Buying nature of consumer

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Firms supply the goods and services that we as households demand. So what are people looking to buy? 
•Why do they select one product over another?
•Can free markets really allocate scarce resources in such an uncontrolled and often chaotic marketplace?
•Search the news for stories related to the supply and/or the demand for a product that you find interesting.
•Perhaps something that you recently purchased or are considering for a future purchase. What's in the news and how can you use economic principles to become a better shopper? 
•Do not copy and paste directly from the article except for small quotes that help explain your summary. Use quotations marks for anything that is directly from the news story. 
•Include the EXACT URL that can be clicked to directly retrieve the news story you selected at the end of your paper for citation purposes. NOTE: This is NOT the link to the news organization. The URL must retrieve the actual news story.

Be sure to reference all sources using APA format.

By the way, you have just passed another turn of centuries

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By the way, you have just passed another turn of centuries, from the 20th to the 21st. From your "modern" perspective, do you feel that DuBois's statement is still valid today? Do you find that DuBois was correct in his prediction that issues of "race" and "ethnicity" would be at the center of American social, political and artistic developments? Or do you find that the interaction between "minorities" and "majorities" in the United States has taken on a lesser or different role than that which DuBois predicted? 

Write a formal, 5-paragraph essay in response to this question. Base your answer on your own observations - as well as on your assigned reading this week and next. 

Important Note. Your Introduction, Thesis, and Outline for the essay are due this week. The essay itself is due Week 02.

Calculate the expected returns of your portfolio

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1. Calculate the expected returns of your portfolio
   
   

   Stock	Invest	Exp Ret
   A	$358	8.1%
   B	$954	18.1%
   C	$1,383	26%

   
   
   
   Note: Enter your answer in percentages rounded off to two decimal points. Do not enter % in the answer box. For example, if your answer is 12.345% then enter as 12.35 in the answer box.

1 points   

QUESTION 2

1. Suppose a stock had an initial price of $64.29 per share, paid a dividend of $5 per share during the year, and had an ending share price of $94.19. What are the dollar returns?
   Note: Enter your answer rounded off to two decimal points. Do not enter $ or comma in the answer box. For example, if your answer is $12.345 then enter as 12.35 in the answer box.

1 points   

QUESTION 3

1. Suppose the returns for Stock A for last six years was 4%, 7%, 8%, -2%, 9%, and 7%. 
   Compute the standard deviation of the returns.
   Note: Enter your answer in percentages rounded off to two decimal points. Do not enter % in the answer box. For example, if your answer is 0.12345 then enter as 12.35 in the answer box.

1 points   

QUESTION 4

1. You own a portfolio invested 19.2% in Stock A, 19.27% in Stock B, 28.6% in Stock C, and the remainder in Stock D. The beta of these four stocks are 0.82, 0.69, 0.94, and 0.91. What is the portfolio beta?
   Note: Enter your answer rounded off to two decimal points. For example, if your answer is 12.345 then enter as 12.35 in the answer box.

1 points   

QUESTION 5

1. Suppose a stock had an initial price of $66.22 per share, paid a dividend of $4.3 per share during the year, and had an ending share price of $84.92. What are the percentage returns?
   Note: Enter your answer in percentages rounded off to two decimal points. Do not enter % in the answer box. For example, if your answer is 0.12345 then enter as 12.35 in the answer box.

1 points   

QUESTION 6

1. Calculate the expected returns of your portfolio
   
   

   Stock	Invest	Exp Ret
   A	$427	3.6%
   B	$921	16.7%
   C	$330	28.7%

   
   
   
   Note: Enter your answer in percentages rounded off to two decimal points. Do not enter % in the answer box. For example, if your answer is 12.345% then enter as 12.35 in the answer box.

1 points   

QUESTION 7

1. You own a portfolio invested 26.47% in Stock A, 18.59% in Stock B, 22.2% in Stock C, and the remainder in Stock D. The beta of these four stocks are 1.35, 1.33, 0.29, and 1.26. What is the portfolio beta?
   Note: Enter your answer rounded off to two decimal points. For example, if your answer is 12.345 then enter as 12.35 in the answer box.

1 points   

QUESTION 8

1. Suppose a stock had an initial price of $96.73 per share, paid a dividend of $7.3 per share during the year, and had an ending share price of $103.32. What are the percentage returns if you own 25 shares?
   Note: Enter your answer in percentages rounded off to two decimal points. Do not enter % in the answer box. For example, if your answer is 0.12345 then enter as 12.35 in the answer box.

1 points   

Calculate the total amount of interest expense over the life of the bonds for the following independent

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 Question 1

Calculate the total amount of interest expense over the life of the bonds for the following independent situations.

a) AED100,000 face value, 10%, 10-year bonds issued at 101.

b) AED240,000 face value, 5%, 5-year bonds issued at 100.

c) AED300,000 face value, 9%, 6-year bonds issued at 98.

