What types of new products could be targeted at low-income customers in emerging economies?

In its 2016 annual report, caterpillar inc. reported the following (in millions): 2016 2015 sales $38,537 $47,011 cost of goods sold 28,309 33,546 as a percentage of sales, did caterpillar's gross profit increase or decrease during 2016? select one: a. gross profit increased from 26.8% to 28.6% b. gross profit decreased from 28.6% to 26.5% c. gross profit increased from 71.4% to 73.2% d. gross profit decreased from 73.2% to 71.4% e. there is not enough information to answer the question.

The purpose of safety stock is to: a. eliminate the possibility of a stockout. b. control the likelihood of a stockout due to variable demand and/or lead time. c. eliminate the likelihood of a stockout due to erroneous inventory tally. d. protect the firm from a sudden decrease in demand. e. replace failed units with good ones.

Consider the following two projects. both have costs of $5,000 in year 1. project 1 provides benefits of $2,000 in each of the first four years only. the second provides benefits of $2,000 for each of years 6 to 10 only. compute the net benefits using a discount rate of 6 percent. repeat using a discount rate of 12 percent. what can you conclude from this exercise?