tailieunhanh - Brealey−Meyers: Principles of Corporate Finance, 7th Edition - Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE CONCLUSION: WHAT WE DO AND DO NOT KNOW ABOUT FINANCE It is time to sign off. Let us finish by thinking about some of the things that we do and do not know about would you say if you were asked to name the seven most important ideas in finance? | Brealey-Meyers Principles of Corporate Finance Seventh Edition XI. Conclusion 35. Conclusion What We Do and Do Not Know About Finance The McGraw-Hill Companies 2003 CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE CONCLUSION WHAT WE DO ANI DO NOT KNO ABOUT FINANCI 994 Brealey-Meyers Principles of Corporate Finance Seventh Edition XI. Conclusion 35. Conclusion What We Do and Do Not Know About Finance The McGraw-Hill Companies 2003 IT IS TIME to sign off. Let us finish by thinking about some of the things that we do and do not know about finance. WHAT WE DO KNOW THE SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT IDEAS IN FINANCE What would you say if you were asked to name the seven most important ideas in finance Here is our list. 1. Net Present Value When you wish to know the value of a used car you look at prices in the secondhand car market. Similarly when you wish to know the value of a future cash flow you look at prices quoted in the capital markets where claims to future cash flows are traded remember those highly paid investment bankers are just secondhand cash-flow dealers . If you can buy cash flows for your shareholders at a cheaper price than they would have to pay in the capital market you have increased the value of their investment. This is the simple idea behind net present value NPV . When we calculate a project s NPV we are asking whether the project is worth more than it costs. We are estimating its value by calculating what its cash flows would be worth if a claim on them were offered separately to investors and traded in the capital markets. That is why we calculate NPV by discounting future cash flows at the opportunity cost of capital that is at the expected rate of return offered by securities having the same degree of risk as the project. In well-functioning capital markets all equivalent-risk assets are priced to offer the same expected return. By discounting at the opportunity cost of capital we calculate the price at which investors in the project could expect to earn that rate of .