BQ Practice Qs - 1a Flashcards
Heirs of Siemens AG “called for a return to calm” to the Siemens supervisory board, after Josef Ackermann announced his resignation over what disagreement? 16-Sep B1 Siemens’s Heirs Ask For Calm At the Top
The Firing of the former Chief Executive, Peter Loscher, for repeatedly missing profit margins.
Presidents Obama’s first choice pick to replace Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman withdrew himself from consideration. What is pick’s last name, and list one reason for why did he withdrew?
Summers. That further consideration would be “Acrimonious” or “world not serve the Federal Reserve”, or “world not serve the Administration” or ultimately “the interests of the nations ongoing economic recovery”
Kids in sports need to know about a highly vulnerable area between the first and seventh vertebrae that protects the spinal cord connecting the brain to the body. What is this area called?
The Cervical Spine.
Among the companies and factions that Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, is negotiating with are the bond insurers going to play an active or passive role, and what do they hope to accomplish with this?
Active role. They need to recover the maximum possible from the debtor in order to pay out on their insurance of bonds.
Jana Partners LLC acquired 6.2% of a company and requested that the company sell off it’s less profitable areas and return more capital to investors. In reaction, that company implemented it’s “poison pill” aka “shareholder rights plan”. What is this company and did it’s stock go up or down on the news?
Safeway. It went up, about 10.5%
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co is preparing to pay at least $800 Million in fines related to the “London whale” trading fiasco, but they hit a snag in negotiations with the CFTC over weather J.P. Morgan would admit to what?
Manipulation. Manipulation of a market index tied to corporate bonds.
Merely observing what hurts bystanders performance in terms of both routine and creative tasks, as well as making customers want to go elsewhere?
Rudeness
The market rallied based on the Federal Reserves decision to not wind down it’s bond buying program this month. How much stimulus a month does the Fed provide?
$85 billion.
Chancellor Anglea Merkel won a third term despite better than expected showing by upstart party that want to break up the Euro. What is the name of this upstart?
the Alternative for Germany
Chocolate prices are set to soar as demand increases, primarily for dark chocolate, and supply contracts. Demand is expected to increase as markets recover, but why is supply contracting?
Dry weather, or expected dry weather in west Arica.
Fiat Chief Executive and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is in a difficult position in negotiations with UAW health-care-trust. What is the nature of this difficult situation?
Fiat wants to buy Chrysler cheaply, the UAW wants to sell high, and Marchionne is supposed to represent both.
Among the possible candidates for the chairman of the Federal Reserve, besides Mr. Summers, who was also a former Treasury secretary?
Timothy Geithner
What is difference of board structure between German and American companies?
German companies have a two-tier board structure while American companies have only one-tier board structure which is the board of directors .
Which company will Repsol sell the liquefled-natural-gas business to?
The Royal Dutch Shell
What kind of compnay is SunCal?
One of the largest land developers in the western U.S.
Who pulled out of the context for the chairman of the Federal Reserve?
Lawence Summers
What is advantage of Tesla regarding the costs of its battery compared with that of GM and Nissan?
Its battery costs are half or even a quarter of the price of the industry average.
What is the rank of LPL among the brokerages in the U.S.?
LPL is the fourth-largest brokerage in the U.S.
Who is the Chinese leader known for opening China’s economy to the outside world after years of isolation?
Deng Xiaoping
Who is the front-runner for the Fed nomination?
Janet Yellen
Which quarter did the BlackBerry suffer $84 million loss this year?
The quarter that ended June 1
Who is the third-largest institutional shareholder?
The Black-Rock Inc
Which state is the biggest cotton producing state in U.S.?
Texas
Which company agreed to pay $920 million fine in the “London whale” trading fiasco?
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
What kind of Treasury bill has less demand from investors that it really did?
The three-month bill
How did a slow down in prescription -drug price gains happen?
It was largely due to wider availability of inexpensive generics.
How many minutes does the article suggest us to spend for dinner?
20 minutes
How does Amplify work?
It allows Twitter to sell ads together with television and other media companies.
How do the Chinese Banks respond to the new rules issued by regulators in March
Banks are converting some trust loans into regular on-balance-sheet assets.
How can an IPO further delay Mr. Marchionne’s plans to combine Chrysler and Fiat?
By fracturing Chrysler’s ownership structure and diluting Fiat’s control.
Why companies seldom default in China ?
Because banks or the government will step in to cover potential losses if a firm gets into trouble.
Larry Summers recently exited from the Fed Race. In particular, critics seized on Mr. Summers’s reputation for abrasiveness, his closeness to Wall Street and what?
accusations that he was hostile to women
Eike Bastita, a famous Brazilian entrepreneur, gave all his companies three-letter names ending in the letter X, to represent what?
the multiplication of wealth
There have recently been debates about what sorts of activites banks should be allowed to partake in. What act allows banks to trade physical commodities, subject to Fed approval but it is unclear on whether they can store and transport materials?
