The Wall Street Journal Weekly Quiz s9

The Wall Street Journal Education Program

Weekly Review & Quiz

Covering front-page articles from March 3 -9, 2007

Answers Spring 2007

Developed by: Scott R. Homan Ph.D., Purdue University

1. Mr. Stringer's dilemma is that he is caught between different ______.

a. products

b. management styles

c. cultures

d. both b and c Correct

2. Last summer, more than 100 Sony colleagues attended a mock funeral thrown by famed engineer Toshitada Doi. The funeral focused on the Aibo project which was a __.

a. robotic mouse

b. robotic cat

c. robotic monkey

d. robotic dog Correct

3. Wal-Mart is becoming a dominant force in

a. Germany

b. Latin America Correct

c. Japan

d. South Korea

4. Wal-Mart's International revenue soared ______, accounting for 22% of Wal-Mart's sales, in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31.

a. 20%

b. 25%

c. 30% Correct

d. 55%

5. Many inventive types across the country are transforming ______into mud-splattering machines.

a. soap boxes

b. golf carts Correct

c. used airplanes

d. pinewood derbies

6. Racing ______traces its roots to the drag-racing circuit for cars.

a. soap box carts

b. woody carts

c. pinewood carts

d. golf carts Correct

7. VPI, which in Wal-Mart Speak means ______.

a. Value Priced Item

b. Volume Product Incentive

c. Value Producing Item Correct

d. Volume Priced Item

8. Examples of VPI’s include

a. Moon Pies

b. Cheerios

c. Bud Light

d. All of the above Correct

9. The world's second largest retailer is _____.

a. Sears

b. Saks

c. Wal-Mart

d. Carrefour SA Correct

10. The world's second largest retailer is based in what city?

a. Tokyo, Japan

b. New York City, USA

c. London, England

d. Paris, France Correct

11. The second largest ethanol producer after the US is ______.

a. Mexico

b. Trinidad

c. Brazil Correct

d. Russia

12. With efficient sugar cane production and chemical processing, ethanol can be produced for as little as _____ a gallon.

a. 30 cents

b. 50 cents

c. 80 cents Correct

d. 99 cents

13. The _____ mantra says progress is made with a million incremental ideas, as opposed to one fix-it-all initiative. That runs counter to the American tendency toward bold moves and great leaps.

a. kaizen Correct

b. Findley

c. lean-thinking

d. push

14. Warning signs that a merged workplace is no longer the right fit include

a. purchasers deliberately assign acquired staffers the most difficult or unpleasant tasks

b. exclusion

c. a buyer's initial promises

d. all of the above Correct

15. Quincy, Washington’s economic boom has had the following effects

a. traffic backups Correct

b. schools are closing

c. deflated housing prices

d. all of the above

16. POS or ______terminals are vulnerable to “skimming” devices -- generally circuit boards or hand-held wireless units -- to steal payment-card data off card-swipe machines.

a. point-of-sale Correct

b. place-of-sale

c. process-of sale

d. protection-of-sale

17. Most car ads are _____, says Lance Jensen, chief executive at Modernista, an independent ad firm that works for General Motors.

a. boring Correct

b. cutting edge

c. inspiring

d. very expensive to produce

18. There is historical evidence that stock-market drops like the one recently often give way to _____.

a. recessions

b. additional large drops

c. higher interest rates

d. solid gains Correct

19. As billions of dollars came out of the world's stock markets last week, many investors put the money into ______.

a. gold

b. precious gems

c. silver

d. Treasury bonds Correct

20. As fallout spreads from soaring defaults on riskier home-mortgage loans, some big investors see a recovery coming and are preparing to increase their bets on the so-called ______.

a. Grade A minus market

b. Subprime market Correct

c. Top prime market

d. Grade D market

21. This week the Federal Reserve releases its _____ -- a collection of on-the-ground anecdotes on the economy's health.

a. beige book Correct

b. financial white paper

c. doom paper

d. gloom book

22. In the recent Duke survey, CFOs admitted to being a dour bunch -- _____ said their CEO was more optimistic about their company than they were.

a. 47.5% Correct

b. 49.5%

c. 55%

d. 74%

23. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires estimate nonfarm payrolls ______in February 2007.

a. rose 100,000 Correct

b. fell 100,000

c. rose 200,000

d. fell 200,000

24. Finding errors in Web software and exploiting them to create successful attacks is easy, experts say, because

a. the open nature of Internet connections means attacks easily bypass standard defenses like firewalls and antivirus software.

b. the applications are complex

c. Web-software developers, bent on getting products finished and released quickly, can have poor security practices.

d. all of the above Correct

25. More than ____ of all taxpayers used paid preparers last year, up from 46% in the mid-1980s.

a. 56%

b. 60% Correct

c. 65%

d. 70%

26. Stay at home moms who are returning to work are encouraged to

a. leave the gaps in their resume blank

b. downplay home skills to those used at work

c. promote skills relevant to the workplace, using concrete terms and quantifying results Correct

d. talk about hard-won nurturing skills