Biz Quiz

1. In a year marked by several huge telecommunications mergers, long-distance giant MCI Communications agreed to be acquired by this company:

a) Telefonos de Mexico

b) BellSouth Corp.

c) British Telecommunications

d) Philips Electronics

2. It took the Dow Jones industrial average nine months to rise from 4,000 to 5,000. How long did it take for the measure to climb from 5,000 to 6,000?

a) Six months

b) Nine months

c) 11 months

d) 19 months

3. With its $7.5-billion purchase of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., Time Warner Inc. became the world’s largest entertainment company, vaulting ahead of which rival?

a) Sony Corp.

b) Westinghouse Electric Corp.

c) Viacom Inc.

d) Walt Disney Co.

4. Which of these steps was NOT included in President Clinton’s new landmark rules regulating the sale of cigarettes?

a) Banning cigarette vending machines except in places frequented by adults.

b) Banning tobacco sales in all government offices.

c) Prohibiting tobacco brand-name sponsorship of sporting events.

d) Banning tobacco billboards within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds.

5. In one of the biggest corporate job reductions in history, AT&T; Corp. announced plans to eliminate this many positions over three years:

a) 25,000

b) 35,000

c) 40,000

d) 60,000

6. As part of the historic overhaul of U.S. telecommunications laws, rates for urban cable television service will stay regulated for how many years?

a) One

b) Two

c) Three

d) Five

7. This company raised $3 billion with the biggest initial public stock offering in history:

a) Ceridian Corp.

b) Experian Corp.

c) Netscape Communications Corp.

d) Lucent Technologies Inc.

8. Jeffrey Vinik was pressured into stepping down as manager of Fidelity’s Magellan Fund, the nation’s largest mutual fund, after he invested heavily in:

a) Corporate bonds and cash

b) Treasury bonds and cash

c) Junk bonds and cash

d) Growth-and-income stocks

9. Only one year after he was named Walt Disney Co.’s president with great fanfare, Michael Ovitz quit. Who did Disney name to temporarily replace him?

a) No one

b) Sanford Litvack

c) Michael Eisner

d) Richard Nanula

10. Boeing Co.’s plan to buy McDonnell Douglas would create the biggest aerospace merger in history. But which company will remain the Pentagon’s largest supplier?

a) Hughes Electronics Corp.

b) Lockheed Martin Corp.

c) Raytheon Co.

d) Northrop Grumman Corp.

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The answers:

1) c; 2) c; 3) d; 4) b; 5) c; 6) c; 7) d; 8) b; 9) a; 10) b