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Foundations of Financial Management

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Chapter 6

Discussion Questions
6-1. Rapidly expanding sales will require a buildup in assets to support the growth. In
particular, more and more of the increase in current asset will be permanent in nature. A
non-liquidating aggregate stock of current assets will be necessary to allow for floor
displays, multiple items for selection, and other purposes. All of these ‘asset’ investments
can drain the cash resources of the firm.

6-2. If sales and production can be matched, the level of inventory and the amount of current
assets needed can be kept to a minimum; therefore, lower financing costs will be
incurred. Matching sales and production has the advantage of maintaining smaller
amounts of current assets than level production, and therefore less financing costs are
incurred. However, if sales are seasonal or cyclical, workers will be laid off in a declining
sales climate and machinery (capital assets) will be idle. Here lies the tradeoff between
level and seasonal production: Full utilization of capital assets with skilled workers and
more financing of current assets versus unused capacity, training and retraining workers,
with lower financing for current assets.

6-3. A cash budget helps minimize current assets by providing a forecast of inflows and
outflows of cash. It also encourages the development of a schedule as to when inventory
is produced and maintained for sales (production schedule), and accounts receivables are
collected. The cash budget allows us to forecast the level of each current asset and the
timing of the buildup and reduction of each.

6-4. Only a financial manager with unusual insight and timing could design a plan in which
asset buildup and the length of financing terms are perfectly matched. One would need to
know exactly what parts of current assets are temporary and what parts are permanent.
Furthermore, one is never quite sure how much short-term or long-term financing is
available at appropriate rates at all times. Even if this were known, it would be difficult to
change the financing mix on a continual basis.

6-5. By establishing a long-term financing arrangement for temporary current assets, a firm is
assured of having necessary funding in good times as well as bad, thus we say there is
low risk. However long-term financing is generally more expensive than short-term
financing and profits may be lower than those which could be achieved with a
synchronized or normal financing arrangement for temporary current assets. This is
demonstrated in Figure 6-12.

6-6. By financing a portion of permanent current assets on a short-term basis, we run the risk
of inadequate financing in tight money periods. However, since short-term financing is
less expensive than long-term funds, a firm tends to increase its profitability over the long
run (assuming it survives). In answer to the preceding question, we stressed less risk and
less return; here the emphasis is on high risk and high return.

6-7. The term structure of interest rates shows the relative level of short-term and long-term

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-1 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

interest rates at a point in time. It is often referred to as a yield curve.

6-8. Liquidity premium theory, the segmentation theory, and the expectations theory:

The liquidity premium theory indicates that long-term rates should be higher than short-
term rates. This premium of long-term rates over short-term rates exists because short-
term securities have greater liquidity, and therefore higher rates have to be offered to
potential long-term bond buyer for enticement to hold these less liquid and more price
sensitive securities.

The segmentation theory states that Treasury securities are divided into market segments
by the various financial institutions investing in the market. The changing needs, desires,
and strategies of these investors tend to strongly influence the nature and relationship of
short- and long-term rates.

The expectations hypothesis maintains that the yields on long-term securities are a
function of short-term rates. The result of the hypothesis is that when long-term rates are
much higher than short-term rates, the market is saying that it expects short-term rates to
rise. When long-term rates are lower than short-term rates, the market is expecting short-
term rates to fall.

6-9. An inverted yield curve reflects investor expectations that interest rates will decline in the
future. Furthermore, an inverted yield curve has usually preceded a recession. Lower
interest rates are generally a reflection of lower inflation and lower inflation is usually the
result of an economic slowdown. This information would be valuable for planning
purposes.

6-10. The factors that could be discussed include inflation, inflationary pressures, monetary
policy and the money supply, fiscal policy (including spending, taxation, and
deficits/debt) and the demand for money, and international influences. A supply/demand
diagram is useful for discussing the impacts.

6-11. Before interest rates drop, a bond trader would like to lock into longer term interest rates.
The trader will see the value of longer term bonds appreciate faster than short term bonds
for a given increase in interest rates. The action of the trader of buying longer term bonds,
relative to short term bonds, will drive their price up and their yields down. The yield
curve will become inverted.

6-12. Normally, short-term rates are much more volatile than long-term rates. This is
demonstrated in Figure 6-12 with a long-run view of interest rates.

6-13. Corporate liquidity has been decreasing since the early 1960s because of more
sophisticated, profit-oriented financial management (at times the profit orientation has
been taken too far). The use of the computer has allowed for more volume being
conducted with smaller cash balances. Also, inflation has forced a diversion of funds
away from liquid assets to handle ever-expanding inventory costs. Likewise decreasing

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-2 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

profitability during recessions has diverted funds from liquid assets.

Internet Resources and Questions


1. www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/interest-rates
2. www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates-bonds
3. www.rbc.com/economics/economic-reports/financial-market-reports.html

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-3 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

Problems

6-1. Bondage Supply Company

$750,000 Sales
.10 Profit margin
75,000 Net income
– 22,500 Dividends (30%)
$ 52,500 Increase in retained earnings

$120,000 Increase in assets


– 52,500 Increase in retained earnings
$67,500 External funds needed

6-2. Axle Supply Co.

$300,000 Sales
.08 Profit margin
24,000 Net income
– 4,800 Dividends (20%)
$ 19,200 Increase in retained earnings

$60,000 Increase in assets


– 19,200 Increase in retained earnings
$40,800 External funds needed

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-4 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

6-3. Garza Electronics

Beginning Ending
Inventory + Production – Sales = Inventory
January 700 + 600 – 500 = 800
February 800 + 600 – 250 = 1,150
March 1,150 + 600 – 1,000 = 750

6-4. Madonna’s Clothiers

a. Units Units Change in Ending


sold produced inventory inventory
October 2,000 5,000 +3,000 3,000
November 4,000 5,000 +1,000 4,000
December 8,000 5,000 –3,000 1,000
January 6,000 5,000 –1,000 0

b. Ending Cost per Financing cost


inventory unit ($7) @ 8%/12
October 3,000 $21,000 $140.00
November 4,000 28,000 186.67
December 1,000 7,000 46.67
January 0 0 0
$373.34

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-5 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

6-5. Bambino Sporting Goods

a. Units Units Change in Ending


sold produced inventory inventory
March 3,000 7,500 +4,500 4,500
April 7,000 7,500 +500 5,000
May 11,000 7,500 –3,500 1,500
June 9,000 7,500 –1,500 0

b. Ending Cost per Financing cost


inventory unit ($20) @ 6%/12
March 4,500 $ 90,000 $450.00
April 5,000 100,000 500.00
May 1,500 30,000 150.00
June 0 0 0
$1,100.00

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-6 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

6-6. Front Page Video Games

a. Production and inventory schedule in units


Beginning Ending
1 2
Inventory + Production – Sales = Inventory
January 20,000 + 11,600 – 19,000 = 12,600
February 12,600 + 11,600 – 17,600 = 6,600
March 6,600 + 11,600 – 4,000 = 14,200
April 14,200 + 11,600 – 4,000 = 21,800
May 21,800 + 11,600 – 3,000 = 30,400
June 30,400 + 11,600 – 6,000 = 36,000
July 36,000 + 11,600 – 8,000 = 39,600
August 39,600 + 11,600 – 8,000 = 43,200
September 43,200 + 11,600 – 10,000 = 44,800
October 44,800 + 11,600 – 16,000 = 40,400
November 40,400 + 11,600 – 20,000 = 32,000
December 32,000 + 11,600 – 23,600 = 20,000

1
Total annual sales = $696,000
$696,000/ $5 per unit = 139,200 units
139,200 units/ 12 months = 11,600 per month
2
Monthly dollar sales/ $5 price = unit sales

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-7 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

b. Cash Receipts Schedule


January February March April May June
Sales (in dollars) $95,000 $88,000 $20,000 $20,000 $15,000 $30,000
30% cash sales 28,500 26,400 6,000 6,000 4,500 9,000
70% prior month’s
sales 70,000* 66,500 61,600 14,000 14,000 10,500
Total cash receipts $98,500 $92,900 $67,600 $20,000 $18,500 $19,500
*based on December sales of $100,000

July August Sept. October Nov. Dec.


