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 in business and investing: The big Canadian banks announced their earnings this week, with Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce announcing profit gains, while Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia had far more middling results. TD announced it would cut its work force by 3 per cent as its profit dropped by 57 per cent. Drawing particular attention was the variation between the banks for how much each bank has set aside for bad loans, with Scotiabank adding $1.3-billion compared with $720-million for RBC or $541-million at CIBC
Meanwhile: The mayor of Paris had some thoughts to share with the world, and Charlie Munger, a man known for speaking his mind, died.
Do you remember these stories? Take our quiz below to test your recall for the week ending Dec. 1.
1It has been a very good year for Canadian e-commerce specialist Shopify. Its share price climbed after:
a. Its customers set a Black Friday sales record
b. It introduced a new suite of AI tools
c. It slashed its work force by 20 per cent
d. All the above
d. All the above. Shopify’s share price has doubled since the start of the year.
2It has been a very bad year for Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals. What is its biggest problem?
a. A change of chief executives
b. Disappointing ore grades at its mine in Zambia
c. Legal problems at its mine in Panama
d. Tumbling copper prices
c. Legal problems at its mine in Panama. Panama’s top court has ruled that First Quantum’s 20-year contract to mine copper at the giant Cobre Panama mine is unconstitutional.
3Inflation has plunged in recent months but prices are still – mostly – going up, albeit at a slower pace. Which one of the following is among the few items to actually go down in price?
a. Cottages
b. Halifax real estate
c. Potatoes
d. New cars
a. Cottages. Cottage prices are falling under the combined onslaught of higher mortgage rates and a softer economy.
4At the start of 2023, many experts agreed it was time for investors to move away from glamorous, highly priced growth stocks and focus instead on solid, sensible value stocks. So how has the S&P 500 Value Index performed so far this year?
a. It lost 8 per cent
b. It flat-lined
c. It returned nearly 13 per cent
d. It returned nearly 24 per cent
c. It returned nearly 13 per cent. Value stocks have produced double-digit returns. Nothing wrong with that – but see the next answer.
5A follow-up question: How has the S&P 500 Growth Index – the one that focuses on all those high-flying growth companies – performed this year?
a. It lost 8 per cent
b. It flat-lined
c. It returned nearly 13 per cent
d. It returned nearly 24 per cent
d. It returned nearly 24 per cent. Growth stocks have had a sizzling year and nearly doubled the return from value stocks.
6Charlie Munger, the billionaire investor who died this week at the age of 99, was known for his long, close alliance with Warren Buffett and for his caustic tongue. He once said, “I’d rather throw a viper down my shirtfront than …”
a. “Run for political office”
b. “Invest in bitcoin”
c. “Trust economists’ forecasts”
d. “Hire a compensation consultant”
d. “Hire a compensation consultant.” Mr. Munger was no fan of compensation consultants. He thought their primary function was to ratchet up executive pay for no good reason.
7Let’s stay on that theme of frank talk. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo lashed out this week at a continuing problem, labelling it a “gigantic global sewer.” She was referring to:
a. The Mediterranean Sea
b. X, formerly known as Twitter
c. The United Nations
d. The role of air travel in spreading pandemics
b. X, formerly known as Twitter. Ms. Hidalgo said X was “destroying our democracies” by spreading disinformation and hatred.
8Over the next few weeks, there could be a surge in porch thefts – the swiping of delivery packages from doorsteps while the homeowner is at work. How many Canadians say they have already been the victims of porch pirates?
a. One in two
b. One in four
c. One in five
d. One in ten
b. One in four. A FedEx survey found 28 per cent of respondents said they have had packages stolen in the past.
9Fast-fashion giant Shein is expected to list its shares in New York next year in one of the biggest initial public offerings in years. Critics, though, accuse the Singapore-based company of:
a. Using forced labour to make its cheap clothes
b. Destroying valuable farmland
c. Abusing its social media presence
d. Relying on aggressive accounting assumptions
a. Using forced labour to make its cheap clothes. Shein faces accusations that it uses Uyghur forced labour in China to make its low-priced apparel.
10Hudson’s Bay. Co. announced this week that it was appointing Liz Rodbell as president. Ms. Rodbell was an intriguing choice to head Canada’s oldest retailer because:
a. She has been Hudson’s Bay president before
b. She is the first woman in the job
c. She comes from outside retailing
d. Her experience is mostly in Asia
a. She has been Hudson’s Bay president before. Ms. Rodbell led Hudson's Bay from 2013 to 2017.
11Uber made headlines this week by attempting to recruit members of which group to its ride-hailing platform?
a. New York’s dollar vans
b. London’s black cabs
c. Mumbai’s auto rickshaws
d. Paris’s taxis
How well did you do?
Answer all of the questions to see your result
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Ian McGugan