Quiz: How well did you keep up with business news in 2019?

By Seth Sutel
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — 2019 wound up being another big year for news from the business world. There was a leadership transition at Google’s parent company, a huge IPO by Saudi Aramco, and more scrutiny for Facebook as the social media company alarmed users and regulators with plans to create a digital currency. Plus, of course Baby Yoda’s debut on a certain show on a new video streaming service. How well did you keep up?

Questions:

1. Facebook, already under fire for its privacy practices, faced a new barrage of criticism and concerns after unveiling plans to create a digital currency. Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and eBay all abandoned the project. What is the name of the currency Facebook wants to launch?

2. Authentic Brands bought the assets of Barneys New York, the iconic department store owner, out of bankruptcy this year. The owner of lifestyle and entertainment brands including Nine West and Nautica also purchased a famous magazine this year from media company Meredith Corp. Which one?

3. Office-sharing company WeWork pulled its IPO and booted its charismatic co-founder, Adam Neumann, after investors balked at the company’s rapidly mounting losses and grew skeptical of its lofty valuation and business practices. As part of a turnaround plan, WeWork said it would sell its stakes in several side businesses, including Wavegarden. What does Wavegarden do?

4. In October, Charles Schwab threw down the gauntlet to rival discount brokers by slashing commissions for online trading to zero. Weeks later, Schwab announced the purchase of one of those rivals, which had seen its stock price crumple after Schwab’s announcement. Which rival is it?

5. Saudi Aramco became the world’s most valuable public company this year with a highly anticipated stock offering in December. Following a 10% surge on the day of its initial public offering, how much was the company worth?

6. In August, Patrick Byrne resigned as CEO of a publicly traded retail company he had founded 20 years earlier. A week before his departure, Byrne issued a puzzling and rambling statement in which he referred to federal agents as “Men in Black” and confirmed a journalist’s stories detailing his relationship with Maria Butina, a gun-rights activist who was sentenced to prison for being an unregistered agent of Russia. Which company was it?

7. It’s all about Baby Yoda. Sure, Disney Plus had lots of other compelling programming in its roster when the video streaming service made its debut in November. But the cooing, large-eared, green cutie pie stole hearts aplenty as a character in what new series on Disney Plus?

8. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google, relinquished their roles as executives of its parent company, Alphabet, two decades after turning the search startup into one of the most largest and powerful companies in the world. The executive who had been leading Google for more than four years will take over as Alphabet’s CEO. What’s his name?

9. Uber, Slack and Lyft all had highly anticipated stock market debuts this year. But it was a maker of plant-based meat substitutes that had a better performance on its first day of trading. Name that company.

10. The former CEO of which company was convicted for his part in a price-fixing conspiracy involving the top three makers of canned tuna?

Answers:
  1. Libra.
  2. Sports Illustrated.
  3. Wavegarden, a startup company based in Spain, designs and builds artificial wave pools for surfers.
  4. TD Ameritrade.
  5. $1.88 trillion.
  6. Overstock.com
  7. “The Mandalorian.”
  8. Sundar Pichai.
  9. Beyond Meat Inc.
10. Bumble Bee Foods.