Sales (in dollars) $40,000 $40,000 $50,000 $80,000 $100,000 $118,000
30% cash sales 12,000 12,000 15,000 24,000 30,000 35,400
70% prior month’s
sales 21,000 28,000 28,000 35,000 56,000 70,000
Total cash receipts $33,000 $40,000 $43,000 $59,000 $86,000 $105,400

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-8 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

c. Cash Payments Schedule


Constant production

January February March April May June

11,600 units  $2 $23,200 $23,200 $23,200 $23,200 $23,200 $23,200


Other cash payments 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000
Total cash payments $63,200 $63,200 $63,200 $63,200 $63,200 $63,200

July August Sept. October Nov. Dec.


11,600 units  $2 $23,200 $23,200 $23,200 $23,200 $23,200 $23,200
Other cash payments 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000
Total cash payments $63,200 $63,200 $63,200 $63,200 $63,200 $63,200

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6-9 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta
Chapter 6

d. Cash Budget
January February March April May June
Net cash flow $35,300 $29,700 $ 4,400 $(43,200) $(44,700) $(43,700)
Beginning cash 5,000 40,300 70,000 74,400 31,200 5,000
Cumulative cash balance 40,300 70,000 74,400 31,200 (13,500) (38,700)
Monthly loan or (repayment) -0- -0- -0- -0- 18,500 43,700
Cumulative loan -0- -0- -0- -0- 18,500 62,200
Ending cash balance 40,300 70,000 74,400 31,200 5,000 5,000
July August Sept. October Nov. Dec.
Net cash flow ($30,200) ($23,200) ($20,200) ($4,200) $22,800 $42,200
Beginning cash 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000
Cumulative cash balance (25,200) (18,200) (15,200) 800 27,800 47,200
Monthly loan or (repayment) 30,200 23,200 20,200 4,200 (22,800) (42,200)
Cumulative loan 92,400 115,600 135,800 140,000 117,200 75,000
Ending cash balance 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 10 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-7. Seasonal Products Corporation

a. Production and inventory schedule in units


Beginning Ending
1 2
Inventory + Production – Sales = Inventory
January 5,000 + 7,000 – 10,000 = 2,000
February 2,000 + 7,000 – 7,500 = 1,500
March 1,500 + 7,000 – 2,500 = 6,000
April 6,000 + 7,000 – 1,500 = 11,500
May 11,500 + 7,000 – 500 = 18,000
June 18,000 + 7,000 – 1,500 = 23,500
July 23,500 + 7,000 – 5,000 = 25,500
August 25,500 + 7,000 – 7,000 = 25,500
September 25,500 + 7,000 – 10,000 = 22,500
October 22,500 + 7,000 – 12,500 = 17,000
November 17,000 + 7,000 – 15,000 = 9,000
December 9,000 + 7,000 – 11,000 = 5,000

1
$168,000 sales/$2 price = 84,000 units
84,000 units/12 months = 7,000 units per month
2
Monthly dollar sales/$2 = number of units

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 11 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

b. Cash Receipts Schedule (take dollar values from problem statement)


January February March April May June
Sales (in dollars) $20,000 $15,000 $ 5,000 $3,000 $1,000 $3,000
20% Cash sales 4,000 3,000 1,000 600 200 600
80% Prior month’s
sales 12,000* 16,000 12,000 4,000 2,400 800
Total receipts $16,000 $19,000 $13,000 $ 4,600 $ 2,600 $ 1,400
*based on December sales of $15,000

July August Sept. October Nov. Dec.


Sales (in dollars) $10,000 $14,000 $20,000 $25,000 $ 30,000 $ 22,000
20% Cash sales 2,000 2,800 4,000 5,000 6,000 4,400
80% Prior month’s
sales 2,400 8,000 11,200 16,000 20,000 24,000
Total receipts $ 4,400 $10,800 $15,200 $21,000 $26,000 $ 28,400

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 12 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

c. Cash Payments Schedule:


Constant production

January February March April May June


7,000 units  $1 $ 7,000 $ 7,000 $ 7,000 $ 7,000 $ 7,000 $ 7,000
Other cash payments 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000
Total payments $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $13,000

July August Sept. October Nov. Dec.


7,000 units  $1 $ 7,000 $ 7,000 $ 7,000 $ 7,000 $ 7,000 $ 7,000
Other cash payments 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000
Total payments $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $13,000

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 13 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

d. Cash Budget
January February March April May June
Cash flow $ 3,000 $ 6,000 $0 ($ 8,400) ($10,400) ($11,600)
Beginning cash 1,000 4,000 10,000 10,000 1,600 1,000
Cumulative cash balance 4,000 10,000 10,000 1,600 (8,800) (10,600)
Monthly loan or (repayment) -0- -0- -0- -0- 9,800 11,600
Cumulative loan -0- -0- -0- -0- 9,800 21,400
Ending cash balance $4,000 $10,000 $10,000 $1,600 $1,000 $1,000

July August Sept. October Nov. Dec.


Cash flow ($ 8,600) ($ 2,200) $ 2,200 $8,000 $13,000 $15,400
Beginning cash 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000
Cumulative cash balance (7,600) (1,200) 3,200 9,000 14,000 16,400
Monthly loan or (repayment) 8,600 2,200 (2,200) (8,000) (13,000) (9,000)
Cumulative loan 30,000 32,200 30,000 22,000 9,000 -0-
Ending cash balance $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $7,400

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 14 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

e. Assets
Accounts Total
Cash Receivable Inventory Current
January $ 4,000 $16,000 $ 2,000 $22,000
February 10,000 12,000 1,500 23,500
March 10,000 4,000 6,000 20,000
April 1,600 2,400 11,500 15,500
May 1,000 800 18,000 19,800
June 1,000 2,400 23,500 26,900
July 1,000 8,000 25,500 34,500
August 1,000 11,200 25,500 37,700
September 1,000 16,000 22,500 39,500
October 1,000 20,000 17,000 38,000
November 1,000 24,000 9,000 34,000
December 7,400 17,600 5,000 30,000

The instructor may wish to point out how current assets are at
relatively high levels and illiquid during June through October. In
November and particularly December, the asset levels remain high,
but they become increasingly more liquid as inventory diminishes
relative to cash.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 15 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-8. Liz’s Health Food Stores

a. Short-term financing
On Monthly Actual
Month Rate Basis Amount Interest
January 8% 0.67% $8,000 $53.33
February 9% 0.75% 2,000 15.00
March 12% 1.00% 3,000 30.00
April 15% 1.25% 8,000 100.00
May 12% 1.00% 9,000 90.00
June 12% 1.00% 4,000 40.00
$328.33

b. Long-term financing

Long-term debt is not variable in the short term. Therefore Liz's


Health Food Store would be required to borrow the highest amount
of financing required based on their estimated monthly
requirements for the duration of the loan.

$9,000.00 X 12% X 6/12 = $540.00

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 16 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-9. Liz’s Health Food Stores (Continued)

Divide the total interest payments in part (a) of $328.33 by the


total amount of funds extended $34,000 and multiply by 12.
interest $328.33
  0.966% monthly rate
principal $34,000
12  .966% = 11.59% annual rate

6-10. Gabriel Health Services Ltd.


Long-term rate: $1,500,000 × 0.05 × 2 years = $150,000
Short-term rate: $1,500,000 × 0.0350 × 1 year = $ 52,500
$1,500,000 × 0.0625 × 1 year = 93,750
$146,250
The short-term rates appear less costly.

6-11. Boatler Used Cadillac Co.


