The economy has been growing at an average rate of​ 2.5% during the last year. The chairman of the Federal Reserve has stated that due to the economic growth and improvement in the labor​ markets, as evidenced by a declining unemployment​ rate, that the Fed stands ready to increase interest rates. ​ Meanwhile, the government is having to deal with a growing budget deficit and may need to borrow money from the public to fund its operations. This is easily done with the sale of Treasury bills and bonds. ​ However, such an increase in borrowing could affect the results of the​ Fed's actions. ​ Also, any tax reductions that occur will likely affect expenditures by both consumers and businesses. This in turn is expected to increase GDP assuming no surprise events that would negatively affect employment and economic growth.

1. The reaction of the Fed Chairman is that the economic growth during this phase of the economic cycle could produce higher ______

and the​ Fed's number one goal is for stable ______.

2. The phase of the business cycle given the facts in the statement above implies the economy is not in a ______ phase.  

3. The​ government's increased demand for funds attained from the bond markets implies that as the supply of

bonds ________ holding demand​ constant, the price will ________ and pushing interest rates _______.

4. If interest rates increase due to the Fed​ actions, the economic impact is a result of _______ policy.

5. If the Fed does nothing but the government decides to increase bond​ sales, the resulting impact on interest rates would be a result of _______ policy.

6. Economic variables that predict the near term future condition of the economy are grouped together and called ______ indicators.

7. Unemployment rates exceeding ______ ​(spell out the​ value) percent would indicate the economy could be heading towards

a _______.

8. If the economic environment described above​ continues, business managers could see their cost of labor _______ in the near term if the unemployment rate goes ________, and financing costs further ______ because of anticipated Fed actions. All these events could produce​ (inflation/deflation) _______ which could in turn cause the business cycle to reach its ​ (peak/trough) ______.

1. From the table above, calculate the inflation rate from 2015 to 2016 (5 points)

2. Use the table above to answer:  If you were earning $40,000/year in 2012, how much would you need to be earning in 2019 to have the same purchasing power?. (5 points)

3. Use the table above to answer:  If average college tuition was $10,000 per year in 2010, what would that be equivalent to in 2019? (5 points)

4. Price inflation in 2021 is expected to be 3%, but because of an economic slowdown as the result of COVID shutdowns, inflation in 2021 was actually only 1%.  

Hourly-wage worker agrees on January 1, 2021, to a three-year union contract at a local factory. A fixed cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 3 percent per year is built into the contract.

Is the worker a winner or a loser? (4 points)

Conduct and critically analyze compensation policy based on information below.

You have been employed as the Chief Financial Advisor (CFA) for Safer Investment Corporation. You replace the former CFA as it was found he has not been generating the desired returns for the company and investors. You are managing an Endowment Fund and a Retirement Fund. Investors are looking to earn above average returns on their investments. These investors have no insurance coverage and have not started to do any estate planning. The age distributions for the investors are as follows:

Age                                    # of clients

28-30                                      425

31-50                                      775

51-65                                      300

65+                                          175

Your salary is a combination of basic salary + commission. Commission is based on whether the company and investors achieve the desired return. The salary structure fits your profile as you have built up a reputation as being an aggressive financial advisor who seeks to make everyone happy at all cost.

QUESTION:

Conduct and critical analysis of this compensation policy to include any ethical considerations. Develop a new policy framework for the company. What recommendation will you make?

Please answer only with BA2 PLUS Financial calculator

An electric utility is considering a new power plant in northern Arizona. Power from the plant would be sold in the Phoenix area, where it is badly needed. Because the firm has received a permit, the plant would be legal; but it would cause some air pollution. The company could spend an additional $40 million at Year 0 to mitigate the environmental problem, but it would not be required to do so. The plant without mitigation would cost $239.99 million, and the expected net cash inflows would be $80 million per year for 5 years. If the firm does invest in mitigation, the annual inflows would be $85.19 million. Unemployment in the area where the plant would be built is high, and the plant would provide about 350 good jobs. The risk-adjusted WACC is 17%.
a) Calculate the NPV and IRR with and without mitigation.
b) How should the environment effects be dealt with when evaluating this project?
c) Should this project be undertaken? If so, should the firm do the mitigation?

An amusement park studied methods for decreasing the waiting time (minutes) for rides by loading and unloading riders more efficiently. Two alternative loading/ unloading methods have been proposed. To account for potential differences due to the type of ride and the possible interaction between the method of loading and unloading and the type of ride, a factorial experiment was designed. Use the following data to test for any significant effect due to the loading and unloading method, the type of ride, and interaction. Use α = .05. Use both p-Value and Critical-Value approaches.

