Donations are pouring in to renovate 24 Sussex Dr., the official residence of Canadian prime ministers.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s business and investing news quiz. Join us each week to test your knowledge of the stories making headlines. Our business reporters come up with the questions, and you can show us what you know.
This week: We have reached the halfway point of the year, some assets are up and some are down, the state of USMCA isn’t much clearer and donations are pouring in to renovate 24 Sussex Dr. Take our quiz and find out what happened in business.
a. The Canadian economy returned to growth to start the second quarter, rebounding from a mild contraction in the first three months of 2026. Statistics Canada said that real gross domestic product rose 0.5 per cent in April, the fastest growth rate for the economy since July, 2025.
b. Foreign investors are buying Canada’s federal bonds in record amounts. The most recent data for Government of Canada bonds show that foreign investors purchased $27.7-billion in April, a record monthly total, while their share of the bonds outstanding climbed to an all-time high of 43 per cent. Among Group of Seven sovereign debt markets, only France and Germany, backed by the euro’s status as a major reserve currency, attract a higher foreign stake.
c. Just about every major stock market index did well from Jan. 1 to June 30, but the standout star was the red-hot KOSPI Composite Index in South Korea. It soared 97 per cent as the country’s big computer chip makers rocketed higher. By comparison, the S&P/TSX Composite (up 9.9 per cent), the Nasdaq (up 12.6 per cent) and the Nikkei (up 40 per cent) looked like ho-hum propositions.
b. The market is a fickle beast. Last year, it loved gold. This year, it hates it. Bullion has lost about 15 per cent in value over the past three months. Maybe it’s the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates that has diminished enthusiasm for the yellow metal. Or maybe it’s Main Street investors turning their attention to newer fads such as SpaceX. Whatever the case, gold just suffered its worst quarter in 13 years.
d. The Japanese yen is now at its lowest point against the U.S. dollar since 1986. Its slide is prompting fears that Japanese authorities may decide to intervene in ways that could ripple through the global economy. If Tokyo were to start selling U.S. Treasuries to pull down the greenback’s soaring value, it could drive up interest costs in the United States and elsewhere.
d. Gosh, remember when U.S. presidents thought their job was to run the country and contribute to a better world? Not Mr. Trump. He seems intent on squeezing every possible drop of personal profit out of the presidency by hawking Bibles, sneakers and watches with his name on them. His biggest money maker has been cryptocurrency tokens. According to a federal filing published this week, Mr. Trump took in more than US$1.2-billion from sales of crypto products last year.
c. Mr. Trump negotiated the USMCA during his first term and once called it the “fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement” ever. He appears to have changed his mind.
a. Gander Social is a crowdfunded Canadian social-media platform born out of the nation’s “elbows up” moment. It aims to give users an alternative to U.S. sites controlled by billionaires. So far, it has raised $2-million from 2,517 Canadian investors and has amassed more than 18,000 members.
c. Sigh. It appears we might be even more superficial than we thought. Prof. Diamond’s research found that non-working women who started weight-loss drugs were 27 percentage points more likely to have started a job within 18 months of their weight loss than those who weren’t using the drugs but wanted to.
b. Ouch. It’s not just Canada’s auto sector that is feeling the heat. Germany’s Volkswagen is considering shutting four German factories and cutting as many as 100,000 jobs in what could be the biggest overhaul in the carmaker’s history. The automaker has been facing intense pressure from Chinese rivals and has been struggling to navigate the transition to electric vehicles.
d. Comcast is splitting into two publicly traded companies. One will be anchored by Comcast’s cable, wireless and business services arm. The other will be built around Universal theme parks, film and TV studios, NBC, Peacock and the European media business Sky. The split demonstrates how the media business is shifting as viewers move away from traditional broadcasters and migrate to social media and streaming services.
All kidding aside, the state of 24 Sussex is a national disgrace. The 1860s-era property was home to nine Canadian prime ministers between the 1950s and 2015, but the structure has deteriorated in recent years and no prime minister has lived there for the past decade. The Rideau Hall Foundation is attempting to raise $50-million to rebuild the property. It raised just over $100,000 in donations during the first weekend after the plan was announced.