Category: Finance

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Exam Questions Finance Harvard Transportation

Harvard. Railroad and Corporate Finance. Description, enrollment, exam. Ripley, 1910-1911

Design for a Union Station (1907) by Luther Daniels Bradley

The course content is at the intersection of the economics department and the business school. 

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

[Economics] 30 1hf. Problems in Railroad and Corporation Finance. Half-course (first half-year). Tu. and Th., hours to be arranged. Professor Ripley.

This course in research will afford opportunity for detailed examination of typical cases of financing, both American and European. The method will be by conference and special reports on chosen topics. Students should preferably have taken Economics 5 and 9b; but this condition is not imperative.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VII No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 61.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 301hf. Professor Ripley. — Problems in Railroad and Corporation Finance.

Total 11: 2 Graduates, 9 Seniors.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 50.

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ECONOMICS 301
Mid-year Examination 1910-1

  1. Trace the development of the principle that valuation of assets is a factor in fixing reasonableness of charges, in the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States.
  2. What was the first use made of collateral trust bonds by the old Union Pacific railroad in connection with its dealings with the United States?
  3. State four main reasons why convertible bonds have been so popular of late years.
  4. A stock is selling at $165 per share. One new share at par is offered to stockholders for each four shares held. What will the “rights” be normally worth; and what the market price of shares “ex-rights”?
  5. Explain, in detail, the method used in “Intercorporate Relations” for ascertaining the net capitalization of the railway system of the United States.
  6. Has the Union Pacific railway been mainly financed by means of stock or bond issues since 1900? What is its present status in a general way?
  7. State the main elements in the problem of reorganizing a bankrupt railway, numbering each distinct feature separately.
  8. What is the main argument adduced in favor of abolishing the par value of capital stock?
  9. Discuss the issuance of bonds below par as an expedient for raising funds. How does it appear in the accounts?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

Image Source: Luther Daniels Bradley, “Design for a Union Station”. From 1906-07 the holdings and business practices of railroad administrator and financier Edward Henry Harriman, became the focus of an investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The committee charged that Harriman’s use of Union Pacific resources (the company of which he was president since 1903) to invest in the stocks, bonds, and securities of competing railways, was an unlawful attempt to squelch competition and gain control of the market.
Published in: Chicago Daily News, October 18, 1907.
Image from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

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Brown Economists Exam Questions Finance Harvard Public Finance

Harvard. Enrollment and Exam for Topics in U.S. Financial History. Henry Brayton Gardner, 1902-03

In the first few years following the death of Charles Franklin Dunbar in 1900, two of his fields, public finance and taxation, were covered by visiting professors. This post provides the biographical timeline for the founder of the Brown University economics department, Henry Brayton Gardner, who covered one semester course “Selected Topics in the Financial History of the United States” in 1902-03. The course description, enrollment, and final exam questions immediately follow.

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Previous Guest Professors/Lecturers
on Public Finance

1901-02. Economics 7a and 7b. Financial administration; taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock of Williams College.

1902-03. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Edward Dana Durand of the Federal Industrial Commission, formerly from Stanford.

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Henry Brayton Gardner
Timeline

1863. Born March 26 in Providence, RI.

1884. A.B., Brown University.

1888-90. Instructor in Political Economy, Brown University. Founder of the economics department. Sole teacher of economics at Brown until 1902.

1889. Statistics of Municipal Finance (Publications of American Statistical Association, New Series, Vol. 1, No. 6).

1890. Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University.

1896. Outlines of lectures in elementary economics, Brown University. Course I, Historical and Descriptive.

1890-98. Associate Professor of Political Economy, Brown University.

1898-1819 . Professor of Political Economy, Brown University.

1919. President of the American Economic Association

1819-1923. [First] Eastman Professor of Political Economy.

1928. Retired from Brown University.

1939. Died April 22 in Providence, RI.

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Course Description, 1902-03
Originally announced as omitted

[16 1hf. Selected Topics in the Financial History of the United States. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., at 2.30.]

Omitted in 1902-03.

The first object of this course will be to investigate the process through which a system of federal finance was developed in the United States. This will involve a study of the finances of the American colonies, a consideration of the experiences of the Confederation, and a detailed examination of the financial legislation of the first three decades following the adoption of the constitution. Incidentally, it will necessitate some study of colonial monetary affairs and of the theories of taxation prevalent in the eighteenth century. The second topic for investigation will be the development of the finances of the states from 1775 to 1850, with special reference to the growth of state debts and the history of the general property tax. The final topic will be the development of federal taxation since 1820, particular attention being given to the history of the internal revenue system during the last forty years.

Course 16 is open to students who have taken Economies 1, and who take or have taken History 13.

Source: Harvard University. The University Publications, New Series, No. 55 (June 14, 1902). Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Division of History and Political Science Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics, 1902-03, p. 50.

