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 an improvement.

crow design, inc. is a web site design and consulting firm. the firm uses a job order costing system in which each client is a different job. crow design assigns direct labor, licensing costs, and travel costs directly to each job. it allocates indirect costs to jobs based on a predetermined overhead allocation rate, computed as a percentage of direct labor costs. direct labor hours (professional) 6,250 hours direct labor costs ($1,800,000 support staff salaries ,000 computer ,000 office ,000 office ,000 in november 2012, crow design served several clients. records for two clients appear here: delicious treats mesilla chocolates direct labor 700 hours 100 hours software licensing $ 4,000 $400 travel costs 8,000 1. compute crow design’s direct labor rate and its predetermined indirect cost allocation rate for 2012. 2. compute the total cost of each job. 3. if simone wants to earn profits equal to 50% of service revenue, how much (what fee) should she charge each of these two clients? 4. why does crow design assign costs to jobs?