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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: A Bay Street economist says investors have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in scams using his name, but police aren’t rushing to investigate. Meanwhile the U.S. President is unhappy about the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep the interest rate steady and mused about someone else leading the central bank. But who does he want to chair it? Take our quiz and find out.


1Canada’s competition watchdog is urging Ottawa to boost competition in the airline sector by doing what?
a. Setting maximum fares on most routes
b. Allowing foreign airlines to fly domestic routes
c. Selling off airports to private owners
d. Cracking down on ancillary fees for things such as luggage and seat selection

b. Allowing foreign airlines to fly domestic routes. The Competition Bureau of Canada would like the federal government to allow foreign airlines to service routes within Canada's borders.

2Bay Street economist David Rosenberg has been vocal in warning people NOT to invest in various online scams that are using his name. He estimates that investors have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the fraudulent schemes. So why aren’t police rushing to investigate?
a. The frauds are based outside Canada
b. The fraud is too complicated to untangle
c. Police say they’re overwhelmed with similar cases
d. Nobody has complained

d. Nobody has complained. Investment scams in Canada cost victims $311-million in reported losses during 2024, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. However, the agency estimates that 90 to 95 per cent of fraud goes unreported.

3Who did Ontario Premier Doug Ford say this week “cannot keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government” for more money?
a. Women’s groups
b. Environmental groups
c. First Nations
d. Public servants

c. First Nations. The premier said he is willing to give First Nations something for their support in developing mines but added they cannot keep coming to him “hat in hand.” Sol Mamakwa, the lone First Nations member of the Ontario legislature, called the remark “deeply offensive and racist.” First Nations are angry about the province’s Bill 5, which gives cabinet the right to suspend provincial laws if regulations stand in the way of chosen economic developments – such as Mr. Ford’s much touted Ring of Fire project in northern Ontario.

4After rejecting the concept for years, which online service announced this week that it will start showing ads?
a. WhatsApp
b. Reddit
c. Khan Academy
d. Wikipedia

a. WhatsApp will start showing ads on part of its platform as its owner, Meta Platforms, looks to cultivate a new revenue stream.

5Donald Trump is not shy about exploiting the money-making potential of his presidency. What did his company say it will start offering this summer?
a. Bibles
b. Mobile phones
c. Watches
d. Sneakers

b. Mobile phones. The Trump Organization says it plans to start offering a mobile phone service and gold-colored phones. It has previously peddled bibles, watches, sneakers and other gear.

6The U.S. Federal Reserve did not cut interest rates this week – and Mr. Trump isn’t happy about its stand-pat decision. The U.S. president is now publicly musing about appointing an unlikely candidate to head the central bank. Who is that candidate?
a. Mr. Trump’s daughter
b. Mr. Trump’s caddy
c. Mr. Trump’s wife
d. Mr. Trump himself

d. Mr. Trump himself. “Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I’d do a much better job than these people,” Mr. Trump said to reporters.

7Which bank beefed up its wealth management business this week by agreeing to purchase Toronto-based Burgundy Asset Management for $625-million?
a. Royal Bank of Canada
b. Bank of Montreal
c. Bank of America
d. Toronto-Dominion Bank

b. Bank of Montreal is buying Burgundy, which was founded in 1990 and has 150 employees. It manages about $27-billion for wealthy clients and foundations.

8Torngat Minerals is raising $165-million from the federal government to help advance a mining project in Quebec. If completed, the mine would produce:
a. Nickel
b. Lithium
c. Rare earths
d. Platinum

c. Rare earths. Torngat is trying to put a rare earths mine and refinery into operation. It would be Canada’s first. China dominates the market for these vital metals and they have become a point of tension in international trade talks.

9Nippon Steel finally won Washington’s approval this week for its acquisition of U.S. Steel. But what did the Japanese company have to agree to give Mr. Trump to make the deal happen?
a. Veto power over many of the new company’s decisions
b. Guarantees of job security
c. A Japanese hotel
d. Majority control of the board of directors

a. Veto power over many of the new company’s decisions. Nippon Steel agreed to give Washington a “golden share” in U.S. Steel that grants the government veto rights over a myriad of corporate decisions.

10Canada’s runaway population growth is slowing, and that should take some pressure off housing markets. But there is still a large number of temporary residents in the country. Roughly speaking, how many temporary residents currently live in Canada??
a. 1 million
b. 2 million
c. 3 million
d. 4 million

c. 3 million. The number of temporary residents in Canada declined slightly in the first quarter. However, there are still nearly 3 million. They make up about 7.1 per cent of Canada’s population.

11Canada’s national housing agency this week walked away from its long-touted goal of restoring housing affordability to 2004 levels. What year is it now targeting as a more realistic goal?
a. 2010
b. 2015
c. 2019
d. 2021

c. 2019. Call this a reality check: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said in a report that it is no longer possible to restore 2004 levels of affordability. How about 2019 levels? That’s possible, but Canada needs to double its current pace of homebuilding to reach even that more modest goal.

12What percentage of working Canadians doubt they will be able to retire, according to a new survey?
a. About a quarter
b. About a third
c. About 90 per cent
d. About 60 per cent

d. Nearly 60 per cent of working Canadians doubt they will ever be able to retire, according to the survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.

How well did you do?

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