Plimpton Company produces countertop ovens. Plimpton uses a standard costing system. The standard costing system relies on direct labor hours to assign overhead costs to production. The direct labor standard indicates that two direct labor hours should be used for every oven produced. The normal production volume is 100,000 units. The budgeted overhead for the coming year is as follows: Fixed overhead $770,000
Variable overhead 444,000
Plimpton applies overhead on the basis of direct labor hours. During the year, Plimpton produced 97,000 units, worked 196,000 direct labor hours, and incurred actual fixed overhead costs of $780,000 and actual variable overhead costs of $435,600.
Required:
1. Calculate the standard fixed overhead rate and the standard variable overhead rate.
2. Compute the applied fixed overhead and the applied variable overhead.
What is the total fixed overhead variance?
What is the total variable overhead variance?
3. Break down the total fixed overhead variance into a spending variance and a volume variance.
Spending Variance $
Volume Variance $
4. Compute the variable overhead spending and efficiency variances.
5. Now assume that Plimpton’s cost accounting system reveals only the total actual overhead. In this case, a three-variance analysis can be performed. Using the relationships between a three- and four-variance analysis, indicate the values for the three overhead variances.

Cooper sues company a in state court in south carolina, where he lives, for negligence alleging personal injury and property damage of $100,000 after a truck driven by an employee of company a rear-ended his pickup truck. company a is incorporated in delaware, has its headquarters in new york, but does a substantial amount of business in south carolina. claiming diversity of citizenship, company a seeks removal to federal district court, but cooper opposes the motion. which of the following is true regarding whether the case may be properly removed to federal district court? the amount in controversy satisfies diversity requirements; and if company a's nerve center is in a state other than south carolina, then the case may be properly removed to federal court. the amount in controversy satisfies diversity requirements; and because company a is incorporated and has its headquarters in a state other than south carolina, the case may be properly removed to federal court. because the amount in controversy satisfies diversity requirements and company a is incorporated in a state other than south carolina, the case may be properly removed to federal court regardless of where company a's headquarters, nerve center, or principal place of business is located. because the amount in controversy satisfies diversity requirements and company a is headquartered in a state other than south carolina, the case may be properly removed to federal court regardless of where company a is incorporated and regardless of the location of its nerve center. because the amount in controversy fails to satisfy jurisdictional requirements, regardless of the location of company a, the case may not be removed to federal court.

Google started as one of many internet search engines, amazon started as an online book seller, and ebay began as a site where people could sell used personal items in auctions. these firms have grown to be so large and dominant that they are facing antitrust scrutiny from competition regulators in the us and elsewhere. did these online giants grow by fairly beating competition, or did they use unfair advantages? are there any clouds on the horizon for these firms -- could they face diseconomies of scale or diseconomies of scope as they continue to grow? if so, what factors may limit their continued growth?

China's new 5 percent tax on disposable wooden chopsticks, reflecting concerns about deforestation, has been praised by environmentalists. the move is hitting hard at the japanese, who consume 25 billion set of wooden chopsticks annually. almost all of the chopsticks used in japan come from china. the reuirements for chinese manufacturers of wooden chopsticks to pay the 5 percent tax is a factor in their external environment.