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: The Canada Revenue Agency announced it will begin issuing legal warnings in a bid to recover overpayments of all COVID-19 programs such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) and the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit. The CRA said it is trying to recoup $9.53-million paid back from individuals including $5.41-billion from CERB. For those looking for ways to stretch their dollar – perhaps in a bid to pay off some pandemic-era benefits – Air Miles launched a revamped program. You can now use the loyalty points for vouchers at stores including Starbucks, Amazon, Cineplex and Pizza Pizza.
c. About 30 per cent. Thirty-one per cent of recent first-time buyers received a gift for their down payment, up from 20 per cent in 2015, according to a new analysis by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The average size of the parental gift has soared to $115,000.
a. Alberta. Alberta rents have jumped an average 15.7 per cent over the past year, according to Statistics Canada.
b. It announced a partnership with Volkswagen. Volkswagen agreed to invest up to US$5-billion in money-losing Rivian in exchange for access to its EV architecture and software.
a. Joe Biden’s economic plans are better. The 16 Nobel prize winners said Mr. Biden’s economic agenda is “vastly superior” to Mr. Trump’s.
c. Sells stakes in rare collectibles like sports trading cards. Liquid Marketplace sells crypto-based tokens that it claims represent fractional ownership of collectibles such as a LeBron James rookie trading card.
d. More than 500,000. Management jobs have increased 33 per cent since early 2021 while non-management jobs have grown only 8 per cent. Why? No one is quite sure. Maybe you should ask one of your many bosses.
b. Refusing to hire married women. A Reuters investigation found that Foxconn systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant on the grounds they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts.
b. Three times the current number. Statistics Canada says the number of Canadians over 85 could more than triple over the next half century.
a. Purdue Pharma. The decision blocks an agreement that would have seen the Sacklers pay up to US$6-billion and give up control of Purdue, but still retain billions in personal wealth.
d. All the above. The outpouring of support for the centre does not appear to have changed the mind of the provincial government – at least, not yet.
c. It defaulted on its debt. Slate defaulted on $158-million of debt. The Toronto-based office landlord is struggling to deal with high interest rates and an office rental market that has still not returned to prepandemic levels of demand.
d. People who improperly received pandemic-related benefits. The CRA said it will begin issuing legal warnings to offenders who have not responded or co-operated and who have the financial capacity to repay. The tax agency is trying to recover more than $9-billion in pandemic-related benefits paid out to ineligible individuals.
Ian McGugan