Jack's Construction Co. has 80 bonds outstanding that are selling at their par value of $1,000 each. Bonds with similar characteristics are yielding a pretax 8.6 percent return. The firm also has 4,000 shares of common stock outstanding. The stock has a beta of 1.1 and sells for $40 a share. The U. S. T-bill is yielding 4 percent, the market risk premium is 8 percent, and the firm's tax rate is 21 percent. Assuming its earnings are sufficient to classify all interest as tax deductible, What is the pre-tax cost of debt

Over the past year, three of the star salesmen at family resorts international's corporate office have been lured away to competitors. on top of that, karina, the general manager of the sales department, has noticed that most employees come in, do their jobs, and leave. family resorts offers a good salary, benefits, and tuition reimbursement, as well as a number of development and training programs. most employees seem contented enough, but karina would like to do something to increase the level of engagement among her staff. what do you think karina should do?