Dec. 13 Business Quiz - Mr. Findlay

1The Bank of Canada slashed its key interest rate this week and warned of a “major new uncertainty” for the economy. What uncertainty is that?

• The risk that oil prices will slide

• The potential for new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods

• The possibility that Canada’s population will shrink next year

• The danger of renewed inflation

Answer explanation

a. The potential for new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem warned that if U.S. president-elect Donald Trump follows through on his tariff threats the impact on Canada would be “very disruptive.”

Which governments finally reached an agreement in principle this week on a new contract for the massive Churchill Falls hydroelectric project?

• Ontario and Quebec

• Newfoundland and Labrador and the United States

• The federal government and Quebec

• Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador

Answer explanation

Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, which has long wanted to renegotiate the original Churchill Falls contract. Signed in 1969, it gives Quebec the right to purchase power until 2041 at prices that are now far below market value. Sources say the new contract will result in more money for Newfoundland and encourage joint projects to generate even more electricity.

Mr. Trump has vowed to do all the following when he takes office in January EXCEPT:

• Invest in flying cars

• Fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

• See whether vaccines really do cause autism

• Abolish taxes on tips and social security

Answer explanation

Fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Mr. Trump told an NBC interviewer this week that he would not seek to replace Mr. Powell, whose term as Fed chief ends in 2026. But flying cars? Oh, yeah.

China’s stock market jumped this week after the country did something for the first time in 14 years. What did it do?

• It raised tariffs

• It loosened monetary policy

• It raised the minimum wage

• It cut taxes

Answer explanation

It loosened monetary policy. Beijing said it was adopting "appropriately loose" monetary policy to boost consumption as the country faces the growing possibility of new U.S. tariffs. China last adopted a looser policy regimen during the global financial crisis of 2008 to 2010, but has since operated under a tighter monetary policy it labels “prudent.”

National Football League teams used to be playthings for swaggering billionaires. That may be changing, though. In a sign of the sport’s growing economic clout, who agreed to buy stakes in two NFL teams this week?

• Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund

• Netflix

• Private equity investors

• The California state pension fund

Answer explanation

Two private equity firms struck deals for parts of NFL teams this week. Ares Management bought a 10 per cent stake in the Miami Dolphins and Arctos purchased a minority interest in the Buffalo Bills. The transactions are expected to be the first of many similar investments now that the NFL has opened the door to Wall Street funds owing a minority portion of football teams.

It’s difficult to know where the melodrama of the TV hit Succession ends and the real life drama of the Murdoch family begins. A U.S. court recently ruled that 93-year-old media billionaire Rupert Murdoch cannot:

• Leave his children out of his will

• Change the terms of a family trust to favour one child over others

• Leave the bulk of his News Corp. fortune to a right-wing think tank

• Pass control of his empire to his wife

Answer explanation

Change the terms of a family trust to favour one child over others. A Nevada probate commissioner ruled that Mr. Murdoch had acted in “bad faith” when he attempted to amend an irrevocable trust that would divide control of his right-wing media empire equally among his four oldest children when he dies. The billionaire had attempted to change the trust to consolidate control of Fox News and other properties in the hands of his son Lachlan rather than see Lachlan share control with his three more politically moderate siblings.

A merger deal struck this week will result in the world’s largest:

• Solar power utility

• Auto parts maker

• Streaming service

• Ad agency

Answer explanation

Ad agency. New York-based Omnicom is buying its cross-town rival Interpublic Group in a US$13.25-billion all-stock deal that will create the world’s largest ad agency. The hope is that the supersized agency will be better able to compete for digital advertising dollars with the giant tech firms that increasingly dominate the ad market.

Food fight! Why did big U.S. grocer Albertsons decide to sue rival Kroger this week?

• Kroger accused Albertsons of price manipulation

• Albertsons accused Kroger of poaching a senior executive

• The two companies’ plan to enter Canada fell apart

• The two companies’ plan to merge fizzled

Answer explanation

The two companies’ US$25-billion merger plan fizzled after courts blocked the deal. Albertsons is now suing for billions of dollars in damages because it says Kroger failed to take “any and all actions” to get the deal approved.

Bean boom! Which of these commodities hit a record high this week?

• Soybeans

• Coffee beans

• Vanilla beans

• Cocoa beans

Answer explanation

Coffee beans. The price of your morning jolt may be going up. Bad weather has hit Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s two largest coffee producers. Prices for Arabica beans, which account for most global production, hit a record high this week and are up more than 80 per cent this year.

What development could rock global markets next year, according to a report this week from the world’s top central bank advisory body?

• A tariff war

• AI-powered cybercrime

• A glut of government debt

• Spiralling conflict in the Middle East

Answer explanation

A glut of government debt. The Bank for International Settlements warned that soaring government debt could destabilize financial markets if bond buyers suddenly start demanding higher interest rates to offset the risks posed by the large budget deficits in many countries.