Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s business and investing news quiz. Join us each week 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: Earning season continued. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reported that it earned 3.4 per cent in its latest quarter. It ended 2023 with nearly $591-billion in assets, up from $576-billion at the end of the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International (RBI) reported on Tuesday that its net income more than doubled in the fourth quarter, to US$726-million compared with US$336-million in the same period the prior year. And Canadian Tire Corp. reported a 67.6-per-cent decline in net income in its fourth quarter.
Also: An audit drew some sharp words, Amazon’s founder drew some raised eyebrows and Lyft drew some (brief) excitement.
1“This audit shows a glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices.” Who said that this week?
a. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre
b. Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie
c. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
d. Auditor General of Canada Karen Hogan
d. Auditor General of Canada Karen Hogan. Ms. Hogan lambasted Canada Border Services for its slipshod development of the ArriveCan app during the pandemic. The agency spend just $80,000 to create the initial version of the smartphone app, but allowed the subsequent cost to swell to an estimated $59.5-million as a result of poorly documented contracts with private developers and consultants.
2Shopify, the Canadian e-commerce company, announced earnings this week that blew away analysts’ expectations. What did its stock do?
a. It rose
b. It barely budged
c. It fell a little
d. It plunged
d. It plunged. Shopify stock tumbled 13 per cent despite double-digit revenue growth and impressive profitability. Investors were not impressed by its outlook for the months ahead.
3What is Sun Day Red?
a. Tiger Woods’ new clothing line
b. An album of pop songs from Travis Kelce, the football player who is dating Taylor Swift
c. A new TV series in which China uses a space-mounted mirror to threaten the world with solar annihilation
d. Meta Platforms’ code name for virtual reality software
a. Tiger Woods’ new clothing line. Mr. Woods ended his 27-year partnership with Nike earlier this year. The golfer is teaming up with TaylorMade Golf to develop his new line.
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