Steve was wrongfully terminated by Sam, his former boss at Big Flop, Inc., falsely stating that Steve embezzled money. When Steve was asked why he was no longer employed at Big Flop, Steve had to tell his new prospective employer. Under this scenario, regarding a possible claim of defamation, in a state that recognizes compelled self-publication, Sam and Big Flop:
(A) are not liable since they are protected under the law.
(B) are not liable even though they lied because it was their opinion.
(c) are not liable because Steve did not have any injury to his reputation.
(D) are likely liable under the theory of compelled self-publication.

while setting up his new office, an attorney ordered thick, frieze carpets for the floor. however, the building inspector had him remove the expensive carpeting. the building inspector stated that according to federal regulations, the office must be wheelchair accessible as it is a public area. he further explained that since wheelchairs do not maneuver well in thick, frieze carpeting, the carpets had to be removed and be replaced with smooth-textured carpets that do not restrict wheelchair maneuverability. this scenario illustrates how a company is influenced by the component of its specific environment.

Onsider the following subscription behavior information from genie, a web site that provides tools for constructing a family tree (ancestor search). subscriptions cost $9.99 per month, but you are charged for the entire year at the time of purchase. there is a one-year minimum term when you sign up for the service. once purchased, subscriptions are set to renew automatically unless the subscriber cancels them. when a membership renews, it renews for a one-year term and again you are charged for the entire year. there are no variable costs associated with providing this service to an individual customer, but genie does engage in customer relationship activities that they believe will increase customer retention. these customer relationship activities cost genie about $10 per year per customer. based on a sample of 1000 customers that joined genie five years ago, near the time when the company was founded, they were able to determine how many of those customers remained subscribers in the second year, third year etc. based on this information, genie calculated the average annual retention rate to be 20%. genie uses an annual discount rate of 8%. a. last year, genie spent $10,000 placing advertisements on google. genie management believes that these advertisements were responsible for about 300 new subscribers. would you recommend to genie management that they purchase more google ads? b. suppose a newly-introduced loyalty program increases the number of customers that remained to 30%. does this new data change your answer to 9.a? c. do you have any hesitations or concerns about making recommendations to management based on your above estimate of customer lifetime value?

An investment offers a total return of 18 percent over the coming year. janice yellen thinks the total real return on this investment will be only 14 percent. what does janice believe the inflation rate will be over the next year?