Question: The November 16, 2011, edition of the Wall Street Journal Online contains an article by Maxwell Murphy entitled "The Big Number: 51."
Instructions: Read the article and answer the following questions.
(a) What do the 51 companies referred to in the title have in common? What implications does this have regarding the fair value of a company's assets?
(b) What significance does the common trait referred to in part (a) have for a company's goodwill?
(c) How does a company get to record goodwill on its books-that is, what must have occurred for goodwill to show up on a company's books?
(d) If these companies write down their goodwill, will this reduce their cash?