A portion of the Financing Activities section of PepsiCo's statement of cash flows for the year ended

Question:

A portion of the Financing Activities section of PepsiCo's statement of cash flows for the year ended December 27, 2014, follows (in millions):
2014
Financing Activities
Proceeds from issuances of long-term debt .................... $ 3,855
Payments of long-term debt ...................................... (2,189)
Short-term borrowings, by original than three months-proceeds ............................ 50
More than three months-payments ............................. (10)
Three months or less, net ..................................... (2,037)
Cash dividends paid ............................................... (3,730)
Share repurchases-common ...................................... (5,012)
Share repurchases-preferred ...................................... (10)
Required
1. Explain why proceeds from debt are shown as a positive amount and payment of debt is shown as a negative amount.
2. During 2014, interest rates remained at low levels. Explain why the company might have paid off debt during such conditions.
3. What are possible reasons why the company repurchased some of its stock?
Maturity
Maturity is the date on which the life of a transaction or financial instrument ends, after which it must either be renewed, or it will cease to exist. The term is commonly used for deposits, foreign exchange spot, and forward transactions, interest...