The January Quiz

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Chinese New Year of the Dragon.

Which BRIC country finally joined the WTO? Which luxury carmaker enjoyed record-breaking sales - a record held since 1978 - despite the global recession? Take the January Quiz to find out…

It’s vital that students are able to use real world examples in the final exams; application is a key skill to exam success in B&M. Take the January Quiz to see what was going on in the business world in January 2012.

Questions

1. US insurance broker Aon, sponsor of Manchester United, announced plans to move its corporate headquarters from Chicago to which European capital?

2. Which Malaysian budget airline will end flights to Europe and India because of high fuel prices and weak demand?

3. Which UK-based low-budget airline has been found guilty by French officials of discriminating against three disabled passengers – and fined 70,000 euros (HK$702,000)?

4. The price of which fruit juice hit a record high (due to safety concerns about juice from Brazil, the world’s largest producer of the juice, and cold weather in Florida)?

5. Which sportswear giant agreed compensation of $1m (HK$7.8m) in a dispute with workers in Indonesia over unpaid overtime?

6. South Korea’s antitrust regulator fined which two companies for conspiring to fix the prices of some appliances, facing penalties of 44.6bn won (HK$303m)?

7. Which US company is to extend its sponsorship as a ‘Top Partner’ of the Olympic Games for another eight years until 2020, paying a reported $100m (HK$778m) for each two-games deal of one winter and one summer Games?

8. Which hi-tech firm halted the sale of all phones from its stores in China, due to controllably large crowds?

9. Which British bank, still owned by UK taxpayers, confirmed it was cutting an extra 3,500 jobs in investment banking?

10. Luxury car maker Rolls-Royce sold 3,538 vehicles worldwide last year, breaking its record since 1978(!) Name the country where more Rolls-Royce cars were sold last year than anywhere else.

11. Name the country that lent more money to developing nations in 2011 than the World Bank.

12. Which BRIC country has said it will withdraw support for foreign investment in the country’s car industry to encourage its domestic carmakers?

13. The United States confirmed the sale of nearly $30bn of fighter jets to which oil-rich nation?

14. Which oil-rich nation posted an $81.6bn budget surplus for 2011 as its income beat forecasts by more than double?

15. Which website was the most popular with US users in 2011 according to research firm Nielsen?

16. The new government of which EU nation outlined 8.9bn euros (HK$90bn) in new spending cuts and tax rises to lower the country’s borrowing?

17. Which East Asian country, the highest public debt to GDP ratio among the world’s developed economies, postponed a sales tax increase (from 5% to 10%) amid growing opposition against the move due to the current unfavourable economic climate?

18. Japan’s Nikkei share index closed in 2011 at its lowest end-of-year level since which year: 1982, 1992 or 2002?

19. Which West African state is planning to scrap fuel subsidies after spending more than $8bn on the subsidies in the past year, saying it will use some of the money to improve infrastructure instead? Hint: the capital city is Abuja.

20. Which US internet-based giant is poised for a $10bn public offering in early 2012?

21. Which BRIC economy finally joined the WTO?

22. Which aircraft maker reported a record 1,419 orders worth about $140bn last year, compared with 805 for its fierce US rival?

23. Which hi-tech giant reported record-breaking net profits for the three months to 31 December 2011 of $13.06bn, up 118%?

24. Which mobile phone maker shipped the 1.5 billionth phone running its S40 operating system?

25. Which European nation recorded an unemployment rate of 22.8% (over 5 million people); the highest rate in almost 17 years?

26. Which South Korean carmaker reported a 38% rise in profits for the fourth quarter of 2011?

27. The chief which UK bank, 82% owned by British taxpayers, accepted his bonus of £963,000 in shares (on top of his £1.2m basic salary), despite 21,000 workers being made redundant?

28. Sir Philip Hampton, the chairman from which British bank gave up a £1.4m shares reward he was due next month?

29. NEC, the electronics giant from which country, said it was cutting 10,000 jobs because of tougher competition in its home market for telecoms infrastructure and weak demand for its smartphones?

30. Which Central Bank published its first detailed projections on interest rates, and said it would keep rates near zero until at least late 2014.

31. Which G7 nation recorded its first trade deficit since 1980, largely affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011?

Answers

1. London
2. AirAsia
3. easyJet
4. Orange
5. Nike
6. Samsung Electronics (25.8bn won) and LG Electronics (18.8bn)
7. McDonald’s
8. Apple – the crowds had disrupted the launch of the iPhone 4S
9. Royal Bank of Scotland
10. China
11. China
12. China
13. Saudi Arabia
14. Saudi Arabia
15. Google with over 153m visitors per month (Facebook with over 1307m was 2nd and Yahoo! with 130m visitors came in 3rd)
16. Spain
17. Japan
18. 1982 (29 years ago!)
19. Nigeria
20. Facebook
21. Russia (China joined in 2001)
22. Airbus
23. Apple (37 million iPhones sold in the last quarter!)
24. Nokia
25. Spain
26. Hyundai
27. Royal Bank of Scotland
28. Royal Bank of Scotland
29. Japan
30. Federal Reserve (USA)
31. Japan