February 27, 2011

Biz Quizzard 361

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

1. Which MNC has exited Hardcastle Restaurants (HRPL), one of its two 15-year-old equal joint ventures in the country?

2. Which MNC will buy a 30% stake in Reliance Industries’ oil and gas blocks including its trophy asset, the D-6 block, for $7.2 billion?

3. Which MNC plans to make its biggest purchase in more than a decade by acquiring Turkey’s largest maker of Raki, Mey Icki, for $2.1 billion?

4. Which well known personality has been roped in as the brand ambassador of Santoor soap?

5. BMW last week unveiled its long-awaited new brand for its electric and hybrid vehicles with the positioning ‘Born Electric’. Name it?

6. Which company has offered to buy majority stake in Australian dental chain Dental Corporation Holdings (DCH) by acquiring up to 25.6% more stake for about A$100 million (Rs 460 crore)?

7. According to a report last week, Hindustan Unilever is testing waters in the coffee shop market and has quietly opened an outlet on pilot basis in Juhu, Mumbai. What has it been branded as?

8. Which company last week said it has acquired a specialized under-construction cancer hospital in Singapore from First Real Estate Investment Trust for a consideration of Singapore $33 million (over Rs 115 crore)?

9. Canadian comic book company Bluewater Productions has brought out a comic book based on which business personality?

10. Mr Anant Pai, 82, passed away last week in Mumbai. He is the founder of which comic series?

11. The Buzziest Brands of the Year 2011 list was released by Afaqs last week. Which brand has retained the top spot?

12. Which global eyewear company has roped in Yuvraj Singh as its brand ambassador?

13. Which MNC retail chain has appointed Lou D'Ambrosio, a long-time technology executive who had been consulting with the company, as its new chief executive?

14. The world's-largest baked goods and coffee chain has entered into a master franchisee agreement with Noida-headquartered Jubilant FoodWorks (JFL) to set up restaurants in India. Name the company?

15. Which MNC last week launched the ultra-slim 9 Series notebook to compete with Apple’s ultra-thin MacBook Air?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 361 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

February 20, 2011

Biz Quizzard 360

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

1. Which retail chain is all set to launch a loyalty program ‘Bean-o-holic’?

2. New York-based India Equity Partners is set to acquire a majority stake in Innovative Foods for Rs 75 crore. Which business group owns Innovative Foods?

3. Which South Korean motorcycle brand will make a comeback in India in partnership with Pune-based Garware Motors?

4. Which Indian company and Lockheed Martin Corporation last week announced the formation of a joint venture in India?

5. Boeing last week rolled out a new jet, 42 years after the birth of the 747. What has it been branded as?

6. Which brand will be the official sponsor of the Netherlands Cricket Board (RNCB)?

7. Citymax India plans to bring restaurant brands Mango Tree and Carluccio into the country by this year-end. The company is the hospitality arm of which Dubai-based group?

8. Which MNC has agreed to buy US biotechnology company Genzyme Corp for $20.1 billion?

9. Daimler AG last week unveiled a new brand for its trucks in India. Name it?

10. Which MNC last week said its board has announced the appointment of Kapil Kapoor as the firm’s new chairman in India?

11. Which writing instruments brand has appointed Katrina Kaif as its brand ambassador?

12. According to a report last week, Ms Jade is partnering London-based design firm Yoo Design Studio to create residences for Lodha Developers in Mumbai. She is the daughter of which celebrity?

13. Which company has entered into an exclusive agreement with Royal Dutch Shell to buy the latter’s Stanlow refinery in UK for $350 million?

14. Jack Griffin was last week ousted as the chairman and chief executive of which media MNC?

15. Which company last week announced the acquisition of 85% stake in Vietnamese company International Consumer Products Corporation (ICP)?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 360 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

February 13, 2011

Biz Quizzard 359

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

1. Hindustan Unilever is planning to enter the highly-competitive fruit-based beverages segment and will soon launch fruit-based drinks in tetrapaks under which brand?

2. Which MNC will launch the world’s first 3D smart phone at the forthcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona?

3. Mumbai-based financial services company Madhusudan Securities will acquire which apparel brand from Ascent Capital-backed Primus Retail for Rs 100 crore?

4. Dilip Sanghvi is the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year 2010. He is the chairman and managing director of which company?

5. Which company last week announced its entry into the construction equipment business with the launch of EarthMaster backhoe loader?

6. A play called Black Comedy was staged in Hyderabad last week. Why it finds a mention here is that all the actors are employees of a company and the play itself is the offshoot of a training program there. Which company?

