BIZ QUIZ
Dont just sit there all Google-eyed, waiting for the NBN to land on your doorstep.
Dont just sit there all Google-eyed, waiting for the NBN to land on your doorstep.Change your status to What kind of biz-nerd are you? and re-cap TwentyTen with BusinessDays Ian McIlwraithimcilwraith@theage.com.au1 Greek-style refers to:a) A type of yoghurtb) A type of wrestlingc) The way Yanni dressesd) Bailouts of battered euro economies2 QE2 became prominent late in the year because:a) She is Kate Middletons nanna-in-lawb) The retired ocean liner has been parked in Dubai for over a yearc) It was the US governments latest attempt to revive its economy3 During the resource rent tax debate, Clive Palmer helped the mining industry by:a) Speaking outb) Stopping speaking outc) Letting it all hang outd) Providing cover for BHP, Rio and Xstrata to organise their own deal4 During the resource rent tax debate, Clive Palmer helped the government by:a) Speaking outb) Making union boss Paul Howe appear to be the neatest, most correct entry in the kerfufflec) Showing less understanding of how it worked than either the Treasurer or Prime Minister5 Retailer Clive Peeters went out of business because:a) A massive $20 million embezzlement weakened the companys competitive positionb) People confused it with Clive Palmerc) It diversified into property6 Oil exploration and production company BPs name stands for:a) Better people, better products, big picture, beyond petroleumb) British Pollution (if you live around the Gulf of Mexico)c) Barry Palmer, Clives cousind) British Petroleum7 Ken Henrys "Future Tax review was so-called because:a) It was designed to restructure the tax system for the next centuryb) It mainly recommends that we all be taxed more in futurec) The rest of Australia was already Moving Forward, so tax had to catch upd) With more than 130 of its recommendations left on the shelf, maybe something will happen in future8 BHP Billiton made a failed $US40 billion bid to takeover Potash Corp. Potash is:a) What you get on the outside of the saucepan when your soup boils overb) The residue from smoking cannabisc) An essential ingredient for fertiliser9 Carbon trading is being introduced because:a) Government wants to bring business to its kneesb) Polluters ought to bear some of the social cost of their actionsc) Someone told politicians that 20% of every human being is carbon, and therefore taxable10 The federal election (eventually) produced a minority government. What does theterm mean?a) Every one in it is under 18b) None of those in it are white, Anglo-Saxon malesc) It only retains power by agreeing to do things it really did not want to, so it can get votes from no-longer independents11 Banks have taken to increasing their home loan rates beyond the rises that aredeemed prudent by the Reserve Bank.This is because:a) They canb) If everyone could afford a house, that would devalue the holiday homes of bank CEOsc) Really? They need to borrow because they dont earn enough to buy a new house outright? Not even twice a year? is a standard exclamation in bankexecutive meetingsd) Banks are trying to recoup the cost of borrowing the money that they lend12 In recent months the Australian dollar has hit parity with the US dollar for thefirst time since it became a freely traded currency. Does parity mean:a) Someone who is always quoting a particularly popular Monty Python sketch?b) That imported goods are cheaperc) That the income from exports is lessd) That it is time to book an overseas holiday13 The Irish governments ?90 billion ($A125 billion) bailout of its banks andeconomy means that:a) Each person living there willbe paying the equivalent of a pint and a half of Guinness a day torepay the debt b) It will probably get its own entry in the Guinness Book of Records c) The Irish miracle will be if the government can pull off the rescue without massive social paind) Irish eyes are definitely not smiling14 Mid-year, there was a flash crash when the Dow Jones Index dived 600 points. It was called that because:a) It all started when a broker exposed himself on the trading floorb) Millions of microscopic, share-trading nanobots short-circuitedc) Someone said What does this button do? and then pressed itd) So much trading is controlled by computers that when they glitch, they glitch big time15 Leighton chief Wal Kings last annual meeting hurrah after 23 years running the company was celebrated with:a) A 38-page glossy brochure showing his career there since 1969b) A monster cake with replica earth-moving equipmentc) A five-minute tribute videod) All of the above16The battle between NAB and AMP for AXA AP, and pretty much decided by the ACCC:a) Was both the most acrimonious and acronymic of the yearb) Will result in two one-time rivals, AMP and AXA, mergingc) Will see AXAs French parent get what it always wanted the potentially massive China operation17 Rumourtrage is:a) The 2007 Melbourne Cup winnerb) A yacht in the Sydney-to-Hobart racec) A hot new fashion label for stockbrokersd) The practice of spreading false sharemarket rumours to manipulate prices forprofit18 Fosters Group plans to split itself in two because:a) Its directors are drunk, with