each chapter to further test student comprehension and critical thinking abilities. The Test Bank is also available in computerized version. Test bank disks are available in Windows compatible formats.     For the Student   Solutions Manual The Solutions Manual, prepared by the authors, includes a detailed solution to each end-of-chapter problem. This manual is available for packaging with the text. Please contact your local McGraw-Hill/Irwin representative for further details on how to order the Solutions manual/textbook package.     Standard & Poors Educational Version of Market Insight   McGraw-Hill/Irwin and the Institutional Market Services division of Standard & Poors is pleased to announce an exclusive partnership that offers instructors and students access to the educational version of Standard & Poors Market Insight. The Educational Version of Market Insight is a rich online source that provides six years of fundamental financial data for 100 U.S. companies in the renowned COMPUSTAT database. S&P and McGraw-Hill/Irwin have selected 100 of the best, most often researched companies in the database.     PowerWeb   Introducing PowerWeb-getting information online has never been easier. This McGraw- Hill website is a reservoir of course-specific articles and current events. Simply type in a discipline-specific topic for instant access to articles, essays, and news for your class. All of the articles have been recommended to PowerWeb by professors, which means you wont get all the clutter that seems to pop up with typical search engines. How- ever, PowerWeb is much more than a search engine. Students can visit PowerWeb to take a self-grading quiz, work through an interactive exercise, click through an interactive glos- sary, and even check the daily news. In fact, an expert for each discipline analyzes the days news to show students how it is relevant to their field of study. Front Matter Preface The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2001           xvi PREFACE     ACKNOWLEDGMENTS