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: Earning season rolls merrily along! Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. reported that traffic to its stores fell slightly in the first quarter ended March 30. The retailer’s revenue fell by 4.9 per cent in the quarter compared with the prior year, to $3.5-billion. Meanwhile, Telus Corp. reported that operating revenues and other income for the quarter totalled $4.93-billion, down from $4.96-billion in the first quarter of 2023. And Quebecor Inc. reported revenue totalling $1.36-billion for the quarter, up from $1.12-billion in the first quarter of 2023. The hike came partly from the company’s acquisition of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.
Also: Shopify Inc. reported its results as well – and shareholders had feelings.
c. Apple set off a furious reaction with its ad for the new thinner iPad. Viewers apparently did not appreciate the sight of creative tools being crushed by a giant machine. Imagine that.
c. 10,000. Royal Caribbean said it will hire around 10,000 workers this year. The number of people taking cruises hit a record in 2023.
d. All of the above. Mr. Abel was born and raised in Edmonton and graduated from the University of Alberta. He is related to the hockey great.
b. Chevrolet Malibu. GM is saying goodbye to the Chevy Malibu after selling more than 10 million of them since the car was introduced in 1964. The decision is intended to free up manufacturing room for an updated version of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle.
d. 17 per cent. The percentage of space available to lease in Toronto’s financial district was 17 per cent as of late April.
a. A new rule requiring them to be in the office at least three days a week. Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said federal workers will be taking to the streets to protest a new rule that says they must be in the office at least three days a week. Previously, two to three days had been the standard.
c. Everything they are owed. FTX said in a court filing that nearly all its customers will receive what they are owed and some will get even more.
b. Forecasting lower-than-expected revenue and profit margins. Shopify’s revenue bounded ahead by double digits in its first fiscal quarter. However, its shares plummeted after it forecast lower-than-expected revenue growth and profit margins in the next quarter.
a. Regina. The Regina store will close next year and leave Canada’s oldest retailer with just one store in Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon.
b. Curbing money laundering crimes. Peter Routledge, superintendent of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, told journalists that “it is incumbent upon regulators and boards of directors to redouble efforts on surveillance detection and response. I’m confident, but am I satisfied with where we are? No, we have to get better."
d. It lost about $750-million. Canada Post lost $748-million before tax in 2023. That compared with a loss before tax of $548-million in 2022.
a. 81 hours a week. Yes, 81 hours a week is bad. But it doesn’t stop there, with 14 per cent of junior bankers surveyed by FN saying they routinely clock more than 90 hours a week.
Ian McGugan