powerb) Its chairman is an insolvency practitioner who spent his working life mostly breaking companies upc) Fund managers know how to run companies better than managementd) It overpaid on its wine business, and basically everything is now for sale19When you hear the phrase QR National, the first thing that springs to mind is:a) It must be time for a napb) A giant train set in Queensland in which you can trade sharesc) Queens Park Rangers are getting a makeoverd) Something to do with the Quasi-Relativistic Mulliken- Wolfsberg-Helmholz Method20 Qantass safety record is:a) Impeccable, and a good reason to choose themb) Only shortening the odds that somewhere, sometime...c) Being tarnished by its drive to reduce aircraft maintenance costsd) Much better than responding to an exploded engine and falling debris with:The number two engine has shut down, so as a precautionary measure we aretaking it back to Singapore.21 Mark McInnes lost his job at David Jones mid-year because:a) He was out of touch with customers and staffb) He may have been in touch with customers, but he was way too in touch with some staffc) Sorry seems to be the hardest word22 Structural separation in the context of Telstra is:a) Another way of saying that the wheels have come offb) A plan to split its phone flogging retail business from the architecture that delivers itc) A way of getting some value back into what was sold as a great investment when the government floated it, but has just turned out to be a de facto tax for all those silly enough to buy the shares23 In the post-financial crisis world, Canada has a lot in common with Australiabecause:a) It now owns most of our agricultural outputb) It doesnt like foreigners buying its resources companies eitherc) It also has a minority government that makes decisions based on retaining power rather than commercial credibility24 2010 has really seen the class action come into its own but what is one?Is it:a) Warnies bowling styleb) When you're a 5, and dating a 9c) A lawsuit by one person, on behalf of several who all have the same grievances25 After years of supporting the idea of Australiabecoming a regional financial hub, the ASX has decided that being taken over by the Singapore stock exchange is a good idea because:a) Somehow this will give Australian companies more access to capital markets that they could already accessb) Stockbrokers are sitting on massive profits from shares that they were effectively gifted when the ASX listedc) It might make Sydney property cheaper if investment bankers sell up and move o26 After years of inaction, Australian companies are finally trying to get morewomen in as directors. This is because:a) Theres a better chance of getting a fresh cup of tea more quicklyb) Its somewhat bizarre that the upper echelons of corporate Australia dont go anywhere near reflecting the 50/50 gender split in the populationc) Women tend to live longer than blokes, so theresmore chance theyll be around to get the lawsuits later 27A currency war is when:a) Someone belts you over the head with a roll of 50? pieces.b) The British no longer have enough money to buy opiumc) Desperate countries manipulate the value of their dollars, dongs and zlotys by either printing more or pegging the value to someone elses dollar, dong or zloty28 Channel 10 is now the plaything of seriously rich shareholders Jamie Packer,Gina Rinehart, Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon because:a) They all like sport, but not that ridiculous truck pulling, fridge lifting Worlds Strongest Man showb) Executed executive chairman Nick Falloon allowed scenes to be cut from episodes of The Simpsonsc) Everybody needs good neighboursd) Australias takeover laws allow coincidental purchases of stock by non-associated persons, which means small shareholders better cross their fingers and hope it works because they are not going to get an offer for their stock like the institutions that ratted out the old board did29 The national broadband network is costing so much money because:a) The government has no idea how much it should costb) Australians are used to paying telecommunications providers ridiculous premiums for services that dont actually cost that much to providec) Someone should have thought about starting to dig the trenches in the north of Western Australia because you were bound to discover something that could be sold to China, and pay for the rest of the rolloutd) Like it or not, people living outside capital cities are Australians, and the government has a responsibility to look after them, too30 The bid by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation to buy the rest of British broadcaster BSkyB has been opposed by:a) The Popeb) The Bishop of Manchesterc) Osama bin Ladend) Pinky and PerkyANSWERS: 1 (d), 2 (c), 3 (b & d), 4 (a, b, c), 5 (a), 6 (a or d), 7 (a), 8 (c, pay a at a stretch because the word literally comes from pot ashes), 9 (b) ,10 (c), 11 (a & d), 12 (everything but a), 13 (a, b, c, d), 14 (d) 15 (d), 16 (c), 17 (d), 18 (d), 19 (b), 20 (d), 21 (b), 22 (b), 23 (Pay all), 24 (c), 25 (a), 26 (b), 27 (c), 28 (d), 29 (d), 30 (b).
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