A broker-dealer is looking to expand its business. In an attempt to lure the business of a prominent local investment adviser representative (IAR), it offers the IAR several of its services allowing them to be paid for by soft dollars. Which of the following would be an inappropriate soft dollar arrangement?[A] The offer of market quotes performed in real time[B] The offer of the use of asset allocation software that has been customized for the application[C] The offer of subscriptions to the broker-dealer's research reports[D] The offer of paying the salary for the services of an analyst from the research department.

Suppose that fixed costs for a firm in the automobile industry (start-up costs of factories, capital equipment, and so on) are $5 billion and that variable costs are equal to $17,000 per finished automobile. because more firms increase competition in the market, the market price falls as more firms enter an automobile market, or specifically, , where n represents the number of firms in a market. assume that the initial size of the u.s. and the european automobile markets are 300 million and 533 million people, respectively.a. calculate the equilibrium number of firms in the u.s. and european automobile markets without trade.b. what is the equilibrium price of automobiles in the united states and europe if the automobile industry is closed to foreign trade? c. now suppose that the united states decides on free trade in automobiles with europe. the trade agreement with the europeans adds 533 million consumers to the automobile market, in addition to the 300 million in the united states. how many automobile firms will there be in the united states and europe combined? what will be the new equilibrium price of automobiles? d. why are prices in the united states different in (c) and (b)? are consumers better off with free trade? in what ways?