Drive characteristics root and canonical correlation weight from this table. how many root of them is significant?

Better Mousetraps has developed a new trap. It can go into production for an initial investment in equipment of $6.3 million. The equipment will be depreciated straight line over 6 years to a value of zero, but in fact it can be sold after 6 years for $538,000. The firm believes that working capital at each date must be maintained at a level of 15% of next year’s forecast sales. The firm estimates production costs equal to $1.00 per trap and believes that the traps can be sold for $4 each. Sales forecasts are given in the following table. The project will come to an end in 6 years, when the trap becomes technologically obsolete. The firm’s tax bracket is 35%, and the required rate of return on the project is 9%. Use the MACRS depreciation schedule. Year: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Thereafter Sales (millions of traps) 0 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.4 0

a. What is project NPV? (Negative amount should be indicated by a minus sign. Do not round intermediate calculations. Enter your answer in millions rounded to 4 decimal places.)

b. By how much would NPV increase if the firm depreciated its investment using the 5-year MACRS schedule? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Enter your answer in whole dollars not in millions.)

Note: Please acknowledge the list of possible answers for each question. The CORRECT answer is one of those answers. An answer that does NOT match one of the listed answers is INCORRECT.

Question:

Part A) On a loop-the-loop of diameter D = 37.8 ± 0.5 cm, what is the expected minimum starting height hthat the ball must be released from to make it around the loop?

Possible answers: 0.601, 0.903, 0.506, 0.571, 0.806, 0.51, 0.822, 0.849, 0.667, 0.927

Part B) On a loop-the-loop of 45.0 ± 0.7 cm in diameter, what is the uncertainty in the expected minimum starting height σ_h that the ball must be released from to make it around the loop?

Possible answers: 0.003, 0.004, 0.005, 0.008, 0.009, 0.011. 0.001

Part C) If, on the loop-the-loop of diameter 46.3 ± 0.5 cm, the minimum height found by testing is h_meas = 73.5 ± 1 cm, what fraction of the ball's energy is lost to friction and wobble?

Possible answers: 0.183, 0.15, 0.322, 0.222, 0.25, 0.082, 0.223, 0.138, 0.144, 0.177

Part D) If, on the loop-the-loop of diameter 43.1 ± 0.7 cm, the minimum height found by testing is h_meas = 78.5 ± 0.6 cm, what is the uncertainty in the fractional energy is loss?

Possible answers: 0.005, 0.013, 0.004, 0.01, 0.014, 0.009, 0.011, 0.012, 0.006, 0.007

Better Mousetraps has developed a new trap. It can go into production for an initial investment in equipment of $6.3 million. The equipment will be depreciated straight line over 6 years to a value of zero, but in fact it can be sold after 6 years for $538,000. The firm believes that working capital at each date must be maintained at a level of 15% of next year’s forecast sales. The firm estimates production costs equal to $1.00 per trap and believes that the traps can be sold for $4 each. Sales forecasts are given in the following table. The project will come to an end in 6 years, when the trap becomes technologically obsolete. The firm’s tax bracket is 35%, and the required rate of return on the project is 9%. Use the MACRS depreciation schedule.

a. What is project NPV? (Negative amount should be indicated by a minus sign. Do not round intermediate calculations. Enter your answer in millions rounded to 4 decimal places.)

b. By how much would NPV increase if the firm depreciated its investment using the 5-year MACRS schedule? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Enter your answer in whole dollars not in millions.)

Austin Enterprises makes and sells three types of dress shirts. Management is trying to determine the most profitable mix. Sales prices, demand, and use of manufacturing inputs follow.

The company faces two limits: (1) the volume of each type of shirt that it can sell (see maximum annual demand) and (2) 35,500 direct labor-hours per year caused by the plant layout.

Required:

a-1. Assuming the company can satisfy the annual demand, calculate the contribution margin for each type of dress shirt using the table below

a-2. How much operating profit could the company earn if it were able to satisfy the annual demand?

b-1. Compute the contribution margin for each shirt per the constrained resource, direct labor.

b-2. Which of the three product lines makes the most profitable use of the constrained resource, direct labor?

c. Given the information in the problem so far, what product mix do you recommend?

d-1. Calculate the contribution margin for each type of dress shirt using the table below.

d-2. How much operating profit should your recommended product mix generate?

e. Suppose that the company could expand its labor capacity by running an extra shift that could provide up to 17,000 more hours. The direct labor cost would increase from $14 to $17 per hour for all hours of direct labor used during the additional shift. What additional product(s) should Austin manufacture and what additional profit would be expected with the use of the added shift?

