A grocery store chain makes a decision to limit its size and scope by offering only what it considers to be the best product in each food category, reducing the options available to its customers. It employs and recruits a highly paid team of tasters who travel the world evaluating foods to introduce on its shelves. It has attracted a team with an excellent track record of identifying top sellers and earned a reputation for delivering high-quality goods. This is an example of:

a. a distinctive competency.
b. intellectual property.
c. a basic factor of production.
d. a poorly organized resource.

Pressure systems, inc., manufactures high-accuracy liquid-level transducers. it is investigating whether it should update certain equipment now or wait to do it later. if the cost now is $200,000, what will the equivalent amount be 3 years from now at an interest rate of 10% per year?

Profits from using currency options and futures.on july 2, the two-month futures rate of the mexican peso contained a 2 percent discount (unannualized). there was a call option on pesos with an exercise price that was equal to the spot rate. there was also a put option on pesos with an exercise price equal to the spot rate. the premium on each of these options was 3 percent of the spot rate at that time. on september 2, the option expired. go to the oanda.com website (or any site that has foreign exchange rate quotations) and determine the direct quote of the mexican peso. you exercised the option on this date if it was feasible to do so. a. what was your net profit per unit if you had purchased the call option? b. what was your net profit per unit if you had purchased the put option? c. what was your net profit per unit if you had purchased a futures contract on july 2 that had a settlement date of september 2? d. what was your net profit per unit if you sold a futures contract on july 2 that had a settlement date of september 2

Cardinal company is considering a project that would require a $2,725,000 investment in equipment with a useful life of five years. at the end of five years, the project would terminate and the equipment would be sold for its salvage value of $400,000. the company’s discount rate is 14%. the project would provide net operating income each year as follows: sales $2,867,000 variable expenses 1,125,000 contribution margin 1,742,000 fixed expenses: advertising, salaries, and other fixed out-of-pocket costs $706,000 depreciation 465,000 total fixed expenses 1,171,000 net operating income $571,000 1. which item(s) in the income statement shown above will not affect cash flows? (you may select more than one answer. single click the box with the question mark to produce a check mark for a correct answer and double click the box with the question mark to empty the box for a wrong answer. any boxes left with a question mark will be automatically graded as incorrect.) (a)sales (b)variable expenses (c) advertising, salaries, and other fixed out-of-pocket costs expenses (d) depreciation expense 2. what are the project’s annual net cash inflows? 3.what is the present value of the project’s annual net cash inflows? (use the appropriate table to determine the discount factor(s) and final answer to the nearest dollar amount.) 4.what is the present value of the equipment’s salvage value at the end of five years? (use the appropriate table to determine the discount factor(s) and final answer to the nearest dollar amount.) 5.what is the project’s net present value? (use the appropriate table to determine the discount factor(s) and final answer to the nearest dollar amount.)