A manufacturing firm spends $350,000 annually for a required safety inspection program. A new monitoring technology would eliminate the need for such inspection. If the interest rate is 8% per year, how much can the firm afford to spend on this new technology? The firm wants to recover its investment in 20 years. Contributed by Hamed Kashani, Saeid Sadri, Baabak Ashuri, Georgia Institute of Technology

Which of the following best explains why a large company can undersell small retailers? a. large companies can offer workers lower wages because they provide more jobs. b. large companies can pay their employees less because they do unskilled jobs. c. large companies can negotiate better prices with wholesalers. d. large companies have fewer expenses associated with overhead.

Information on gerken power co., is shown below. assume the company’s tax rate is 40 percent. debt: 9,400 8.4 percent coupon bonds outstanding, $1,000 par value, 21 years to maturity, selling for 100.5 percent of par; the bonds make semiannual payments. common stock: 219,000 shares outstanding, selling for $83.90 per share; beta is 1.24. preferred stock: 12,900 shares of 5.95 percent preferred stock outstanding, currently selling for $97.10 per share. market: 7.2 percent market risk premium and 5 percent risk-free rate. required: calculate the company's wacc. (do not round intermediate calculations and enter your answer as a percent rounded to 2 decimal places, e.g., 32.16.) wacc %

Which of the following is a competitive benefit experienced by the first mover firm in an industry? a. the first mover will be able to achieve a less steep learning curve. b. the first mover will be able to reduce the switching costs. c. the first mover will not have to patent its products or technology. d. the first mover will be able to reduce costs through economies of scale.