The economic policy of letting industry/business owners set work conditions without interference

In its 2016 annual report, caterpillar inc. reported the following (in millions): 2016 2015 sales $38,537 $47,011 cost of goods sold 28,309 33,546 as a percentage of sales, did caterpillar's gross profit increase or decrease during 2016? select one: a. gross profit increased from 26.8% to 28.6% b. gross profit decreased from 28.6% to 26.5% c. gross profit increased from 71.4% to 73.2% d. gross profit decreased from 73.2% to 71.4% e. there is not enough information to answer the question.

San ruiz interiors provides design services to residential and commercial clients. the residential services produce a contribution margin of $450,000 and have traceable fixed operating costs of $480,000. management is studying whether to drop the residential operation. if closed, the fixed operating costs will fall by $370,000 and san ruiz’ income will

Consider the following scenarios. use what you have learned to decide if the goods and services being provided are individual, public, or merit goods. for each case, state what kind of good has been described and explain your answer using the definitions of individual, public, and merit goods. (6 points each) 1. from your window, you can see a city block that's on fire. you watch city firefighters rescue people and battle the flames to save the buildings. 2. while visiting relatives, you learn that your cousins attend a nearby elementary school that is supported financially by local property tax revenue. 3. you see a squadron of military jets flying overhead. 4. you find out that your aunt works for a defense manufacturing company that has several defense contracts with the government. she tells you that she works for a team that is producing a communications satellite. 5. your class visits a local jail run by a private, profit-making company that detains county criminals and is paid with tax revenue.