Long-term rate: $850,000 × 0.08 × 3 years = $204,000
Short-term rate: $850,000 × 0.04 × 1 year = $ 34,000
$850,000 × 0.07 × 1 year = $ 59,500
$850,000 × 0.12 × 1 year = 102,000
$195,500
The short-term rate appears less costly.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 17 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-12. Sauer Food Company


a. If Rates Are Constant
$150,000 borrowed  10% per annum  3 years = $45,000
Interest cost (long-term)
$150,000 borrowed  8% per annum  3 years = 36,000
Interest cost (short-term)
Interest savings if borrowing short-term = $ 9,000
b. If Short-term Rates Change
1st year $150,000  .08 = $12,000
2nd year $150,000  .13 = $19,500
3rd year $150,000  .18 = $27,000
Total = $58,500
$58,500 - $45,000 = $13,500
Extra interest costs by borrowing if the short-term rates are
changing.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 18 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-13. Sherlock Homes

Long-term financing equals:


Permanent current assets $1,500,000
Capital assets 2,000,000
$3,500,000
Short-term financing equals:
Temporary current assets $1,000,000

Long-term interest expense = 13%  $3,500,000 = $455,000


Short-term interest expense = 8%  $1,000,000 = 80,000
Total interest expense $535,000
Earnings before interest and taxes $960,000
Interest expense 535,000
Earnings before taxes 425,000
Taxes (40%) 170,000
Earnings after taxes $255,000

6-14. Sherlock Homes (Continued)

Long-term interest expense = 8%  $3,500,000 = $280,000


Short-term interest expense = 12%  1,000,000 = 120,000
Total interest expense $400,000
Earnings before interest and taxes $960,000
Interest expense 400,000
Earnings before taxes 560,000
Taxes (40%) 224,000
Earnings after taxes $336,000

The company has benefited because it is primarily financed by long-term


financing, and long-term rates are now much lower than short-term rates, as
rates have become inverted.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 19 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-15. Atlas Tours


a. Long-term financing equals:
Permanent current assets $1,800,000
Capital assets 2,400,000
$4,200,000
Short-term financing equals:
Temporary current assets (six months) $1,200,000
Temporary current assets (six months) 400,000
Long-term interest expense = 5%  $4,200,000 = $ 210,000
Short-term interest expense = 4%  $1,200,000  0.5 = 24,000
Short-term interest expense = 4%  $400,000  0.5 = 8,000
Total interest expense $ 242,000
Earnings before interest and taxes $1,080,000
Interest expense 242,000
Earnings before taxes 838,000
Taxes (38%) 318,440
Earnings after taxes $ 519,560

b. Long-term financing equals:


Permanent current assets $1,800,000
Capital assets 2,400,000
$4,200,000
Short-term financing equals:
Temporary current assets (six months) $1,200,000
Temporary current assets (six months) 400,000
Long-term interest expense = 5%  $4,200,000 = $210,000
Short-term interest expense = 4%  $1,200,000  0.5 = 24,000
Short-term interest expense = 5%  $400,000  0.5 = 10,000
Total interest expense $244,000
Earnings before interest and taxes $1,080,000
Interest expense 244,000
Earnings before taxes 836,000
Taxes (38%) 317,680
Earnings after taxes $ 518,320

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 20 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-16. Collins Systems, Inc.

a. Temporary current assets $300,000


Permanent current assets 200,000
Capital assets 400,000
Total assets $900,000

Conservative
% of Interest Interest
Amount Total Rate Expense
$900,000  .80 = $720,000  .15 = $108,000 Long-term
$900,000  .20 = $180,000  .10 = 18,000 Short-term
Total interest charge $126,000

Aggressive
% of Interest Interest
Amount Total Rate Expense
$900,000  .30 = $270,000 .15 = $40,500 Long-term
$900,000  .70 = $630,000 .10 = 63,000 Short-term
Total interest charge $103,500

b. Conservative Aggressive
EBIT $180,000 $180,000
– Int. 126,000 103,500
EBT 54,000 76,500
Tax 40% 21,600 30,600
EAT $ 32,400 $ 45,900

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 21 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

c. Reversed

Conservative
% of Interest Interest
Amount Total Rate Expense
$900,000  .80 = $720,000  .10 = $72,000 Long-term
$900,000  .20 = $180,000  .15 = 27,000 Short-term
Total interest charge $99,000

Aggressive
% of Interest Interest
Amount Total Rate Expense
$900,000  .30 = $270,000  .10 = $ 27,000 Long-term
$900,000  .70 = $630,000  .15 = 94,500 Short-term
Total interest charge $121,500

Conservative Aggressive
EBIT $180,000 $180,000
– Int 99,000 121,500
EBT 81,000 58,500
Tax 40% 32,400 23,400
EAT $ 48,600 $ 35,100

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 22 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-17. Lear, Inc.


a. Current assets – permanent current assets = temporary current
assets
$800,000 – $350,000 = $450,000
Long-term interest expense = 10% [$600,000 + ½ ($350,000)]
= 10%  ($775,000)
= $77,500
Short-term interest expense = 5% [$450,000 + ½ ($350,000)]
= 5%  ($625,000)
= $31,250
Total interest expense = $77,500 + $31,250
= $108,750
Earnings before interest and taxes $200,000
Interest expense 108,750
Earnings before taxes 91,250
Taxes (30%) 27,375
Earnings after taxes $ 63,875
b. Alternative financing plan
L. T. interest expense = 10% [$600,000 + $350,000 + ½
($450,000)]
= 10% ($1,175,000)
= $117,500
Short-term interest expense = 5% [½ ($450,000)]
= 5% (225,000)
= $11,250
Total interest expense = $117,500 + $11,250
= $128,750
Earnings before interest and taxes $200,000
Interest 128,750
Earnings before taxes 71,250
Taxes (30%) 21,375
Earnings after taxes $ 49,875

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 23 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

c. The alternative financing plan which calls for more financing by


high-cost debt is more expensive and reduces aftertax income by
$14,000. However, we must not automatically reject this plan
because of its higher cost since it has less risk. The alternative
provides the firm with long-term capital which at times will be in
excess of its needs and invested in marketable securities. It will not
be forced to pay higher short-term rates on a large portion of its
debt when short-term rates rise and will not be faced with the
possibility of no short-term financing for a portion of its permanent
current assets when it is time to renew the short-term loan.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 24 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-18. Date Wireless

a. Long-term financing (as share capital) equals:


Permanent current assets $1,000,000
Capital assets 7,000,000
$8,000,000
Short-term financing equals:
Temporary current assets $1,000,000

Share capital = $8,000,000 ÷ $25 = 320,000


Short-term interest expense = 6%  $1,000,000 = $60,000

Earnings before interest and taxes $1,000,000


Interest expense 60,000
Earnings before taxes 940,000
Taxes (40%) 376,000
Earnings after taxes $ 564,000
Earnings per share $ 1.76

b. Long-term financing (as share capital) equals:


60% of $9,000,000 (total assets) = $5,400,000
Short-term financing equals:
40% of $9,000,000 (total assets) = $3,600,000
Share capital = $5,400,000 ÷ $25 = 216,000
Short-term interest expense = 6%  $3,600,000 = $216,000
Earnings before interest and taxes $1,000,000
Interest expense 216,000
Earnings before taxes 784,000
Taxes (40%) 313,600
Earnings after taxes $ 470,400
Earnings per share $ 2.18

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 25 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

c. Short term rates @11%

Hedged
Share capital = $8,000,000 ÷ $25 = 320,000
Short-term interest expense = 11%  $1,000,000 = $110,000
Earnings before interest and taxes $1,000,000
Interest expense 110,000
Earnings before taxes 890,000
Taxes (40%) 356,000
Earnings after taxes $ 534,000
Earnings per share $ 1.67

Capital structure (40% debt)


Share capital = $5,400,000 ÷ $25 = 216,000
Short-term interest expense = 11%  $3,600,000 = $396,000

Earnings before interest and taxes $1,000,000


Interest expense 396,000
Earnings before taxes 604,000
Taxes (40%) 241,600
Earnings after taxes $ 362,400
Earnings per share $ 1.68

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 26 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-19. Phu Lighters

a. Long-term financing (50% equity/50% debt) equals:


Permanent current assets $400,000
Capital assets 3,000,000
$3,400,000
Short-term financing equals:
Temporary current assets (9 months) $1,350,000
Temporary current assets (3 months) $0

Shares = $3,400,000  0.5 ÷ $10 = 170,000


Long-term interest = 6%  $1,700,000 = $102,000
Short-term interest = 3%  $1,350,000  9/12 = 30,375
Total interest $132,375
Earnings before interest and taxes $620,000
Interest expense 132,375
Earnings before taxes 487,625
Taxes (40%) 195,050
Earnings after taxes $292,575
Earnings per share $ 1.72
b. Long-term financing (50% equity/50% debt) equals:
80% of $3,000,000 (capital assets) = $2,400,000
Short-term financing equals:
$4,750,000 ─ $2,400,000 (9 months) = $2,350,000
$3,400,000 ─ $2,400,000 (3 months) = $1,000,000
Shares = $2,400,000  0.5 ÷ $10 = 120,000
Long-term interest = 6%  $1,200,000 = $72,000
Short-term interest = 3%  $2,350,000  9/12 = 52,875
Short-term interest = 3%  $1,000,000  3/12 = 7,500
Total interest $132,375
Earnings before interest and taxes $620,000
Interest expense 132,375
Earnings before taxes 487,625
Taxes (40%) 195,050
Earnings after taxes $292,575
Earnings per share $ 2.44

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 27 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

c. Short term rates @8%


Long-term financing (50% equity/50% debt):