1. You’re riding your bike in the bike lane through Golden Gate Park. Suddenly, you drift out of the bike lane and into automobile traffic. Fortunately, you quickly move back into the bike lane and continue toward Ocean Beach. This scenario is a metaphor for homeostasis, where the controlled condition (physiologic variable) is the position of the bike on the road (e.g., inside or outside the bike lane). Identify: (a) The established set point for the controlled condition (b) The receptor (c) The control center (integration center) (d) The effector There’s no need to explain the physiology of vision or muscle contraction. Rather, demonstrate your understanding of feedback systems by mapping the components of a feedback system onto this scenario.

2. The three-dimensional shape of a protein determines its function. Briefly explain these terms as they relate to protein shape and provide a supporting example for each: denature, conformational change, genetic mutation. Each example must include a specific protein.

3.Compare and contrast simple diffusion and facilitated diffusion. In other words, how are they similar and how are they different? Provide supporting examples for each.

4.(a) What is the osmolarity of a solution containing 85 mM C6H12O6, 120 mM KCl, and 24 mM CaCl2? Show your calculations. (b) What would happen to human blood cells put in the solution above? Explain.

3. United Park City Properties real estate investment firm took a random sample of five condominium units that recently sold in the city. The sales prices Y (in thousands of dollars) and the areas X (in hundreds of square feet) for each unit are as follows     (40 points)

The owner wants to forecast sales on the basis of the area. Which variable is the dependent variable? Which variable is the independent variable?

Determine the regression equation.

Interpret the values of the slope and the intercept.

Test the significance of the slope at 1% level of significance.

Determine the coefficient of correlation between the sales price and the area.

Interpret the strength of the correlation coefficient.

Determine the coefficient of determination and present its interpretation.

Determine the coefficient of non-determination.

On January 1, 2014, Park Corporation sold a $606,000, 6 percent bond issue (8 percent market rate). The company does not use a discount account. The bonds were dated January 1, 2014, pay interest each June 30 and December 31, and mature in five years. (FV of $1, PV of $1, FVA of $1, and PVA of $1) (Use the appropriate factor(s) from the tables provided.) Required: 1. Prepare the journal entry to record the issuance of the bonds. (If no entry is required for a transaction/event, select "No journal entry required" in the first account field.)

On January 1, 20X0, Washington Park District issued $1000 of 5-year, 6% debentures. Interest is paid semiannually. The market interest rate at issuance was 10%.

1.   Compute the proceeds from issuing the debentures.

2.   Prepare an analysis of this bond transaction. Show entries for the issuer concerning (a) issuance, (b) first semiannual interest payment, (c) second semiannual interest payment, and (d) payment of maturity value.

Note: Use only the relevant present value information for Question 2.

Question UPDATED (3 parts)

Waterways has two major public-park projects to provide with comprehensive irrigation in one of its service locations this month. Job J57 and Job K52 involve 15 acres of landscaped terrain, which will require special-order, sprinkler heads to meet the specifications of the project. Using a job cost system to produce these parts, the following events occurred during December.

Raw materials were requisitioned from the company’s inventory on December 2 for $ 5,064; on December 8 for $ 1,068; and on December 14 for $ 3,450. In each instance, two-thirds (2/3) of these materials were for J57 and the rest for K52.

Six time tickets were turned in for these two projects for a total amount of 18 hours of work. All the workers were paid $ 17.5 per hour. The time tickets were dated December 3, December 9, and December 15. On each of those days, 6 labor hours were spent on these jobs, two-thirds (2/3) for J57 and the rest for K52.

The predetermined overhead rate is based on machine hours. The expected machine hour use for the year is 2,093 hours, and the anticipated overhead costs are $ 837,200 for the year. The machines were used by workers on projects K52 and J57 on December 3, 9, and 15. Six machine hours were used for project K52 (2 each day), and 8.5 machine hours were used for project J57 (2.5 the first day and 3 each of the other days). Both of these special orders were completed on December 15, producing 200 sprinkler heads for J57 and 100 sprinkler heads for K52.

Additional job order activities during this period included:

Part 1

Set up the job cost sheets for Job No. J57 and Job No. K52. Determine the total cost for each manufacturing special order for these jobs. (Round unit costs to 2 decimal places, e.g. 12.25.)

Part 2

Journalize the activities from these job cost sheets in the general journal. Also, journalize the other costs that occurred during this period. (Credit account titles are automatically indented when amount is entered. Do not indent manually. Record journal entries in the order presented in the problem. Round answers to 0 decimal places, e.g. 5,275.)

Part 3

Assuming that Manufacturing Overhead has a debit balance of $ 3,600, determine whether overhead has been under/over applied and make the adjusting entry. (Credit account titles are automatically indented when amount is entered. Do not indent manually.)