 Question 2

ABC Corporation issued AED2,000,000 of 10%, 6-year bonds dated July 1, 2011, with semiannual interest payments .  The bonds were issued on January 1, 2011, at 97.  ABC’s year-end is December 31.

a) Were the bonds issued at a premium, a discount, or at par?

b) Was the market rate of interest higher, lower, or the same as the contract rate of interest?

c) If the company uses the straight-line method of amortization, what is the amount of interest expense ABC  Corporation will show for the year ended December 31, 2011?

Question3

On the first day of the current fiscal year, AED2,000,000 of 10-year, 10% bonds, with interest payable annually, were sold for AED2,250,000.  Present entries to record the following transactions for the current fiscal year:

(a)	Issuance of the bonds.
(b)	First annual interest payment.
(c)	Amortization of bond premium for the year, using the straight-line method of amortization.

Question4

Future Sources, Inc. reported the following results for the year ending July 31, 2012:

Retained earnings, August 1, 2011	$875,000
Net income	260,000
Cash dividends declared	120,000
Stock divide nds declared	100,000

Prepare a retained earnings statement for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2012.

Calculating Present Values (Problem 2-1, p. 46)

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1- Calculating Present Values (Problem 2-1, p. 46)

Calculate the present value of each of the following CASH flow streams, using a discount rate of 10%.

a. $500 received at the end of 5 years.
b. $500 received annually for each of the next 5 years.
c. $500 received annually for each of the next 50 years.
d. $500 received annually for 100 years.

2-2

Singular Construction is evaluating whether to build a new distribution facility. The proposed investment will cost Singular $4 million to construct and provide cash savings of $500,000 per year over the next 10 years.

a. What rate of return does the investment offer?
b. If Singular were to invest another $200,000 in the facility at the end of 5 years, it would extend the life of the project for 4 years, during which time is would continue receiving cash savings of $500,000. What is the international rate of return for this investment?

Can you produce a family tree for at least three generations of your family

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Can you produce a family tree for at least three generations of your family, a friend's family, or a famous family such as the Bushes, Clintons, or Barrymores, following these genetic traits:
•Eye color
•Hair color
•Dominant hand
•Height
•Widow's peak
•Hitchhiker's thumb
•A family genetic disorder (this is not required and should only be provided at one's discretion)

Summarize the inheritance of sex-linked traits through meiosis and how it relates to genetics.

Create a 5- to 6-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation illustrating your findings and summarizing the inheritance of sex-linked traits.

CASE #3: Game Not Over, Not Yet

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CASE #3: Game Not Over, Not Yet

Although their expertise lies in creating games, it’s definitely serious business for the video game industry. The computer and video game industry has struggled over the last couple of years as game makers look for new sources of revenues and work to hold down costs. One company, Electronic Arts (EA), exemplifies the challenges of this industry, in which customers are fickle and demanding and competition is intense. As one of the world’s leading video game publishers, EA lives and dies by its innovations. Its product lineup includes more than 100 titles such as

Def Jam Vendetta, The Sims, Madden NFL Football, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. The company has created more than 50 best-sellers (each with more than 1 million copies sold) since 1998. In 2006, revenues were $2.9 billion, down 5.7 percent. And although net income was still $236 million, it was down 53 percent. Although the company has a record of accomplishments, paranoia is a critical part of its success. A top game title takes anywhere from 12 to 36 months to produce and costs between $5 million and $10million.

That’s a significant investment risk riding on the company’s ability to be innovative. John Riccitello, the former president and chief operating officer who left the company in 2004 to start a private equity firm and who returned to the company in early 2007 as CEO, guided much of the company’s game design accomplishments. He said, “The forgotten aspect of creativity is discipline.” The hard part, and the part that EA pursues relentlessly, “is identifying the right idea, assembling the best development team, solving the inevitable technical problems, creating a game that people want to play, getting all of the work done on schedule, getting it to market at the right time, and knowing how to generate buzz about it in an increasingly crowded market.” How does EA do it? It starts with the discipline of understanding ideas. Game designers try to identify the creative center of a game—what they call the “creative x”—so they understand what the game is about. Then, it’s the discipline of understanding the customers by using focus groups to pinpoint desires and likes and dislikes. And it’s the discipline of sharing best practices and technologies through the company’s intranet library. As one employee said, “If somebody develops a better blade of grass in one game, that grass will be in somebody else’s game the next day.” Then, there’s the discipline of developing the next generation of creative leaders. The company’s “emerging leaders” program gives participants firsthand experience in departments outside their own. And there’s the discipline of studying the competition. Employees are encouraged to know the features of competitors’ products. Then, it’s disciplined project management. Riccitello, known for his strict discipline, said, “If you’re working on a game and you miss your deadlines, you won’t be working here very long.” Although the discipline of creativity is important at EA, you can’t overlook the passion of the company’s game designers. Nearly everyone at EA

grew up playing games. They love what they do and are inspired to look for new and creative challenges not only for the hard-core gamers, but for the casual gamers, as well.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe EA’s competitive advantage from each of the three perspectives on competitive advantage. 2. Does EA exhibit the critical success factors for the new business context? Explain.

3. Describe the types of resources EA appears to have. Do you think any of these resources might be unique? Explain.

4. What stakeholders might EA have to be concerned with and how might those stakeholders affect EA’s strategic decisions and actions?