Shares = $3,400,000  0.5 ÷ $10 = 170,000


Long-term interest = 6%  $1,700,000 = $102,000
Short-term interest = 8%  $1,350,000  9/12 = 81,000
Total interest $183,000
Earnings before interest and taxes $620,000
Interest expense 183,000
Earnings before taxes 437,000
Taxes (40%) 174,800
Earnings after taxes $262,200
Earnings per share $ 1.54

Shares = $2,400,000  0.5 ÷ $10 = 120,000


Long-term interest = 6%  $1,200,000 = $ 72,000
Short-term interest = 8%  $2,350,000  9/12 = 141,000
Short-term interest = 8%  $1,000,000  3/12 = 20,000
Total interest $233,000
Earnings before interest and taxes $620,000
Interest expense 233,000
Earnings before taxes 387,000
Taxes (40%) 154,800
Earnings after taxes $232,200
Earnings per share $ 1.94

6-20. Library assignment. Answers will vary with the state of the
economy.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 28 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-21. Expectations hypothesis

2 year security (4% + 5%)/ 2 = 4.5%


3 year security (4% + 5% + 7%)/ 3 = 5.33%
4 year security (4% + 5% + 7% + 9%)/ 4 = 6.25%

OR:

1.041.05  1  .0450  4.5%


3 1.04 1.05 1.07   1  .0533  5.33%
4 
1.04 1.051.07 1.09  1  0.623  6.23%

6-22. Expectations hypothesis

2 year bond = 6%
2 year bond = (1st year bond + 2nd year bond) / 2
6% = (5% + f2) / 2
f2 = 7.0%

OR:

(1.06)2 = (1.05) (1 + f2)


1 + f2 = (1.06)2 / 1.05
1 + f2 = 1.0701
f2 = 0.0701
f2 = 7.01%

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 29 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-23. Expectations hypothesis

1 year rate = 2.60%


2 year rate = 3.26%
3 year rate = 3.39%

2nd year rate = (1st year rate + 2nd year rate) / 2


3.26% = (2.60% + f2) / 2
6.52% = 2.60 + f2
f2 = 3.92%

OR:

(1.0326)2 = (1.0260) (1 + f2)


1 + f2 = (1.0326)2 / 1.0260
1 + f2 = 1.0392
f2 = 0.0392
f2 = 3.92%

3rd year rate = (1st year rate + 2nd year rate + 3rd year rate) / 3
3.39% = (2.60% + 3.92% + f3) / 3
10.17% = 6.52% + f3
f3 = 3.65%

OR:

(1.0339)3 = (1.0260) (1.0392) (1 + f3)


1 + f3 = (1.0339)3 / (1.0260) (1.0392)
1 + f3 = 1.0365
f3 = 0.0365
f3 = 3.65%

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 30 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-24. Expectations hypothesis

1 year rate = 5.78%


2 year rate = 5.85%
3 year rate = 6.22%

2nd year rate = (1st year rate + 2nd year rate) / 2


5.85% = (5.78% + f2) / 2
11.70% = 5.78% + f2
f2 = 5.92%

OR:

(1.0585)2 = (1.0578) (1 + f2)


1 + f2 = (1.0585)2 / 1.0578
1 + f2 = 1.0592
f2 = 0.0592
f2 = 5.92%

3rd year rate = (1st year rate + 2nd year rate + 3rd year rate) / 3
6.22% = (5.78% + 5.92% + f3) / 3
18.66% = 11.63% + f3
f3 = 6.96%

OR:

(1.0622)3 = (1.0578) (1.0592) (1 + f3)


1 + f3 = (1.0622)3 / (1.0578) (1.0592)
1 + f3 = 1.0696
f3 = 0.0696
f3 = 6.96%

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 31 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-25. Gary’s Pipe and Steel Company


Expected
State of Economy Sales Probability Outcome
Strong $800,000 .20 $160,000
Steady 500,000 .50 250,000
Weak 350,000 .30 105,000
Expected level of sales = $515,000

6-26. Sharpe Knife Company

State of Expected
Economy Sales Probability Outcome
Strong $1,500,000 .20 $300,000
Steady 800,000 .50 400,000
Weak 500,000 .30 150,000
Expected level of sales = $850,000

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 32 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-27. Hogan Surgical Instruments Company

a. Most aggressive
Low liquidity $2,000,000  18% = $360,000
Short-term financing 2,000,000  10% = – 200,000
Anticipated return $160,000

b. Most conservative
High liquidity $2,000,000  14% = $280,000
Long-term financing 2,000,000  12% = – 240,000
Anticipated return $ 40,000

c. Moderate approach
Low liquidity $2,000,000  18% = $360,000
Long-term financing 2,000,000  12% = – 240,000
$120,000
OR:
High liquidity $2,000,000  14% = $280,000
Short-term financing 2,000,000  10% = – 200,000
$ 80,000

d. You may not necessarily select the plan with the highest return. You must
also consider the risk inherent in the plan. Of course, some firms are better
able to take risks than others. The ultimate concern must be for maximizing
the overall valuation of the firm through a judicious consideration of risk-
return options.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 33 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

6-28. Atlas Sporting Goods, Inc.

a. Most aggressive
Low liquidity $800,000  15% = $120,000
Short-term financing 800,000  8% = – 64,000
Anticipated return $56,000

b. Most conservative
High liquidity $800,000  12% = $96,000
Long-term financing 800,000  10% = – 80,000
Anticipated return $ 16,000

c. Moderate approach
Low liquidity $800,000  15% = $120,000
Long-term financing 800,000  10% = – 80,000
$40,000
OR:
High liquidity $800,000  12% = $96,000
Short-term financing 800,000  8% = – 64,000
$ 32,000

d. You may not necessarily select the plan with the highest return. You must
also consider the risk inherent in the plan. Of course, some firms are better
able to take risks than others. The ultimate concern must be for maximizing
the overall valuation of the firm through a judicious consideration of risk-
return options.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 34 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

Mini Case
Gale Force Corporation
(Working Capital: Level vs., Seasonal Production)

Purpose: This case forces the student to view the impact of level versus
seasonal production on inventory levels, bank loan requirements, and profitability.
It also considers the efficiencies (or inefficiencies) covered by the different
production plans. The computations in the case are parallel Tables 1 to 5 in the
text, with the only difference being that seasonal production rather than level
production is being utilized. The case allows the student to properly track the
movement of cash flow through the production process.

a. New Tables 2 through 5, with Tim’s suggestion implemented, are shown in


the following pages. Observe that the inventory level is now constant at 400
units or $800,000 a month because all units produced are sold. As a side
point, note that there may be no apparent need now to maintain the 400 units
a month in inventory that were on hand at the start of the cycle. The
inventory level could be reduced to the level that management feels would
be sufficient to cover emergencies (or maybe to zero, which is what the
Japanese do in a “just-in-time” production concept).

Though not required, you may wish to refer to the old and new Table 4 to
make a special point. Note that Tim’s suggestion causes inventory balances
to decrease over the time period and total current assets to fluctuate less, but
the same balances occur at the end of September for inventory and total
current assets.

b. New Table 5 shows the new cumulative loan balances and the interest
expenses incurred each month. Under the old system (level production), total
interest expense (at 1% a month on the cumulative loan balance) was
$254,250. Under the proposed system it decreases to $50,750 for a savings
of $203,500.

c. The first step is to compute total sales. Using the second row of Table 3
(either the old or new table), the total is $14,400,000. With an added expense
burden of 0.5%, expenses will go up by $72,000. This is still far less than the
interest savings of $203,500 computed in question 2, so the seasonal
production plan is justified. ($203,500 – $72,000 = $131,500). Please note
that the values are assumed to be computed on a pretax basis.