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Course Enrollment, 1902-03

Economics 16. 2hf. Professor Gardner (Brown University). — The Financial History of the United States.

Total 28: 1 Gr., 11 Se., 13 Ju., 2 So., 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College, 1902-03, p. 68.

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ECONOMICS 162
Year-end Examination

Answer any six questions.

  1. Contrast the achievements of Hamilton and Gallatin during their respective administrations of the treasury.
  2. During what periods has an internal revenue system been employed in the United States? Sketch the system employed during the Civil War. What portions of it were made permanent?
  3. Outline the history of the United States debt, showing periods of increase and decrease and describing briefly the refunding operations since the Civil War. On what ground was the refunding law of 1870 criticised?
  4. Describe briefly the main features of the financial management of the Civil War, and mention any points in which they seem to you open to criticism.
  5. Outline the course of events during the period 1866-1879 which finally resulted in the resumption of specie payments.
  6. Describe the course of public expenditures since the Civil War.
  7. Describe the course of events during the period 1890-1896. How far was the deficit in the revenue a factor in the troubles of the period?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers 1873-1915. Box 6. Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, History of Religions, Philosophy, Education, Fine Arts, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College, June 1903 (in the bound volume Examination Papers 1902-1903).

Image Source: Faculty portrait of Henry Brayton Gardner in the Brown University Yearbook, Liber Brunensis, Vol. XLV (1903).

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Exam Questions Finance Johns Hopkins Statistics Undergraduate

Johns Hopkins. Exam questions for mathematics of finance and applied statistics. Evans, 1937-1938

 

For an earlier post Economics in the Rear-view Mirror transcribed the examination questions for George Heberton Evans’ course on corporation finance offered to Johns Hopkins undergraduates in 1937-1938. That course and the following course on the mathematics of finance and applied statistics were not listed as prerequisites for each other. The essential difference appears to be that the following course appears to have covered themes of interest to actuaries (no pun intended). 

For some background information about Evans, see: Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, 1925. 

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Course Description
Mathematics of Finance and Applied Statistics
1937-1938

24 B. Mathematics of Finance and Applied Statistics. Associate Professor Evans. Three hours weekly through the year. F., S., 11.30. Gilman Hall 314.

The first half-year of the course will include the study of annuities, sinking funds, amortization tables, and valuation of bonds.

During the second half-year mathematics and statistical method will be applied to business and economic problems.

Prerequisites: Mathematics 1 C or 2 C and Political Economy 2 C.

Source: The Johns Hopkins University Circular (1937).

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Semester Examinations for
Mathematics of Finance and Applied Statistics
1937-1938

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
MID-YEAR EXAMINATION
POLITICAL ECONOMY 24 B

Dr. Evans

February 4, 1938
1 p.m.

  1. A bond will be redeemed in 10 years for $1,000 cash. Semi-annually the owner of the bond receives $30 interest. Determine the present value of the bond if the current rate on similar investments is 5%.
  2. Find the bank discount on a $10,000 note for 6 months when the bank rate is 7%. What is the effective rate of interest charged!
  3. The XYZ Corporation has outstanding a bond issue of $10,000. It has agreed to pay to a trustee an amount at the end of each year, which invested at 4% will provide a fund to retire these bonds at the end of 10 years. Determine the amount that must be invested each year.
  4. Williams owes $7,500 due in 8 years, and $4,500 due in 5 years, each bearing 4% interest. What two equal payments will liquidate this debt, if the first is made in 1 year, and the second in 3 years? The current rate is 5%.
  5. Repairs costing $350 must be made each 2 years to a building which will last 20 years. Determine the amount that could be spent to eliminate these repairs without additional cost to the owner over the period. Interest at 4%.
  6. An estate left 110 years ago was unclaimed until recently. An heir has proved his claim and is to receive the estate of $50,000 with interest at 3% annually for 110 years. Determine the value of the estate.
  7. X has an obligation of $25,000 which he desires to liquidate by investing $3,500 now and the same sum annually thereafter, at 4½% compounded semi-annually. Determine when the fund should theoretically be large enough to liquidate the debt.
  8. Find the ordinary interest of $450 for 60 days at 8%.
  9. An insurance company agrees to pay you or your estate $2,000 a year for 15 years if you will pay them $23,875.87 cash. The salesman argues that you will get your money back and make a profit of $6,124.13. Determine the rate of interest that you will actually receive.
  10. In order to attract customers the Pacific Savings Bank advertises that it pays 3% compounded monthly. If you deposit $25 a month for 6 years what is the amount you will have accumulated at the end of 6 years?
  11. In how many years will money invested at compound interest double itself at 3%?
  12. In 10 years the bond issue of the Chemico Company will mature. An amount of $30,000 will be needed to retire this issue. The treasurer estimates that $2,300 a year will be available for investment. What rate of interest must be earned to accumulate a fund of $30,000 in 10 years? In answering, make use of the binomial theorem.