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999
Since 1913, the men in Eric Everett’s family have worked for Alcoa Inc., the firm that built their town. Just recently, why did the Dow Jones Industrial drop Alocoa from its stock index, the DJIA?
company’s falling stock price as well as its dwindling influence
For years, international companies wanting to set up in Myanmar were stifled by Western sanctions or rebuffed by the country’s military government. Now, as the country opens up, global corporations are finding a new hurdle. What is it?
real-estate prices.
Apple recently released the new iPhone 5S. What is the name of the fingerprint reader that is exclusive to the 5S?
Touch ID
Airports have been spending heavily on public art over the past 10 years, thanks to a heavy focus on turning what historically have been nondescript atriums of stress into interesting rest stops catering to upscale clientele. Which United States airport has been hailed as a “model of public art”?
Denver International Airport
Dr. Perlmutter, a retired immunologist, was hired by MIrk to reconstruct thier R&D department. His diagnosis: Merck’s science was excellent, but the organization had become so complex that many employees didn’t even know who had authority to make decisions. What were one of his solutions to the problems of the R&D department?
reduce complexity, make bigger bets on the most promising projects and scale back areas that have less potential
Greece began talks with international inspectors on Sunday that will set the stage for a third multibillion-euro bailout of the country. Officials in Athens say Greece is sticking to a critical commitment and is likely to secure a primary budget surplus – the surplus before taking into account debt payments – in 2013 for the first time in how long?
around a decade
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., a Canadian insurance firm, signed a letter of intent with the BlackBerry board under which it could pay $9 a share in cash for the remianing stake in Blackberry it does not own. What percent of BlackBerry shares is this stake?
90 percent
Health insurance exchanges have been set up in America where people can shop for individual insurance plans and apply for subsidies toward the cost of premiums aimed toward the portion of the population who don�t currently have access to coverage through an employer or government program. About what percent of the the population is this?
About 46 million Americans
Shiite militiamen from across the Arab world are being trained by Iranian forces at a base near Tehran to do battle in Syria. What does this show?
It shows the widening role of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria’s bloody war
Batista went from being the world’s seventh richest man worth around 30 billion to off the billioinaires list, largely impart to the stock shares of his six public companies plunging, some more than 90%. What was the cause of this?
His oil firm failed to produce much of the 10 billion barrels he had said were within its reach
Drug makers are latching onto a class of drugs that if successful, could be the first treatments to target breast and ovarian cancers tied to two specific genetic mutations. What are the names of the two mutations?
BRCA 1 and BRCA 2
According to Morningstar Inc., in the last 4 months investors have invested 5.3 billion into mutual funds that invest in the financial sector as well as what kind of funds?
Exchange-traded Funds
Certain European banks in struggling counties are trying to make their financial health look better by convincing their governments to change certain what?
Accounting-related rules
What was the first and last name of the alleged gunman who killed 12 people in the Washington Navyyard on September 16th?
Aaron Alexis
More than 2 million people develop infections every year and at least 23,000 die from these infections that are unique for what reason?
The infections are resistant to antibiotics
In the week of September 8th, the Dow Jones Industrial said it was dropping Alcoa from its list. This ended 54 years that Alcoa has been on the Dow. What were the 2 reasons for dropping it?
The Dow cited the company’s falling stock price and its dwindling influence as reason for dropping it from it’s list
The bankruptcy of the city of Detroit is the largest municipal bankruptcy on record. What is the amount of estimated liabilities?
$18 billion
The CEO of LPL Financial Holdings, Mark Casady, has recently implemented new policies to try and redeem LPL after a rough few years which included a $7.5 million fine levied on the firm this past May. What did regulators cite as the reason for the fine being imposed?
They cited “systematic faliures in its email system tied to mismanaged growth.
A new movement is occuring to help raise awareness of a very dangerous risk to young athletes, but one that is very little understood. What is the risk?
Injuries to the cervical spine, the very vulnerable area that protects the spinal cord connecting the brain to the body.
For the year 2012, what race/ethnicity had the highest median household income and what was the amount?
Asian, $68,182
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, many companies are having to change the way they do insurance. Which giant company recently announced a plan to provide payments to eligible employees for the subsidized purchase of insurance starting in 2014?
Walgreen Co.
Microsoft has raised its dividend eight times since 2004, with the most recent boost being very significant. How big was the raise in the dividend?
22 percent
With the decision of the Fed to begin to end the bond buying program, currencies such as the Real and Rupee are being weakened. In places such as Brazil, the decline of the real has caused what?
A jump in airline fuel costs
What Texas utility company is currently at the center of the largest private-equity buyout ever and is moving closer and closer to a bankrupty filing?
