You are required to discuss capital allocation and the means by which companies can return capital to shareholders. Please read the article: Stock Buybacks: What Every Investor Needs to Know, written by Randall Smith, published in Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]  5 Dec 2020.  Course Application: This article provides an opportunity to discuss capital allocation and the means by which companies can return capital to shareholders. Modigliani and Miller’s various propositions, the pros and cons of dividends versus share repurchases, the role of taxes, and the information content/market signaling are all topics that can be discussed in this context. In your posting you are expected to address (but not limited to) the following issues: What is a stock buyback? What are the arguments in favor of buybacks? What are the arguments against buybacks? If share repurchases and dividends both are ways to return capital to shareholders, why would a company (or an investor) prefer one method over another?