1. Alan owes Brian HK$5,000, which is due on 31 March. On 15 March, he sought Brian’s consent to accept a lesser sum of US$600 on 24 March (i.e., one week in advance of the due date) to discharge the whole debt. Brian agreed to this arrangement. Alan then made a bank loan of US$600 at an annual interest rate of 5% with a view to paying Brian. Today is 24 March, Brian has now changed his mind. He insists to revert to the previous position of full payment HK$5,000 to be paid on 31 March. Advise Alan if his part payment is able to discharge the whole debt in such case. [ Discuss the doctrine of promissory estoppel.]

2       Milky entered into a contract for the hire of 6 rooms in New Castle Hotel in    Kowloon West. The purpose of the contract was to watch the fireworks gala in the Victoria Harbour on the 1st July (Reunification Day) through the windows of the rooms. Milky planned to invite her close friends and their families to stay in the 6 rooms to enjoy the fireworks. Just two hours before start of the fireworks, the Hong Kong Police Force received a serious threat from some terrorist organizations that they would launch large scale attack to the crowds who gathered to watch the fireworks. The Hong Kong Government immediate ordered the cancellation of the fireworks and gave an order that this kind of gala will not be launched at least for five years. Milky, having already paid a deposit, refused to pay the balance of the room charges. The hotel took legal action to recover the balance.

Required:

Analyse the chance of success by the hotel and explain in detail the legal principles that you base on for analysis.

3      Devil Computers Ltd (DCL) produces hard disks for installing in computers. The Hong Kong Land Bank (HKLB) would like to purchase new computers for its new computer room situate at the fourth floor of its headquarters in Homantin. HKLB asked DCL for their hard disks which could survive in good conditions for at least 3 years. DCL sold some of their “long life” hard disks to HKLB.

         In fact, the “long life” hard disks only survived for 6 months and the staff of HKLB complained about the performance and quality of the hard disks.

Required:

Advise whether HKLB could claim damages and repudiate the contract of sale with DCL under the provisions of the Sale of Goods Ordinance. Detail explanation of that specific provision is necessary.     

Please answer questions 2 through 7

1. A deli raises the price of its deluxe cheeseburger from $9.50 to $10.50. The quantity sold falls from 125/day to 100/day. Calculate the arc price elasticity of demand.

2. Given your answer to (1), and given that the marginal cost of is $5, should the restaurant raise or lower its price of its deluxe cheeseburger to increase profits?

3. AutoClean does car detailing for $80 per car. Market research indicates that if the price was increased to $105 quantity demanded would fall to zero. Assuming that demand can be modeled with a linear demand curve, estimate the price elasticity of demand at $80.

4. The only thing that changes in Dullsville is the price of a stay at the Dullsville Inn. You've collected the following data on the rates charged (for a suite with 2 queen-sized beds and 'free' continental breakfast) and the number of rooms occupied. The Inn has 100 suites, and at no time were potential visitors turned away due to no vacancy. Use this data to estimate a 'constant elasticity' demand function. Estimate the price elasticity of demand.

Observation Rate per night Quantity (rooms rented)

1 $70 40

2 $65 50

3 $80 30

4 $52 62

5 $92 31

6 $64 41

7 $43 78

8 $74 35

9 $83 33

10 $54 52

11 $87 30

12 $84 28

13 $68 40

14 $43 69

15 $48 53

16 $78 34

17 $72 48

18 $58 53

19 $56 59

5 - 7. Next door to the Dullsville Inn is the Vagabond Hotel. Their rate for a single room is $50/night, with an average of 60 rooms occupied per night. Assume that the industry norm for the price elasticity of demand for hotels like the Vagabond Hotel is -1.6. Further assume that the demand function is reasonably approximated with a constant-price elasticity of demand functional form: Q = aP^b, where b is the price elasticity of demand.