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 35 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

Table 2: Production schedule and inventory (seasonal production)

Beginning Ending
Inventory + Production – Sales = Inventory
October 400 + 150 – 150 = 4001
November 400 + 75 – 75 = 400
December 400 + 25 – 25 = 400
January 400 + 0 – 0 = 400
February 400 + 0 – 0 = 400
March 400 + 300 – 300 = 400
April 400 + 500 – 500 = 400
May 400 + 1,000 – 1,000 = 400
June 400 + 1,000 – 1,000 = 400
July 400 + 1,000 – 1,000 = 400
August 400 + 500 – 500 = 400
September 400 + 250 – 250 = 400

1
Inventory ($2,000 per unit) × 400 = $800,000

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 36 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

Table 3: Cash Receipts Schedule: (sales price = $3,000/ unit) (in thousands)
October November December January February March
Sales forecast 150 75 25 0 0 300
Sales (in dollars) $450.0 $ 225.0 $75.0 -0- -0- $ 900.0
50% Cash sales 225.0 112.5 37.5 -0- -0- 450.0
50% Prior month’s
sales * 375.0 225.0 112.5 37.5 -0- -0-
Total receipts $600.0 $ 337.5 $ 150.0 $ 37.5 $-0- $ 450.0
*based on September sales of $750,000
April May June July August September
Sales forecast 500 1,000 1,000 1,000 500 250
Sales (in dollars) $1,500.0 $3,000.0 $3,000.0 $ 3,000.0 $1,500.0 $750.0
50% Cash sales 750.0 1,500.0 1,500.0 1,500.0 750.0 375.0
50% Prior month’s
sales 450.0 750.0 1,500.0 15,00.0 1,500.0 750.0
Total receipts $1,200.0 $2,250.0 $3,000.0 $3,000.0 $2,250.0 $1,125.0

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 37 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

Table 3: Cash Payments Schedule: (Production costs = $2,000/ unit) (in thousands)
October November December January February March
Production in units 150 75 25 0 0 300
Production costs $ 300.0 $ 150.0 $ 50.0 $ 0.0 $ 0.0 $ 600.0
Overhead 200.0 200.0 200.0 200.0 200.0 200.0
Dividends & Interest
Taxes 150.0 $ 150.0
Total payments $ 650.0 $ 350.0 $ 250.0 $ 350.0 $ 200.0 $ 800.0

April May June July August September


Production in units 500 1,000 1,000 1,000 500 250
Production costs $1,000.0 $2,000.0 $2,000.0 $2,000.0 $1,000.0 $ 500.0
Overhead 200.0 200.0 200.0 200.0 200.0 200.0
Dividends & Interest 1,000.0
Taxes $ 150.0 300.0
Total payments $1,350.0 $2,200.0 $2,200.0 $2,500.0 $2,200.0 $ 700.0

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 38 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

Table 3: Cash Budget: (minimum required balance = $125,000) (in thousands)


October November December January February March
Cash flow $ -50.0 $ -12.5 $ -100.0 $ -312.5 $ -200.0 $ -350.0
Beginning cash 125.0 125.0 125.0 125.0 125.0 125.0
Cumulative cash balance 75.0 112.5 25.0 -187.5 -75.0 -225.0
Monthly loan (repayment) 50.0 12.5 100.0 312.5 200.0 350.0
Cumulative loan 50.0 62.5 162.5 475.0 675.0 1,025.0
Ending cash balance $ 125.0 $ 125.0 $ 125.0 $ 125.0 $ 125.0 $ 125.0
April May June July August September
Cash flow $ -150.0 $ 50.0 $ 800.0 $ 500.0 $ 50.0 $ 425.0
Beginning cash 125.0 125.0 125.0 125.0 300.0 350.0
Cumulative cash balance -25.0 175.0 925.0 625.0 350.0 775.0
Monthly loan (repayment) 150.0 -50.0 -800.0 -325.0 -0- -0-
Cumulative loan 1,175.0 1,125.0 325.0 -0- -0- -0-
Ending cash balance $ 125.0 $ 125.0 $ 125.0 $ 300.0 $ 350.0 $ 775.0

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 39 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

Table 4: Total Current Assets, First Year


*Accounts Total
Cash Receivable Inventory Current
October $125.0 $ 225.0 $800 $1,150.0
November 125.0 112.5 800 1,037.5
December 125.0 37.5 800 962.5
January 125.0 0 800 925.0
February 125.0 0 800 925.0
March 125.0 450.0 800 1,375.0
April 125.0 750.0 800 1,675.0
May 125.0 1,500.0 800 2,425.0
June 125.0 1,500.0 800 2,425.0
July 300.0 1,500.0 800 2,600.0
August 350.0 750.0 800 1,900.0
September 775.0 375.0 800 1,950.0

*Equals 50 percent of monthly sales

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 40 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Chapter 6

Table 5: Cumulative Loan Balance and Interest Expense (12% per year OR 1% per month)

October November December January February March


Cumulative loan (thousands) $50.0 $62.5 $162.5 $475.0 $675.0 $1,025.0
Interest expense at 12% $ 500 $ 625 $1,625 $4,750 $6,750 $10,250

April May June July August September


Cumulative loan (thousands) $1,175.0 $1,125.0 $325.0 -0- -0- -0-
Interest expense at 12% $11,750 $11,250 $3,250 $0 $0 $0

Interest rate = 12%


Total interest expense for the year = $50,750

Foundations of Fin. Mgt. 10Ce 6 - 41 Block, Hirt, Danielsen, Short, Perretta


Another random document with
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It certainly was a poser. If, he said, he described a man as having
a very cowardly dog, what should I think he meant? I suggested
various possible solutions: that he was a brutal man who thrashed
his dog unmercifully; that he was a very poor man who could not
afford to buy a good one; or a very mean man who nearly starved
the beast to death. As none of them was correct, I asked him to
explain. But he preferred to keep me on tenterhooks and declined to
do so, chuckling with delight at the way in which he was making me
“work my brain.”
Sheykh Senussi.—Clerk to the Qadi in Haggi Qwaytin.—My guide during my
Mut and the village poet. (p. 44). last year in the desert. (p. 199)
Sheykh Ibn ed Dris.—One of the Left, Haggi Qwaytin. Right, Haggi
Senussi Sheykhs in the Zawia in Qway.—Qway was my guide during my
Farafra. (p. 228). first two years in the desert. (p. 26).

It was not until the train began to move, that he condescended to


solve the problem. When he said that a man had a cowardly dog, he
meant that he was so very hospitable that his dog got tired of barking
at the innumerable guests who came to his house! As a literary
language Arabic must be very hard to beat.
Near Nazali Genub, where I camped while buying my camels, I
found an acquaintance whose job consisted in surveying and
drawing the hieroglyphics on the tombs, where, to relapse into
metaphor, in mere English:

“The long phantasmal line


Of Pharaohs crowned divine
Are dust among the dust that once obeyed them.”
I shared a very comfortable tomb with him during the time I spent
there.
After about a week, during which Qwaytin with Abd er Rahman
visited the surrounding villages and markets in search of the camels
that he required to complete the caravan, we moved over to
Qwaytin’s house, some seven miles away, and on the following
morning, 24th March, started off for our journey into the desert;
Ibrahim at the start, as usual, banging off his gun after the Arab
custom to scare away evil spirits during our journey.
I decided first to make for an uninhabited oasis called Bu Gerara,
which had not previously been reported, that Qwaytin said he knew
of, and that lay some little distance off the Derb et Tawil, and not very
far to the north-east of Dakhla. This oasis he said contained palms,
wells and some old buildings, but had been deserted for many years.
The Derb ed Deri—the monastery road—that we followed starts
from near an old der, or monastery, called the Der Muharug, from
which it takes its name, and is a branch of the great Derb et Tawil
—“the long road”—that, starting from the Nile Valley near Manfalut,
runs right across the desert plateau to Dakhla Oasis.
On getting up on to the plateau, Qwaytin pointed out in the
distance to the west a low hill, which he said was called the Jebel
Jebaïl, where, he stated, there are many tombs.
The plateau was level and as featureless as that between the Nile
Valley and Kharga Oasis, to which it bore a strong general
resemblance. There were the same patches of sand and pebbles,
interspaced with areas of limestone, showing all the same types of
sand erosion—kharashef, kharafish, battikh and rusuf.
In many places the limestone appeared as marble, sometimes
polished by the action of the sand blast. White, black, grey, yellow
and beautiful rose pink, in various combinations, were seen in the
stone. Much of it showed large cracks on the surface, but there were
considerable areas of stone, especially of the grey marble with
darker grey lines, that seemed to be quite solid. The rock in places
was translucent and appeared to be alabaster, but of very inferior
quality. Some of the pink marble looked to be of a fine colour and
texture; but it is doubtful, in such an inaccessible position, if it would
ever repay working.
Early on our second day in the desert we joined the main road—
the Derb et Tawil, or “long road.” Close to the east of the point,
where the two roads met, was one of the low rocky hills with which
the plateau was studded. From the foot of this ran a little used road
leading to ’Ain Amur, via ’Ain Embares, an undiscovered well that I
had tried to reach by way of the small depressions leading out of the
’Ain Amur wady. It was reported to be almost sanded up and to give
very little water.
On the following day we passed the point where a road branches
off to the west from the Derb et Tawil to go direct to Qasr Dakhl. This
road, which does not appear to be much used, is known as the “Derb
el Khashabi,” or “wooded road,” owing to the fact that about two
days’ journey from the point where it leaves the Derb et Tawil, there
is a patch of dead trees about ten feet high. It is said to be an easy
one to traverse.
The next day we reached the Abu Moharik dune belt that took us
three hours and twenty minutes to cross, which at the rate of two and
a half miles an hour, was equivalent to a distance of eight and a half
miles. The dunes of which it was composed were all, so far as we
saw, of the crescentic type, and were probably all considerably under
fifteen feet in height. Where the road crossed the belt, was a sand-
free gap, the dunes in that part being rather thinly distributed, though
farther to the north they appeared to lie much closer together. The
whole of the road, where it ran through the belt, was entirely free
from drift sand. We camped that night in the middle of the dunes.
On leaving the dunes for Bu Gerara, I sent Qwaytin and Abd er
Rahman off to look for another oasis that the former had heard of,
that was said to lie some distance to the west of our road, which,
however, he failed to find. In the evening before his departure, he
came into my tent and announced that “his book said” that on the
following day we should reach the Gara bu Gerara. There, he said,
the road forked, and one branch, leaving the usual road followed by
caravans going to Dakhla, and keeping more to the west, led to Bu
Gerara—the oasis we were in search of.
This was the first mention he had made of any “book,” so I
enquired what the book was to which he referred. Qwaytin seemed
rather surprised that I had not heard of it before, and said that it was
his “book of treasure!”
Cautious questioning elicited the fact that he had never been to
Bu Gerara before, but that he was relying entirely on the directions
given in this precious volume to take me there, and evidently
expected, when we reached the place that we should all fall to
digging in search of the buried riches that the book said were to be
found there, instead of getting on and mapping the desert.
He was clearly under the impression that he was conferring a
great favour on me by taking me into the secret of the vast wealth
that he expected to find. To have thrown any doubt on the reliability
of his wonderful book would have mortally offended him, as natives
are very sensitive on these subjects. But as following out his
instructions did not seem likely to take me far from the part to which I
wanted to go, and would lead me into new ground, I thought it best
to humour him, trusting that, when he failed to find the place, he
would be willing to come down to the more mundane occupation of
mapping the desert. So, much against my inclination, I found myself
at last fairly launched on a treasure-hunting expedition!

