The russian air force is being called on this year to intercept storms advancing on moscow and to seed them with dry ice and silver iodine particles. the idea is to make the snow drop on villages in the countryside instead of piling up in moscow. the cost of this initiative will be 190190 million rubles, and the savings in snow removal will be in the neighborhood of 330330 million rubles. the exchange rate is 3030 rubles per dollar. comment on the hidden costs and benefits of such a plan from the viewpoint of the villagers in terms of dollars.

Google started as one of many internet search engines, amazon started as an online book seller, and ebay began as a site where people could sell used personal items in auctions. these firms have grown to be so large and dominant that they are facing antitrust scrutiny from competition regulators in the us and elsewhere. did these online giants grow by fairly beating competition, or did they use unfair advantages? are there any clouds on the horizon for these firms -- could they face diseconomies of scale or diseconomies of scope as they continue to grow? if so, what factors may limit their continued growth?

Varto company has 9,400 units of its sole product in inventory that it produced last year at a cost of $23 each. this year’s model is superior to last year’s, and the 9,400 units cannot be sold at last year’s regular selling price of $42 each. varto has two alternatives for these items: (1) they can be sold to a wholesaler for $8 each, or (2) they can be reworked at a cost of $251,100 and then sold for $34 each. prepare an analysis to determine whether varto should sell the products as is or rework them and then sell them.

On january 1, 2018, gless textiles issued $12 million of 9%, 10-year convertible bonds at 101. the bonds pay interest on june 30 and december 31. each $1,000 bond is convertible into 40 shares of gless’s no par common stock. bonds that are similar in all respects, except that they are nonconvertible, currently are selling at 99 (that is, 99% of face amount). century services purchased 10% of the issue as an investment. on january 1, 2018, gless textiles issued $12 million of 9%, 10-year convertible bonds at 101. the bonds pay interest on june 30 and december 31. each $1,000 bond is convertible into 40 shares of gless’s no par common stock. bonds that are similar in all respects, except that they are nonconvertible, currently are selling at 99 (that is, 99% of face amount). century services purchased 10% of the issue as an investment. 3. on july 1, 2023, when gless’s common stock had a market price of $33 per share, century converted the bonds it held. prepare the journal entries by both gless and century for the conversion of the bonds (book value method).