5. Use the above information to calculate the value for 'a.'

6. Use the resulting demand function to estimate the number of rooms occupied if the price was increased to $60/night.

7. The marginal cost of providing a room at the Vagabond Hotel is $20. Use the markup rule for profit maximization to calculate the profit maximizing rate.

Said Al Hamli and his friend Khaled Al Masri are the owners of a small hotel, the Sun Star, in the Red Sea town of Hurghada. Close to Cairo, the resort town has grown from a fishing village to one of Egypt’s famous vacation spots. Hurghada is the gateway to many small islands and offshore reefs favored by recreational snorkelers and divers and many tourists combine their stay with excursions to the Nile Valley, the Great Pyramids and Luxor.

To take advantage of the growing numbers of tourists, particularly from Europe and the Middle East, Said and Khaled are planning to double the room capacity of their hotel by adding a second building to the already existing structure. Fortunately, Said recognized the great potential of Hurghada ten years ago, well before the town became a hub for recreational tourism, and bought the land adjacent to the hotel for relatively little money when it was still under construction.

Now, Said and Khaled are studying the new layout and trying to determine if the expected revenues justify the substantial initial investment of EGP 70 million ($11.8 million). According to their calculations, operating cost would rise by EGP 23.8 million ($4 million) in the first year, which would include hiring and training of new personnel, maintenance of facilities and equipment etc., and likely increase by about 5 percent per year thereafter. With an aggressive marketing strategy, Said and Khaled believe that a revenue enhancement of EGP 20.8 million in the first year is realistic and that a subsequent annual increase of about 15 percent for eight to nine years, with revenues leveling off thereafter, can be achieved. Ideally, Khaled would like to retire in ten years. Seeking advice from you, a knowledgeable friend, they share their detailed cost and revenue projections with you.

QUESTIONS

The Sai Kung Inn is a small family-run hotel in the New Territories. As a family-owned business, it relies mainly on traveler recommendations and on visitors to local Sai Kung residents. In particular, it ranks in the top 10% of TripAdvisor’s accommodations in Sai Kung. The Sai Kung Inn has 12 guest rooms, and to keep the operation running efficiently it employs two full-time reception staff, and three morning housekeeping staff.

Winnie is the hotel manager and the daughter of the property owner. She is considering to adopt a balanced scorecard approach for performance evaluation. She has identified a number of potential performance measures:

1. 1) Number of items on hotel restaurant menu

2. 2) Revenue

3. 3) Percentage of reception staff completing hospitality and customer satisfaction course

4. 4) Customer satisfaction with dining options

5. 5) Average percentage occupancy

6. 6) Number of restaurant staff completing cooking training courses

7. 7) Percentage of cleaning staff completing housekeeping and hygiene courses

8. 8) Average TripAdvisor rating

9. 9) Number of guest complaints about room cleanliness

10. 10) Average number of minutes taken to process guests’ check-in

11. 11) Total profits

12. 12) Frequency and quality of room cleaning

Required:

1. (a) Using the 12 performance measures suggested above, draw a balanced scorecard diagram for The Sai Kung Inn with the four main categories of the balanced scorecard, classifying each of the performance measures into one of the four categories. Draw arrows between individual performance measures to show causal links and indicate with a “+” or “–” whether the performance measure should increase or decrease.

2. (b) Winnie believes that The Sai Kung Inn’s occupancy rate is lower than her competitors because The Sai Kung Inn charges slightly higher prices and does not attract guests who prefer cheaper accommodation. Winnie believes that in order to improve the financial performance of The Sai Kung Inn, the company should focus on improving customer satisfaction to justify higher prices, instead of reducing costs to compete on price. She would like to improve the rank on TripAdvisor to be the top-rated accommodation in Sai Kung, by focusing on operational and staff improvements. Help Winnie develop two new performance measures to build into her balanced scorecard. For each performance measure you suggest, identify which category it would fit into, how to measure it, and how it relates to the organization goal.

Microeconomics has traditionally been built on the foundation of rational choice.   However, since the 70’s insights from blending psychology and economics have been changing the landscape.   Some have argued this new line of thinking, most often associated with behavioral economics, has laid waste to the micro model of choice.  

To what extent does the rational choice model have a future?   Can it absorb the new insights from behavioral? Do you think we will have two competing models of choice going forward?