THE BIZ QUIZ: ‘94/’95
What’s a CALite? Where did GATT go? And why is Intel Corp. bugged? Here is the Business section’s annual quiz testing your knowledge of news events and trends from 1994 in the world of business. (Answers are at the end.)
1. Sony Corp. took a $2.7-billion write-off on its Sony Pictures unit. What was the unit called when Sony bought the studio in 1989?
a) 20th Century Fox
b) Columbia Pictures
c) Paramount Pictures
d) Warner Bros.
*
2. Who is the wealthiest individual in the United States, according to Forbes magazine?
a) Warren Buffett
b) Michael Jackson
c) John Kluge
d) Bill Gates
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3. Which U.S. carrier struggled to make a go of low-fare “Lite” service?
a) Trans World Airlines
b) Continental Airlines
c) Southwest Airlines
d) Delta Air Lines
*
4. During an unsuccessful campaign for Orange County treasurer-tax collector, this man warned that the county’s investment fund was on shaky ground:
a) Ernie Schneider
b) Robert Citron
c) Matt Raabe
d) John Moorlach
*
5. The United States ratified a new version of GATT, which stands for:
a) General Assembly Trade Treaty
b) General Acceptance of True Trade
c) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
d) General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs
*
6. Virginia mathematician Thomas R. Nicely claimed to be the first person to be bugged by a flaw in a popular Intel Corp. computer chip. What is the chip’s name?
*
7. McDonnell Douglas closed Building 15 at its plant in Culver City. The building is famous as the place where:
a) Howard Hughes built the Spruce Goose
b) McDonnell built the first plane to break the sound barrier
c) Rare birds nest in the rafters
d) McDonnell and Douglas signed their merger agreement
*
8. Thomas Spiegel was acquitted of charges that he looted the Beverly Hills savings and loan he once ran. The thrift was:
a) American Savings & Loan
b) Glendale Federal Savings & Loan
c) Columbia Savings & Loan
d) Fidelity Federal Savings
*
9. After Lloyd Bentsen resigned as Treasury Secretary, whom did President Clinton nominate to succeed him?
a) Ross Perot
b) Michael Milken
c) Robert Rubin
d) Leon Panetta
*
10. Did the Dow Jones industrial average finish 1994 with a gain or a loss?
*
11. Nasdaq is now just an odd word for one of the major U.S. stock markets. What did the letters originally stand for?
*
12. National Medical Enterprises agreed to settle criminal charges by paying the highest fine ever levied in a medical fraud case. The fine was:
a) $378,000
b) $3.7 billion
c) $378 million
d) $3.78
*
13. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena decided that General Motors’ C/K pickups had a dangerous defect, but he later dropped a recall effort. What was the alleged defect?
a) Crossed wires that cause engine fires.
b) Doors that open when vehicle hits large bumps.
c) Side-saddle gas tanks that explode in side-impact crashes.
d) Air bags that inflate unexpectedly.
*
14. A federal grand jury in New Hampshire indicted five executives of this auto company, alleging that they accepted $10 million in bribes from car dealers. The company was:
a) Toyota
b) Honda
c) Mazda
d) Hyundai
*
15. Ralphs Grocery Co. is merging with which other chain in the largest supermarket merger in California history?
a) Yucaipa Cos.
b) Vons
c) Lucky
d) Albertson’s
Answers to Quiz:
1. b
2. d
3. b
4. d
5. c
6. Pentium
7. a
8. c
9. c
10. Up
11. National Assn. of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations system
12. c
13. c
14. b
15. a
