An aircraft manufacturer with a strong presence in the United States, is looking to expand its market overseas. The firm currently sells its aircraft to several airlines in the United Kingdom but now wants to establish manufacturing units there as well in order to acquire a bigger share in the European market. Hence, it plans to merge with QueenAir, a British aircraft manufacturer. Which of the following, if true, would weaken the company's decision to merge with QueenAir?

a. Merging with QueenAir would increase its profits considerably.
b. There is increasing economic uncertainty in its U. S. market.
c. The preferences of airline customers in Europe and the U. S. are similar.
d. There is a striking difference in the organizational cultures of the two firms.
e. A competitor in the U. S. market recently went out of business.

Suppose that a major city’s main thoroughfare, which is also an interstate highway, will be completely closed to traffic for two years, from january 2014 to december 2015, for reconstruction at a cost of $535 million. if the construction company were to keep the highway open for traffic during construction, the highway reconstruction project would take much longer and be more expensive. suppose that construction would take four years if the highway were kept open, at a total cost of $800 million. the state department of transportation had to make its decision in 2014, one year before the start of construction (so that the first payment was one year away). so the department of transportation had the following choices: (i) close the highway during construction, at an annual cost of $267.5 million per year for two years. (ii) keep the highway open during construction, at an annual cost of $200 million per year for four years. now suppose the interest rate is 80%. calculate the present value of the costs incurred under each plan.