Companies issue bonds, preferred stock, and common equity to raise capital to invest in capital budgeting projects. Capital is a necessary factor of production, and like any other factor, it has a cost. This cost is equal to the represent the costs of those securities to the firm. Companies estimate the required returns on their securities, calculate a weighted average of the costs of their different types of capital, and use this average cost for capital budgeting purposes.

Consider how health insurance affects the quantity of health care services performed. suppose that the typical medical procedure has a cost of $160, yet a person with health insurance pays only $40 out of pocket. her insurance company pays the remaining $120. (the insurance company recoups the $120 through premiums, but the premium a person pays does not depend on how many procedures that person chooses to undergo.) consider the following demand curve in the market for medical care. use the black point (plus symbol) to indicate the quantity of procedures demanded if each procedure has a price of $160. then use the grey point (star symbol) to indicate the quantity of procedures demanded if each procedure has a price of $40. q d at p=$160 q d at p=$40 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 price of medical procedures quantity of medical procedures demand if the cost of each procedure to society is truly $160, the quantity that maximizes total surplus is procedures. economists often blame the health insurance system for excessive use of medical care. given your analysis, the use of care might be viewed as excessive because consumers get procedures whose value is than the cost of producing them.

Storico co. just paid a dividend of $3.15 per share. the company will increase its dividend by 20 percent next year and then reduce its dividend growth rate by 5 percentage points per year until it reaches the industry average of 5 percent dividend growth, after which the company will keep a constant growth rate forever. if the required return on the company’s stock is 12 percent, what will a share of stock sell for today?

Happy foods and general grains both produce similar puffed rice breakfast cereals. for both companies, thecost of producing a box of cereal is 45 cents, and it is not possible for either company to lower their productioncosts any further. how can one company achieve a competitive advantage over the other?