Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s business and investing news quiz. Join us each week to test your knowledge of the stories making headlines. Our business reporters come up with the questions, and you can show us what you know.
This week: Donald Trump’s new 25-per-cent tariff on imported vehicles has thrown a wrench in Canada’s auto sector – and the federal election campaign. But how many auto workers’ jobs are at risk? Take our business quiz.
d. 125,000. Automakers and parts suppliers employ about 125,000 people in Canada, most of them in Ontario. The number grows much larger if you include other suppliers to the auto sector.
c. Monster Beverage has been the best performing stock in the Russell 1000 Index over the 25 years since the dot-com bubble burst. The energy-drink maker has soared 127,477 per cent. Computer chip maker Nvidia is the runner-up, gaining 66,004 per cent.
b. The Reject Shop. Love the name! Dollarama is offering $233-million for The Reject Shop, which operates more than 390 discount stores across Australia.
a. Antitrust issues. Seven & i argues that Couche-Tard is underestimating the difficulties of winning approval from antitrust regulators who might object to the deal’s potential for squelching competition in the convenience store sector. If the deal were to go ahead, Couche-Tard would control more than 100,000 stores worldwide – roughly 20,000 in the U.S. alone – and dwarf its competition.
c. To monitor Donald Trump’s tweets. Mr. Trump’s habit of posting major policy announcements on X and his own Truth Social platform at unpredictable hours is roiling commodity markets, according to the Financial Times. Richard Holtum, chief executive of Trafigura, said he was toying with the notion of asking his Switzerland-based traders to change hours to better align with Mr. Trump’s day and keep abreast of the tweet-driven uncertainty.
d. A stake in its cellphone towers. The telecommunications company is trying to sell a 49.9 per cent stake in its Canada-wide network of 3,000 cellphone towers.
d. It refers to the 23 chromosome pairs in a human cell. Aren’t you glad you paid attention in biology class?
c. Keep retirement age at 65, keep the CPP expansion. What a strange world we live in. The Liberals have cut the carbon tax and ditched their planned increase in capital gains tax. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have done an about-face on the need to rein in retirement benefits such as CPP, Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). Mr. Poilievre told an audience this week: “We will protect CPP, OAS and GIS for age 65. The retirement age will remain 65. You will get all your CPP. All your GIS. All your OAS at age 65 under a new Conservative government.” Did someone say Tweedledum and Tweedledee?
a. Gold – along with copper – has hit record highs in recent days, although for different reasons. Investors in search of a haven have scrambled to buy gold, while buyers trying to stockpile supplies ahead of potential U.S. tariffs have driven copper prices higher.
b. Stockpile 72 hours worth of food and water. In a sign of the times, the EU Commission suggested citizens lay in enough basic supplies to get them through at least three days of disruptions. The Commission said Europe has to foster a new culture of “preparedness” and “resilience” as it faces threats ranging from military aggression to sabotage to natural disasters.
a. Pause its tariff action until after the election. Ms. Smith told a right-wing U.S. news organization that she asked the Trump administration to pause its tariff actions until after the Canadian federal election because the tariff threat was boosting support for the Liberals. Critics say the Premier was inviting the U.S. administration to interfere in Canadian politics. She denies that. In any event, the White House seems to have ignored her.
a. Napster. Infinite Reality, a 3D technology company, is the new owner of Napster, which turned the music industry upside down at the turn of the century by allowing users to swap songs for free, but then struggled to find its place in a streaming world. Infinite Reality plans to revamp Napster and turn it into a site where music fans can create virtual 3D spaces to enjoy concerts or listening parties together. Sounds cool. But US$207-million?