2009 business news quiz

By Scott J. Wilson

Jan. 1, 2010 12 AM PT

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1. Which of these was not included in the $787-billion economic stimulus bill?

A. A $25 increase in weekly unemployment checks

B. Health insurance subsidies for laid-off workers

C. “Cash for clunkers”

D. Medicaid grants to states

2. What was the name of the General Motors chief executive who was forced out by the Obama administration?

A. Ed Whitacre

B. Rick Wagoner

C. Fritz Henderson

D. Roger Smith

3. The FAA revoked the license of pilots from what airline after their flight overshot the Minneapolis airport by 150 miles?

A. Northwest

B. United

C. Delta

D. Continental

4. What fast-growing social networking service announced that, thanks to deals with Google and Microsoft, it would make a profit for the first time?

A. Twitter

B. Facebook

C. MySpace

D. Classmates

5. Which movie made the most at the U.S. box office?

A. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”

B. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

C. “Up”

D. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

6. Management of Chrysler was taken over by what foreign automaker?

A. Mazda

B. Volkswagen

C. Fiat

D. Volvo

7. What TV product pitchman died at age 50?

A. Billy Mays

B. Willie Mays

C. William May

D. William Macy

8. In an effort to challenge Google, Microsoft introduced a new search engine with what name?

A. Bing

B. Ding

C. King

D. Sing

9. General Motors announced that it would be reducing its product line to Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and what fourth brand?

A. Saab

B. Buick

C. Saturn

D. Pontiac

10. Which top technology executive acknowledged this year having received a liver transplant?

A. Larry Page

B. Larry Ellison

C. Steve Jobs

D. Sergey Brin

11. What technology company was sued by the Federal Trade Commission and fined by European regulators, who alleged that it used its dominance in the computer chip market to stifle competition?

A. Oracle

B. Sun Microsystems

C. Intel

D. Chips Ahoy

12. What cable company announced in December that it was buying control of NBC Universal?

A. Charter Communications

B. Time Warner Cable

C. Cablevision

D. Comcast

13. What Illinois company rattled Hollywood studios by offering $1 DVD rentals through vending machines?

A. Blockbuster

B. Netflix

C. Redbox

D. Box O’ Movies

14. Forbes said the title of world’s richest person had been regained by whom?

A. Bill Gates

B. Carlos “Slim” Helu

C. Warren Buffett

D. Ingvar Kamprad

15. Which of these did not reach a record high?

A. Price of gold

B. Used-vehicle prices

C. Home foreclosure rate

D. U.S. unemployment rate

16. A top executive from what bank was fired after using a bank-owned foreclosed home in Malibu?

A. Bank of America

B. Wells Fargo

C. Citibank

D. Chase

17. Federal authorities arrested billionaire Raj Rajaratnam on suspicion of running a widespread insider-trading scheme. What was the name of his hedge fund?

A. Clipper Group

B. Cutter Group

C. Galleon Group

D. Windjammer Group

18. What automaker announced that it was recalling 4.26 million cars and trucks to reduce the vehicles’ risk of accelerating out of control?

A. Toyota

B. Honda

C. Hyundai

D. Ford

19. Which investment banking powerhouse, facing persistent criticism of its huge pay packages, said that it would pay no year-end cash bonuses to 30 top executives?

A. Morgan Stanley

B. Goldman Sachs

C. JPMorgan Chase

D. Capital One

20. Which of these companies has not paid back money it received from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program?

A. JPMorgan Chase

B. Morgan Stanley

C. Goldman Sachs

D. American International Group

Answers

1. C - “Cash for clunkers”

2. B - Rick Wagoner