(Ignore income taxes in this problem.) The management of Stanforth Corporation is investigating automating a process. Old equipment, with a current salvage value of $15,000, would be replaced by a new machine. The new machine would be purchased for $408,000 and would have a 6 year useful life and no salvage value. By automating the process, the company would save $141,000 per year in cash operating costs. The simple rate of return on the investment is closest to:

Afirm's before-tax cost of debt, rd, is the interest rate that the firm must pay on debt. because interest is tax deductible, the relevant cost of debt used to calculate a firm's wacc is the cost of debt, rd (1 – t). the cost of debt is used in calculating the wacc because we are interested in maximizing the value of the firm's stock, and the stock price depends on cash flows. it is important to emphasize that the cost of debt is the interest rate on debt, not debt because our primary concern with the cost of capital is its use in capital budgeting decisions. the rate at which the firm has borrowed in the past is because we need to know the cost of capital. for these reasons, the on outstanding debt (which reflects current market conditions) is a better measure of the cost of debt than the . the on the company's -term debt is generally used to calculate the cost of debt because more often than not, the capital is being raised to fund -term projects. quantitative problem: 5 years ago, barton industries issued 25-year noncallable, semiannual bonds with a $1,600 face value and a 8% coupon, semiannual payment ($64 payment every 6 months). the bonds currently sell for $845.87. if the firm's marginal tax rate is 40%, what is the firm's after-tax cost of debt? round your answer to 2 decimal places. do not round intermediate calcu

Kiona co. set up a petty cash fund for payments of small amounts. the following transactions involving the petty cash fund occurred in may (the last month of the company's fiscal year). may 1 prepared a company check for $350 to establish the petty cash fund. 15 prepared a company check to replenish the fund for the following expenditures made since may 1. a. paid $109.20 for janitorial services. b. paid $89.15 for miscellaneous expenses. c. paid postage expenses of $60.90. d. paid $80.01 to the county gazette (the local newspaper) for an advertisement. e. counted $26.84 remaining in the petty cashbox. 16 prepared a company check for $200 to increase the fund to $550. 31 the petty cashier reports that $380.27 cash remains in the fund. a company check is drawn to replenish the fund for the following expenditures made since may 15. f. paid postage expenses of $59.10. g. reimbursed the office manager for business mileage, $47.05. h. paid $48.58 to deliver merchandise to a customer, terms fob destination. 31 the company decides that the may 16 increase in the fund was too large. it reduces the fund by $50, leaving a total of $500.

Afamily wishes to save for future college expenses. which financial tool should the family invest in?