CAAT pension documents are photographed in Toronto on Feb. 3, 2026. Merle Robillard/The Globe and MailMerle Robillard/The Globe and Mail
Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s business and investing news quiz. Join us each week to test your knowledge of the stories making headlines. Our business reporters come up with the questions, and you can show us what you know.
This week: CAAT Pension Plan is experiencing some upheaval. Meanwhile, gold is back in the news and so is U.S. President Donald Trump for… can you guess it? Take our quiz and find out.
1It was not a good week for anyone who values predictability in their portfolio. Which metal experienced its worst two-day rout since 1983 to start the week, followed immediately by its best day in 17 years?
a. Gold
b. Silver
c. Copper
d. Lithium
a. Gold has been even more unpredictable than usual in recent days and nobody really knows why. Its sudden fall and rapid rebound might have had something to do with the appointment of a new Federal Reserve chair. Or a shift in sentiment among retail buyers. Or something else entirely. The metal remains an enigma.
2Metals may have had a wild week, but other areas of the market weren’t exactly rocks of stability, either. What caused a sudden US$300-billion sell-off in U.S. software stocks this week?
a. The appointment of a new boss at the Federal Reserve
b. Reports of a breakthrough in quantum computing
c. Fears about the impact of artificial intelligence
d. Evidence of a vicious new computer virus
c. Fears about the impact of AI. The sell-off occurred after AI-powerhouse Anthropic released a plug-in for its AI platform that it said can handle several key legal tasks. The new productivity tools raised the possibility that similar AI products might soon replace a huge swath of legal software and similar products.
3Bank of Montreal was fined $4-million this week. What prompted the bank’s fine?
a. It laundered money
b. It overcharged customers
c. It failed to disclose information
d. It revealed confidential customer data
b. It overcharged customers. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada fined BMO for overcharging clients after the bank failed to properly disclose details about fees.
4CAAT, an Ontario pension plan with $23-billion in assets and 125,000 members, was recently rocked by the abrupt resignations of three top executives. What appears to have prompted their departures?
Check all that applies
a. Underwhelming investment performance
b. Concerns about a potential merger
c. An unusual payout to the plan’s chief executive
d. A relationship between the chief executive and an employee
An unusual payout to the plan’s chief executive and his relationship with an employee spurred upheaval at CAAT, causing the executives to leave. The senior executives raised concerns about a $1.6-million vacation payout to CEO Derek Dobson and the relationship with an employee. Both occurred with the blessing of the company’s board.
5On a more positive note, Eldorado Gold of Vancouver agreed to buy Foran Mining for $3.8-billion. Foran is focused on mining which metal?
a. Gold
b. Silver
c. Uranium
d. Copper
d. Copper. Like many miners around the world, Eldorado is hunting for copper assets because the critical mineral is expected to be in heavy demand for decades as electrification grows.
6Connor Teskey has a big new job. What is it?
a. Chief executive of Brookfield Asset Management
b. Chair of the CBC
c. Head of Canada’s new Major Projects Office
d. Canadian ambassador to the United States
a. CEO of Brookfield Asset Management. Mr. Teskey was named this week as CEO, following through on a long-expected succession plan for veteran chief executive Bruce Flatt. Mr. Teskey, 38, knows the territory well. He was made president of Brookfield Asset Management in 2022 and has run the day-to-day management of the US$1-trillion asset manager since then.
7Elon Musk doesn’t think small. This week, the billionaire oversaw the merger of two of his largest privately held companies, SpaceX and xAI, in a deal that values the combined entity at US$1.25-trillion. What does the new company intend to do?
a. Change global weather
b. Build data centres in space
c. Offer constant surveillance of every person on earth
d. Use artificial intelligence to build new rockets
b. Build data centres in space. Mr. Musk estimates that within two to three years, the most cost-effective way to create AI computing capacity will be in space. He is intent on building a company that can combine AI, rocket technology, space-based internet services and direct-to-mobile communications.
8U.S. President Donald Trump likes to keep us all guessing with his sudden shifts on tariffs and trade. What country did he announce a deal with this week?
a. South Korea
b. Japan
c. Argentina
d. India
9The average Toronto home price hit an interesting landmark in January. It:
a. Rose above $2-million
b. Rose above $1.5-million
c. Fell below $1.5-million
d. Fell below $1-million
d. Fell below $1-million. The average selling price for a home in Toronto dipped below the seven-figure mark for the first time since 2021, erasing much of the pandemic-era housing rally. The current average price of $973,289 is down 6.5 per cent from January, 2025.
10In what certainly sounds like an ominous development, Moltbook hummed into operation just over a week ago. It is a social network for:
a. Artificial intelligence bots
b. Mercenaries
c. Cybercriminals
d. Developers of dangerous viruses
a. Artificial intelligence bots. Beware, puny humans! Moltbook is a Reddit-like platform for AI agents. These agents, or bots, are a type of computer program that can autonomously carry out tasks, like organizing email inboxes or booking travel. On Moltbook, they can chat among themselves while flesh-and-blood observers look on. According to some descriptions, the bots have already formed their own religion and displayed a sense of humour.
11What product, common in Canada and the United States, did China move to ban this week?
a. Assault rifles
b. E-bikes
c. Hidden door handles on cars
d. Private swimming pools
c. Hidden door handles on cars. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says it will ban hidden vehicle-door handles starting next year. The handles, commonly used on electric vehicles, have become a focus of concern after fatal accidents in which electronic doors reportedly failed to operate and trapped passengers inside vehicles.
12Heated Rivalry, the Canadian-made television series about the steamy love affair between two male hockey players, has attracted viewers around the world, but has it actually paid off for its ultimate owner, BCE Inc.? One indication comes from subscriptions to Crave, the company’s streaming service. In the most recent quarter, Crave subscriptions:
a. Rose 5 per cent
b. Rose more than 25 per cent
c. Fell 5 per cent
d. Fell more than 25 per cent
b. Rose more than 20 per cent. Crave subscriptions increased by 26 per cent in the final quarter of 2025 following the success of Crave’s French-language drama Empathie and the launch of its international hit Heated Rivalry. Hot stuff indeed.
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