Affiliate Marketing Secrets

JKRB, Don G and Sandy…first of all, thanks to all of you for your guidance through so many accounting problems on this forum. I have often been able to work through problems by reading your explanations and analysis’. You are helping so many more than the one who is asking the question! And speaking of questions…I have a whopper! The examples given in our text are so different from this problem. Desperately hoping one of you can help guide me through this one. (BTW..the first number will be the book value and the second will be the fair value..yahoo moves my numbers over like that.)
Axel Corporation acquires 100% of the stock of Wheal Company on December 31, Year 4. The following information pertains to Wheal Company on the date of acquisition:
Book Value Fair Value
Cash $40,000 $40,000
Accounts receivable 60,000 55,000
Inventory 50,000 75,000
Property, plant and equip (net) 100,000 200,000
Secret formula (patent) ___ 30,000
Total Assets $250,000 $400,000
Accounts payable $30,000 $30,000
Accrued employee pensions 20,000 22,000
Long-term debt 40,000 38,000
Capital stock 100,000 ___
Other contributed capital 25,000 ___
Retained earnings 35,000 ___
Total liabilities and equity $250,000 $90,000
Axel Corporation issues $110,000 par value ($350,000 market value on December 31, Year 4) of its own stock to the shareholders of Wheal Company to consummate the transaction, and Wheal Company becomes a wholly owned, consolidated subsidiary of Axel Corporation.
Required:
a. Prepare journal entries for Axel Corp. to record the acquisition of Wheal Company stock assuming (1) pooling accounting and (2) purchase accounting.
b. Prepare the worksheet entries for Axel Corp. to eliminate the investment in Wheal Company stock in preparation for a consolidated balance sheet at December 31, Year 4 assuming (1) pooling accounting and (2) purchase accounting.
c. Calculate consolidated retained earnings at December 31, Year 4 (Axel’s retained earnings at this date are $150,000), assuming:
(1) Axel Corp. uses the pooling method for this business combination.
(2) Axel Corp. uses the purchase method for acquisition of Wheal Company.
check
(b) Cr. Investment in Wheal for $110,000 in (1), and $350,000 total in (2)

I was gonna by ten grand worth of my company stock when it was down to a dollar from it’s usual fifteen or twenty dollars a couple years ago when the stock market was down, and at the last second changed my mind, and then a year and a half later it boomed from a dollar not just back to fifteen or twenty, but to fifty five dollars a share! If I’d put the ten thousand, or even five thousand in I’d be rich, and now I’m kicking myself silly.
but I also realized that our company could have easily declaredbankruptcyy like so many others and I’d have lost all my money, but still it is painful.
Do stock brokers go through this all the time? “Oh man, woulda shoulda coulda” every time a stock goes through the roof but they didn’t buy any.
It’s different for me though, because the ten thousand I wanted to invest anyway, just wasn’t sure where to invest it at the time, and it was my own company stock, and my friends told me to buy it, but for some reason I changed my mind, and my money just sat in my checking account when it could have made me rich.
I feel really bad, since that money would solve everything for me right now in my life, and I was so close. I tried to tell myself that this happens all the time in the stock market, and there’s no way of really knowing what’s gonna happen, but it’s still painful.
Anybody know any secrets to help get me over the guilt?