Consider the following probability distribution for stocks A and B: State Probability Return on Stock A Return on Stock B 1 0.15 8 % 8 % 2 0.20 13 % 7 % 3 0.15 12 % 6 % 4 0.30 14 % 9 % 5 0.20 16 % 11 % The expected rates of return of stocks A and B are and , respectively.

The treasurer for pittsburgh iron works wishes to use financial futures to hedge her interest rate exposure. she will sell five treasury futures contracts at $139,000 per contract. it is july and the contracts must be closed out in december of this year. long-term interest rates are currently 7.30 percent. if they increase to 9.50 percent, assume the value of the contracts will go down by 20 percent. also if interest rates do increase by 2.2 percent, assume the firm will have additional interest expense on its business loans and other commitments of $149,000. this expense, of course, will be separate from the futures contracts. a. what will be the profit or loss on the futures contract if interest rates increase to 9.50 percent by december when the contract is closed out

How does your household gain from specialization and comparative advantage? (what is produced, what is not produced yet paid to a specialist to produce? )

Suppose farmer lane grows and sells cotton in a perfectly competitive industry. the market price of cotton is $1.64 per kilogram, and his marginal cost of production is $1.44 per kilogram, which increases with output. assume farmer lane is currently earning a profit. can farmer lane do anything to increase his profit in the short run? farmer lane: a. cannot do anything to increase his profit. b. may or may not be able to increase his profit. c. can increase his profit by raising his price. d. can increase his profit by producing more output. e. can increase his profit by shutting down.