Pretend you are the Chief of Staff for the CEO of a large manufacturing corporation. The CEO has come to you in a panic. He says "Our chief economist has taken ill with COVID-19 and has been hospitalized. I need some answers to important questions about the economy. I see from your resume that you took an Economics course in college. Please fill in for our colleague and organize answers for the following questions (if you do them well, you can expect a promotion and raise in your future)":

a . I'm embarrassed to ask, but what the hell are stock buy-backs and why should our company care about them?

b . The Board of Directors has promised me a bonus if our stock price rises. Rumor has it that the FED is planning to increase interest rates. Will this help my chances to get a bonus? Won't our stock price rise along with interest rates?

c . What the hell are the goals of macroeconomic policy and how can the government contribute to their achievement? I'm supposed to lead a panel discussion on this tomorrow. I'm supposed to use the

Agg D / Agg S model, whatever that is. Help!!

d . If, as rumor has it, the FED raises interest rates, will this help or hurt our sales to our customers in Europe?