Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s business and investing news quiz. Join us each week to test your knowledge of the stories making the headlines. Our business reporters come up with the questions, and you can show us what you know.
This week: The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday reported better-than-expected retail sales. Observers suggested lower gas prices freed up cash to spend at restaurants and bars, as well as clothing stores and online retailers. The new numbers were another sign that the country’s economic growth was continuing at a strong pace in the third quarter. But that’s America. How are things in this country? Well, we have insights.
1Farewell, inflation! According to a report this week, Canadian inflation tumbled to a mere 1.6 per cent annual rate in September. That is toward the bottom of the Bank of Canada’s target range and is the lowest reading since:
a. 2020
b. 2021
c. 2022
d. 2023
2To be sure, inflation is just one factor in determining how well people are living. How does the average purchasing power of a Canadian household now compare with its purchasing power immediately before the pandemic?
a. It is about 10 per cent lower
b. It is about 5 per cent lower
c. It is about 5 per cent higher
d. It is about 20 per cent higher
d. It is about 20 per cent higher. Despite what you may think, the average purchasing power of a Canadian household is up a rather impressive 21 per cent since the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. However, that overall figure hides large ups and downs. Purchasing power soared in the early days of the pandemic, but since 2022 rising inflation and higher interest rates have eroded purchasing power, especially among the bottom 40 per cent of households.
3The directors of Toronto-Dominion Bank are supposed to oversee the bank, so they have every reason to be embarrassed by the multibillion-dollar fines the bank has accumulated for its failure to prevent money-laundering in the United States. However, the bank’s directors do have some monetary consolation for the U.S. debacle. How much was the average TD director paid in 2023 for what amounts to a part-time job?
a. About $280,000
b. About $210,000
c. About $140,000
d. About $70,000
a. About $280,000. TD directors made an average of $285,000 last year for their part-time work on the bank’s board.
4David Einhorn, the hedge fund star who founded Greenlight Capital, attracted attention this week when he wrote that:
a. AI is a fraud
b. He expects the market to soar another 15 per cent
c. U.S. stocks are at their most expensive level in decades
d. He still foresees a recession next year
c. U.S. stocks are at their most expensive level in decades. Mr. Einhorn wrote in a letter to Greenlight shareholders that, by many measures, the U.S. stock market is now at its most expensive level since Greenlight was founded in 1996. He pointed out that it’s not just technology stocks that are trading at nosebleed valuations, but many mature industrial businesses as well.
5Which iconic company had US$50-billion wiped off its market value this week after it accidentally published its earnings report a day early?
a. ASML
b. Airbus
c. Tesla
d. Boeing
a. ASML, the Dutch company that dominates the global market for computer-chip-making equipment, saw its shares tumble 16 per cent on Tuesday after it accidentally published its earnings report earlier than expected. The report contained a downbeat sales forecast that cast a pall over ASML stock and the entire semiconductor sector.
6Which iconic company just announced plans to chop 10 per cent of its work force?
a. ASML
b. Airbus
c. Tesla
d. Boeing
d. Boeing, the embattled aircraft manufacturer, is planning to cut 17,000 jobs – roughly 10 per cent of its global workforce – and delay deliveries of some planes as it grapples with its recent history of accidents and technical malfunctions as well as a month-long strike.
7Why is milk so expensive in Canada? Perhaps because dairy farmers discard part of what they produce to help keep prices high. A contentious new report suggests that Canadian dairy farmers dispose of how much of the milk they produce?
a. 3 per cent
b. 5 per cent
c. 7 per cent
d. 10 per cent
c. 7 per cent. A paper published by the Ecological Economics journal estimates the Canadian dairy industry disposed of about 7 per cent of the milk it produced between 2012 and 2021. The dairy industry disputes the finding.
8Which province is Vancouver-based lumber giant Interfor Corp. saying goodbye to?
a. Quebec
b. Ontario
c. Alberta
d. Nova Scotia
a. Quebec. Interfor is selling three plants in Quebec and closing its Montreal office as it prepares to focus on other parts of the company.
9Why did Canada Revenue Agency, the national tax collector, fire 330 workers?
a. For revealing confidential information
b. For giving preferential treatment to relatives
c. For claiming benefits they were not entitled to
d. For submitting fake expense claims
c. For claiming benefits they were not entitled to. CRA said it fired the workers for improperly collecting the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. The benefit provided $2,000 a month to compensate people who lost their jobs as a result of public health restrictions during the pandemic.
10Bath and Body Works, the U.S. beauty company, apologized this week for selling holiday candles with a label that reminded many people of:
a. A Viagra commercial
b. The Ku Klux Klan
c. A swastika
d. A smiling Donald Trump
b. The Ku Klux Klan. The candle was emblazoned with an image of paper snowflakes that looked like Ku Klux Klan hoods.
11Which tech billionaire just gave US$75-million to support Donald Trump’s campaign, according to a report this week?
a. Mark Zuckerberg
b. Elon Musk
c. Jeff Bezos
d. Larry Ellison
b. Elon Musk gave the money to a pro-Trump group he founded over the summer.
12Why is the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla reaping a windfall from technology companies?
a. Because it allows companies to pay their taxes in cryptocurrency
b. Because it offers free solar power to software developers
c. Because its sand is considered the world’s best for making super-pure silicon chips
d. Because its internet addresses end in .ai, which AI developers think is cool
d. Because its internet addresses end in .ai. Revenue from the British territory’s web registration fees quadrupled last year and now account for about 20 per cent of Anguilla’s government revenue.
How well did you do?
Answer all of the questions to see your result