7. Ravi Venkatesan last week quit as the India chairman of which MNC?

8. What is unique about the limited edition version of the Range Rover luxury 4WD?

9. Which MNC has agreed to buy The Huffington Post, the influential and rapidly growing news, analysis and lifestyle website, for $315 million?

10. As the Egypt uprising came to an end, what went largely unreported in India until the fag-end was the detention and subsequent release of Wael Ghonim. He was the employee of which MNC?

11. Which airline has announced the launch of 'Next Stop Bollywood', an online dance competition with its brand ambassador?

12. Which international brand has announced actor Arjun Rampal as its brand ambassador?

13. Which MNC last week said its next chief executive officer would be British-born Michael Woodford, 50, who oversaw a restructuring of the firm's European operations?

14. Which company has acquired a 79 per cent stake in Singapore-based travel agency Luxury Tours & Travels Pte Ltd (LTT) for $3 million?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 359 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

February 6, 2011

Biz Quizzard 358

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week January 31 - February 05. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Which company has tied up with Hallmark Cards to open exclusive stores of the world’s largest greeting card brand in India?

2. Which Japanese advertising company is buying out its India group chairman and CEO Sandeep Goyal’s 26% stake in its Indian arm for nearly Rs 240 crore?

3. In its first investment in the booming education field, which company has picked up a stake in Indus World Schools, a unit of education company Career Launcher?

4. Cricketer Virat Kohli and actor Suniel Shetty can be seen together in the television commercial (currently on air) for which suiting brand?

5. Which media group has launched the Indian edition of the lifestyle title, ForbesLife in India?

6. Which newspaper has launched a national initiative called 'India Positive', to celebrate the achievements and glory of the country?

7. Which well known former CEO has been named as an advisor to Prime Minister in the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) with the rank of a cabinet minister?

8. Which business group will acquire the US carbon black maker Columbian Chemicals Company (CCC) for $875 million becoming the world’s biggest producer of the commodity?

9. Which business school in India has been ranked 11th in a list of 100 top B-schools in the world, according to a business school ranking from the Financial Times of London?

10. Which FMCG MNC has appointed Rakshit Hargave as managing director of its Indian operations?

11. Which MNC last week announced the launch of its new generation of processors, the Fusion platform?

12. It has become so predictable that I am not sure I should be covering it. I am talking about the annual Brand Equity Agency Reckoner released last week. Which advertising agency has retained the top slot?

13. Which MNC last week announced the launch of its Android-based 3G smartphone ‘Defy’ in India?

14. Which well known craftsperson has approached market regulator SEBI to raise Rs 60 crore through a public issue to expand his business in India and abroad?

15. Which MNC has roped in outgoing Philips president and CEO Gerad Kleisterlee to replace its chairman John Bond, who retires in July 2011?

16. Which company last week launched ‘India’s first luxury sports sedan’?

17. Which company has roped in six world cup winning captains for its ‘Champions of the World’ campaign?

18. Which brewer has been appointed the official lager supplier of the 2012 Olympics in London?

19. Which company has acquired PepsiCo’s entire bottling operations in Morocco?

20. Which company last week announced the acquisition of the wealth management business of iTrust Financial Advisors, a leading independent financial advisory firm?

21. Which steel company and Sumitomo Metal Industries plan to merge by October 2012 to create a new entity that would be closer in size to world leader ArcelorMittal?

22. The central government last week appointed UTI AMC chairman and Managing Director UK Sinha as the chairman of which regulatory body?

23. Expenditure Secretary Sushma Nath has been appointed as the new Finance Secretary by the Government of India. What is unique about this appointment?

24. Which cricketer has been roped in by direct selling firm Herbalife to endorse its nutritional products and dietary supplements?

25. Which MNC has acquired CM&D Pharma, a UK-based drug maker that specializes in the development of products for patients with kidney disease?

26. Which consumer electronics company has roped in Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador, hoping to cash in on the cricket world cup fever?

27. The cola wars are set to intensify this summer with Latin American company Ajegroup launching its brand in India last week. Which brand?

28. Which company and Webchutney, a digital marketing agency, have jointly launched an interactive campaign titled 'Amar Prem' which gives the users a chance to scribble on famous Indian monuments online, while keeping their real beauty alive and graffiti-free.?

29. Which leading storage and IT peripherals company has unveiled its new corporate positioning 'digital life redefined' and logo?

30. Rupert Murdoch recently launched another news brand ‘The Daily’. What is unique about it?

31. Which bank last week launched ‘India Travel Card', India's first and only Indian Currency prepaid travel card for foreign nationals and non-resident Indians travelling to India?

32. On February 18, 1911, French pilot Henry Piquet loaded his consignment on a two-seater bi-plane situated at Allahabad and flew five miles in 13 minutes to Naini. Why did this flight make history?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 358 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli