The envelope, please: a 20-question quiz on February’s business news

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  Kevin C Cox / Getty Images / AFP

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  Francois Nel / Getty Images

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  Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP

Take this quick quiz to refresh your memory, and test your recall, on the big and the small from February’s business and economics events (with a side trip to Hollywood at the end).

Questions:

1. Etihad and Lufthansa held a press conference on February 1 to expand their co-operation in maintenance and catering. Of the four cities below (which both airlines fly to), which two are closer to Etihad's base in Abu Dhabi than they are to Lufthansa's base in Frankfurt?

a) Astana

b) Cairo

c) Lagos

d) Sao Paulo

2. On February 2 the Philippines government ordered 23 nickel mines closed for environmental reasons. Items where you can find a high concentration of nickel include all but which one of the following?

a) chocolate

b) raisins

b) tea

d) Earth’s molten core

3. Fitch said that the number of countries it rates triple-A was down to 11, the lowest since 2003. While several countries have lost that third A, what is the only country to advance to triple-A status in the past decade?

4. In a February 2 filing for its IPO, the parent company of Snapchat said the app had how many active daily users? (Answer correct if within 20 million.)

5. The UK Brexit Department said on February 3 that it had hired how many people since its formation in July? (Answer correct if within 100).

__________

Answers:

1. a and b are closer to Abu Dhabi.

2. Raisins, which along with bananas and berries are among foods recommended for people allergic to nickel.

3. Australia.

4. 161 million; in comparison, Facebook has 1.23 billion.

5. 328.

Questions:

6. As reported in Frank Kane's inaugural Working Lunch column on February 5, what is the cost of a rib-eye entrecote steak at the Dubai restaurant La Petite Maison?

a) Dh150

b) Dh250

c) Dh350

7. The New England Patriots stunned the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the Super Bowl on February 5. Which team is owned by a co-founder of the Home Depot retail chain?

8. While advertisers in the US paid $5 million for the right to show half-minute ads during the Super Bowl, OSN's ads during the game included which of the following:

a) Promos for the sitcom Mr Ken on OSN

b) Promos for season 2 of DC's Legends of Tomorrow on OSN

c) Promos for American football on OSN

d) All of the above, over and over

9. Kering reported on February 10 that sales surged at its Gucci division in part thanks to the popularity of its "granny chic". Which one of the following is not a recognised feature of granny chic:

a) crocheted embellishments

b) patterned cardigans

c) pleated skirts

d) quilted fabrics

e) reams of Kleenex stuffed up the sleeve

10. Fill in the blank: Miles Cahn, a co-founder of the US handbag maker Coach, died at age 95 on February 10. The inspiration for Coach's first line of purses came when his wife was impressed by the supple cowhide used in ________ gloves (eight letters).

__________

Answers:

6. c

7. The Falcons belong to Arthur Blank, pictured, who co-founded Home Depot in 1978 after his prior employer fired him.

8. d

9. e

10. baseball

Questions:

11. The movie Gold, which opened in the Emirates on February 16 and stars Matthew McConaughey, is based on the saga of which Canadian mining company?

12. Kraft Heinz on February 19 withdrew its $143 billion takeover bid for Unilever. Of the items below, which two are made by Unilever and which two by Kraft Heinz?

a) Ben & Jerry’s ice cream

b) Lea & Perrins sauce

c) Kool-Aid

d) Marmite

13. S&P Global Platts said on February 20 that as of 2018 it would add a fifth variety of crude to the benchmark known as Brent. Which one of the below is the newcomer (the other four are already part of the Brent basket)?

a) Brent

b) Ekofisk

c) Forties

d) Oseberg

e) Norwegian Troll

14. Of Sharjah, pictured, and Fujairah, in which emirate was last year's average rent for a two-bedroom apartment Dh43,000, and in which was it Dh49,000, according to an Asteco study released on February 20?

15. Kenneth Arrow, the youngest person to win the Nobel prize in economics, died on February 21. Within four years, how old was he won the prize?

__________

Answers:

11. Bre-X Minerals

12. a and d are from Unilever.

13. e – Yes, that’s the name. We’re not trolling you.

14. The higher rent was in Fujairah

15. He was a lad of 51

Questions:

16. According to a survey on customer satisfaction, which one of the companies below was not in the top three in the UAE for quality of service:

a) Apple

b) Cheesecake Factory

c) Emirates airline

d) Etisalat

17. Coffee Planet said that what percentages of the coffees it sells are cappuccinos or lattes?

a) 40 per cent

b) 60 per cent

c) 80 per cent

18. Tesla on February 22 reported a fourth-quarter loss of $121.3 million. The carmaker has a Model S and a Model X. True or false: the chief executive Elon Musk at one point wanted to add a Model E to the mix.

19. GM said that it has a deal to sell its Opel unit. In what year did GM buy Opel? (clue: really bad timing).

20. Were they in La La Land? Name the auditing firm that apologised for the envelope fiasco at Sunday's Oscars.

__________

Answers:

16. d

17. c

18. True, but copyright lawyers from Ford, which holds rights to the name, said no.

19. 1929 – GM made the purchase about seven months before the world's stock markets crashed

20. It was Ernst & Young ... oh no, wait ... this just in ... bit of a mixup ... it was PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Scoring scale:

15-20: Oscar winner.

10-14: Oscar nominee.

5-9: You went to the movie.

1-4: You’re clearly in La La Land.