Energy Future Holdings Corp.
The iPhone 5S includes new features such as fingerprint-recognition technology that unlocks the phone with a simple touch and includes what size of processor?
64-bit processor
The White House has been signaling since Summers has dropped out of the race, that Janet Yellen could be nominated to be the next head of the Federal Reserve. What position does she currently occupy?
Fed’s Vice Chairwoman
Six people died and over 30 were injured in a collision between a Train and a city transit bus. Where did this crash take place
Ottowa, ON Canada
What major company recently announced its plan to lay off around 40 percent of its work force from now until the end of the year due to shrinking sales?
BlackBerry
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently proposed what information being required to be disclosed by companies?
The pay gap between chief executives and their employees in the company
The Fed’s decision to continue its easy money policy is brightening the future outlook for what area of investments?
Risky areas of the stock market, especially ones that would benefit from an improving global economy
What piece of artwork greets passangers and visitors in the Sacramento airport when arriving?
Lawrence Argent’s “Leap” which is an aluminum red rabbit jumping toward a granite suitcase
What problem is the government having with software at its insurance marketplaces as it relates to Healthcare?
The software can’t reliably determine how much people need to pay for coverage
A Texas Appeals Court reversed the conviction of former House Majority leader Tim DeLay. What was he convicted of?
Money laundering
What Independent film studio is raising a credit facility of around $370 million for ‘flexibility’, possible acquisitions, and for stronger financial footing as the company continues to recover?
Weinstein Co.
Electrolux plans to launch a variety of appliances in their Chinese market after many failed years. What was the flawed model that they had been using?
It was “to build factories to make cheap white boxes better than the Chinese.”
What is the name of the hedge fund manager of Discovery Capital Management LLC who has had an excellent year so far, up about 15 percent through August?
Robert Citrone
What is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigating J.P. Morgan for?
To see whether or not J.P. Morgan manipulated markets through its heavy trading in derivatives last year
Who claimed responsibility for the twin suicide attacks on a church in northwest Pakistan that killed at least 70 people?
A radical group linked to the Pakistan Taliban
What type of style is Janet Yellen, lead candidate to succeed Bernanke, likely to bring to the central bank?
A demanding and harder driving leadership style as opposed to Bernanke’s low key approach
In a last attempt to hang on to what little market share it has left, Blackberry has altered its plan for how to do business. What is it?
To make the company the biggest provider of systems to manage smartphone use for emplyers like the government and banks where security is key.
What Chinese tycoon is planning to build and entertainment center and film studio costing around $8 billion with the support of actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio?
Wang Jianlin
What change is leading to short supplies of cocoa and higher candy prices across the world?
Consumers developing more of a taste for Dark Chocolate
What is the only housing related stock that has out performed the S&P so far this year?
Home Depot
What is the name of the official at the center of the IRS targeting tea party groups investigation?
Lois Lerner
Why has Iran’s new President Hasan Rouhani been promoting reconciliation with the west?
Its an attempt to relieve Iran of the troubled economy due to strict economic sanctions
GM plans to buy back about $3.2 billion shares which caused Moody’s to boost their credit rating. Who owns the shares they are planning to buy back?
UAW Trust
As the surge in home loans is fading, many companies are being forced to lay off many workers in its mortgage business. What company recently had to lay off another 1000 workers from its mortgage business?
Citigroup Inc.
Under the proposal by Atari’s French parent, Atari will pay off their $3.8 million bankruptcy loan to what lender?
Alden Global Capital
What thing did Dr. Davies and other researchers find that causes an increase in children’s emotional security?
Couples having “constructive” marital conflict
Lawrence Summers recently pulled out of the race to succeed who as the chairman of the federal reserve
Ben Bernanke
As many economist believe there is a moderation in the housing market. One company, Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. blamed a 12.7% decline in new housing orders through July and August on what?
Higher home price and interest rates
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc, Clovis Oncology Inc, and Tesaro Inc. are among companies who have presented evidence of their drugs shrinking tumors related to what kind of cancers?
Breast and Ovarian cancer
Oil Major Reposol, who is looking to increase its investments in politically stable countries such as the United States is based in what city?
Madrid, Spain
Spain who has been suffering from a deep recession is trying to force the government to change their accounting policy in which way?
To transform potentially worthless tax assets into government guaranteed tax credits that would help banks’ capital positions
Pakistani General Sanaullah Niazi was killed by the Taliban. The General was killed in the Dir district by what?
A roadside bomb
J.P. Morgan Chase is close to resolving a trading fiascio in which they agree to pay $800 million in penalty. What did J.P. Morgan Chase do to suffer from such penalties?
Having deficient internal controls and disclosing incorrect information related to 2012 trades.
