Jones Closers specializes in closing residential mortgage transactions. The company employs a large number of people and some individuals specialize in overseeing the final session where the details of the loan are finalized and the borrower(s) are typically present to execute the documents. Jones allows 2 hours for each closing and the standard cost for a 2-hour session is $80. The 2-hour standard time includes breaks for the staff. During the last year, in response to more requirements and stricter enforcement of existing requirements, the staff closed 1200 loans in 3,200 hours. Assuming no change in labor costs and a work force that is no less or no more efficient than the work force in place when the standard was established, estimate the total cost to Jones of the added requirements and increased scrutiny.

The market for corn in country a is highly competitive. at the current market price of $5/bushel there is a shortage of 100,000 bushels of corn in this country. media reports claim that the price of corn will rise drastically in the near future. according to these reports, the neighboring country b had witnessed a similar situation recently. at the same price, the shortage in country b was also 100,000 bushels and eventually the equilibrium price in b went up to $10/bushel. both countries are known to have equal number of corn producers and the market supply of corn is identical at all prices. this, combined with the fact that consumers in the two countries also have similar tastes and preferences, led the media to conclude that the price of corn in country a would soon be as high as $10/bushel. the new equilibrium price turns out to be below $10/bushel, what inferences can be drawn?

Following is a list of various costs incurred in producing replacement automobile parts. with respect to the production and sale of these auto parts, classify each cost as either variable costs, fixed costs, or mixed costs. 1. oil used in manufacturing equipment 2. plastic 3. property taxes, $165,000 per year on factory building and equipment 4. salary of plant manager 5. cost of labor for hourly workers 6. packaging 7. factory cleaning costs, $6,000 per month 8. metal 9. rent on warehouse, $10,000 per month plus $25 per square foot of storage used 10. property insurance premiums, $3,600 per month plus $0.01 for each dollar of property over $1,200,000 11. straight-line depreciation on the production equipment 12. hourly wages of machine operators 13. electricity costs, $0.20 per kilowatt-hour 14. computer chip (purchased from a vendor) 15. pension cost, $1.00 per employee hour on the job

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.