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THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
FINAL EXAMINATION
POLITICAL ECONOMY 24 B

June 4, 1938

  1. A bequest of $150,000 was left to A, aged 36. With what life annuity will this provide him?
  2. A, aged 40, gave $75,000 to Blank University with the understanding that after 15 years he receive an equivalent life annuity. What annual amount would he receive?
  3. A party of five men at a soda fountain match coins, agreeing that the odd man is to pay for the drinks: (a) What is the probability that there will be one odd man at the first attempt? (b) What is the probability that there will be no odd man at the first attempt, but that there will be one on the second? (c) What is the probability that there be an odd man at least once in two attempts?
  4. What is the earliest age at which the “odds are against” a man living:
    (a) one year?
    (b) five years?
  5. Using the theoretical method, calculate the purchase price of the following $1000 bond which was bought on May 4, 1928 to yield 4.40%: New England Tel. & Tel. 5’s, due Oct. 1, 1932, with coupon dates of Apr. 1 and Oct. 1.
  6. Dwight Minor paid, at the end of each month, dues of $23.25 on his 31 shares of $100 par value stock in the Garfield Loan and Savings Association. Immediately after his 99th payment the stock matured. What approximate rate, converted monthly, did his association allow him?
  7. B, aged 36, took out a 20-year endowment insurance policy for $50,000 to be paid for in 20 payments. On what net annual premium did the insurance company base its charge?

Source: Johns Hopkins University, Eisenhower Library. Ferdinand Hamburger, Jr. Archives. Department of Political Economy. Curricular Materials. Series 6. Box 2. Folder “Department of Political Economy — Exams, 1936-1940”.

Image Source: Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries, Graphic and Pictorial Collection. George Heberton Evans at approximately 40 years old. The portrait was colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

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Exam Questions Finance Johns Hopkins

Johns Hopkins. Final examinations for Corporation Finance and Investments. Evans, 1937-1938

 

Associate Professor George Heberton Evans, Jr. taught the undergraduate course in corporation finance and investments at Johns Hopkins in the 1937-1938 academic year. Economics in the Rear-view Mirror has already posted some background information about him: Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, 1925. 

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 Course Description

6 B. Corporation Finance and Investments. Associate Professor Evans. Three hours weekly, through the year. Th., F., S., 10.30. Gilman Hall 314.

In the first part of this course the theory and practice of corporation finance will be considered with particular reference to the problems presented in the United States. The more important topics taken up include: advantages and disadvantages of corporate organization; classification and examination of the characteristics of stocks and bonds; the choice of different types of securities to be issued; methods by which these securities are floated; the methods and forms of syndicate underwriting; policy with reference to dividends and surplus; refunding of debt and provisions for amortization; receivership and reorganization.

The second part of the course will be devoted to the study of investments. The more important topics covered include: an analysis of the essentials of a good investment; an historical study of the rate of interest and of periodic fluctuations in the rate; definition of the essential legal characteristics of the various debt instruments and especially of the mortgage; historical and analytical description of the more important forms of investment, such as Government, State and municipal bonds, securities of private corporations, and real estate mortgages; theories of valuation and amortization.

Prerequisites: Political Economy 1 C, 2 C and 11 B.

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Course Examinations

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
MID-YEAR EXAMINATION
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6 B

Dr. Evans

February 4, 1938
9 a.m.

  1. Discuss the risks peculiar to the ownership of holding company securities.
  2. Discuss the trust as a method for effecting combination.
  3. What is the law of balanced return and how is it employed in corporation finance?
  4. What factors determine how much of a corporation’s earnings should be distributed to the stockholders?
  5. List the factors which are to be considered when drawing up a financial plan. Comment at some length upon two of the factors which you have listed.
  6. What is meant by trading on the equity? What principles may be set forth concerning trading on the equity?
  7. What is the chief advantage of the corporate form of enterprise?
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THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
FINAL EXAMINATION
IN
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6 B

Dr. Evans

May 31, 1938
1 p.m.

  1. What advantages arise out of timing bond investments? Answer in terms of the concepts employed in the course.
  2. When can an investor afford to overlook the possibility that a loan will not be paid at maturity? Discuss fully.
  3. What has been the relationship between the changes in the prices of goods and capital? How do you explain the relationship?
  4. When are the market forecasts of the probabilities with respect to the payment of principal and interest of bonds more likely to be consistent with the results?
  5. Discuss the investment trust or company as an investment mechanism.
  6. What seems to you to be the prospect with respect to the rate of interest? Give the bases for your opinion.

Source: Johns Hopkins University, Eisenhower Library. Ferdinand Hamburger, Jr. Archives. Department of Political Economy. Curricular Materials. Series 6. Box 2. Folder “Department of Political Economy — Exams, 1936-1940”.

Image Source: Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries, Graphic and Pictorial Collection. George Heberton Evans at approximately 40 years old. The portrait was colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.