Weekly Review Quiz As of 2008-02-14

Weekly Review Quiz as of 2008-02-14
Economics:Macro

Credit-Card Pinch Leads Consumers to Rein In Spending
by Robin Sidel, Sudeep Reddy and Jane J. Kim
02/08/2008

1. In past economic downturns, Americans used credit cards mainly for

a) everyday necessities such as groceries and gasoline.
b) emergency spending.
c) discretionary purchases such as groceries and gasoline.
* d) discretionary purchases such as furniture, appliances and jewelry.
e) their home mortgage payments.

Retail Squeeze Felt Far Beyond Malls
by Amy Merrick and Kevin Kingsbury
02/08/2008

2. January retail sales indicated

a) women's clothing sales have been stronger than men's.
* b) men's clothing sales have been stronger than women's.
c) shoppers have shifted spending away from necessities.
d) discount stores such as Costco were especially hard hit.
e) retail stores are having more difficulty managing inventories than in the past.

Short-Term Gain Could Yet Yield Long-Term Pain
by Mark Gongloff
02/11/2008

3. Policies aimed at stimulating the sleepy economy will likely

a) lead to higher home prices in the future.
b) make credit easier to come by.
* c) take away from future growth.
d) have a permanent stimulative effect on spending and income.
e) cause banks to return to the

High-Interest Lenders Tap Elderly, Disabled
by Ellen E. Schultz and Theo Francis
02/12/2008

4. Social Security recipients were not always a natural market for payday lenders, but by the late 1990s

a) the value of stocks held by the elderly was growing faster than average incomes.
b) the law changed making it easier for payday lenders to make arrangements directly with banks.
* c) the government began requiring Social Security recipients to receive their benefits electronically.
d) lenders began tapping into the home equity of Social Security recipients.
e) Social Security benefits began increasing faster than inflation.

How Fed Rate Cuts Are Helping to Fuel A Hong Kong Boom
by Jonathan Cheng
02/13/2008

5. Fed rate cuts are causing the housing market in Hong Kong to

a) boom because U.S. housing investors are fleeing to Hong Kong.
b) sag because the housing sector in Hong Kong is tied to the housing sector in the United States.
* c) boom because the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar.
d) sag because the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar.
e) stabilize after experiencing double-digit growth for the past decade.