Identify a true statement about alliances and joint ventures. They prevent partners from achieving economies of scale and scope that would be easy for a firm operating alone to accomplish. They are likely to be less favored as a means of doing business in emerging countries. They fail to help partners overcome the effects of local collusion or limits being put on foreign competition. They have become popular in recent years because of the significant operational benefits they offer to both multinational companies (MNCs) and their local partners.

Rate of return douglas keel, a financial analyst for orange industries, wishes to estimate the rate of return for two similar-risk investments, x and y. douglas's research indicates that the immediate past returns will serve as reasonable estimates of future returns. a year earlier, investment x had a market value of $27 comma 000; and investment y had a market value of $46 comma 000. during the year, investment x generated cash flow of $2 comma 025 and investment y generated cash flow of $ 6 comma 770. the current market values of investments x and y are $28 comma 582 and $46 comma 000, respectively. a. calculate the expected rate of return on investments x and y using the most recent year's data. b. assuming that the two investments are equally risky, which one should douglas recommend? why?