J$.$C$.$Penney had a variety of actions he could take to meet the demand for cash flow. First, he could manage cash flow by stretching payables and reducing inventories. Both of these working$-$capital components were significant cash flow determinants for most large retailers. If the internally generated cash flow proved inadequate, he could turn to JCP$$s credit facility, which had $$1\mathrm{.}5$ billion of available credit. By design, however, the revolver was a short$-$term source of funds that the banks could choose to not renew if they perceived that JCP was using the revolver as permanent financing. If JCP had to seek permanent financing, Johnson could access either the debt market or the equity market. The prospect, however, of issuing debt was no more appealing than issuing equity. The debt would likely carry a non$-$investment$-$grade credit rating with a coupon rate of approximately $6\mathrm{.}0\%($Exhibit $36\mathrm{.}8).$ Given that the stock was currently selling at $$19\mathrm{.}80$ per share, a much larger share issuance would be required than if it had occurred just one year earlier, when the stock was selling at $$42$ per share $($Exhibit $36\mathrm{.}9).$