Question & Answer

For what reasons might the long-run aggregate supply curve be (a) vertical; (b) upward sloping; (c) downward sloping?

Sandy and John Ferguson got married eight years ago and have a seven-year-old daughter, Samantha.  In 2024, Sandy worked as a computer technician at a local university earning a salary of $152,000, and John worked part time as a receptionist for a law firm earning a salary of $29,000.  Sandy also does some Web design work on the side and reported revenues of $4,000 and associated expenses of $750.  The Fergusons received $800 in qualified dividends and a $200 refund of their state income taxes.  The Fergusons always itemize their deductions, get the full benefit of deducting the entire amount of state income taxes paid, and their itemized deductions were well over the standard deduction amount last year.

Matt Ryan Corporation is interested in building its own soda can manufacturing plant adjacent to its existing plant in Partyville, Kansas. The objective would be to ensure a steady supply of cans at a stable price and to minimize transportation costs. However, the company has been experiencing some financial problems and has been reluctant to borrow any additional cash to fund the project. The company is not concerned with the cash flow problems of making payments, but rather with the impact of adding additional long-term debt to its balance sheet. The president of Ryan, Andy Newlin, approached the president of the Aluminum Can Company (ACC), its major supplier, to see if some agreement could be reached. ACC was anxious to work out an arrangement, since it seemed inevitable that Ryan would begin its own can production. The Aluminum Can Company could not afford to lose the account. After some discussion, a two-part plan was worked out. First, ACC was to construct the plant on Ryan’s land adjacent to the existing plant. Second, Ryan would sign a 20-year purchase agreement. Under the purchase agreement, Ryan would express its intention to buy all of its cans from ACC, paying a unit price which at normal capacity would cover labor and material, an operating management fee, and the debt service requirements on the plant. The expected unit price, if transportation costs are taken into consideration, is lower than current market. If Ryan did not take enough production in any one year and if the excess cans could not be sold at a high enough price on the open market, Ryan agrees to make up any cash shortfall so that ACC could make the payments on its debt. The bank will be willing to make a 20-year loan for the plant, taking the plant and the purchase agreement as collateral. At the end of 20 years, the plant is to become the property of Ryan. Instructions (a) What are project financing arrangements using special-purpose entities? (b) What are take-or-pay contracts? (c) Should Ryan record the plant as an asset together with the related obligation? (d) If not, should Ryan record an asset relating to the future commitment? (e) What is meant by off-balance-sheet financing?

See if you can identify two companies that are vertically integrated and what advantages they have from such integration.

1.              : How would you characterize Baker’s leadership style? What approach do you think is correct for this situation? Why?

Based on what you know about repurchase agreements, would you expect them to have a lower or higher annualized yield than commercial paper? Why? (LO1)

Presented below is abbreviated testimony from Troy Normand in the WorldCom case. He was a manager in the corporate reporting department and is one of five individuals who pleaded guilty. He is testifying in hopes of receiving no prison time when he is ultimately sentenced. Q. Mr. Normand, if you could just describe for the jury how the meeting started and what was said during the meeting? A. I can’t recall exactly who initiated the discussion, but right away Scott Sullivan acknowledged that he was aware we had problems with the entries, David Myers had informed him, and we were considering resigning. He said that he respected our concerns but that we weren’t being asked to do anything that he believed was wrong. He mentioned that he acknowledged that the company had lost focus quite a bit due to the preparations for the Sprint merger, and that he was putting plans in place and projects in place to try to determine where the problems were, why the costs were so high. He did say he believed that the initial statements that we produced, that the line costs in those statements could not have been as high as they were, that he believed something was wrong and there was no way that the costs were that high. I informed him that I didn’t believe the entry we were being asked to do was right, that I was scared, and I didn’t want to put myself in a position of going to jail for him or the company. He responded that he didn’t believe anything was wrong, nobody was going to be going to jail, but that if it later was found to be wrong, that he would be the person going to jail, not me. He asked that I stay, don’t jump off the plane, let him land it softly, that’s basically how he put it. And he mentioned that he had a discussion with Bernie Ebbers, asking Bernie to reduce projections going forward and that Bernie had refused. Q. Mr. Normand, you said that Mr. Sullivan said something about don’t jump out of the plane. What did you understand him to mean when he said that? A. Not to quit. Q. During this meeting, did Mr. Sullivan say anything about whether you would be asked to make entries like this in the future? A. Yes, he made a comment that from that point going forward we wouldn’t be asked to record any entries, high-level late adjustments, that the numbers would be the numbers. Q. What did you understand that to be mean, the numbers would be the numbers? A. That after the preliminary statements were issued, with the exception of any normal transaction, valid transaction, we wouldn’t be asked to be recording any more late entries. Q. I believe you testified that Mr. Sullivan said something about the line cost numbers not being accurate. Did he ask you to conduct any analysis to determine whether the line cost numbers were accurate? A. No, he did not. A. No. Q. Did you ever conduct any such analysis? A. No, I didn’t. Q. During this meeting, did Mr. Sullivan ever provide any accounting justification for the entry you were asked to make? A. No, he did not. Q. Did anything else happen during the meeting? A. I don’t recall anything else. Q. How did you feel after this meeting? A. Not much better actually. I left his office not convinced in any way that what we were asked to do was right. However, I did question myself to some degree after talking with him wondering whether I was making something more out of what was really there. Instructions Answer the following questions. (a) What appears to be the ethical issue involved in this case? (b) Is Troy Normand acting improperly or immorally?Q. Did anyone ever ask you to do that? (c) What would you do if you were Troy Normand? (d) Who are the major stakeholders in this case?

