Mila De Jong is your client. She has emigrated from the Netherlands and has lived in the United States for the last 10 years. She is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Mila owns a small flower shop, which she runs as a sole proprietorship and reports her earnings on Schedule C. Mila usually keeps her receipts in a digital file and brings you a Excel spreadsheet in which she tracks her income and expenses by month for the year.

However, Mila does not understand the U.S. tax system and laws very well because in the Netherlands, there is a Value-Added Tax (VAT) system in which you can either deduct items or you cannot. She is not used to the “either or” scenario that standard deductions and itemized deductions present.

She has an appointment to come to your office this week. However, she will not be alone. She will be bringing her recently naturalized parents and her brother to file their tax returns as well. They too are equally confused about U.S. tax law. Excited at the prospect of two new returns that you can charge for, you decide to create a PowerPoint presentation for the family to explain things.

Explain the following points.

• Determining net business income and how it translates to personal income
• The rules governing the difference between standard and itemized deductions

1. What could cause a shift in the (U.S.) demand for British pounds?

a. A change in our tastes and preferences for their goods.

b. A change in our income.

c. A change in trade restrictions.

d. A change in monetary policy.

e. All of the above.

2. The exchange rate between the U.S. and Japan can be interpreted as:

a. the price of U.S. currency in terms of the Japanese currency.

b. the cost of obtaining funds in the U.S. relative to the cost of obtaining funds in Japan.

c. the difference between the interest rates in the U.S. and Japan.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

3. Suppose that one U.S. dollar is exchanged for 100 yen in the foreign exchange market. If so, then a toy selling for 1,000 yen in Japan has a U.S. dollar price of:

a. 10 cents.

b. $1.

c. $10.

d. $100

e. $1000.

4. If the price of a British pound falls from $1.50 to $1.00, we can say that:

a. the dollar price of British goods has fallen.

b. the pound price of British goods has risen.

c. the dollar price of U.S. goods has fallen.

d. All of the above.

e. Only B and C of the above.

5. If the euro appreciates against the U.S. dollar, then:

a. European consumers will buy more American goods.

b. Americans will buy fewer European goods.

c. More Europeans will travel to, and visit, the United States.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

1. If China were to adopt a floating exchange-rate regime, it would:

a. cause the Chinese trade balance to fall.

b. cause the U.S. trade balance with China to fall.

c. force the U.S. to adopt a fixed exchange rate to maintain the balance of trade.

d. de-stabilize the entire world economy.

2. When Pam from Pennsylvania buys stock in Ford Motor Co., she is contributing to:

a. domestic portfolio investment in the U.S.

b. capital outflow for the U.S.

c. capital inflow for the U.S.

d. foreign direct investment for the U.S.

3. When interest rates in the U.S. increase, we could expect:

a. more foreigners investing in U.S. assets.

b. less foreigners investing in U.S. assets.

c. more U.S. citizens investing abroad.

d. less U.S. citizens investing in U.S. assets.

4. If we consider the savings, investment, and net exports in the United States in recent years, the gap between savings and investment is almost exactly:

a. the government deficit.

b. the balance of payments.

c. direct foreign investment.

d. the trade balance.

5. For any given country, the net capital outflows to all other countries equal:

a. net exports to all other countries.

b. net capital inflows from all other countries.

c. national savings.

d. net foreign direct investment to all other countries.

Many people assume that when employers economize on safety programs the money they save improves profits, but that’s not the case. For one thing, poor safety practices raise wage rates, because wage rates are higher on jobs with riskier working conditions, other things equal. And poor safety and the injuries and illnesses it begets actually drive up costs, including medical expenses, workers’ compensation, and lost productivity. Consider the evidence. One study found a 9.4% drop in injury claims and a 26% average savings on workers’ compensation costs over 4 years in companies inspected by California’s occupational safety and health agency. A survey of chief financial officers concluded that for every one dollar invested in injury prevention, the employer earns two dollars; 40% said “productivity” was the top benefit of effective workplace safety. One forest products company saved over $1 million over 5 years by investing only about $50,000 in safety improvements and employee training. In the United States, work-related hearing loss costs employers about $242 million a year in workers’ compensation claims alone, costs that are probably avoidable through earmuffs, earplugs, and training. So one of the easiest ways to cut costs and boost profits is to spend money improving safety.

Assuming this is true, why do so many employers apparently cut corners on safety?

