1. Elon Musk’s SpaceX acquired two offshore oil rigs near Texas for $7m. Musk plans to transform them into what?
- a. SpaceX HQ
- b. Rental homes
- c. Launchpads for SpaceX’s Mars mission
- d. For his wife to keep her cars on
2. Which video game and electronics retailer was involved in a trading battle between individual investors and hedge fund managers?
- a. Reddit
- b. GameStop
- c. Best Buy
- d. Sam’s Club
3. A geologist found a rock formation in the shape of a beloved Sesame Street character this week, and is now receiving bids of $10,000 for the unique geode. Which character was it?
- a. Big Bird
- b. Elmo
- c. Bert
- d. Cookie Monster
4. Napoleon Bonaparte’s written account of his victory in the Battle of Austerlitz, widely regarded as his finest victory, is going on sale in Paris for €1m as part of the Brussels Art Fair. But when was the Battle of Austerlitz?
- a. 1802
- b. 1805
- c. 1808
- d. 1804
5. The average downpayment for a first home has set buyers back an extra £10,000, jumping 23% to £57,278 from 2019. In London, the average deposit stands at £130,357. The average first-time buyer’s age also changed from 30 a decade ago to what age now?
- a. 27
- b, 32
- c. 31
- d. It’s still 30
6. Online fashion retailer Boohoo Group is set to buy Debenhams for £55m. Rival ASOS is in talks to acquire which Arcadia-owned high-street retailer that fell into administration?
- a. Peacocks
- b. Victoria’s Secret
- c. Quiz
- d. Topshop
7. Which Chinese internet company’s market capitlisation crept higher to $1trn this week?
- a. Tencent
- b. Baidu
- c. Alibaba
- d. Taobao
8. Despite strong sales growth, which British supermarket fell £25m into the red after it acquired 51 new shops, opened a new distribution centre and expanded 13 sites for £654m?
- a. Lidl
- b. Aldi
- c. Morrisons
- d. Tesco
9. Samantha Cameron, former prime minister David Cameron’s wife, attributed her fashion brand’s trading “teething issues” to what?
- a. Coronavirus
- b. Brexit
- c. People not liking David Cameron
- d. A lack of advertising avenues during the pandemic
10. The sovereign wealth fund of which country made gains of £90bn during 2020, taking its total value to £932bn?
- a. Saudi Arabia
- b. Norway
- c. Singapore
- d. Japan
Answers
1. c. Launchpads for SpaceX’s Mars mission. Musk purchased the oil rigs, renamed Deimos and Phoibos after Mars’ two moons, and is in the process of converting them into spaceports for SpaceX’s Mars-bound Starship mission.
2. b. GameStop. Amateur investors poured money into GameStop after it was heavily shorted by hedge funds. The GameStop share price is up by more than 1,700% since the start of January.
3. d. Cookie Monster. Mike Bowers found the blue agate in Brazil, but hasn’t decided yet if he’ll sell.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
4. b. 1805. The 74-page report of the battle also features a map. Napoleon’s words were taken down by General Henri-Gatien Bertrand, whose family kept it until 1970 when it was found by a gallery owner in Paris.
5. c. 31. Despite the increase in age and deposit size, the first-time buyer market still made up half of all house purchases.
6. d. Topshop. ASOS is in exclusive talks with Arcadia Group to purchase Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge for up to £300m.
7. a. Tencent. Tencent surged to a value of $949bn after its share price rallied before dropping back to around $890m. The company owns WeChat, a messaging app that also allows users to read the news, pay bills, and order food, as well as several other streaming, advertising and music businesses.
8. a. Lidl. The business made a pre-tax profit of £19m last year, but the restructuring led to losses. It plans to open another 50 shops, build a new warehouse, and shift its HQ to southwest London this year for around £1.3bn.
9. b. Brexit. Cameron said her fashion brand, Cefinn, was finding post-Brexit trading with the EU difficult and appealed on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour programme to the government to talk to small firms .
10. b. Norway. The fund, founded in 1969, now holds £170,000 for each of Norway’s 5.3 million inhabitants.
-
Christmas at Chatsworth: review of The Cavendish Hotel at BaslowMoneyWeek Travel Matthew Partridge gets into the festive spirit at The Cavendish Hotel at Baslow and the Christmas market at Chatsworth
-
Tycoon Truong My Lan on death row over world’s biggest bank fraudProperty tycoon Truong My Lan has been found guilty of a corruption scandal that dwarfs Malaysia’s 1MDB fraud and Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto scam
-
UK wages grow at a record paceThe latest UK wages data will add pressure on the BoE to push interest rates even higher.
-
Trapped in a time of zombie governmentIt’s not just companies that are eking out an existence, says Max King. The state is in the twilight zone too.
-
America is in deep denial over debtThe downgrade in America’s credit rating was much criticised by the US government, says Alex Rankine. But was it a long time coming?
-
UK economy avoids stagnation with surprise growthGross domestic product increased by 0.2% in the second quarter and by 0.5% in June
-
Bank of England raises interest rates to 5.25%The Bank has hiked rates from 5% to 5.25%, marking the 14th increase in a row. We explain what it means for savers and homeowners - and whether more rate rises are on the horizon
-
UK wage growth hits a record highStubborn inflation fuels wage growth, hitting a 20-year record high. But unemployment jumps
-
UK inflation remains at 8.7% ‒ what it means for your moneyInflation was unmoved at 8.7% in the 12 months to May. What does this ‘sticky’ rate of inflation mean for your money?
-
VICE bankruptcy: how did it happen?Was the VICE bankruptcy inevitable? We look into how the once multibillion-dollar came crashing down.
