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Overspeculation and a decrease in consumer confidence are both leading factors of: ?

In the fall, jay thompson decided to live in a university dormitory. he signed a dorm contract under which he was obligated to pay the room rent for the full college year. one clause stated that if he moved out during the year, he could sell his dorm contract to another student who would move into the dormitory as his replacement. the dorm cost was $5000 for the two semesters, which jay had already paid a month after he moved into the dorm, he decided he would prefer to live in an apartment. that week, after some searching for a replacement to fulfill his dorm contract, jay had two offers. one student offered to move in immediately and to pay jay $300 per month for the eight remaining months of the school year. a second student offered to move in the second semester and pay $2500 to jay. jay estimates his food cost per month is $500 if he lives in the dorm and $450 if he lives in an apartment with three other students. his share of the apartment rent and utilities will be $404 per month. assume each semester is 4.5 months long. disregard the small differences in the timing of the disbursements or receipts. what is the cost of the cheapest alternative?

Simon, aged 10, is invited to a classmate's birthday party at an exclusive ski resort on march 15th. the day will include 4 hours of snowboarding, lunch and birthday cake. simon's mother checks a box on the invitation that says "yes, we will attend" and returns it to the classmate's address. unfortunately, they later don't attend the party when simon comes down with the flu. on march 17th, simon's mother receives an invoice in the mail from simon's classmate for $35 that says, "party no-show fee." can simon's classmate collect the fee?