The assignment is to pick a company

 The assignment is to pick a company which has issued bonds in the last 3 years so that the internet can provide sufficient financial data for analysis.

Guidelines:
• Papers should be 10 to 20 pages in length, 10 point font, double-spaced, including a cover page, table of contents, introduction, body of the report, summary or conclusion, and works cited.
• Even though this is not a scientific-type writing assignment, and is mostly creative in nature, references are still very important. At least 6 authoritative, outside references are required (anonymous authors or web pages are not acceptable). These should be listed on the last page titled "Works Cited".
• Appropriate citations are required.
• This paper is worth 170 total points and will be graded on quality of research topic, quality of paper information, use of citations, grammar and sentence structure.

The final report is made up of seven sections as follows. Each section should be approximately one page EXCLUDING charts, graphs, etc.
IMPORTANT - When preparing the report, the sections must be seperated with headings as is done here.

I - Company background (15 pts.)
This section should include what industry the firm is in, its products, competitors, and the stated main reason for needing capital [to fund receivables, capacity expansion, retire older debt, etc.]

II - Balance Sheets (20 pts.)
What the balance sheet looked like in the quarter just PRIOR to issuing the bonds; include both a copy from before the issue and AFTER the issue. Calculate AT LEAST 5 of the ratios shown in the Moody’s Bond Rating Chart contained in Lecture Week 2, both BEFORE, and AFTER the bonds were issued, and discuss why you think they are important to the report.

III - Week 3 - Trends in YTM and Price (20 pts.)
At what price and YTM was the initial offering sold. Tabulate the price and YTM of the issue at the end of each calendar quarter for the last six quarters. Then plot the tabulated values to visualize the trends in YTM and prices.

IV - Purpose of the Offering and Leverage (20 pts.)
What was the planned use of the funds raised? If you can’t find a specific discussion about that, then use your judgment as to why you think the funds were needed and explain your reasoning. Calculate the financial leverage before and after the offering.

V - Credit Rating (20 pts.)
What credit rating have the bonds been given by the bond credit rating services? Research the criteria each agency uses to determine the rating. Why (or why not) do you think that recent financial statements justify the rating?

VI - Rate of Return (30 pts.)
If you were one of the original investors in this issue, and you had invested $10,000, what would your total return be if you sold the securities at today’s market price? Compute the duration of the bond and its convexity currently. Add a brief discussion about your calculations.

VII - Comparisons (30 pts.)
Identify and compare pre offering EPS and total equity $, to the most current values. Compute the firm's current WACC assuming the total debt of the firm is in the issue that you analyzed. This means that if the company has more than one debt issue outstanding with a total face value of $X million, and your chosen issue involves $Y million, assume that all $X million is in your issue. That will simplify the calculations without diminishing its learning value. Discuss at least 3 overall conclusions about this offering as a result of your research.

VIII - Comments (15 Pts.)
Please give your opinion about the value of this project to your overall learning experience in this course. Constructive comments, both positive & negative, are appreciated. Discuss at least two (2) characteristics about this project.