a$)$ The capital structure of a company consists of debt and common equity. The firm has $500,000$ bonds outstanding that are selling at par value. The par value of each bond is $$1,000.$ Bonds with similar characteristics are yielding a before$-$tax return of $8$ percent. The company also has $30,000,000$ shares of common stock outstanding. The stock has a beta of $1\mathrm{.}50$ and sells for $$50$ a share. The return on U$.$S$.$ Treasury bills is $5$ percent and the market rate of return is $11$ percent. The company's tax rate is $25$ percent. What is the firm's weighted average cost of capital?

b$)$ The company is considering a five$-$year project that is expected to generate the following net $($or total$)$ after$-$tax cash flows.

$\backslash$table$[[,],[$Year$,$Operating Cash flow $(OCF{)}^{**}$