Credit crunch quiz
1. Who possibly stands to lose £2bn in the next year?
a)Nicola Horlick, because she invested in the Madoff pyramid scheme.
a)Kate Moss, if new übermodel Jourdan Dunn takes her crown.
c)Bernie Ecclestone, if wife Slavica decides to divorce him.
2.Who objected to having money thrown at them?
a) Ryman’s customers, who had the full VAT decrease passed on to them.
b)Northern Rock, after the Government bail-out.
c)Burnley fans, after Chelsea’s Didier Drogba threw a coin at them.
3. Which of these (paraphrased) headlines caused the least amount of sympathy in 2008?
a)Karen Matthews ‘at risk’ in prison after Shannon kidnap.
b)50,000 estate agents’ jobs at risk.
c)Anthea Turner tearful as Grant Bovey’s property business fails.
4. Which of the following did not cost £10,000?
a)A ticket to the charity bash hosted by George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes.
b)An advance ticket to see Barack Obama’s inauguration as president.
c)A ticket to see Trevor Nunn’s musical adaptation of Gone with the Wind.
5. Who was accused of not taking his role seriously because he ‘just sits about reading The Guardian’, and by whom?
a)Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thompson, by Rupert Murdoch.
b)Shadow chancellor George Osborne, by David Davis.
c)’Dancing pig’ John Sergeant, by Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips.
6. Who was forced to give back £92,000 worth of clothes?
a)Katy Perry, after changing outfits 13 times during the MTV awards.
b)German chancellor Angela Merkel, after trying to compete with Carla Bruni on state visits.
c)Sarah Palin, after she and John McCain lost the US election.
7. Who described what as a ‘chastening experience’?
a)James Bond star Daniel Craig on driving around in a Ford Ka in Quantum of Solace.
b)The captain of the QE2 after running it aground on its final voyage.
c)RBS chief Sir Fred Goodman on the £691m loss made by RBS subsidiary Natwest.
8. What fell by eight% in August?
a)The budget for the London Olympics.
b)Sales of mascara and hairspray following Amy Winehouse’s latest drunken appearance.
c)House prices, according to Nationwide.
9. Who among the super-rich were least likely to notice the credit crunch?
a)Tetrapak heir (and regular drug user) Hans Kristian Rausing.
b)Property developers the Candy brothers, who live in tax exile in Monaco.
c)Roman Abramovich who, according to former Chelsea executive Paul Smith in a court case, believes everyone has their own yacht and plane.
10. Which of these days did not feature in a Standard headline in 2008?
a)Black Monday.
b)Black Friday.
c)Beige-is-the-new-Black Sunday.
11. How did the Queen respond to news that the cost of the royal family to the nation had risen to £40m by March 2008?
a)She insisted that grandson Peter Phillips and new wife Autumn Kelly sell pictures of their wedding to Hello! magazine.
b)She forced Prince Charles to run his Aston Martin on surplus wine.
c)She started wearing old outfits, growing her own vegetables and turning down thermostats in the various royal residences.
12. What did BA boss Willie Walsh do in the summer that surprised many pundits?
a)Took a Ryanair flight.
b)Agreed to fund the Plane Stupid anti-aircraft eco-campaigners.
c)Turned down his £700,000 bonus in the wake of the bungled opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5.
13. Which of these terms was not used in discussing the financial crisis?
a)Stagflation (a combination of inflation and stagnation).
b)Gazundering (dramatically reducing an offer made on a house after a price has been agreed).
c)Banxiety (a permanent, paralysing fear that your bank will collapse with all your money in it.
14. What was Bank of England director Mervyn King referring to when he talked about ‘the R word’ in May?
a)Redundancy.
b)Rebarbitiveness.
c)Recession.
15.In April, Jon Lipsky, chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, stated that rising oil prices were a threat to:
a)His continued ability to run a second car.
b)Lewis Hamilton’s chances of becoming Formula One champion.
c)The global economy.
16. Who was accused of being ‘asleep on the job’ in March?
a)Paul McCartney, in a statement from Heather Mills during their divorce hearing.
b)shley Cole, in tabloid revelations about his marriage to Girls Aloud star Cheryl.
c)Bosses at the Financial Standards
17. Which of these were not reported to be under threat at some point in 2008?
a)The ‘big five’ British high street banks.
b)The ‘big three’ American car manufacturers.
c)The ‘Big Mac’ hamburger.
18. Which famous American name teetered on the brink of collapse in March, sending shockwaves around the world?
a)Yogi Bear.
b)Howard Stern.
c)Bear Stearns.
19.The Standard headline “Drinkers hammered” referred to:
a) The crowd of people who organised a booze-up on the Underground in protest at the alcohol ban on public transport.
b)The move to ban happy-hour booze promotions to combat binge drinking.
c)Alistair Darling’s decision to put 4p on a pint of beer, 14p on a bottle of wine, and 55p on a bottle of whisky in his Budget.