The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) nations are increasingly important in international business. Provide a comprehensive description of the economy of each of these nations and identify reasons why the BRICS countries are growing in importance on the international stage. Also, describe the internal and external forces that may influence organizational success as it relates to these countries. Finally, discuss the importance of the Saint Leo University core value of responsible stewardship relative to international business and the rise of these economies.

Rate of return douglas keel, a financial analyst for orange industries, wishes to estimate the rate of return for two similar-risk investments, x and y. douglas's research indicates that the immediate past returns will serve as reasonable estimates of future returns. a year earlier, investment x had a market value of $27 comma 000; and investment y had a market value of $46 comma 000. during the year, investment x generated cash flow of $2 comma 025 and investment y generated cash flow of $ 6 comma 770. the current market values of investments x and y are $28 comma 582 and $46 comma 000, respectively. a. calculate the expected rate of return on investments x and y using the most recent year's data. b. assuming that the two investments are equally risky, which one should douglas recommend? why?