PINNACLE ROCK ON DESCENT TO BU GERARA VALLEY.


Soon after our start on the following morning one of the camels
fell ill. What the particular disease was I was unable to discover; but
the remedy that Mohanny applied was to bleed her from the tip of
her tail—an operation that appeared to afford some relief. The
bedawin veterinary methods are simple, but, on the whole, effective.
They may be summed up in three words—“bleed, butter, or burn.”
Eleven miles’ march from our camp brought us to the Gara bu
Gerara—a long, low, flat-topped hill with a small peak at its eastern
extremity, where the road to Bu Gerara branched off from the Derb et
Tawil, according to Qwaytin’s book of treasure.
Qwaytin had given minute instructions to Mohanny as to finding
the place, so, on reaching the hill, he came up to me and announced
that it was now necessary to leave the Derb et Tawil, which turned
off towards the east, and to follow a road that led straight on.
Our departure for Gara bu Gerara though had to be postponed for
a short time owing to the camel developing another attack of
whatever the complaint was that she was suffering from,
necessitating that she should be again bled—this time from the
nose. The operation having been successfully performed, we started
off to look for our treasure.
Much to my surprise, we found a very well marked road branched
off from the Derb et Tawil, though, judging from its appearance, it
had not been used for a very long time. Away to the east of our route
—by the side of the Derb et Tawil—was a small, but very
conspicuous mound of bright yellow earth—probably ochreous—
which I was told was the Garet ed Dahab (golden hillock).
Shortly after we passed through a tract of desert thickly studded
with stones. Through this stony area ran a made road. The stones
had all been cleared off its surface, which had then been smoothed
over with a thoroughness that made it extremely unlikely that the
work had ever been done by the bedawin, whose contempt for all
forms of manual labour always induces them to put up with a bad
part in a road, if they cannot circumvent it by a slight detour.
After traversing this stony part of the desert, we reached the top of
a steep descent, where again it was evident that some more civilised
race than the desert bedawin had been at work, for the road down
on to the lower level had been notched out of the side of the scarp in
a way that would not have done discredit to a modern engineer. After
that I felt prepared for any developments.
After negotiating the Negeb Shushina, as the descent from the
plateau to the level of the depression is called, we came on to a level
sandy plain, where for a time Mohanny, who had been acting as
guide by following the directions Qwaytin had given him from his
wonderful book, succeeded in getting completely lost. After
wandering about for a time, seeking the marble palaces and gilded
domes of Bu Gerara, we at length caught sight of two figures in the
distance, who, when examined through the glass, proved to be
Qwaytin and Abd er Rahman.
CHAPTER XXII

