Hans Miken, president of Miken Corporation, believes that it is a good practice for a company to maintain a constant payout of dividends relative to its earnings. Last year, net income was $600,000, and the corporation paid $120,000 in dividends. This year, due to some unusual circumstances, the corporation had income of $1,600,000. Hans expects next year’s net income to be about $700,000. What was Miken Corporation’s payout ratio last year? If it is to maintain the same payout ratio, what amount of dividends would it pay this year?

Why might complaints of age discrimination grow when the economy is slow? companies work very hard to retain their best talent in a recession. older employees provide a large pool of talented workers. companies may try to lower their labor costs by laying off higher paid workers. companies may try to provide more opportunities to younger workers. older workers are least affected by a slow economy?

Jameson manages a well-known cell phone company. this company has been voted as having the best cell-phone service. consumers appreciate the fact that they can call from almost anywhere in the world and the service still gets through. jameson knows that the company's product far surpasses that of the competition. one thing has been bothering him, though. in order to put so many resources into ensuring the best service, jameson has cut back on employees at the firm's customer call center. recently, consumers have begun complaining about long wait times when they call in with a problem or concern. although its cell phone service is still considered one of the best, customer satisfaction with the firm's customer service has plummeted. jameson does not understand why consumers are getting so upset. he believes the exceptional cell phone service more than makes up for long waiting periods and other issues with its customer service. "after all," he says, "they can't have it all. if i invest more in customer service, that means less investment on ensuring the quality of our product offering."refer to scenario. jameson has asked you, a marketing consultant, to give him advice. he cannot understand how a cell-phone company with the best product offering in the cell-phone service industry could get such low satisfaction ratings simply because the customer service is not up to par. you suggest that jameson has a narrowly defined view of the company's product offering. you tell jameson that successful marketers should define their products as what they

wilson's has 10,000 shares of common stock outstanding at a market price of $35 a share. the firm also has a bond issue outstanding with a total face value of $250,000 which is selling for 102 percent of face value. the cost of equity is 11 percent while the preminustax cost of debt is 8 percent. the firm has a beta of 1.1 and a tax rate of 34 percent. what is wilson's weighted average cost of capital?