: Explain the dividends of a diverse workforce and how the definition of diversity has grown to recognize a broad spectrum of differences among employees.

Use the loanable funds framework to explain how European economic conditions might affect U.S. interest rates. (LO1, LO2)

Satchel Inc. purchases 10,000 shares of its own previously issued $10 par common stock for $290,000. Assuming the shares are held in the treasury with intent to reissue, what effect does this transaction have on (a) net income, (b) total assets, (c) total paid-in capital, and (d) total stockholders’ equity?

Markell’s basis in the Markit Partnership is $58,000. In a proportionate liquidating distribution, Markell receives the following assets: Tax BasisFMV Cash $8,000 $8,000 Land A 20,000 45,000 Land B 20,000 25,000 a. How much gain or loss will Markell recognize on the distribution? What is the character of any recognized gain or loss? b. What is Markell’s basis in the distributed assets?

In what ways is a monopolistically competitive firm likely to be less efficient than one under perfect competition?

On June 1, 2012, Andre Company and Agassi Company merged to form Lancaster Inc. A total of 800,000 shares were issued to complete the merger. The new corporation reports on a calendar-year basis. On April 1, 2014, the company issued an additional 400,000 shares of stock for cash. All 1,200,000 shares were outstanding on December 31, 2014. Lancaster Inc. also issued $600,000 of 20-year, 8% convertible bonds at par on July 1, 2014. Each $1,000 bond converts to 40 shares of common at any interest date. None of the bonds have been converted to date. Lancaster Inc. is preparing its annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2014. The annual report will show earnings per share figures based upon a reported after-tax net income of $1,540,000. (The tax rate is 40%.) Instructions Determine the following for 2014. (a) The number of shares to be used for calculating: (1) Basic earnings per share. (2) Diluted earnings per share. (b) The earnings figures to be used for calculating: (1) Basic earnings per share. (2) Diluted earnings per share.

Describe in words what the Merchant equation tells us

(Looking at the Maths) How long would it take an economy, like China, growing at an annual rate of close to 10 per cent to (a) double in size; (b) triple in size?

1. If V is constant, will (a) a £10 million rise in M give a £10 million rise in MV; (b) a 10 per cent rise in M give a 10 per cent rise in MV ? (Test your answer by fitting some numbers to the terms.) 2. If both V and Y are constant, will (a) a £10 million rise in M lead to a £10 million rise in P; (b) a 10 per cent rise in M lead to a 10 per cent rise in P? (Again, try fitting some numbers to the terms.)

Boey Company reported net income of $25,000 in 2015. It had the following amounts related to its pension plan in 2015: Actuarial liability gain $10,000; Unexpected asset loss $14,000; Accumulated other comprehensive income (G/L) (beginning balance), zero. Determine for 2015 (a) Boey’s other comprehensive income, and (b) comprehensive income.

If the higher consumer expenditure and higher wages subsequently led to higher prices, what would happen to: (a) real wages; (b) unemployment (assuming no further response from unions)?

What are the carryover and carryback periods for a net operating loss? Does a corporation have the option to choose the years to which it carries back a NOL? Explain.

Krauss Company’s income statement for the year ended December 31, 2014, contained the following condensed information. Service revenue $840,000 Operating expenses (excluding depreciation) $624,000 Depreciation expense 60,000 Loss on sale of equipment 26,000 710,000 Income before income taxes 130,000 Income tax expense 40,000 Net income $ 90,000 Krauss’s balance sheet contained the following comparative data at December 31. 2014 2013 Accounts receivable $37,000 $54,000 Accounts payable 41,000 31,000 Income taxes payable 4,000 8,500 (Accounts payable pertains to operating expenses.) Instructions Prepare the operating activities section of the statement of cash flows using the direct method.

Name some of the principal bonding materials used in grinding wheels

Distinguish between proportional, progressive and regressive taxation. Could a progressive tax have a constant marginal rate?

Describe the procedures involved in segregating various deferred tax amounts into current and noncurrent categories.

The voltage in an EBW operation is 45 kV. The beam current is 60 milliamp. The electron beam is focused on a circular area that is 0.25 mm in diameter. The heat transfer factor is 0.87. Calculate the average power density in the area in watt/mm2

Recall the various strategies that rival oligopolists can adopt. What parallels there are in union and management strategies?