W E found Abd er Rahman and Qwaytin diligently engaged in


grubbing about in the ground. In reply to my question as to
whether they had seen anything of Bu Gerara, I was told that we
were standing on it. Qwaytin pointed out the foundations of several
walls that could just be seen showing above the sandy surface of the
ground and a lot of broken pottery lying about on the desert. He then
led me a few yards away to where a circular patch of unusually
sandy soil, a few feet in diameter, was to be seen, which he said was
the mouth of a well, and produced as the first instalment of the
“treasure” to be found, a piece of broken purple glass, that had
apparently once formed part of a cup or bowl, and a copper coin of
the Ptolemaic period, which he had dug up.
The sight of that coin was too much for my men. It was all I could
do to get them to unload the camels and pitch my tent, before they
were all off digging away into the ground for dear life, expecting
every moment to find the untold wealth that the book had described.
They continued until it was too dark for them to see. They then set to
work to cook their evening meal.
Qwaytin’s men were even more primitive in their culinary
arrangements than Abd er Rahman and Ibrahim. Their food supply
consisted of the usual leathern sack of flour, an earthenware jar,
covered with raw hide, which contained clarified butter, that they
slung on a camel, and several tin canisters containing a very
anæmic-looking cheese. They mixed the flour, water, salt and butter
together into a dough, which they rolled out into thick slabs with a
stick about three-quarters of an inch in diameter on the top of one of
my provision boxes. They then lighted a huge bonfire from the
surrounding scrub, and when the sand was sufficiently heated and
the wood was reduced to glowing embers, scraped the fire away, laid
the slab of dough down on the heated sand and covered it over
again with the cinders. After about a quarter of an hour’s baking the
bread was considered to be ready to eat. My men cooked their
dough on a slightly dished iron plate called a saj.
Qwaytin came into my tent in the evening, highly elated at having
found Bu Gerara. To my disgust I discovered that he was not thinking
of going on into Farafra at all, but was fairly off on a treasure hunt,
and seemed to imagine that he was going to drag me all over the
desert with him searching for buried riches. His book, he explained,
not only described the road as far as Bu Gerara, but said that close
by there was a hill to the west, standing in the same wady—Qwaytin
pointed out a hill standing by itself to the west as a conclusive proof
that his book was correct—and that a road ran past the foot of the
hill that, if followed, led to a big hill, on the top of which was a well in
which the treasures of three Sultans were buried. He said he had
seen the road at the foot of the hill in the morning. He had never
followed it to see where it led to; but he had seen a hill some years
before in the direction of which the road was going, and had noticed
a lot of pigeons alight on the top of it, and thought that perhaps it
was the one the book referred to, and that they had gone there to
drink from the well.
His mind was fairly obsessed with the idea of treasure, and I could
get him to talk of nothing else.
I tried to get some information from him about Farafra and Iddaila
—but it was of no use; he got round again to treasure at once. The
last time he was in Farafra, he said, he was on his way back from
Tibesti, where he said he had found a seam of diamond that stood
up two feet above the ground like a wall, and ran for a long distance.
He had chopped some lumps of diamond off and they cut glass. But
the Senussi sheykhs had apropriated them for the benefit of the
Senussia. He was clearly very sore on the subject.
I tried to switch him off on to the Bedayat country—but it was
almost equally useless. He said he knew of a number of places there
where there were ruins that probably contained treasure and asked
to see my map.
He studied it for some time, asking me to read out the names and
then declared that it was all wrong, and asked for a pencil and piece
of paper, saying that he would draw me a better one. He laid the
paper on the ground, sucked the end of the pencil and began to
draw the roads joining the places he was going to tell about, now
and then consulting a cheap bar compass to make sure that he had
got them running in the right direction. This framework, when
completed, looked more like a broken spider’s web than anything
else.
He next proceeded to place on his “map” a number of enormous
dots, to represent the positions of the places he wished to insert in it,
and began to reel out a lot of names that are not found on any
printed map. The conversation commenced to become interesting,
and a good deal more in my line than fables relating to buried
treasure.
But the names given to places by Arabs, Tibbus and Sudanese
are not easily remembered, or even grasped, the first time they are
heard. I allowed him to run on until he had completed his list, and
then took the pencil from him and began to write opposite his dots
the names of the places they stood for, and their distances and
bearings from each other. Qwaytin at once became impatient, as I
found he always did whenever I questioned him as to his statements,
or he saw me writing them down, and I was not able to get more
than two or three of the names before he took himself off in a huff.
He was a most exasperating man to get information from. If I
questioned him about some part of the world that he had visited, he
would very often give me no information at all. Sometimes a
suggestion on my part that perhaps he did not know anything about
it, would put him on his mettle and cause him to divulge some of his
knowledge; but as often as not it only had the effect of making him
reel out a lot of lying statements that probably appealed to his
yokelish mind as being facetious, but which subsequent questioning
showed to be incorrect—every statement that he made I had to
check in order to guard against this peculiar sense of humour that he
possessed.
I usually verified his information by getting him to repeat what he
had said after an interval of a week or more, by which time I
calculated that, if he had lied, he would have forgotten what he had
said.
The first time I caught him misleading me, I pulled him up. But this
proved to be quite the wrong line to take, and nearly had the effect of
making him withhold his information altogether. He was greatly
incensed, and for many days he would tell me nothing at all. Then
late one night, while I was sitting up, waiting for a star to come on to
the meridian in order to get a latitude, just when it had almost got
there and I was going to take the observation, Qwaytin came quietly
up and said that he would tell me about the country of the Bedayat. I
had to give up the observation and go and sit down in the tent,
where under a coat thrown over my knees, under pretence of feeling
cold, so that he should not see me doing so, I took down all he said
in writing.
The information that he volunteered in this way I found to be
nearly always reliable—but he generally chose some time when I
was going to bed, or in the middle of some other work, to come and
impart his knowledge, and broke off at once if he saw me writing it
down. During the day’s march, too, I would sometimes get him in a
communicative mood, and he would describe to me the route that
joined two places. The difficulty of writing all he said down before I
forgot it was easily solved in this case, by stopping to take a
compass bearing, as he had often seen me do before, and then by
writing in my route book the information he had volunteered under
pretence of keeping up the survey.
Collecting data from natives on which to base a map is not quite
so simple as it sounds. The habit that so many bedawin have of
deliberately misleading one, makes it necessary to check the routes
described most carefully. But even bona-fide information collected in
this way will make a most inaccurate map unless some means for
adjusting it can be found.
The plan I adopted was to get the data whenever possible, in the
form of through routes, joining two places whose positions had been
previously fixed. Roads so described can then be plotted on the
map, their accuracy tested and the route as a whole adjusted, so as
to fit the positions of the places that are already known. In this way
the errors can be minimised as far as possible.
But collecting this information from Qwaytin was anything but
easy. Like nearly all the bedawin he was entirely illiterate, and so
could not give me the spelling of the names of the places that he
gave me in the Libyan Desert, the Sudan, Tibesti and Endi, and
these could not be found on any map. Many of them were almost
unpronounceable, and in some cases introduced sounds that could
not be reproduced by even the Arabic alphabet. They were
presumably those of the Tibbu or Bedayat languages—the latter
being a tongue that Qway had described to me as sounding like “the
chattering of monkeys.”
It will easily be imagined that to take down a long string of new
names such as these, when rapidly reeled off, was a matter of some
difficulty.
But it seemed worth taking some trouble to get them. I had been
asked to get any information I could about the unknown parts of the
desert, for the Senussi question was in the air—the Government
were by no means so fast asleep as people were led to suppose—
and at that time, moreover, a rod was being laid in pickle for ’Ali
Dinar, the Sultan of Darfur, whose goings on did not always meet
with the approval of the authorities; so information on these unknown
parts was likely to be of some practical use, beyond spoiling the
virginal whiteness of this part of the map of Africa.
Qwaytin’s knowledge of the least known parts of North and
Central Africa was profound, and he had the great virtue, from my
point of view, of being so densely stupid that he was unable to
realise the value of all that he let out. Before I had done with him, he
gave me enough data to form a fairly complete map of the unknown
portions of the Libyan Desert, with a great deal of the Bedayat
country and Endi. In addition I learnt from him much information of
the orography of the desert and the distribution of the sand dunes.
The map when completed contained the names of some seventy
places that, I believe, had not previously been recorded; many of
them have been found since, approximately in the position in which
they were shown. Maps of this kind do not, of course, err on the side
of accuracy, but they have their uses—principally in giving future
travellers that definite objective to look for, that I had so greatly
needed when starting work in this desert. If I had been able to collect
during my first year the information I eventually obtained, mainly
from Qwaytin, in my last, I should certainly have tackled the job in an
entirely different way.
The morning after our arrival at Bu Gerara, the men fell seriously
to work to dig about in the site, with the result that by midday a few
pieces of broken pottery and glass and two or three more small
copper coins had been unearthed. As I wished to ascertain whether
any water was to be found in the well, in the afternoon, much to their
disgust, I set the men to clear it out.
Qwaytin’s men, after they had been working for a short time,
downed tools, declaring that that sort of work was a job that was only
fit for the fellahin, and beneath the dignity of the Arabs. It was not
until I pointed out that the well was the most likely place in which to
look for treasure, and reminded them that the three Sultans were
said to have buried theirs in the well on the top of the hill described
in Qwaytin’s book, that they could be induced to resume their work.
Then they fell to with a will and soon had the well cleared out to the
bottom.
It was about nine feet in diameter, and eight feet deep. On the
side towards the site of Bu Gerara, a ramp, cut in its side, led down
to the bottom. The part of the desert in which it had been sunk was
covered with a thin layer of rock, below which lay a bed of clay,
extending down to another layer of rock, which formed the bottom of
the well. Before we commenced to dig, the well was completely filled
with sand that had drifted into it. About half-way down our
expectations were raised by the sand becoming damp; but though
the well was cleared out to the very bottom, and the sand got
considerably damper as we descended, no water was to be seen.
This was a considerable disappointment, as a well at this point on
the long Derb et Tawil would have been of the greatest value to the
travellers using the road.
The nut of a dom palm that I dug up, and the trunks of some palm
trees that had been built into the walls, showed that, at one time,
