Which of the following does not constitute an act of "investment" as economists use the term?
a)a department store increases its inventory of football jerseys before the super bowl.
b)a retiree buys 50 shares of stock at $10 a share and then sells the stock at a profit for $20 ashare.
c)the city council authorizes the construction of a new fire station.
d)an accountant attends a seminar on changes in the federal tax code.

Garrett is an executive vice president at samm hardware. he researches a proposal by a larger company, maximum hardware, to combine the two companies. by analyzing past performance, conducting focus groups, and interviewing maximum employees, garrett concludes that maximum has poor profit margins, sells shoddy merchandise, and treats customers poorly. what actions should garrett and samm hardware take? a. turn down the acquisition offer and prepare to resist a hostile takeover. b. attempt a friendly merger and use managerial hubris to improve results at maximum. c. welcome the acquisition and use knowledge transfer to impart sam hardware's management practices. d. do nothing; the two companies cannot combine without samm hardware's explicit consent.