Introduction
The automotive industry is capital-intensive and Ford is no exception. When it needs extra cash and liquidity Ford taps the debt-markets. Automobile companies also need funding for their credit subsidiaries in order to offer financing to car buyers and leasers. Investors purchase bonds of a company and are referred to as debt-holders of the company. Should a company go bankrupt, these debt-holders then enjoy precedence over shareholders because the company must honor its debt before paying its shareholders. Although bond prices are highly dependent on interest rates, many people still consider bonds somewhat more secure than stocks, although this does not always hold true. Currently, two Ford companies issue stock – Ford
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Bond Weaknesses
• The cyclical nature of the automotive industry continues to present challenges to Ford.
• Should gas prices increase, sales of Ford’s popular F-Series and SUVs could see a decrease.
• Competition will continue to remain intense. There will be pressure as competing automobile manufactures offer incentives that lower vehicle prices in order to get them sold.
• There are new competitors in the electric, autonomous, and mobility markets.
Methods of Raising Capital
Ford has found innovative ways to raise new capital not only for restructuring and for expansion, but to fund its research and development in the emerging electric and autonomous vehicles markets as well as mobility services.
• Bonds are generally made to large organizations. It is an enormous loan, typically funded by a number of sources. The borrower promised to repay the bond at an agreed upon date (maturity of the bond). In the interim, the corporation makes interest payments to the bondholder(s). Bonds are desirable because the interest is extremely low compared to other forms of borrowing and the interest paid is a tax-deductible business expense. o Ford has issued bonds, which are a written promise to repay a specific amount of money at a specified date in the future. In 2013, Ford sold $2 billion in 4.75% 30-year bonds to fund its worldwide pension plans, which were facing a serious shortfall.
• Stock represents ownership in an
Ford motor company offers a wealth of variety to the automotive consumer. As they start their second century of business, they are now in a position to appeal to the widest range of potential customers. Each of their automotive brands has a unique personality
These barriers include, but are not limited to, the following: large established competitors, high capital requirements, limited initial access to distribution networks, and environmental regulations. Due to the existence of massive brand name manufacturers like General Motors and Ford, any new entrants in the automobile industry will be competing with companies benefiting from strong customer loyalty, economies of scale, and impressive marketing budgets. Therefore, new entrants must be able to achieve the difficult task of entering automotive manufacturing at high capacity while simultaneously building a solid consumer base. Such an entry would be quite expensive, especially in conjunction with the billions of dollars needed to construct high-volume manufacturing facilities and develop effective distribution networks to deliver new automobiles. Finally, new entrants must be able to design and manufacture their automobiles according to contemporary environmental regulations. Abiding by such regulations would further drain new entrants’ funds. Overall, entering the automotive industry competitively requires an exorbitant amount of money, so the threat of new entrants is low.
| |One reason corporations sell corporate bonds is to help finance their ongoing business activities. |
Though Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet had managed to make cars affordable a new problem arose, and that was who can stay at the top of the automobile business? Though we’ll never know exactly when Ford’s and Dodge’s rivalry will end, we do know they will keep making some nice
Preferred stock has a preferred position in the claim on the income flow of the firms. Preferred stock dividends, usually a fixed rate relative to par value, are paid ahead of common stock dividends. The dividends of preferred stocks are different from and generally greater than those of common stock. Corporate bonds are debt instruments created by companies for the purpose of raising capital. They are called fixed-income securities because they pay a specified amount of interest on a regular basis. Preferred and Common stocks have three major risk factors: 1) dividend suspension or company failure, 2) rising interest rates, 3) low trading volumes. Most corporate bonds are debentures, meaning they are not secured by collateral. Investors of such bonds must assume not only interest rate risk but also credit risk; they chance that the corporate issuer will default on its debt
This primary source taught me about the purposes of bonds. I thought people had bought them purely out of the desire to get money out of them in the future. The video, however, shows that people could buy bonds to support government action as
Business 's are the most crucial factor to the Australian economy. Without them, the economy would not be. Their core purpose is to meet the ever-growing demands of consumers, both nationally and internationally, through the production of goods and services. The business this report will be focusing on, which not only operates in Australia but in various countries around the world, most notably; New Zealand, however, also with a slowly expanding market-share in both Asia and the Middle East is the Holden/General Motors group, a well established Australian car manufacturing company, in which holds one of the top market shares for the car industry in Australia.
What are Ford’s primary sources of cash? Why did Ford choose to accumulate so much cash?
There were opportunities in India and in China to diversify the market and raise revenue for Ford Motor Company by introducing new vehicles that was suitable for their population and needs
It provides an evaluation of the bond issuer’s financial strength and ability to pay back the bond’s principle and interest. The bond rating also provides investors with some sense of security when investing in a particular firm. A higher bond rating implies a lower likelihood for the firm to default. Investors would feel more secured investing in such a bond, thus demanding a relatively lower rate of return. As such, high rated bonds enable the issuer to enjoy a lower cost of borrowing. A lower bond rating, on the other hand, serves as a negative signal to investors on the firm’s ability to repay debt obligations.
Firstly, interest on debt is tax deductible, therefore, debt is the least costly source of long-term financing as this is a tax saving for the frim. Thus, creditors or bondholders require a lower return on debt as it is considered a reflectively less risky investment. Secondly, the capital structure of a firm is flexible due to debt financing. Ultimately, bondholders are creditors and they do not have voting rights, hence, they are not involved in decision making and business operations. Additionally, the major advantages of equity finance are as follows. Firstly, the capital provided is to finance the businesses short term needs and future projects. Secondly, the business will not have to pay any additional bank expenses such as interest on loans, thus allowing the business to use the money for business activities. Lastly, investors anticipate that the business will develop thus they help in exploring and executing thoughts. Certain sources, for example, venture capitalists and business angel can bring significant skills, abilities, contacts and experience to businesses and they can also provide expertise advice to businesses (Hofstrand,
In fact, bond investments are carried out in several ways, depending on the type of bond:
A bond is debt to whoever sells the bond to an inventor. If you buy an IBM bond, you are loaning money ($1000) to IBM instead of a bank loaning money to them. Just like a bank, you are going to charge IBM interest on your money, as well as a return of principle when the loan is due (ten years later). The company does not go to the bank to borrow the money, because the bank will rate the company as a high risk company. Hence, banks are really tight with their money. High yields bond investment relies on an credit analysis in that it concentrates on issuer fundamentals, and a "bottom-up" process. It focuses more on "downside risk default and the unique characteristics of the issuer. In a portfolio of high yield bonds,
Ford has two unique ways to protect its market share. Ford has a renting car system which you can rent a car rather than buying a care. According to Penn Schoen Berland, an independent research company, one third of millennial has interest to rent a car rather than buy a car. In renting system, Ford adopts one way journey system which you “pay as you go” and “you pay how much miles you go.” Another unique system is Ford Credit which Ford offer credit card to customers. Ford Credit helps Youngers to rent a car or lease a car from Ford.