It is July 16. A company has a portfolio of stocks worth $100 million. The beta of the portfolio is 1.2. The company would like to use the CME December futures contract on the S&P 500 to change the beta of the portfolio to 0.5 during the period July 16 to November 16. The index futures price is 2,000 and each contract is on $250 times the index.
A) What position should the company take?
B) Suppose that the company changes its mind and decides to increase the beta of the portfolio from 1.2 to 1.5. What position in futures contracts should it take?

Which of the following statements is correct? a. the managers of established, stable companies sometimes attempt to get their state legislatures to remove rules that make it more difficult for raiders to succeed with hostile takeovers. b. hostile takeovers are most likely to occur when a firm's stock is selling below its intrinsic value as a result of poor management. c. stockholders in general would be better off if managers never disclosed favorable events and therefore caused the price of the firm's stock to sell at a price below its intrinsic value. d. the efficiency of the u.s. economy would probably be increased if hostile takeovers were absolutely forbidden. e. in general, it is more in bondholders' interests than stockholders' interests for a firm to shift its investment focus away from safe, stable investments and into risky investments, especially those that primarily involve research and development. icon key question 6 of 10 b multiple choice 01-060