What is the difference between a mortgage and a mortgage-backed security?
a. mortgages are usually used to create a portfolio, whereas mortgage-backed securities are held separately.
b. mortgages are provided to households or firms, whereas mortgage-backed securities are provided mainly to financial institutions.
c. no interest is paid on mortgage-backed securities, whereas interest and principal payments are paid on mortgages.
d. mortgages are loans, whereas mortgage-backed securities are bond-like debt instruments.

Amanda works as an industrial designer

In december of 2004, the company you own entered into a 20-year contract with a grain supplier for daily deliveries of grain to its hot dog bun manufacturing facility. the contract called for "10,000 pounds of grain" to be delivered to the facility at the price of $100,000 per day. until february 2017, the supplier provided processed grain which could easily be used in your manufacturing process. however, no longer wanting to absorb the cost of having the grain processed, the supplier began delivering whole grain. the supplier is arguing that the contract does not specify the type of grain that would be supplied and that it has not breached the contract. your company is arguing that the supplier has an onsite processing plant and processed grain was implicit to the terms of the contract. over the remaining term of the contract, reshipping and having the grain processed would cost your company approximately $10,000,000, opposed to a cost of around $1,000,000 to the supplier. after speaking with in-house counsel, it was estimated that litigation would cost the company several million dollars and last for years. weighing the costs of litigation, along with possible ambiguity in the contract, what are three options you could take to resolve the dispute? which would be the best option for your business and why?

The purchasing agent for a company that assembles and sells air-conditioning equipment in a latin american country noted that the cost of compressors has increased significantly each time they have been reordered. the company uses an eoq model to determine order size. what are the implications of this price escalation with respect to order size? what factors other than price must be taken into consideration?