Is closure of the high street businesses a key factor in the drop of Dissertation

Is closure of the high street businesses a key factor in the drop of Yell's share price - Dissertation Example Its lending operations were limited to the large corporations that could issue bonds to secure loans. When some of the money supply reached those big businesses, the owners and management utilized additional funds to similarly strengthen their balance sheets. In a survey about the SME Access to Finance conducted by the Scottish Government Chief Economic Adviser (2011, p.2), the importance of SMEs was emphasized. They made up 99% of all businesses in Scotland. â€Å"The results showed that the demand for finance (working capital) had increased but that approval rates for applications had fallen. Many firms also perceived the costs of credit to have risen†¦(p.2).† And the â€Å"Overall lending to Scottish SMEs in 2010 is lower than in 2009, reflecting a combination of weak demand and constraints in supply of lending (p.4)†. In another survey by Dr. Fraser, Stuart (2009, p.5), 2,500 SMEs were surveyed in UK. It was discovered that SMEs in UK utilize credit cards (55.3 % of SMEs from 2001-2004 and 54.4 % of SMEs in 2005-2008). Their other sources of financing were as follows: a. Invoice Financing – â€Å"3 % of SMEs in 2001-04 to 2.2 % in 2005-08† (p.5) b. Equity Finance – 3 % c. Credit from Suppliers – 33 % d. Loans from Friends – â€Å"5.6% in 2001-4 to 7.0% in 2005-08† (p.5) e. ... In the results of survey, it was discovered that 62 % had to resort to self-finance or savings to fund a business. Only 26 % borrowed from banks. (p. 19) Following are the charts showing low consumer spending, low consumer confidence, and high unemployment compared to the time before the recession. All are relevant because SMEs could not do well as a result of a poor economic climate. Yell will also feel the crunch because its customers are SMEs. (Source: Oxford Economics: UK Forecast in Detail 2011, p. 63) (Source: Oxford Economics: UK Forecast in Detail 2011, p. 62) ( Source: Bank of England Inflation Report 2011) Note that Velocity of Circulation refers to the time it takes for the banks to make funds available to the public, including SMEs, large corporations, and private individuals. Objectives: 1. To determine why the Share Price of Yell Group PLC has been declining since 2010 up to the present; 2. To establish whether or not the closure of high street businesses is a major fac tor for the decline of the Share Price of Yell Group; 3. To provide the logical evidence that support the explanation for the Share Price decline 4. To identify other factors that may be causes for the Yell Group PLC’s share to decline. Serving these objectives will lead to the utilization of quantitative tools for decision making with the pricing of stocks. Literature Review Overview A quick look at the chart and table of Yell Group PLC’s Stock value since the year 2003 up to the present ( See appended Charts & Tables.) shows a downward trend from the latter quarter of 2007 all the way to the present. A year ago, in April 21, 2010, the price index was at 59. That