13. In a market system, how are the terms of exchange established? a. Consumer advocacy groups establish fair prices for items, and most firms follow pricing guidelines because they don't want to anger their customers. b. Industry associations establish an acceptable price range for each commodity sold within the industry, and member firms are obligated to abide by these guidelines. c. The forces underlying supply and demand interact to determine the market price. d. Federal legislation establishes maximum prices for most goods, and state governments regulate the prices of any remaining items.

The production manager of rordan corporation has submitted the following quarterly production forecast for the upcoming fiscal year: 1st quarter 2nd quarter 3rd quarter 4th quarter units to be produced 10,800 8,500 7,100 11,200 each unit requires 0.25 direct labor-hours, and direct laborers are paid $20.00 per hour. required: 1. prepare the company’s direct labor budget for the upcoming fiscal year. assume that the direct labor workforce is adjusted each quarter to match the number of hours required to produce the forecasted number of units produced. 2. prepare the company’s direct labor budget for the upcoming fiscal year, assuming that the direct labor workforce is not adjusted each quarter. instead, assume that the company’s direct labor workforce consists of permanent employees who are guaranteed to be paid for at least 2,500 hours of work each quarter. if the number of required direct labor-hours is less than this number, the workers are paid for 2,500 hours anyway. any hours worked in excess of 2,500 hours in a quarter are paid at the rate of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate for direct labor.

Stocks a, b, and c are similar in some respects: each has an expected return of 10% and a standard deviation of 25%. stocks a and b have returns that are independent of one another; i.e., their correlation coefficient, r, equals zero. stocks a and c have returns that are negatively correlated with one another; i.e., r is less than 0. portfolio ab is a portfolio with half of its money invested in stock a and half in stock b. portfolio ac is a portfolio with half of its money invested in stock a and half invested in stock c. which of the following statements is correct? a. portfolio ab has a standard deviation that is greater than 25%.b. portfolio ac has an expected return that is less than 10%.c. portfolio ac has a standard deviation that is less than 25%.d. portfolio ab has a standard deviation that is equal to 25%.e. portfolio ac has an expected return that is greater than 25%.

Suppose the real risk-free rate and inflation rate are expected to remain at their current levels throughout the foreseeable future. consider all factors that affect the yield curve. then identify which of the following shapes that the u.s. treasury yield curve can take. check all that apply.