Questions and Answers about
Business
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in BusinessIn January 2024, what prompted Tesla to put the brakes on production at its German plant?
Answer: In January 2024, Tesla’s German factory in Berlin hit a speed bump due to Houthi rebel attacks causing turmoil in the Red Sea, leading to significant production halts from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11.
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in BusinessIn January 2024, McDonald’s Malaysia took legal action against the Anti-Israeli Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. But why?
Answer: McDonald’s faced backlash over its Israel branch’s decision to donate meals to IDF troops, leading to boycott calls and a lawsuit by McDonald’s Malaysia in January 2024.
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in BusinessWhere has Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, set up his new home?
Answer: Jeff Bezos, the mastermind behind Amazon and space exploration company Blue Origin, has decided to trade Seattle’s evergreen embrace for Miami’s sun-kissed shores. This move. announced via Instagram on Nov. 3, 2023, is a strategic play to be closer to his family, his partner, and the rocket-fueled dreams taking off from Cape Canaveral. Plus,…
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in BusinessWhich of the following is NOT a major US drugstore chain?
Answer: ShopRite is a grocery store and supermarket chain. CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid are the go-to spots for prescription and over-the-counter meds. On Oct. 16, 2023. Rite Aid, the third-largest US drugstore chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to declining profits from prescription drug sales. It also faced increased competition from Amazon,…
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in BusinessNetflix stopped mailing DVDs in what year?
Answer: Netflix announced that it would end its DVD-by-mail service on Sept. 29, 2023, after shipping more than 5 billion discs over 25 years. Launched in 1998. the service was once Netflix’s biggest money maker but became obsolete in the video streaming era. Netflix split its DVD and streaming services in 2011, creating a separate…
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in BusinessWho will replace Rupert Murdoch at Fox and News Corp. after his retirement?
Answer: As of Nov. 2023, Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul, will be chilling in his new role as chairman emeritus of both Fox Corp. and News Corp. media holdings, with Lachlan Murdoch taking over his previous roles. And when Murdoch Sr. joins the magnificent newsroom in the sky, control of the Fox empire will…
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in BusinessWhat’s the link between Alibaba and the Brooklyn Nets?
Answer: Joseph Tsai, a co-founder and executive vice chairman of Alibaba, bought the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 and became the sole owner of the NBA team. In June 2023. Alibaba announced that Tsai would succeed Daniel Zhang as board chairman. Tsai is a Taiwan-born Canadian citizen who helped start Alibaba in 1999 with Jack Ma…
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in BusinessWhat did the Church of England clergy do for the first time in 2023?
Answer: The Church of England clergy made a formal pay claim for the first time in their nearly 500-year history on June 19, 2023. They demanded a 9.5% increase in their allowance from April 2024. The trade union Unite, representing over 2,000 clergy and lay officers in the Church of England, said that many clergy…
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in BusinessWho’s this guy who goes by the name xQc?
Answer: xQc, whose real name is Félix Lengyel, is a popular Twitch streamer who plays video games and hosts shows for almost 12 million followers. Many consider him Twitch’s most popular streamer. On June 17, 2023, he announced his departure from Twitch for Kick, a rival streaming platform. He signed a two-year non-exclusive contract worth…
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in BusinessWhat made Elon Musk lash out at George Soros on Twitter?
Answer: [caption id="attachment_12464" align="alignright" width="150"]lt;img class=”size-thumbnail wp-image-12464″ src=”https://HowSmart.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/George-Soros-e1606218890351-150×150.jpg” alt=”George Soros” width=”150″ height=”150″ / George Soros. Photo: Niccolò Caranti. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons[/caption]_x000D__x000D_George Soros, a Holocaust-surviving Jewish-born investor, and philanthropist, is often the target of far-right, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. According to a regulatory filing. Soros Fund Management LLC sold all of its 2.5 million…
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in BusinessDid Soros co-buy Vice Media after its bankruptcy?
Answer: Soros Fund Management, Fortress Investment Group, and Monroe Capital formed a lender consortium to provide about $225 million in a credit bid. The bankruptcy filing was announced on May 15, 2023, as Vice Media Group faced financial difficulties and top-executive departures. Vice Media Group is known for its websites, such as Vice, Refinery29, i-D,…
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in BusinessWhich financial giant bought First Republic Bank’s assets and deposits?
Answer: lt;p style=”direction: ltr;”Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank Monday, May 1, 2023, and sold its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank. With $229 billion in assets, First Republic Bank became the second-largest bank failure in US history. It surpasses Silicon Valley Bank, which failed on March 10, 2023. Both banks…
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in BusinessWhy did Bed Bath & Beyond stop accepting coupons on Apr. 26, 2023?
Answer: Bed Bath Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Apr. 23, 2023. The company announced it would stop accepting coupons on Apr. 26, 2023, when store-closing sales began. The announcement came after failing to secure funding and facing years of dreary sales and losses.
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in BusinessWhich company is about to catch some Angry Birds with a $776 million offer?
Answer: Sega Sammy Holdings Inc, the Japanese gaming giant behind Sonic the Hedgehog, officially announced on April 17, 2023, that it planned to acquire Rovio Entertainment Oyj, the Finnish company behind Angry Birds, for 706 million euros ($776 million) in cash. Sega Sammy said the deal would boost its mobile gaming business. Rovio’s board unanimously…
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in BusinessWhere is Elon Musk building Tesla’s new factory to make Megapacks, the huge batteries that can keep the lights on for thousands of homes?
Answer: Elon Musk announced plans to build an upcoming factory in Shanghai, China, on April 9, 2023. The factory will annually produce 10,000 megapacks – Tesla’s energy storage products that stabilize energy grids and prevent power outages. Building work on the proposed factory is expected to begin later this year. with battery production due to begin…
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in BusinessWho is the CEO of Endeavor Group Holdings, owner of UFC?
Answer: Ari Emanuel is a big-shot Hollywood agent and the co-founder of Endeavor Talent Agency, which merged with William Morris Agency in 2009. He is also the real-life inspiration for Ari Gold, the charismatic agent on HBO’s Entourage. On Apr. 2, 2023, he announced a $21 billion deal to acquire WWE from Vince McMahon and…
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in BusinessAccording to court filings, why did FTX owner Sam Bankman Fried bribe Chinese officials?
Answer: In 2021, Sam Bankman-Fried instructed those working for him to pay a bribe of $40 million to one or more Chinese officials to help unfreeze trading accounts maintained by FTX’s sister company, Alameda Research, that held up to $1 billion in cryptocurrencies. Bankman-Fried was charged with 13 criminal counts, including foreign bribery, on March…
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in BusinessWhat is the largest family-owned bank in the US?
Answer: First Citizens Bank is a family-owned bank founded in 1898 by Frank Holding Sr. and his family. It has become the largest family-owned bank in the US, with over 500 branches in 19 states. On March 26, 2023. the bank purchased all deposits and loans from Silicon Valley Bridge Bank. This was the financial…
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in BusinessSilicon Valley Bank went bust in 2023, becoming the second-largest bank failure in US history. Which bank was the largest?
Answer: Washington Mutual, or WaMu, was a savings and loan association that collapsed in 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis. It had $307 billion in assets and was sold to JPMorgan Chase for a bargain price of $1.9 billion. The bank’s failure was the largest in US history, surpassing the previous record…