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This week: As investors look for end-of-year gifts from corporations trying to play Santa Claus, it appears some will only get a lump of coal. But for Canadian families buying groceries, how much more will they be spending in 2026? Take our quiz and find out.

1It’s not just Santa Claus who is busy this time of year. Corporate managers are also scrambling to deliver goodies to keep investors happy. What is Barrick Mining considering?

a. An initial public offering of its North American mines

b. The sale of its North American mines

c. An initial public offering of its non-North American mines

d. The sale of its non-North American mines

a. An initial public offering of its North American mines. Barrick Mining is considering an IPO of a minority interest. The Toronto-based miner is under pressure from shareholders who are grumpy after years of sluggish stock market performance. Barrick shares trade at a discount to its peers because of the company’s heavy exposure to politically risky jurisdictions in Africa, the Middle East and Papua New Guinea.

2What did Telus announce this week?

a. A big bump to its dividend

b. A pause to dividend hikes

c. A cut to its dividend

d. A stock split

b. A pause to dividend hikes. Surprise! Telus said it would pause its dividend growth and keep its payout at its current level. The Vancouver-based telecom company is trying to reduce its financial leverage. However, it had insisted until recently that it was still planning on dividend increases. Its change of heart is bad news for dividend investors.

3What did Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust do this week?

a. It boosted its monthly distribution

b. It shook up its executive team

c. It sold off a flagship property

d. It slashed its monthly distribution

d. It slashed its monthly distribution. In another nasty surprise for income investors, Allied Properties REIT sliced its monthly distribution by 60 per cent. The big cut marks a major reversal for the Toronto-based property company. In August, management told investors it was “very comfortable” with the monthly payout.is shifting Jeep Compass production to Illinois as part of a US$13B expansion.

4Statistics Canada doesn’t like to deliver surprises, but it just offered up a doozy. According to newly revised numbers from Canada’s national statistics agency, Canada’s economy did what in 2022, 2023 and 2024?

a. It shrank in real terms

b. It grew more slowly than previously thought

c. It flat-lined

d. It grew more rapidly than previously thought

d. It grew more rapidly than previously thought. Good news! The Canadian economy grew significantly faster than previously thought in recent years, according to revisions from Statistics Canada. The new numbers show Canada’s economic output, measured by real gross domestic product, grew about half a percentage point faster in each of 2022, 2023 and 2024 than previous estimates had indicated. The revised numbers suggest that at least some of the teeth-gnashing in recent years about falling productivity and declining living standards may have been overdone.

5Which large U.S. company just sued the Trump administration over its tariff policy?

a. Walmart

b. Nvidia

c. Costco

d. Apple

c. Costco sued the Trump administration this week, asking the court to consider all tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to be unlawful. Costco joins a growing list of smaller U.S. companies that have filed similar suits.

6Which of these companies started laying off more than 1,000 workers this week?

a. Stelco

b. ArcelorMittal Dofasco

c. Algoma Steel

d. AltaSteel

c. Algoma Steel Group is laying off more than a third of its work force as it accelerates a transition to new equipment in response to U.S. tariffs. The company, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is shutting down its blast-furnace and coke-oven operations as it transitions to more efficient electricity-based steel production.

7The Canadian financial industry is consolidating at warp speed. Following Fairstone Bank of Canada’s acquisition of Laurentian Bank of Canada this week, which is the only one of these Canadian banks to remain publicly traded and outside the clutches of the Big Six?

a. Canadian Western Bank

b. EQ Bank

c. Home Trust

d. HSBC Bank Canada

8About that financial industry consolidation: Which company just agreed to acquire PC Financial from Loblaw Companies in a deal estimated at $800-million?

a. EQB Inc.

b. Fairstone Bank

c. Royal Bank of Canada

d. CIBC

a. EQB Inc. will take over PC Financial from Loblaw Companies. EQB, the parent company of Equitable Bank, will acquire President’s Choice Bank, PC Financial Insurance Agency Inc., PC Financial Insurance Brokers Inc. and other affiliated entities.

9The cost of living has become a hot topic in the United States. What did U.S. President Donald Trump call the “affordability” issue this week?

a. “My No. 1 priority”

b. “A con job by the Democrats”

c. “China’s fault”

d. “Joe Biden’s legacy”

b. “A con job by the Democrats.” Yep, affordability is just fine, according to Mr. Trump. He said the issue is a hoax perpetrated by Democrats. However, the latest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that inflation in the U.S. is still running at 3 per cent, well above target. During his election campaign, Mr. Trump promised to bring down prices, but there is no evidence that is happening. In fact, inflation in the U.S. is now running higher than during Mr. Biden’s last month in office.

10Affordability remains a key concern in Canada, too. According to projections in the latest Food Price Report, how much will a typical family of four spend on groceries in 2026 compared to this year?

a. About $1,000 less

b. About the same

c. About $1,000 more

d. About $2,000 more

c. About $1,000 more. An average family of four will pay $994.63 more for food in 2026 than this year, the Food Price Report estimates. The increase, which would bring the family’s total bill to $17,571.79, is based on a projected 4 to 6-per-cent inflation rate for food next year, according to the report produced by the agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University in partnership with several other universities.

11Pierre Karl Péladeau, chief executive of Quebecor Inc., is seeking to oust the chair of Transat AT and shake up the underperforming air carrier. However, this could get complicated. Who owns 20 per cent of Transat?

a. The federal government

b. The provincial government

c. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

d. Air Canada

a. The federal government owns a major stake in the purveyor of vacation packages. How did that happen? Transat took a taxpayer bailout in the pandemic, then subsequently restructured the bailout debt, reducing it to $334-million from $772-million. In return, the federal government received a 20-per-cent stake in the airline. Mr. Péladeau wants to renegotiate the agreement, which makes the government the company’s largest shareholder and creditor and also its primary regulator.

12The total number of billionaires reached new heights in 2025, according to a study by Swiss bank UBS. How many billionaires now exist around the world?

a. About 800

b. About 1,500

c. About 2,200

d. About 2,900

d. Some 2,900 billionaires now control US$15.8-trillion, up from about 2,700 billionaires with a cumulative wealth of nearly US$14-trillion a year earlier, according to UBS.

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