At a family gathering, your uncle hears that you are taking a finance course with many real life applications. He wants to consult you regarding a new house he likes very much. The house is selling for $250,000. Your uncle can put $50,000 down and qualifies for 4% APR for 30 year mortgage. He asks you how much his monthly payments will approximately be if he buys the house. What would be your answer

You are chairman of the board of a successful technology firm. there is a nominal federal corporate tax rate of 35 percent, yet the effective tax rate of the typical corporation is about 12.6%. your firm has been clever with use of transfer pricing and keeping money abroad and has barely paid any taxes over the last 5 years; during this same time period, profits were $28 billion. one member of the board feels that it is un-american to use various accounting strategies in order to avoid paying taxes. others feel that these are legal loopholes and corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to minimize taxes. one board member quoted what the ceo of exxon once said: “i’m not a u. s. company and i don’t make decisions based on what’s good for the u. s.” what are the alternatives? what are your recommendations? why do you recommend this course of action?

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?

Abank provides its customers mobile applications that significantly simplify traditional banking activities. for example, a customer can use a smartphone to take a picture of a check and electronically deposit into an account. this unique service demonstrates the bank’s desire to practice which one of porter’s strategies?