Because of automation, which component of product cost is declining?

On january 1, vermont corporation had 40,000 shares of $10 par value common stock issued and outstanding. all 40,000 shares has been issued in a prior period at $20.00 per share. on february 1, vermont purchased 3,750 shares of treasury stock for $24 per share and later sold the treasury shares for $21 per share on march 1. the journal entry to record the purchase of the treasury shares on february 1 would include a credit to treasury stock for $90,000 debit to treasury stock for $90,000 credit to a gain account for $112,500 debit to a loss account for $112,500

The returns on the common stock of maynard cosmetic specialties are quite cyclical. in a boom economy, the stock is expected to return 22 percent in comparison to 9 percent in a normal economy and a negative 14 percent in a recessionary period. the probability of a recession is 35 percent while the probability of a boom is 10 percent. what is the standard deviation of the returns on this stock?

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?