31. Beta. Go to our Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/bmm6e, and link to the material for Chapter 12, where you will find a spreadsheet containing 5 years of monthly rates of return on Dell Computer (DELL), Consolidated Edison (ED), and the S&P 500. (LOI)

a. Calculate the beta of each firm. Use Excel's SLOPE function, which fits a regression line through a scatter diagram of two series of numbers.

b. Does the relative magnitude of each beta make sense in terms of the business risk of the two firms? Explain.