1. Which one of the following is a leading indicator for thegeneral business cycle?

residential building contracts

retail sales

unemployment figures

2. Which one of the following is a coincident indicator for thegeneral business cycle?

residential building contracts

retail sales

unemployment figures

bank rates on business loans

3.

Which factor affecting demand for goods and services is anexternal factor?

salesperson quotas or incentives

expansion or contraction of geographical market target areas

government actions

product mix

4.

Which one of the following factors affecting demand for goodsand services is an internal factor?

backlog policy

general state of the economy

competitor actions

consumer tastes

5.

Which one of the following statements about forecasting isFALSE?

To achieve the objective of developing a useful forecast fromthe information at hand, the forecaster must select the appropriatetechnique. This choice sometimes involves a trade-off betweenforecast accuracy and cost.

Three general types of forecasting techniques are used fordemand forecasting: time series analysis, causal methods, andjudgment methods.

Time series express the relationship between the factor to beforecast and related factors, such as promotional campaigns,economic conditions, and competitor actions.

A time series is a list of repeated observations of aphenomenon, such as demand, arranged in the order in which theyactually occurred.