Durable ceramics, inc., provides inexpensive ceramic tile to builders of institutional buildings such as schools, prisons, and public administration buildings. it has always competed on a cost leadership basis. most of its products are purchased by a few commercial construction firms, so it is fairly dependent on these construction firms for selling its product. durable ceramics' next most-efficient competitor, cost-less ceramics, inc., earns average returns, whereas durable earns above-average returns. the commercial construction firms are putting pressure on durable to reduce its prices. if durable reduces its prices below those of cost-less's prices, it is likely that:
a. both durable and cost-less will devise additional ways to become more efficient in their production
processes.
b. durable will be unable to absorb the lower cost, and will go out of business.
c. both cost-less and durable will go out of business, leaving the customers with fewer alternative sources of
low-cost tile.
d. cost-less will go out of business, and durable will gain higher power over its customers.

He taylor company sells music systems. each music system costs the company $100 and will be sold to the public for $250. in year one, the company sells 100 gift cards to customers for $250 each ($25,000 in total). these cards are valid for just one year, and company officials expect them to all be redeemed. in year two, only 96 of the cards are returned. what amount of net income does the company report for year two in connection with these cards? a. $15,000b. $15,400c. $15,500d. $15,800

In year 1, the bennetts' 25-year-old daughter, jane, is a full-time student at an out-of-state university but she plans to return home after the school year ends. in previous years, jane has never worked and her parents have always been able to claim her as a dependent. in year 1, a kind neighbor offers to pay for all of jane's educational and living expenses. which of the following statements is most accurate regarding whether jane's parents would be allowed to claim an exemption for jane in year 1 assuming the neighbor pays for all of jane's support? a.no, jane must include her neighbor's gift as income and thus fails the gross income test for a qualifying relative.b.yes, because she is a full-time student and does not provide more than half of her own support, jane is considered her parent's qualifying child.c.no, jane is too old to be considered a qualifying child and fails the support test of a qualifying relative.d.yes, because she is a student, her absence is considered as "temporary." consequently she meets the residence test and is a considered a qualifying child of the bennetts.

In canada, the reference base period for the cpi is 2002. by 2012, prices had risen by 21.6 percent since the base period. the inflation rate in canada in 2013 was 1.1 percent. calculate the cpi in canada in 2013. hint: use the information that “prices had risen by 21.6 percent since the base period” to find the cpi in 2012. use the inflation rate formula (inflation is the growth rate of the cpi) to find cpi in 2013, knowing the cpi in 2012 and the inflation rate. the cpi in canada in 2013 is round up your answer to the first decimal. 122.9 130.7 119.6 110.5