Question: U.S. banks have been merging to form mega banks that span many states. The table given lists the number of U.S. bank mergers each year from 1980 (year 1) to 1993 (year 14) for which $50 million or more changed hands in the transaction.

a) Assuming a linear relationship between x and y, find the regression coefficients b₀ and b₁.

b) Interpret the meaning of b₁ in this problem.

c) Find the correlation coefficient r.

d) At the 0.05 level of significance, is there a significant correlation between x and y?

e) Compute the coefficient of determination r² and interpret its meaning for the data.

f) Based on results from (c) to (e), how many mergers would be predicted in 1994 (year 15)? Compare your answer to the actual number of 1994 mergers: 42.