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In its 2016 annual report, caterpillar inc. reported the following (in millions): 2016 2015 sales $38,537 $47,011 cost of goods sold 28,309 33,546 as a percentage of sales, did caterpillar's gross profit increase or decrease during 2016? select one: a. gross profit increased from 26.8% to 28.6% b. gross profit decreased from 28.6% to 26.5% c. gross profit increased from 71.4% to 73.2% d. gross profit decreased from 73.2% to 71.4% e. there is not enough information to answer the question.

Suppose that hubert, an economist from an am talk radio program, and kate, an economist from a nonprofit organization on the west coast, are arguing over government bailouts. the following dialogue shows an excerpt from their debate: kate: to recent financial crises, the concept of bailouts is a hot topic for debate among everyone these days. hubert: indeed, it’s gotten crazy! a government bailout of severely distressed financial firms is unnecessary because free markets will properly price assets. kate: i don’t know about that. without a bailout of severely distressed financial firms, the economy will experience a deep recession. the disagreement between these economists is most likely due todifferences in scientific judgments . despite their differences, with which proposition are two economists chosen at random most likely to agree? business managers can raise profit more easily by reducing costs than by raising revenue. central banks should focus more on maintaining low unemployment than on maintaining low inflation. employers should not be restricted from outsourcing work to foreign nations

What is free trade? a. trade that is not subject to taxes or fees b. trade that governments do not interfere with c. trade with a high level of government regulation d. trade between states in the u.s. b