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: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is turning one city into the billionaire capital this weekend with his lavish wedding, and in another financial capital, an upset in New York City’s mayoral race has turned heads. Meanwhile, both Tesla and BlackBerry saw their shares jump this week. Why? Take our quiz and find out.
1Prime Minister Mark Carney is raising eyebrows with his pledge to boost Canada’s defence spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product. This would be the biggest jump in Canadian military spending since:
a. 2010, when Stephen Harper was prime minister
b. 1995, when Jean Chrétien was prime minister
c. 1956, when Louis St. Laurent was prime minister
d. 1942, when Mackenzie King was prime minister
d. 1942, when Mackenzie King was prime minister. The last time that Canada raised defence spending by this magnitude was back in 1939 to 1942, when it was gearing up to wage war in Europe and the Pacific.
2Nobel laureate and University of Toronto professor Geoffrey Hinton is urging Canada to do what in regards to artificial intelligence (AI)?
a. Regulate it
b. Fund a new university program to develop AI engineers
c. Mandate its use in schools
d. Bar U.S. chatbots
a. Regulate it. Prof. Hinton says AI is “potentially very dangerous.” He wants Ottawa to impose guardrails on its use.
3Amazon founder Jeff Bezos may be one of the world’s richest people, but he is not one of its most popular. His extravagant wedding to former journalist Lauren Sanchez is disrupting life in a famous European city and locals aren’t happy about it. Where is the couple staging their lavish nuptials?
a. Paris
b. Dubrovnik
c. Venice
d. Barcelona
c. Venice. Activists have been protesting the Bezos wedding for weeks. They claim that the couple’s multi-day bash is turning Venice into a private playground for the ultra-rich.
4The U.S. financial industry is reeling from the surprising victory of Zohran Mamdani, a self-declared socialist, in the race to be the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York. The previously obscure local politician is now well positioned to win the mayor’s job and run the city that embodies global capitalism. Which is the only one of these policies that Mr. Mamdani has NOT publicly supported?
a. Universal child care
b. A ban on internal combustion cars in the city
c. City-owned grocery stores
d. Free bus transit
b. A ban on internal combustion cars in the city. Mr. Mamdani has not declared war on internal combustion cars, but he has declared support for an array of policies that he hopes would make New York more affordable for middle- and lower-income residents. The problem? His promises would involve higher taxes on the city’s well-to-do – something that doesn’t thrill Wall Streeters.
5Why did Tesla shares jump (temporarily) this week?
a. The automaker launched a robotaxi service
b. The automaker reported better sales in Europe
c. The automaker unveiled a new model
d. The automaker slashed prices
a. It launched a robotaxi service. Tesla’s stock soared when the company launched a robotaxi service in Austin, Tex. The share price fell back, though, after reports of issues with the new service as well as disappointing car sales in Europe.
6Why did shares of Canadian software developer BlackBerry soar this week?
a. The company reported its first net profit in years
b. The company reported it is in acquisition talks with Meta Platforms
c. The company won a lawsuit filed by U.S. shareholders
d. The company announced it has signed a deal with General Motors
a. The company reported its first net profit in years. BlackBerry’s stock jumped after the company reported its first net profit in more than three years.
7Which Canadian bank just signed a multi-year deal for the naming rights to a new arena in Hamilton, Ont., that is expected to open later this year?
a. Royal Bank of Canada
b. Toronto-Dominion Bank
c. National Bank
d. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
b. Toronto-Dominion Bank. The 18,000-seat sports and entertainment complex will be called TD Coliseum.
8Which two oil majors say they are definitely, for sure, without a doubt, NOT talking about combining their operations – despite rumours that a deal is imminent?
a. Exxon and BP
b. Chevron and Exxon
c. Shell and BP
d. Exxon and ConocoPhillips
c. Shell and BP. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Shell is in discussions to take over BP. Shell says it isn’t so.
9What is Canadian investment bank Canaccord Genuity demanding its employees do?
a. Demonstrate their competency in French
b. Partner with an AI chatbot
c. Attend a two-day sensitivity workshop on how to deal with U.S. clients
d. Return to the office five days a week
d. Return to the office five days a week. Canaccord will officially end its hybrid-work era in September. Its new requirement that employees be in the office five days a week shows how far sentiment on work-from-home policies has swung. Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia all recently mandated that staff be in the office four days a week.
10We all need love, but shareholders need profits, too. Which of these dating apps announced this week it is laying off nearly a third of its workforce?
a. OKCupid
b. Tinder
c. Bumble
d. eHarmony
c. Bumble. The dating app industry is going through a rough patch in its relationship with customers. Perhaps the slowdown reflects a slowing economy, perhaps it indicates users just want a break from computerized dating. Ah, romance. So mysterious.
11The U.S. dollar has been sinking against other major currencies. What is one major reason for its recent slide?
a. Worries about growing socialism in the U.S.
b. Doubts about whether the U.S. Federal Reserve can stay independent
c. Concerns about the Middle East
d. Fading enthusiasm for artificial intelligence
b. Doubts about whether the U.S. Federal Reserve can stay independent. U.S. President Donald Trump is openly mocking Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and says he has several people in mind to replace Mr. Powell when his term expires next May. Traders say the president’s attacks on the central bank are undermining the market’s confidence in the Fed’s ability to chart an independent course.
12BC Ferries’ plan to buy four new ships from a Chinese shipyard has sparked outrage among those who believe the vessels should be built in Canada. Which government body helped finance the Chinese deal with a $1-billion low-interest loan?
a. Export Development Canada
b. The British Columbia Department of Transportation
c. The federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology
d. Canada Infrastructure Bank
d. Canada Infrastructure Bank. CIB has confirmed the funding but says it has nothing to do with BC Ferries’ decisions on where to award contracts.
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