Trip corp. began business in 2015. on december 31, 2015, trip's single pool of inventory was valued at $300,000, using the dollar-value lifo inventory method. on december 31, 2016, the value of trip’s inventory at current costs was $450,000. the 2016 year-end cost index was 120. what was the value of trip's inventory at the end of 2016, using the dollar-value lifo method?

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.