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: BCE Inc., the Montreal-based telecom giant, on Thursday reported a 23-per-cent year-over-year drop in fourth-quarter profit. Meanwhile, Snap’s stock dropped by more than 30 per cent on Wednesday after its own fourth-quarter revenue fell short of expectations. But it wasn’t all corporate gloom. Both Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook’s parent company, and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. had better weeks. Meta’s stock soared after a major corporate first while Brookfield raised its dividend by 19 per cent to 38 US cents a share.
Also: There was discontent in Hong Kong this week over a celebrity no-show, Google said Canadian fans of AI no longer need to feel FOMO and the Chinese stock has lost its mojo.
a. Slashing its work force. BCE is cutting 9 per cent of its work force – about 4,800 people – in its largest restructuring in nearly 30 years. The telecom operator is struggling with falling revenue from its legacy landline business and losses at its news and radio operations.
d. A sports-streaming platform. The new sports platform is expected to make its debut later this year. It could encourage even more viewers to cut their cable TV subscriptions.
a. Flatiron building. The sale of the Flatiron building for $15.4-million is the city’s first high-profile office property sale in months. The growth of remote work has cast a pall over office properties everywhere.
c. Lionel Messi, the great Argentine soccer player, set off a flurry of international invective after failing to play in a heavily-promoted exhibition match in Hong Kong. The fury grew after Mr. Messi played in a game in Japan a few days later.
b. Loblaw. Mr. Trudeau said Mr. Poilievre needs to explain why Jenni Byrne, a key Conservative adviser, has been working for the grocery sector while the Conservative Leader has been lambasting food retailers for high grocery prices. Ms. Byrne’s firm says she did not lobby federally for Loblaw, but worked with the grocer on provincially regulated issues, such as expanded access to beer and wine.
c. Tiff Macklem. Mr. Macklem devoted much of a speech to defining the limits of what central bankers can achieve by setting interest rates. The Bank of Canada Governor said interest rate policy is unable to offset the pressures that have resulted from many years of building too few homes to meet demand.
b. Dividend. Meta Platform’s stock jumped after the company announced its first dividend. The company’s share price has been steadily climbing back from the beating it took in 2022.
d. Its first annual profit. The ride-sharing service posted its first annual net profit as a public company.
a. Deflation. Consumer prices fell at their steepest pace in more than 14 years in January. Producer prices also dropped as China grappled with sagging property prices and high unemployment among the young.
c. Near a five-year low. Falling real estate prices have hurt shares tied to the country’s property market. Regulators have vowed to crack down on what they call “malicious short selling.”
d. Fairfax Financial. Muddy Waters alleges that Fairfax “manipulated asset values and income.” Fairfax disputes the report and says its financial statements reflect sound accounting principles.
b. Gemini is a rival to ChatGPT. Its Canadian debut was delayed by the company’s standoff with Ottawa over online news.
Ian McGugan