There are several reasons a consumer would be reluctant to adopt a new product. For example, a consumer might be reluctant to adopt a new product because of a psychological barrier, which occurs when

Which of the following statements is correct? a. two firms with identical sales and operating costs but with different amounts of debt and tax rates will have different operating incomes by definition. b. free cash flow (fcf) is, essentially, the cash flow that is available for interest and dividends after the company has made the investments in current and fixed assets that are necessary to sustain ongoing operations. c. retained earnings as reported on the balance sheet represent cash and, therefore, are available to distribute to stockholders as dividends or any other required cash payments to creditors and suppliers. d. if a firm is reporting its income in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, then its net income as reported on the income statement should be equal to its free cash flow. e. after-tax operating income is calculated as ebit(1 - t) + depreciation.

Information on gerken power co., is shown below. assume the company’s tax rate is 40 percent. debt: 9,400 8.4 percent coupon bonds outstanding, $1,000 par value, 21 years to maturity, selling for 100.5 percent of par; the bonds make semiannual payments. common stock: 219,000 shares outstanding, selling for $83.90 per share; beta is 1.24. preferred stock: 12,900 shares of 5.95 percent preferred stock outstanding, currently selling for $97.10 per share. market: 7.2 percent market risk premium and 5 percent risk-free rate. required: calculate the company's wacc. (do not round intermediate calculations and enter your answer as a percent rounded to 2 decimal places, e. g., 32.16.) wacc %

Richardson hired j. c. flood company, a plumbing contractor, to correct a stoppage in the sewer line of her house. the plumbing company's 'snake' device, used to clear the line leading to the main sewer, became caught in the underground line. to release it, the company excavated a portion of the sewer line in richardson's backyard. in the process, the company discovered numerous leaks in a rusty, defective water pipe that ran parallel with the sewer line. to meet public regulations, the water pipe, of a type no longer approved for such service, had to be replaced either then or later, when the yard would have to be excavated again. the plumbing company proceeded to repair the water pipe. though richardson inspected the company's work daily and did not express any objection to the extra work involved in replacing the water pipe, she refused to pay any part of the total bill after the company completed the entire operation. j. c. flood company then sued richardson for the costs of labor and material it had furnished. (c) for what, if anything, should richardson be liable? explain."