Activity 2

Record your data from Activity 1 in the boxes below. Place the data (turbidity value, appearance) for the samples in the appropriate columns (clean standard,           maximum load, standard, sample 1, sample 2, sample 3)

The following information will be needed to make your conclusion --

In the region of the United States you are investigating, the allowable standards of turbidity are:

Drinking water is 0.3 NTU

Water for irrigation and industrial use 5 NTU

Water released into lakes is 10.0 NTU

Water released into rivers 15.0 NTU

PLEASE ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS THANK YOU!

1. Is the turbidity spectrometer accurate based on the data from the Clean Water and Maximum Load Water Standards?

Explain why or why not?

2. Is the relationship between the appearance of the sample and the NTU value of each sample consistent for all samples?

Explain why or why not.?

3. For each sample, make a recommendation for the best way to release or use the waste water based on the Turbidity Stands Chart.

.

Motorola Mobility LLC is a company that develops mobile devices. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States, the company was formed on January 4, 2011 by the split of Motorola Inc. into two separate companies; Motorola Mobility took on the company's consumer-oriented product lines, including its mobile phone business and its cable modems and set-top boxes for digital cable and satellite television services, while Motorola Solutions retained the company's enterprise-oriented product lines. Early 2012, Google decided to purchase Motorola mobility LLC for $12.5b. Google had a plan to keep Motorola mobility for 5 years. Google financial analysis team made the following forecasts:

And that the average book value of asset is $8b and Google’s required rate of return is its WACC.

7- Calculate net present value (NPV) for the above investment decision. Would you accept or reject this investment decision? Why? (NOTE: RATE is 12.05%)

8- Calculate payback period. If you know that google accepts projects with 4 years payback period. Would you accept that project?

9- Calculate the Motorola project internal rate of return (IRR). Would you accept or reject this project? Why?

The record of international trade in goods and services and international transfer payments is called

Select one:
a. the exchange rate account
b. the foreign account
c. the balance of payments
d. the current account
e. the capital account

Under a flexible exchange rate system, expansionary fiscal policy

Select one:
a. has no effect on the trade balance
b. is very effective because crowding out cannot occur
c. cannot change the level of consumption
d. always has to be supplemented by restrictive monetary policy
e. will cause a deterioration of the trade balance

A depreciation of a currency occurs when:

Select one:
a. Inflation falls
b. The value of the currency increases
c. The overall balance of payments improves
d. The value of the currency falls
e. The balance of payments improves

Which of the following items are deficit items in the balance of payments for the United States?

Select one:
a. a French and a German citizen make a deposit in a U.S. bank
b. a French citizen buys a U.S. Securities
c. a U.S. citizen buys a vacation home in Mexico
d. a German citizen makes a deposit in a U.S. bank
e. a German citizen buys a U.S. Treasury bill

In a model with flexible exchange rates and capital mobility, expansionary fiscal policy is likely to cause

Select one:
a. a reduction in net exports
b. a decrease in imports
c. an increase in the current account surplus
d. an outflow of funds
e. a currency depreciation

11.

The answer to the question, “Where did modern humans come from?” __________.

12.

Which of the following would provide evidence supporting the multiregional model?

13.

Which of the following are early human remains found in the United States?

14.

Which of the following characteristics is a good indicator that the remains being examined are modern and not archaic Homo sapiens?

15.

Which of the following describes technical intelligence?

Argosy Gaming

Argosy Gaming Company is the owner and operator of six riverboat gambling casinos and hotels in the United States. Argosy has developed a centralized enterprise data warehouse to capture the data generated at each property. As part of this effort, Argosy selected an extract-transform-load (ETL) tool to gather and integrate the data from six different operational databases to create its data warehouse.

The plan is to use the data to help Argosy management make quicker, well-informed decisions based on patrons’ behaviors, purchases, and preferences. Argosy hopes to pack more entertainment value into each patron’s visit by better understanding their gambling preferences and favorite services. The data will also be used to develop targeted direct mail campaigns, customize offers for specific customer segments, and adapt programs for individual casinos.

Review Questions

1. What are the key components that Argosy must put into place to create an environment for a successful BI and analytics program?
2. What complications can arise from gathering data from six different operational databases covering six riverboat gambling casinos and hotels?

Critical Thinking Questions

1. The Argosy BI and analytics program is aimed at boosting revenue not at reducing costs. Why do you think this is so?
2. What specific actions must Argosy take to have a successful program that will boost revenue and offset some of the increases in costs?