Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s business and investing news quiz. Each week, join us to test your knowledge of the stories making the headlines. Our business reporters come up with the questions, and you can show us what you know.
This week in business and investing: Canada’s annual inflation rate increased 3.3 per cent in July. This put it back above the Bank of Canada’s target 3 per cent range in July, raising the odds of another interest-rate hike in September.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar reached a two-and-a-half-month low, the Hershey Company is taking back its old facility and the LCBO was hacked … again.
Do you remember these stories? Take our quiz below to test your recall for the week ending Aug. 18.
1 Inflation ticked up to 3.3 per cent in July. What was the inflation rate the previous month?
a. 2.8 per cent
b. 2 per cent
c. 4.1 per cent
d. 3.1 per cent
2.8 per cent According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s annual inflation rate was 2.8 per cent in June – the first time it was within the Bank of Canada’s target range.
2The Hershey building in Smiths Falls, Ont., is headed back into the hands of the company that made the facility famous. The former chocolate factory was used since 2017 to produce:
a. Cannabis
b. Candy
c. Crocs
d. EV batteries
a. Cannabis company Canopy Growth Corp. announced Thursday that it has signed a deal to sell the building to chocolate maker Hershey Canada Inc. for about $53-million.
3 As vacationers return to the skies for holidays and family visits, business trippers are flying less. The main reasons cited for this decline in corporate travel are:
a. Inflation
b. Remote work and Zoom
c. CO2 emissions
d. Mass layoffs
4 The Liquor Control Board of Ontario announced this week its customer data was compromised by an “unauthorized party.” That’s the second such hacking incident to strike the Crown corporation this year. When was the first data breach?
a. January, 2023
b. March, 2023
c. June, 2023
d. July, 2023
a. January, 2023 Another hack in January shut down the LCBO’s website and mobile application.
5 Occidental Petroleum Corp. is buying Carbon Engineering for how much?
a. US$11.1-billion
b. US$2.1-billion
c. US$61.1-billion
d. US$1.1-billion
c. US$1.1-billion. Occidental Petroleum says the purchase of the B.C.-based company will accelerate development of plants that remove vast volumes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
6 Think 5 per cent interest is tough? Russia’s central bank raised its key policy rate 350-basis-points in an emergency meeting this week. What is the country’s current interest rate?
a. 22 per cent
b. 12 per cent
c. 2 per cent
d. 16 per cent
a. 12 per cent Russia raised its key interest rate to 12 per cent on Tuesday, an emergency move to try and halt the ruble’s recent slide.
7 This online travel-services company announced a cancellation protection deal with Air Canada for non-refundable flights.
a. Jumper
b. Hopper
c. Gofer
d. Rabbit
b. Hopper The Montreal-based startup announced it partnered with Air Canada for “cancel for any reason” insurance. It will cost up to 25 per cent of the cost of a flight, and will allow customers to cancel up to 24 hours before departure.
8 What is the lowest available insured variable mortgage rate this week?
a. 4.79
b. 5.19
c. 5.95
d. 6.10
c. 5.95 The lowest nationally available insured variable-rate mortgage is 5.95, according to columnist Robert McLister. Meanwhile, HSBC offered 6.40 rate for uninsured variable-rate mortgages.
9 The Canadian dollar closed at a two-and-a-half-month low this week. Compared to USD, what was the value as of Thursday evening?
a. 0.73842
b. 0.74359
c. 0.76276
d. 0.75818
a. 0.73842 per cent The Canadian dollar is at its lowest since May 31 thanks to a recent jump in long-term borrowing costs, which negatively affected investor sentiment.
10 9. What is the 50/30/20 rule of budgeting?
a. 50 per cent of your income for necessities, 30 per cent for things you want, and 20 per cent for savings and debt repayment
b. 50 per cent of your income for savings debt repayment, 30 per cent for necessities, and 20 per cent for things you want
c. 50 per cent of your income for necessities, 30 per cent savings and debt repayment, and 20 per cent for things you want
d. The rule says to budget 50 per cent of your income for necessities, 30 per cent for things you want, and 20 per cent for savings and debt repayment.
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Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. said the proposal by the Canadian convenience store operator “grossly undervalues” the company.
In a letter to Couche-Tard, Seven & i called its offer of US$14.86 per share in cash “opportunistically timed” and said the proposal was not in the best interest of its shareholders and other stakeholders.
“We are open to engaging in sincere discussions should you put forth a proposal that fully recognizes our stand-alone intrinsic value and addresses our concerns regarding certainty of closing in the current regulatory environment,” wrote Stephen Dacus, chair of the special committee formed to review the offer.
“However, we do not believe, for several critical reasons, that the proposal you have put forward provides a basis for us to engage in substantive discussions regarding a potential transaction.”
The Japanese company said the Couche-Tard bid did not adequately acknowledge the multiple and significant challenges such a transaction would face from U.S. competition regulators.
In addition to global convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Seven & i owns supermarkets, food producers, household goods retailers and financial services companies.
On Thursday, before Seven & i published its rejection, Couche-Tard said it was confident in its ability to finance and complete the proposed deal.
Analysts have cast doubt on whether the two companies can reach a deal because they believe satisfying Japanese regulators will be onerous and could force Couche-Tard to let go of some of its assets.
Couche-Tard has operations across 31 countries and more than 16,800 stores. If it manages to wrangle Seven & i, that deal would add 85,800 stores to its empire.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
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