July 27, 2008

Biz Quizzard 226

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week July 21 - 26. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Which well known MNC recently bought a minority stake in Forrest Essentials, an Indian luxury ayurvedic skin, body and hair care brand?

2. French luxury goods manufacturer Hermes has launched a fragrance – Un Jardin Apress la Mousson (a garden after the monsoon). It is inspired by which Indian state?

3. Which milestone did New Holland Tractors India cross last week?

4. Which MNC last week signed a deal to sell its Bertolli olive oil and vinegar business to Spain’s Grupo SOS for 630 million euro ($999 million)?

5. Car maker Mahindra Renault last week launched a limited edition of its passenger car Logan in the country. What has it been sub-branded as?

6. Staying with limited editions, Maruti Suzuki also launched a limited edition of its oldest brand M800. What has it been sub-branded as?

7. Which celebrity has been signed on as the brand ambassador for M2 – Magic Moments vodka, the new avatar of Radico Khaitan Ltd’s Magic Moments vodka?

8. Which retail food chain has undergone a brand transformation and adopted a new baseline ‘Stories Happen’?

9. Mr Umesh Shrikhande has been appointed CEO of which advertising agency in India?

10. American celebrity magazine, People, hit the Indian newsstands early this month. Which business group has launched the Indian edition of the magazine under licence from Time Inc.?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 226 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

July 20, 2008

Biz Quizzard 225

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week July 14 - 19. Hope you enjoy it.

1. According to a report last week, hedge fund Quantum has been on a buying spree in the Indian stock market at a time when most funds are dumping stocks in the sliding market. Which legendary investor owns Quantum?

2. Mr Siddhanta Sharma last week quit as the CEO of which airline in India?

3. Which brewing giant last week clinched a $52-billion buyout of the 156-year-old iconic American giant Anheuser-Busch (A-B), the owner of the Budweiser brand?

4. Which bank has been ranked first in the list of world’s top 1,000 banks in terms of tier-1 capital and profit before tax in the latest annual banker magazine survey?

5. After weeks of speculation, which American PE firm will buy the foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) of SpiceJet held by Istithmar and Goldman Sachs for $80 million (Rs 345 crore)?

6. Which Indian company has tied up with Au Bon Pain, US-based fast dining and bakery café chain to launch outlets across India starting with a flagship store in Bangalore by December this year?

7. Which sedan was launched by Volkswagen in India last week?

8. Which Indian company last week announced the acquisition of UK-based BPO firm Liberata Financial Services (LFS) for $2 million?

9. The government has appointed ad agency Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) for a branding exercise, termed “project arrow”, for which department/utility service?

10. Godrej-Hershey Foods and Beverages has signed on a multi-crore endorsement deal with MS Dhoni for the relaunch of which confectionery brand?

11. Ice cream makers Ben & Jerry have created a new flavor named the ‘Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road’ after which famous pop/rock singer?

12. Mr Hector Ruiz has stepped down as the CEO of which well known MNC under pressure of financial turnaround?

Please mail your anwers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 225 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

July 13, 2008

Biz Quizzard 224

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week July 07 - 12. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Which consumer durable company is advertising its ‘moon’ washing machine in the print medium with the baseline ‘We work, you play’?

2. Mr Thomas Verghese has been appointed the new CEO of which Indian retail company?

3. Mr Pradeep Guha last week quit as the CEO of which media company?

4. Which company has clinched $230 million buyout of Aviva Global Services, UK-based insurance giant’s captive BPO operations in India and Sri Lanka?

5. Which Mumbai-based company has acquired 80.5% stake in EnPointe Global Services, a subsidiary of the Nasdaq-listed EnPointe Technologies, for $24 million in a cash-and-stock deal?

6. The private equity arm of which business group has acquired a 25% stake in V Mart Retail, a value-retailer owned by the New Delhi-based Lalit Agarwal?

7. Which MNC last week said it would buy rival Rohm and Haas for $18.8 billion, in a move to broaden its product offerings in the paints, coatings and electronic materials?

8. Which MNC has named Anil Valluri as the MD of its Indian operations?

9. Which MNC last week said it had been named the “global best private bank” by EuroMoney?

10. Which company is acquiring a 26% stake in Ahmedabad-headquartered National Multi-Commodities Exchange (NMCE)?

11. Creative agency JWT has put in place an independent design unit. What has it been branded as?

12. Which celebrity has been signed as the new brand ambassador for Tata Sky, the joint venture between the Tata Group and STAR India?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizard 224 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

July 6, 2008

Biz Quizzard 223

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week June 30 - July 05. Hope you enjoy it.

1. According to a report last week, PepsiCo is in the process of rolling out a new countrywide retail sales channel. What has it been branded as?

2. Goldman Sachs is believed to be investing around $80 million in a joint venture with Dubai developer ETA to launch luxury Four Seasons hotel in Bangalore. Four Seasons is owned by Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal and which famous business personality?

3. The Dubai government will be launching a low-cost carrier in mid-2009. What has it been branded as?

4. Which business personality of Indian origin has joined the board of directors of Goldman Sachs Group, one of the oldest and largest investment banking firms headquartered in New York?

5. A Paris court last week ordered which MNC to pay $63 million in damages to Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) for selling fake luxury goods online?

6. Which Indian company last week announced a joint venture with US-based Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat processor and marketer, for poultry processing and marketing in India?

7. Which Indian BPO along with hedge fund DE Shaw group last week acquired UK-based Babel Media, a provider of specialized outsourced services to gaming and interactive entertainment industry?

8. Which Hyderabad-based software company last week acquired Prolifics, a US-based systems integrator specializing in IBM technologies for $40 million in an all-cash deal?

9. According to a news snippet last week, which international auto major recently presented His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI two Ape three wheelers made in its India plant?

10. Six Indian firms figure in the list of 100 best performing infotech companies in the world by a US magazine BusinessWeek. Which MNC tops the list?

11. The first academic session of the country’s seventh IIM started last week. Which location?

12. Which MNC has acquired a 70% stake in the state-owned Ghana Telecom, Ghana’s third largest mobile operator and largest fixed line and broadband operator, for $900 million?

13. Ms Meena Ganesh last week quit as the CEO of the captive IT arm of which retail MNC?

14. According to a report last week, which Italian food chain has entered India?

15. Titan Industries has decided to give a new brand dimension to its flagship watch range, Titan. What is the new tagline?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 223 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli