A farmer is considering the purchase or lease of a truck. He can buy a new truck or lease a new truck. He believes that each truck will provide the same service but the costs are different. He has provided the following information. Inflation is assumed to be zero. Assume that the lease payment is constant throughout the lease agreement. Assume that the lease payment would be made at the beginning of the year and the lease ends at the end of the 13th year. The lessor will pay repairs and maintenance. Also assume that this farmer could claim the tax deduction due to the lease payment when it is paid. The new tractor has a price of $41,500, a before-tax net return of -$6,200, an investment life of 13 years, and a terminal value of $10,900. If he was to lease the tractor the operating expenses for this tractor will be $3,500. Suppose that the pre-tax rate of return is 11%, the marginal tax rate is 22%, and the IRS allows him to depreciate the tractor over 8 years using the straight-line method. (i) What is the NPV of the purchased tractor?
(ii) What is the annuity equivalent of the purchased tractor?
(iii) What is the NPV if the tractor was leased?
(iv) What is the annuity equivalent if the tractor was leased?
(v) Which tractor should this farmer choose?

Jameson manages a well-known cell phone company. this company has been voted as having the best cell-phone service. consumers appreciate the fact that they can call from almost anywhere in the world and the service still gets through. jameson knows that the company's product far surpasses that of the competition. one thing has been bothering him, though. in order to put so many resources into ensuring the best service, jameson has cut back on employees at the firm's customer call center. recently, consumers have begun complaining about long wait times when they call in with a problem or concern. although its cell phone service is still considered one of the best, customer satisfaction with the firm's customer service has plummeted. jameson does not understand why consumers are getting so upset. he believes the exceptional cell phone service more than makes up for long waiting periods and other issues with its customer service. "after all," he says, "they can't have it all. if i invest more in customer service, that means less investment on ensuring the quality of our product offering."refer to scenario. jameson has asked you, a marketing consultant, to give him advice. he cannot understand how a cell-phone company with the best product offering in the cell-phone service industry could get such low satisfaction ratings simply because the customer service is not up to par. you suggest that jameson has a narrowly defined view of the company's product offering. you tell jameson that successful marketers should define their products as what they

In its 2016 annual report, caterpillar inc. reported the following (in millions): 2016 2015 sales $38,537 $47,011 cost of goods sold 28,309 33,546 as a percentage of sales, did caterpillar's gross profit increase or decrease during 2016? select one: a. gross profit increased from 26.8% to 28.6% b. gross profit decreased from 28.6% to 26.5% c. gross profit increased from 71.4% to 73.2% d. gross profit decreased from 73.2% to 71.4% e. there is not enough information to answer the question.

Fill in the missing words to correctly complete each sentence about analyzing a job posting. when reviewing a job posting, it’s important to check theto determine whether it’s worth your time to apply. if the post has been up for a while or it’s already closed, move on to the next position. if it’s still available, take note of when it closes so you’ll know when you mayfrom the company in regard to an interview.