there must have been a plentiful supply of water in the
neighbourhood. The place was probably a small fortified station built,
or at all events occupied, during Ptolemaic times, to protect the well,
which from its position on “the long road” must once have been of
considerable importance.
The existence of fossilised tree-trunks and old river-beds in the
Libyan Desert shows conclusively that, in the remote past, this
portion of the world must have been a well-watered country. But
whether this desiccation reached its limit before historical times, or
whether it is still going on is one of the most disputed points in
connection with this district. The failure of the well at Bu Gerara may,
of course, have been due to some purely local cause, which was not
apparent. But in the absence of some explanation as to its nature,
this little abandoned settlement affords a very strong argument in
favour of the view that the water supply—apart from that derived
from the artesian wells—has failed appreciably in comparatively
recent times, owing probably to a decrease in the rainfall. From this
point of view, our discovery was of some importance, though the
place itself was of no consequence at all.
But it was found by following instructions in Qwaytin’s book of
treasure. Works of this description, to put it mildly, are regarded in
Egypt with a considerable amount of incredulity. This scepticism, I
own, I fully shared—until my discovery of Bu Gerara.
Since then, however, I have taken a different view of the case,
and believe that the almost universal suspicion with which these
books are regarded, may not, after all, be entirely justified, and that
part of it at least is due to the strong prejudice that so often exists
towards any native beliefs or customs that do not admit of a ready
explanation, or that savour in any way of the occult, or of buried
riches.
These books of treasure, it is true, are mostly written by natives of
the astrologer class, who clearly expect their readers to rely largely
upon charms and various occult means to discover the hidden riches
to which they profess to give the key. Many of them lived in the
Middle Ages, but the race has not died out. There are hundreds of
the same class of men still to be found practising their arts on the
credulous natives of Egypt, and one of the principal subjects upon
which they are even now consulted is the recovery of buried
treasure. There is a sheykh el afrit (ruler of spirits) in almost every
village, to whom the inhabitants resort to induce him by means of the
pool of ink, or some similar method, to foretell the future or to guide
them to where treasure has been buried. Some of them perhaps
believe in their own powers, but the majority are probably little more
than impostors. So far, so bad.
But there appears to be a very fair amount of grain among all the
chaff contained in these books, for in many cases they not only refer
to places, such as Esna, which are perfectly well known, but they
describe the roads that lead to them, when these roads are still in
use.
For this reason I think they are worth careful—or perhaps it would
be better to say cautious—consideration. It is true that in many
cases they mention places and describe roads which perhaps were
perfectly well known at the time when the books were written, but
that cannot now be identified; but this proves nothing. There are
many old sanded-up wells, little deserted oases and small outpost
stations of the Roman and other periods, such, for instance, as Bu
Gerara, scattered about in the desert, and the vestiges of many old
roads are still to be seen, whose ultimate destination is now
unknown, but which, I believe, lead to these abandoned oases,
which very probably, in the fifteenth century, when the book of
Johnson Pasha’s that has already been referred to was written, were
populous villages and oases; but which, owing to failure of the water
supply, the encroachment of the sand, or to some other cause, have
long since become deserted.
On these grounds I believe these books contain—among a great
deal that is useless except as a curiosity—some valuable information
as to old places in the desert that have long since been lost to sight,
and whose very names may now be forgotten, information that is of
a geographical character.
Why not? Is it the age of the book, or the fact that the descriptions
in it are associated with magic and hidden treasure, that presents the
difficulty? If it be the former, ask any archæologist whether he would
hesitate to look for the site of some ancient city, because the only
references to it were to be found in some old papyrus or temple
hieroglyphics; besides, did not the Royal Geographical Society have
a paper read before them on the identity of the Garden of Eden with
Mesopotamia? The description that led to the identification being
taken from the Book of Genesis, which was written long before any
of these books were thought about.
If it be the treasure that presents the difficulty, has there not been
endless discussion among geographers as to the identity of the
Wakwak Islands and other places, mentioned in the “Arabian
Nights,” a large proportion of the stories in which have no
pretensions to be anything more than fairy-tales—and certainly there
is enough buried treasure mentioned in them to satisfy the most
ardent fortune hunter in Egypt.
Are not educated Europeans, even now, continually setting out to
look for the fabulous riches hidden, a hundred or two years ago, by
some old pirate or buccaneer, usually on an island—say, in the West
Indies? Of the identity of the island there is generally no doubt at all
—but the treasure does not seem to be often found!
We stayed for a day or two more at Bu Gerara, during which time
the men found a small earthenware pot, some broken fragments of
glass and pottery and one or two more copper coins—and that was
all! Then as we had drawn a blank, so far as treasure was concerned
at Bu Gerara, the men all wanted to be taken off to the hill where the
riches of the three Sultans was buried with the least possible delay.
Qwaytin was the most insistent of them all, evidently assuming that I
had given up my plan of going to Farafra and had committed myself
to a whole season’s treasure hunting instead.
The hill where the mystical Sultans had buried their riches was not
far off, though it did not lie in the direction in which I had intended to
go; but it was in a part of the desert that had never been mapped, so
I thought it best to humour him once more and let him take me there.
We got off early the next morning. Qwaytin led us straight towards
the hill in the wady, near the foot of which we found the promised
road.
As we increased our distance from the cliff lying to the north of Bu
Gerara, the surroundings of the place could be better seen. The view
to the north was, of course, cut off by the cliff, which as soon as we
had got some distance from it, could be seen stretching away for
many miles to the east, forming the continuation of the escarpment
that bounded the Kharga depression on its northern side.
To the south-east was a considerable expanse of elevated
ground, evidently the plateau in which lay some small depressions I
had found to the north of ’Ain Amur. So far as I could see, there was
no cliff on the northern side of this tableland, the ground only sloping
up to it from the lower level. A well—’Ain Embares—that I had tried
to reach by way of the chain of small depressions, with little doubt
was situated between the foot of the scarp of the main plateau and
this high ground that lay to its south.
On the west, the scarp of the plateau was visible for a long way.
Qwaytin’s old road led us in a southerly direction, roughly parallel to
the cliff of a detached plateau. It was chiefly noticeable for the large
number of small patches of bushes, known as roadhs, that were
scattered along it. These seemed to be a favourite feeding ground
for gazelle, to judge from the number of tracks we saw, most of
which, however, were fairly old ones. In one place, instead of the
usual small bushes, a couple of small acacia (sunt) trees were seen.
We sighted the hill we were in search of in the afternoon, and, an
hour before camping, reached the top of a steep descent on to lower
ground, about two hundred and fifty feet below us, that Qwaytin said
was called in his book the “Negeb er Rumi” (descent of the
European). The road down to the valley below was obviously to
some extent an artificial one, and, though extremely steep, was
negotiated without difficulty. We pitched our camp below.
This lower ground was so covered with sand and pebbles that I
was unable to see whether we were still on the limestone. But the
ground level rose again considerably as we neared the hill, and for
the last part of the way the limestone was showing again on the
surface. Possibly a fault exists in the neighbourhood.
We reached the hill itself at noon, and camped on its southern
side. It was a small limestone-capped hill, chiefly remarkable for the
extent to which the limestone was honeycombed by the wind-driven
sand. At the foot of the hill, near the camp, was a boulder that had
evidently rolled down from the top. It was almost four feet in
diameter, and literally riddled with holes like a sponge.
As soon as the camp was pitched, the men rushed up the hill and
began minutely searching every nook and cranny for the reported
well, while Qwaytin wandered disconsolately along its base, vainly
searching for the broken glass that his book had foretold would be
found there. He thought that perhaps he had mistaken the hill, and
said, if we could not find the well or any glass, that we had better
follow the road farther, to see if there was not another hill upon it that
might be the one referred to in his book; but to waste any more time
in looking for that hill was the last thing I intended to do.
By sunset the well had not been found, though every inch of that
hill must have been most carefully examined several times.
This was a serious blow to Qwaytin’s hopes, and a distinct wet
blanket to the whole caravan with the exception of Ibrahim, who, as
he explained to me, would not have minded a little bakhshish, but
would not in the least know what to do with sacks of gold, or
diamonds, even if he found them.
In the evening Qwaytin, Abd er Rahman, Dahab and I held a
serious consultation. The position of the hill tallied so well with the
description of it in Qwaytin’s book that he felt sure that it was the
right one; but he was terribly worried over the failure to find the well.
Dahab said that he thought that probably it was there all right, but
that it was hidden by enchantment, and that it would be necessary
for us to burn some incense before it would become visible.
Qwaytin cheered up rather at this idea; but said that we had no
incense with us, and added it was awkward stuff to play with, as it
was most important that we should have the right kind, and should
be quite sure that we knew how to use it.
Abd er Rahman agreed with this, and was very emphatic in saying
that we ought to be quite sure that we had enough of it, as he had
heard a story of a Maghrabi Arab, who had joined with two fellahin in
a search for treasure that was buried in some tombs in the side of a
hill that had a spell over them, and so could not be opened without
proper formalities. They found the place where the tombs were
hidden, and then had gone through the necessary incantations and
burnt some incense and the tombs immediately opened. The two
fellahin had then gone in to collect the treasure while the Maghrabi
had remained outside to look after their camels and to keep the
incense burning. Unfortunately the incense ran short, and, as soon
as the last of it had been burnt, the tombs closed again with a bang,
burying the two unfortunate fellahin alive. The Maghrabi had then
gone home with their camels, and Abd er Rahman was clearly of
opinion that that Arab had done something that was quite
exceptionally clever.
He suggested that, to be on the safe side, we had better go and
fetch Sheykh Ibrahim, the Sheykh el Afrit from Dakhla, to come out
and do the necessary incantations. But this did not meet with
Qwaytin’s approval at all. Sheykh Ibrahim, he said, was a member of
the Senussia and he knew all about him. He had the right books and
the proper incense and was very clever at his work. But he was such
a bad man that sometimes the spirits would not obey him; and he
pointed out that if an afrit went on strike in the middle of the
performance, we might find ourselves rather badly in the soup.
After much serious discussion, we came to the conclusion that, in
the circumstances, it was no use for us to waste any more time in
examining the hill, but that at the end of the trip we would go and get

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