The S&P 500 Index is one of the most commonly used benchmark indices for the U. S. equity markets. Consisting of 500 companies, it is a market value-weighted index. This means that each company's performance is reflected in the index, weighted by the ratio of the company's value to the total value of all the companies. Based on your understanding of P/E ratios, in which of the following situations would the average trailing P/E ratio (current price divided by earnings per share over the previous 12 months) of the S&P 500 Index be higher?
a. The outlook for the economy and the markets is for a downturn.
b. The outlook for the economy and the markets is for improvement.
You invest $100,000 in 40 stocks, 20 bonds, and a certificate of deposit (CD). What kind of risk will you primarily be exposed to?
a. Stand-alone risk
b. Portfolio risk
Generally, investors would prefer to invest in assets that have:
a. A higher-than-average expected rate of return given the perceived risk
b. A lower-than-average expected rate of return given the perceived risk

Which of the following statements about the relationship between economic costs and accounting costs is true? multiple choice accounting costs are equal to or greater than economic costs. accounting costs must always equal economic costs. accounting costs are always greater than economic costs. accounting costs are always less than or equal to economic costs.

Why does an organization prepare a balance sheet? a. to reveal what the organization owns and owes at a point in time b. to reveal how well the company utilizes its cash c. to calculate retained earnings for a given accounting period d. to calculate gross profit for a given accounting period

Zachary company produces commercial gardening equipment. since production is highly automated, the company allocates its overhead costs to product lines using activity-based costing. the costs and cost drivers associated with the four overhead activity cost pools follow: activities unit level batch level product level facility level cost $ 64,800 $ 27,730 $ 15,000 $ 154,000 cost driver 2,400 labor hrs. 47 setups percentage of use 11,000 units production of 780 sets of cutting shears, one of the company’s 20 products, took 240 labor hours and 7 setups and consumed 15 percent of the product-sustaining activities. required: (a) had the company used labor hours as a company wide allocation base, how much overhead would it have allocated to the cutting shears? (b) how much overhead is allocated to the cutting shears using activity-based costing? (c) compute the overhead cost per unit for cutting shears first using activity-based costing and then using direct labor hours for allocation if 780 units are produced. if direct product costs are $150 and the product is priced at 30 percent above cost for what price would the product sell under each allocation system? (d) assuming that activity-based costing provides a more accurate estimate of cost, indicate whether the cutting shears would be over- or underpriced if direct labor hours are used as an allocation base. explain how over-or undercosting can affect vaulker's profitability. (e) comment on the validity of using the allocated facility-level cost in the pricing decision. should other costs be considered in a cost- plus pricing decision? if so, which ones? what costs would you include if you were trying to decide whether to accept a special order?