Simon lost $8,900 gambling this year on a trip to las vegas. in addition, he paid $2,160 to his broker for managing his $216,000 portfolio, and $1,615 to his accountant for preparing his tax return. in addition, simon incurred $2,590 in transportation costs commuting back and forth from his home to his employer's office, which were not reimbursed. calculate the amount of these expenses that simon is able to deduct (assuming he itemizes his deductions).

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?

When peter metcalf describes black diamond’s manufacturing facility in china as a “greenfield project,” he means that partnered with a chinese company to buy the plant . of all market entry strategies, this one carries the lowest risk. because black diamond manufactures its outdoor sports products outside the united states, what risks must its managers be aware of?

Zara, a global retail and apparel manufacturer based in spain that has successfully implemented this idea by having a continuous flow of new products that are typically limited in supply. zara has created a system that draws its clientèle into its stores, on average, 17 times per year as compared to 4 times per year for most stores. how is zara using it to gain competitive advantage? what specific technologies are used by zara to maintain this advantage over its competition?