Take this quick quiz to refresh your memory, and test your recall, on events big and small from January’s business and economics newsfeed.
Questions:
1. Of the world's five companies with the biggest stock-market value at the start of 2017, how many existed 45 years ago?
2. Chemistry question: early in the month, the central bank in DR Congo was forecasting economic growth of 2.9 per cent this year. The country is Africa's top producer of which metal, which when combined with tin makes bronze and with zinc makes brass?
3. Jean Vuarnet, the French ski champion who built a sunglasses brand, died on January 2 at age 83. In what year did he win Olympic gold in downhill skiing? (Clue: it was at Squaw Valley, California)
4. Cocoa prices touched a three-and-a-half year low on January 3. What is the name of the dusty Saharan wind that poses a risk to crops in the world's leading cocoa producer, Ivory Coast? (Clue: nine letters, starts with h.)
5. The UK clothing retailer Next on January 4 lowered its profit forecast for the coming year. In what city is Next based? (Clue: it is the home of a Premier League champion this century).
__________
Answers:
1. None; the big five are Apple (the oldest of the bunch, founded on April 1, 1976), Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook, and together they were worth about US$2.4 trillion as the year began.
2. Copper
3. 1960
4. Harmattan
5. Leicester
Questions:
6. According to a January report, in what city did Rolls-Royce sell the most cars in 2016, as per figures released in January?
a) Dubai
b) Macau
c) Moscow
d) New York
7. A January 14 securities filing revealed that the biggest single investor in Disney had halved her stake in the company. What is her name? (clue: she inherited tech money: see question 1).
8. After 146 years the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus said that it would be closing in May. Barnum was a great showman. Fill in the blank: When his New York museum of oddities proved wildly popular, he thinned out the crowds by posting a sign that said "See the ______". (six letters)
9. SpiceJet, India's fourth-biggest airline, said in mid-January that it was buying up to 205 Boeings for a major expansion of its domestic operations. At list prices, what is the deal worth?
a) $12 billion
b) $22bn
c) $32bn
10. Which billionaire's cellphone company said on January 17 that this year it would launch a television channel in the United States targeting Mexican audiences?
__________
Answers:
6. a
7. Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs
8. egress
9. b
10. Carlos Slim
11. The Italian rags-to-riches story Leonardo Del Vecchio, pictured, is merging his eyewear company Luxottica with France's Essilor. Which one of the following is not a Luxottica brand: Lenscrafters, Oakley, Pearle Vision, Ray-Ban, Sunglass Hut and Vuarnet?
12. Bertelsmann said on January 18 that it might raise its stake in Penguin Random House, its joint venture with Pearson. Complete the following sentence from the Random House co-founder Bennett Cerf on the company's origins: "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at ______". (six letters).
13. Donald Trump, the property developer turned politician, was inaugurated as the US president on January 20. What is his university degree in?
a) economics
b) political science
c) rhetoric
d) nothing
14. China announced its weakest GDP growth since 1990. By what per cent did the Chinese economy grow in 2016?
a) 4.7 per cent
b) 6.7 per cent
c) 8.7 per cent
15. A new complex of ultra-secure bank vaults in the UK capital has been dubbed London's Fort Knox. Within four tonnes, what is the weight of the main door at the real Fort Knox, in the US?
__________
Answers:
11. Vuarnet
12. random
13. a, economics, from the University of Pennsylvania
14. b, 6.7 per cent
15. 22 tonnes
16. McDonald's said on January 23 that it wants to speed up its service. According to a US study by QSR magazine last year, was the average wait time at a McDonald's drive-thru more or less than three minutes?
17. And according to that same drive-thru study, which one of the following was true:
a) Wendy’s had the fastest service at 169.11 seconds, and Starbucks the slowest at 299.80 seconds.
b) the other way around: Starbucks was speedy while Wendy’s kept you waiting
18. Banco Santander, Spain's largest bank, said on January 25 that its profit for 2016 rose, thanks in large part to:
a) stronger results in Brazil that offset weaker results in Britain
b) stronger results in Britain that offset weaker results in Brazil
19. Also on January 25, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 20,000 points for the first time. Within two, in what year did it reach 10,000?
20. Fill in the blank (five letters): a January 26 column by our tech specialist Peter Nowak began: "Dear ______, Why won't you die already? I know it sounds harsh, but honestly, it's long overdue and you're taking up valuable space on the internet."
__________
Answers:
16. More: 208.16 seconds.
17. a
18. a
19. 1999
20. Yahoo
Scoring scale:
15-20: This is your year.
10-14: Room for improvement.
5-9: Not so hot.
1-4: Slower than the line-up at Starbucks.
* Compiled by Rob McKenzie of The National.
