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Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour reaches Toronto this week. What is the pop star’s net worth? Take our business and investing news quiz

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Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour reaches Toronto this week. What is the pop star’s net worth? Take our business and investing news quiz

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Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour June 21, in London.Scott A Garfitt/The Associated Press

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 a bit of good news, nine wealthy families and foundations teamed up to make the Canada’s largest-ever philanthropic commitment to fight climate change, pledging $405-million over the next decade. The total commitment includes contributions from the Trottier Family Foundation, the Peter Gilgan Foundation, the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, the Chisholm Thomson Family Foundation, David Keith and Kirsten Anderson, the Sitka Foundation, the Vohra Miller Foundation and Allan Shiff.

And speaking of rich people, a certain pop star began the Canadian leg of her world tour. While Taylor Swift crossed into the country effortlessly, there are growing concerns of friction at the border once Donald Trump becomes U.S. president. All and all, a big week for millionaires, billionaires and their ilk.


1You’re probably aware of the huge U.S. presence now looming over Canada, threatening to disrupt our way of life. We refer, of course, to Taylor Swift, the pop-music goddess whose Eras Tour arrived in Toronto this week. How much is Ms. Swift worth, according to Time magazine?

a. US$550-million

b. US$1-billion

c. US$1.6-billion

d. US$2.0-billion

c. US$1.6-billion. Ms. Swift is worth US$1.6-billion, according to Time magazine. And you know what? That seems fair. Her six shows in Toronto are expected to draw as many as 500,000 visitors to the city.

2Okay, okay, there is another U.S. presence who also deserves mention. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened Canada and other nations with sweeping tariffs. Who suggested this week that Canada should seek its own exclusive two-way trade deal with the United States?

a. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre

b. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

c. Ontario Premier Doug Ford

d. Vice-President-elect J.D. Vance

c. Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Mr. Ford accused Mexico of being a “backdoor” for cheap Chinese imports and suggested the Latin American country be denied tariff-free access to Canada and the United States unless it matches Canadian and U.S. tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.

3On a happier note, which Canadian company saw its share price soar more than 20 per cent in a single day this week?

a. GFL Environmental

b. RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

c. Barrick Gold

d. Shopify

d. Shopify. The Ottawa-based e-commerce company beat analysts’ expectations for third-quarter earnings and projected even better things ahead. Shopify shares are on a roll and have gained more than 50 per cent since the start of the year.

4Whom did Alberta Premier Danielle Smith just fire?

a. The entire leadership team of the province’s environmental agency

b. The entire leadership team of the province’s public-sector pension manager

c. The entire leadership team of the province’s liquor commission

d. The entire leadership team of the province’s human rights commission

b. The entire leadership team of the province’s public-sector pension manager. Ms. Smith’s abrupt decision to fire the senior executives and entire board of Alberta Investment Management Corp. left many analysts gasping. The ostensible reason was a rise in costs at AIMCo, which invests retirement savings on behalf of the province’s police officers and teachers among others. However, some critics wonder whether the real purpose of the move is to use the fund’s $169-billion in assets to help fund the Premier’s favored projects.

5Canada Post and its workers are battling over the union’s demands for a significant wage increase and improved benefits. When was the last year the national letter carrier actually turned a profit?

a. 2017

b. 2020

c. 2022

d. It is currently profitable

a. 2017. The postal service last reported a profit in its 2017 fiscal year. Since 2018, it has been losing money and had a loss from operations of $490-million in the first half of 2024 alone.

6Which Canadian company cut 10 per cent of its workforce in October?

a. Shopify

b. Barrick Gold

c. RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

d. GFL Environmental

c. RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. RioCan said the cuts are part of a push toward greater efficiency, but companies in general are scaling back on residential construction. RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any construction in the near term.

7Is inflation dead? The latest read on U.S. consumer prices, published this week, showed that consumer prices in October:

a. Soared

b. Ticked up slightly

c. Held steady

d. Fell

b. Ticked up slightly. Consumer prices in the United States in October stood 2.6 per cent higher than they did a year previous, according to the new numbers. That is slightly more than the 2.4-per-cent annual rate recorded in September and raises fears that inflation may not fade away as quietly as many hoped, especially if Mr. Trump adds even more economic stimulus.

8The war in Ukraine may not be going as well for the Russian economy as official propaganda would like you to believe. Thieves in Moscow are now staging heists of what suddenly expensive product?

a. Eggs

b. Sausages

c. Vodka

d. Butter

d. Butter prices have rocketed 26 per cent in a year, prompting some Russian shops to store the golden delight in locked plastic boxes. The jump in butter prices is part of a general surge of inflation across the Russian economy. Economists say the inflation reflects staffing shortages and other strains caused by fighting the war Ukraine.

9What did toy maker Mattel apologize for this week?

a. Mistakenly linking doll buyers to a porn website

b. Mistakenly linking games buyers to a gambling addiction website

c. Mistakenly linking doll buyers to a family planning website

d. Mistakenly linking games buyers to a betting website

a. Mistakenly linking doll buyers to a porn website. Mattel said it deeply regretted an error on the packaging of its Wicked movie-themed dolls that mistakenly linked buyers to a pornographic website.

10Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard is facing a new obstacle in its audacious bid to buy the Japanese-owned 7-Eleven convenience store chain. The obstacle is:

a. The threat of Japanese government intervention to block the deal

b. The refusal of prominent Japanese money managers to consider a foreign takeover

c. The company’s move to split its business into three independent units

d. A rival bid

d. A rival bid. Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, owner of 7-Eleven, is weighing a takeover bid from a member of its founding Ito family. The bid is said to be worth around US$58-billion, considerably more than Couche-Tard’s US$47-billion offer, and is seen as an indication of how Japan’s corporate elite are closing ranks against foreign acquisitions of Japanese companies.

11What can people in Los Angeles do as of this week?

a. Hail a self-driving robotaxi

b. Immediately evict any tenant who can’t prove they are legally in the U.S.

c. Order Amazon products delivered by drone

d. Visit a Hollywood museum to talk with chatbots that mimic the voice and personalities of dead movie stars

a. Hail a self-driving robotaxi. Waymo has opened its robotaxi service to anyone who wants a ride around Los Angeles. The company has offered a similar service in Phoenix since 2020, but its move into Los Angeles, the second-largest U.S. city, marks a significant step forward in the spread of self-driving technology.

12Which is the only one of these investments not to soar in value after Mr. Trump’s big election win?

a. Tesla shares

b. Gold

c. Bitcoin

d. Private prison operators

b. Gold has been falling since the U.S. election on Nov. 5. Why? Mr. Trump’s promise to impose sweeping tariffs is likely to drive up the value of the U.S. dollar. That diminishes the appeal of gold. On the other hand, Tesla shares, bitcoin and private prison operators such as GEO Group have been soaring because they are all seen as winners from Mr. Trump’s promised policies.

How well did you do?

Answer all of the questions to see your result

This wasn’t your week, but that’s okay! We’ll be back next Friday with another business and investing quiz, subscribe to our weekday Business Brief newsletter to prepare.

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