Under competitive conditions, market prices a. are incapable of coordinating the actions of buyers and sellers. b. generally convey little information about the value and cost of goods. c. generally bring the self-interest of individuals into harmony with the general welfare. d. do not usually have much of an effect on the decisions of individuals.

You are an employee of an u. s. firm that produces personal computers in thailand and then exports them to the united states and other countries for sale. the personal computers were originally produced in thailand to take advantage of relatively low labor costs and a skilled workforce. other possible locations considered at that time were malaysia and hong kong. the u. s. government decides to impose punitive 100% ad valorem tariffs on imports of computers from thailand to punish the country for administrative trade barriers that restrict u. s. exports to thailand. how do you think your firm should respond? what does this tell you about the use of targeted trade barriers?

Shrieves casting company is considering adding a new line to its product mix, and the capital budgeting analysis is being conducted by sidney johnson, a recently graduated mba. the production line would be set up in unused space in the main plant. the machinery’s invoice price would be approximately $200,000, another $10,000 in shipping charges would be required, and it would cost an additional $30,000 to install the equipment. the machinery has an economic life of 4 years, and shrieves has obtained a special tax ruling that places the equipment in the macrs 3-year class. the machinery is expected to have a salvage value of $25,000 after 4 years of use. the new line would generate incremental sales of 1,250 units per year for 4 years at an incremental cost of $100 per unit in the first year, excluding depreciation. each unit can be sold for $200 in the first year. the sales price and cost are both expected to increase by 3% per year due to inflation. further, to handle the new line, the firm’s net working capital would have to increase by an amount equal to 12% of sales revenues. the firm’s tax rate is 40%, and its overall weighted average cost of capital, which is the risk-adjusted cost of capital for an average project (r), is 10%. define “incremental cash flow.” (1) should you subtract interest expense or dividends when calculating project cash flow?

Alpha industries is considering a project with an initial cost of $8 million. the project will produce cash inflows of $1.49 million per year for 8 years. the project has the same risk as the firm. the firm has a pretax cost of debt of 5.61 percent and a cost of equity of 11.27 percent. the debt–equity ratio is .60 and the tax rate is 35 percent. what is the net present value of the project?