1. Which London airport is the latest to announce job cuts as the aviation industry continues to struggle?
a. Gatwick
b. London City Airport
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c. Heathrow
d. Stansted
2. Until when does the Federal Reserve predict interest rates will be kept close to zero?
a. End of 2020
b. It didn’t
c. Start of 2021
d. End of 2022
3. Boris Johnson is facing criticism over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic after Imperial college professor and former member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies Neil Ferguson said the death toll could have been reduced by how much if lockdown had started a week earlier?
a. 50%
b. 33%
c. 25%
d. 60%
4. The statue of which English figure was pushed into Bristol Harbour this week by Black Lives Matter demonstrators?
a. Cecil Rhodes
b. Edward Colston
c. Robert Baden Powell
d. John Hawkins
5. Which age group has been the hardest hit by the lockdown financial squeeze?
a. Under 30s
b. 30 to 49
c. 50 to 64
d. 75 or over
6. By how much did Britain’s economy shrink in April?
a. 22.4%
b. 21.4%
c. 23.4%
d. 20.4%
7. The president of which African country died unexpectedly last week of heart failure?
a. Burundi
b. Rwanda
c. Tanzania
d. Uganda
8. China warned its citizens not to travel to which country after political tensions continued to rise this week?
a. US
b. Australia
c. Hong Kong
d. India
9. By how much does the use of face-masks slow the growth in new cases of Covid-19?
a. 20%
b. 40%
c. 80%
d. 100%
10. Which bank was fined £64m for unfairly treating customers who were struggling to repay mortgages?
a. Halifax
b. Barclays
c. Lloyds
d. NatWest
Answers
1. c) Heathrow.
The introduction of a 14-day quarantine on arriving travellers is set to further damage the aviation industry. Heathrow, usually Europe’s busiest international airport, said passenger numbers were down by 97% in May compared to the same time last year.
2. d) End of 2022.
“The Fed left interest rates unchanged at 0-0.25% by a unanimous vote and pledged to continue buying Treasuries and mortgage-backed bonds at least at the current pace,” says the Financial Times.
3. a) 50%
Britain’s official death toll stands at 41,279.
4. b) Edward Colston
Colston was a merchant who profited from the slave trade. His ships are believed to have taken 80,000 Africans as slaves to the Americas between 1672 and 1689.
5. a) Under 30s
With little in savings and fewer chances to cut spending, under 30s have been hit hardest by the fall in their income during lockdown, says the BBC.
6. d) 20.4%
Official figures for GDP from the Office for National Statistics showed the first full month of lockdown triggered an economic crash “three times greater than the 2008 financial crisis”, says Richard Partington in The Guardian.
7. a) Burundi
Longtime leader Pierre Nkurunziza, 55, died weeks after an election had confirmed his successor.
8. b) Australia
The travel warning due to “a rise in racial discrimination” represents “a further fraying” in relations between the trade partners which began in mid-April when Australia criticised Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, says Alice Uribe in The Wall Street Journal
9. b) 40%
A German study which used the introduction of masks in shops and public transport as a natural experiment found face-masks slowed the spread of the virus by 40%.
10. c) Lloyds
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