Brothers Tim and Jim Shanton have asked you, their financial advisor, to settle a friendly quarrel between them. Tim argues that a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA are actuarially equivalent if $4,000 is available for investing on a before-tax basis, contributions to the traditional IRA are deductible, tax rates are expected to stay the same, and both have the same interest rates. So, it makes no difference which vehicle one uses to save for retirement. Jim insists that a Roth IRA is the better investment. You tell them a. Tim is wrong; the tax deduction available for a traditional IRA allows more money to work for the contributor
b. Jim is wrong; at least for some low income individuals, the traditional IRA is a better investment because of their relatively lower tax rates
c. Tim is right; the two investments are equivalent in every respect when considered at the end of an investment horizon at least 10 years long
d. Jim is right; the ability to make tax-free withdrawals from Roth IRA gives a greater return even when contributions and interest rates are equivalent over time
e. both are right; the two investments are actuarially equivalent, but absence of a minimum distribution date and more liberal penalty-free withdrawal options may make the Roth IRA more attractive

4. suppose that pollution in a neighborhood comes from two factories, with marginal benefit curves given by mb1 = 12 – p1 and mb2 = 8 – p2. the level of pollution in the neighborhood is given by p = p1 + p2. the government wants to limit pollution by instituting a pollution-rights market. the government’s desired level of p is 10, so it prints 10 pollution rights and offers them for sale to the firms.a)find the equilibrium selling price of a pollution right, as well as the allocation of rights (and hence pollution levels) across the two factories. b)repeat part (a) for the case where the government’s desired level of pollution equals 14. c)comment on the usefulness of a pollution rights market in achieving efficient levels of pollution abatement.

At the beginning of 2014, winston corporation issued 10% bonds with a face value of $2,000,000. these bonds mature in five years, and interest is paid semiannually on june 30 and december 31. the bonds were sold for $1,852,800 to yield 12%. winston uses a calendar-year reporting period. using the effective-interest method of amortization, what amount of interest expense should be reported for 2014? (round your answer to the nearest dollar.)

Blue computers, a major pc manufacturer in the united states, currently has plants in kentucky and pennsylvania. the kentucky plant has a capacity of 1 million units a year and the pennsylvania plant has a capacity of 1.5 million units a year. the firm divides the united states into five markets: northeast, southeast, midwest, south, and west. each pc sells for $1,000. the firm anticipates a 50 perc~nt growth in demand (in each region) this year (after which demand will stabilize) and wants to build a plant with a capacity of 1.5 million units per year to accommodate the growth. potential sites being considered are in north carolina and california. currently the firm pays federal, state, and local taxes on the income from each plant. federal taxes are 20 percent of income, and all state and local taxes are 7 percent of income in each state. north carolina has offered to reduce taxes for the next 10 years from 7 percent to 2 percent. blue computers would like to take the tax break into consideration when planning its network. consider income over the next 10 years in your analysis. assume that all costs remain unchanged over the 10 years. use a discount factor of 0.1 for your analysis. annual fixed costs, production and shipping costs per unit, and current regional demand (before the 50 percent growth) are shown in table 5-13. (a) if blue computers sets an objective of minimizing total fixed and variable costs, where should they build the new plant? how should the network be structured? (b) if blue computers sets an objective of maximizing after-tax profits, where should they build the new plant? how should the network be structured? variable production and shipping cost ($/unit) annual fixed cost northeast southeast midwest south west (million$) kentucky 185 180 175 175 200 150 pennsylvania 170 190 180 200 220 200 n. carolina 180 180 185 185 215 150 california 220 220 195 195 175 150 demand ('000 units/month) 700 400 400 300 600