Commercial Awareness Quiz - January 2020

In January, the government agreed a £100m rescue plan with regional airline Flybe. What else did the government promise to review in order to help the airline.*
- Making other airlines remove some of their regional routes
- Air passenger duty
- Setting up a holiday business as part of a Flybe Group
- Nationalising Flybe

Boris Johnson heard lengthy debates over the use of Huawei technology in the UK’s 5G network. A main argument for adopting the technology was to maintain competition in the UK telecoms industry. What are the other 5G suppliers in the UK?*
- Nokia and Ericsson
- O2, Vodafone, EE and Nokia
- Nokia, Ericsson and Vodafone
- Three and Nokia

The Head of the IMF has warned that the 2020s come with a risk of another Great Depression. What is one of the key contributors to increasing financial sector instability?*
- Global banks slashing interest rates
- Stagnation
- Government attitudes towards tax
- Trade protectionism

Following the December 12th general election, the housing market enjoyed a so-called Boris Bounce. What are the main causes of this?*
- Greater market confidence and banks offering larger mortgages at lower interest rates
- Greater market confidence and banks offering all mortgages at lower interest rates
- The Conservative majority meaning tax increases are unlikely
- Just general greater confidence in the market

The Arcadia Group was in the January headlines after enduring a tough Christmas, where sales fell by 14% in the 12 weeks which are supposed to be the busiest in the trading year. What are some of the brands owned by the multinational retailing company?*
- Topshop, Topman, Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Forever 21
- Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and Forever 21
- Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins
- Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Topman and Topshop

In January, Tesla’s China ‘Gigafactory’ (or Gigafactory 3) made its first sales. Where is the production plant?*
- Outside Beijing
- Wuhan
- Shanghai
- Chengdu

January also saw the review of the HS2 project, which revealed that the railway network was likely to cost over £100bn, an increase from the initial £56bn. Which cities does HS2 aim to connect?*
- London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester
- London, Birmingham and York
- London, Manchester and Leeds
- London, Oxford, Birmingham and Leeds

In January, a US air strike killed one of the top Iranian generals Qasem Soleimani. This caused fluctuations in the markets due to a lack of certainty over the politics following the death. Which industries were worst affected?*
- Oil and Shipping
- Oil and Aerospace and Defence industries
- Just the oil industry
- Multiple industries but Oil, Aerospace and Defence have been the worst affected

What did the Bank of England decide to do the 31st January?
- Raise the main interest rate by 1%
- Keep the main interest rate unchanged at 0.75%
- Cut interest rates to encourage spending
- Raise the main interest rate by 4%

January also saw the 2020 Davos Conference with bankers, financiers, investors and government representatives in attendance. How many countries were represented?*
- Between 50-60
- Between 90-100
- Every recognised sovereign state (195)
- Between 110-120

Commercial Awareness Quiz – January 2020