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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 in business and investing: Luxury condo tower The One is still in the headlines, with news that condo buyers are stuck, despite the project being years behind schedule and millions over budget. Concrete columns and walls had only been poured up to the 40th floor, and it is estimated the project costs will top $2-billion.

Meanwhile, with Halloween just around the corner, it’s expected Canadians will shell out as much as $87.60 during the spooky season, on decor, costumes and candy. And as if shrinkflation in the candy aisle wasn’t bad enough, a short-term rental company is trying to crack down on overly rambunctious festivities. The company (can you guess which) will use an artificial intelligence-powered “anti-party” technology to identify and block bookings it believes will be disruptive. Finally, two major companies – Spotify and Meta – both reported third-quarter earnings, both with rosy reports. The growth was helped by … streamlined staffing? AI-powered projects? Taylor Swift?

Do you remember these stories? Take our quiz below to test your recall for the week ending Oct. 26. Temur Durrani, a technology reporter for the Globe, took this quiz and scored 9 out of 11 (not bad considering he wrote one of the stories in question). Can you top his high score?


1“You can’t just willy nilly change the price because of construction increases,” said Mark Morris, Toronto-based real estate lawyer with LegalClosing.ca, referring to developments at Toronto luxury condo The One. When was the condo initially expected to be completed?
a. 2022
b. 2018
c. 2025
d. 2015

a. 2022. Despite the delays, debt defaults and receivership status, owners of condo units in the building cannot walk away with their deposits. And despite the rising costs, unit owners are not required to put more money in to get the project finished.

2In its third-quarter earnings report, Spotify reported its first profit in a year and a bump in revenue. Which of the following contributed to the boost for the streaming service?
a. Cancelling its deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
b. A $1 price increase; downsizing its podcast operation
c. Downsizing its podcast operation; cutting royalties to Taylor Swift
d. Laying off staff; releasing thousands of AI-hosted podcasts
3After similar moves by other media giants, which of the following streaming services raised its rates this week?
a. Netflix
b. Prime
c. Disney+
d. Apple TV+

d. Apple TV+. The subscription prices of Apple TV+ and Apple News+ have both risen. The per month price of Apple TV+ has been increased by $3 to $9.99, while Apple News+ has been priced at $12.99, up from $9.99.

4Porter’s CEO says ____ is the biggest challenge facing the growth of the airliner.
a. High interest rates on loans to buy new jets
b. Not enough interesting locations to fly between in Canada
c. Consumer outrage as it cuts free in-flight snacks
d. The huge pilot shortage

d. The huge pilot shortage. Porter CEO Michael Deluce says the airline plans to launch "100 planes" while competitors such as Flair, Lynx and Canada Jetlines also have expansion ambitions. “There are insufficient pilots to satisfy all of that ecosystem,” he said.

5For the second time this year, unionized workers at a key marine shipping route went on strike. More than 350 workers at the St. Lawrence Seaway walked off the job Sunday, largely over wages. Where was the first strike?
a. Port of Vancouver
b. Port of Halifax
c. Port of Saskatchewan
d. Port of Prince Rupert

a. Port of Vancouver. The July strike at the Port of Vancouver lasted nearly two weeks.

6Still on strikes: According to federal stats, 2.1 million person-days have been given over to strikes in the first eight months of 2023. Compared with before the pandemic, that figure is:
a. Up (by 300,000 person-days)
b. Double the annual work time
c. Down (by one million person-days)
d. About the same annual work time

b. Double. In all of 2022, there were 1.8 million person-days lost. The 2.1 million person-days lost to strikes in the first eight months of 2023 is about double the annual work time lost to strikes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

7“I expect to be engaged with this business for a very, very long time.” The newly returned CEO of what Canadian company said this?
a. Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo Books & Music
b. Tobias Lütke, CEO of Shopify
c. Bobby Webster, GM of the Toronto Raptors
d. Michele Romanow, CEO of Clearbanc

a. Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo Books & Music. Ms. Reisman returned to the helm of the bookseller last month, and has pledged to stay on for at least three years as chief executive officer.

8With Halloween around the corner, it’s expected Canadians will spend $1.64-billion during the spooky season. Which category eats up the most cash?
a. Pumpkins, both gourd and plastic
b. Candy corn and other (less terrible) candy
c. Costumes like 2023′s most-popular pick, Barbie
d. Lewis, the eight-foot-tall jack-o-lantern

c. Costumes. It’s projected Canadians will spend almost half (47.5 per cent) of their Halloween budget on costumes (followed by $22.40 on candy).

9Still on Halloween, this company is using AI (“anti-party system”) to crack down “disruptive and unauthorized” ragers this upcoming weekend.
a. Expedia
b. Airbnb
c. Booking.com
d. Tripadvisor

b. Airbnb. The short-term rental company said it will use an AI learning system to block the booking of reservations it believes to be higher risk.

10Meta exceeded expectations in its third quarter earnings, posting year-over-year quarterly revenue gains of 23 per cent. That boost in revenue was helped by:
a. The success of its TikTok clone, FaceTalk
b. Growth in its metaverse vertical, Reality Lab
c. Its “year of efficiency” strategy, including job cuts and fine-tuning its ad business
d. The launch of an AI-powered assistant in its Marketplace product

c. The “year of efficiency” strategy. Meta reported a boost in its digital ads business, helped by an improved effectiveness in its online ad business. Meanwhile, workers affected by the company’s layoffs in 2022 (its work force shrank 24 per cent year-over-year) are no longer in Meta’s headcount.

11“There is a structural lack of supply in the Canadian housing market.” Who said this?
a. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party
b. Carolyn Rogers, deputy governor of the Bank of Canada
c. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance of Canada
d. Ontario Premier Doug Ford

b. Carolyn Rogers. Governor Tiff Macklem and Ms. Rogers

To learn how to code for free, please visit held a press conference after announcing the Bank of Canada would hold its key interest rate steady at 5 per cent. Until the supply issue is addressed, Ms. Rogers said, “interest rates on their own are not going to help us get back to a housing affordability situation or solution.”

How well did you do?

Answer all of the questions to see your result
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