A) benefit; weakens
B) be unaffected; weakens
C) be unaffected; strengthens
D) benefit; strengthens

Question 46

When a foreign currency has a greater impact on cash outflows than on cash inflows, one possibility in restructuring operations is to reduce foreign sales.

Question 47

Orlando Co. produces home appliances and sells them in the U.S. It outsources the production of the appliances to a Chinese manufacturer, and the imported appliances are priced in dollars. Its major competitor for appliances is located in Mexico. Based on this information, Orlando Co. is subject to ____ exposure.

A) economic
B) transaction
C) translation
D) economic and transaction

Question 48

The management of economic exposure is normally focused completely on transactions that will occur in the next three months.

Question 49

Assume that Atlanta Co. is producing motorcycles and selling them to U.S. customers. Atlanta Co. obtains all of its supplies from American firms and has no competition in the U.S. It has one major competitor in Japan. Now assume that Phoenix Co. is producing office furniture and obtains its supplies from a Canadian firm. Based on this information, Atlanta Co. has ____ exposure and Phoenix Co. has ____ exposure.

A) transaction; translation
B) translation; transaction
C) economic; transaction
D) economic; translation

Question 50

Tennessee Co. conducts business in the U.S. and Canada. The net cash flows from Canadian operations are expected to be C$500,000 next year. The Canadian dollar is valued at about $.90. The net cash flows from U.S. operations are supposed to be $200,000. To reduce sensitivity of its net cash flows without reducing its volume of business in Canada, Tennessee Co. could:

A) purchase Canadian supplies.
B) increase its borrowings in U.S.
C) decrease prices on Canadian goods.
D) decrease its borrowed funds in Canada.

Question 51

Translation exposure results when an MNC translates each subsidiary's financial data to its home currency for consolidated financial statements.

Question 52

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

A) Transaction exposure represents only the exchange rate risk when converting net foreign cash inflows to U.S. dollars or when purchasing foreign currencies to send payments.
B) Economic exposure represents any impact of exchange rate fluctuations on a firm's future cash flows.
C) Firms can simply focus on hedging their foreign currency payables and/or receivables to hedge economic exposure.
D) The management of economic exposure tends to serve as a long-term solution rather than just a short-term solution.

Question 53

Sarakose Co. is a U.S. company with sales to Canada amounting to C$5 million. Its cost of materials attributable to the purchase of Canadian goods is C$7 million. Its interest expense on Canadian loans is C$5 million. The dollar value of Sarakose's "earnings before interest and taxes" would ____ if the Canadian dollar appreciates; the dollar value of its cash flows would ____ if the Canadian dollar appreciates.

A) increase; increase
B) decrease; increase
C) decrease; decrease
D) increase; decrease
E) increase; be unaffected

Question 54

To reduce economic exposure when a foreign currency has a greater impact on cash inflows, an MNC could reduce its level of foreign sales, increase its foreign supply orders, or restructure debt to increase debt payments in the foreign currency.

Question 55

Vermont Co. has foreign expenses denominated in euros that exceed foreign revenues. Appreciation of the euro relative to the U.S. dollar will cause this firm's reported earnings (from the consolidated income statement) to ____. If a firm desired to protect against this possibility, it could stabilize its reported earnings by ____ euros forward in the foreign exchange market.

A) decrease; purchasing
B) decrease; selling
C) increase; selling
D) increase; purchasing

Question 56

Implementing a forward or money market hedge to hedge translation exposure may increase transaction exposure.

Question 57

All MNCs are subject to transaction exposure.

Question 58

Even if translation exposure does not affect cash flows, it is a concern of many MNCs.

Question 59

Economic exposure represents any impact of exchange rate fluctuations on a firm's future cash flows and thus includes transaction exposure.

Question 60

Although forward contracts may reduce translation exposure at the expense of increasing transaction exposure, they are sometimes used to hedge translation exposure.

Question 61

Campbell Company has a subsidiary located in Jamaica. The subsidiary has generated losses for the last five years and is expected to generate losses for the next ten years. Campbell is reluctant to divest of this subsidiary, however. Given this information, Campbell would ____ from a(n) ____ of the Jamaican dollar.

A) benefit; appreciation
B) benefit; depreciation
C) not benefit; appreciation
D) not benefit; depreciation
E) B and C

Question 62

____ is (are) a limitation of hedging translation exposure.

A) Inaccurate earnings forecasts
B) Inadequate forward contracts for some currencies
C) Accounting distortions
D) Increased transaction exposure
E) All of the above

Question 63

A U.S.-based MNC has a subsidiary in Barbados that generates substantial net cash inflows denominated in Barbados dollars. Given this information, the MNC would ____ from a(n) ____ of the Barbados dollar.

A) benefit; appreciation
B) benefit; depreciation
C) not benefit; appreciation
D) none of the above