An investor sells short 100 shares of abc common stock at 50 on june 5th. on december 10th of the same year, the investor buys 100 shares of abc common stock at 40 and delivers the stock to cover the short sale. the federal income tax treatment of this transaction is:

(a) a long-term capital gain

(b) a short-term capital gain

(c) a long-term capital loss

(d) a short-term capital loss

In the 1970s, kmart used blue light specials to encourage customers to flock to a particular department having a temporary sale. a spinning blue light activated for approximately 30 seconds, and then an in-store announcement informed shoppers of the special savings in the specific department. over time, loyal kmart shoppers learned to flock to the department with the spinning blue light before any announcement of special savings occurred. if kmart was employing classical conditioning techniques, what role did the spinning blue light play?