You and Sally, a classmate in your economics class, are discussing the problems with gender discrimination in the labor market. You both agree that men and women should be treated equally. Sally claims that the significant differences in the ratio of men to women in the market for construction workers, a relatively higher paying field, compared to grocery clerks, a relatively lower paying field, is abhorrent and a result of discrimination. Using the analysis you learned in your previous lecture, you respond: a. This is not necessarily discrimination. Construction work requires a lot of physical labor and women may not prefer it. Thus it could be the result of differences in gender preferences.
c. This is not necessarily discrimination. It could be the result of differences in ability.
d. I agree. This is due to customer discrimination.
e. I agree. Construction companies must be discriminating against women in order to pay their male workers more.

Your aunt is thinking about opening a hardware store. she estimates that it would cost $300,000 per year to rent the location and buy the stock. in addition, she would have to quit her $45,000 per year job as an accountant. a. define opportunity cost. b. what is your aunt's opportunity cost of running a hardware store for a year? if your aunt thought she could sell $350,000 worth of merchandise in a year, should she open the store? explain.

Long-distance providers are becoming increasingly concerned about certain activities within their industry. various companies come together voluntarily to implement new standards of social responsibility that members must abide by. what seems to be the primary motivation in this case for an increased interest in social responsibility? - because corporations are creations of society, they are responsible for giving back to the communities in which they operate.- these companies have realized it is in their best interest to increase their social responsibility before they are once again subject to stricter regulations.- these companies are using social responsibility as a means to increase their profitability, both short term and long term.- long-distance providers have started taking pride in their industry and its record for social responsibility.- they feel a responsibility to their stockholders, employees, the government, investors, and society as a whole.

Information on gerken power co., is shown below. assume the company’s tax rate is 40 percent. debt: 9,400 8.4 percent coupon bonds outstanding, $1,000 par value, 21 years to maturity, selling for 100.5 percent of par; the bonds make semiannual payments. common stock: 219,000 shares outstanding, selling for $83.90 per share; beta is 1.24. preferred stock: 12,900 shares of 5.95 percent preferred stock outstanding, currently selling for $97.10 per share. market: 7.2 percent market risk premium and 5 percent risk-free rate. required: calculate the company's wacc. (do not round intermediate calculations and enter your answer as a percent rounded to 2 decimal places, e.g., 32.16.) wacc %