Biz Quizzard 404

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week December 19 - 24. Hope you enjoy it.

1. What is unique about the Harlequin Mills & Boon book “His Monsoon Bride” by Astha Atray?

2. James Ellington, a top British sprinter desperate to run in his home London Olympics next year, has raised 32,550 pounds in sponsorship through which company?

3. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, an investor in some of the world's top companies, last week unveiled a $300 million stake purchase in which company?

4. Which Indian BPO company has acquired Australia-based sourcing and category management services firm Portland Group?

5. Which television channel has launched its new brand campaign ‘Always Thinking Markets’?

6. B. A. Prabhakar, Executive Director, Bank of India, has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of which bank?

7. Fast moving consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever has appointed which former chairman of a public sector bank as an independent director on its board?

8. 10 Indian-origin young turks have been named in a Forbes list of "tomorrows brightest stars" who are "reinventing the world". The list includes a 29-year-old managing director at Goldman Sachs, the youngest managing director the global financial giant has ever seen. Name him?

9. Which company has acquired 100% stake in Mumbai-based Biochem Pharmaceuticals for an undisclosed amount?

10. Which company has joined hands with Bill Gates, Vinod Khosla and Nathan Myrvhold to fund the development of a nuclear reactor with the potential to revolutionise power generation?

11. Which MNC is acquiring the edible oils business of Amrit Banaspati Company (ABC), which owns brands like Gagan, Ginni, Amrit and MerriGold?

12. According to a ranking by London-based magazine Campden FB, which is the world's best Family Business for 2011?

13. Which healthcare company has appointed Vijay Shah as chief executive officer and executive director?

14. Which company has agreed to buy Lufthansa’s British unit BMI for £172.5 million ($270 million)?

15. A song of which well known Indian singer is part of The Date, a new commercial for Heineken beer?

16. Which public sector company last week unveiled its new identity along with new brands raasa, Finlay's and entyce?

17. Which luxury fashion brand has sued the movie 'The Hangover II' alleging that a product featured in the movie is a fake?

18. This is unique recall. The France government is asking about 30,000 customers to immediately stop using which product, saying it could be dangerous?

19. Which Swedish car maker has filed for bankruptcy?

20. Which business personality will be posthumously honoured with a Grammy award for his contribution to music technology?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 404 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

Biz Quizzard 403

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week December 12 - 17. Hope you enjoy it.

1. The logistics and supply chain arm of which group has bought the warehousing business of Transmart India for an undisclosed amount?

2. AMRI Hospital in Kolkata was in national news recently for the fire that claimed many lives. It is a joint venture between Shrachi group and which other very well known business group?

3. Shyamala Gopinath, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has joined the global advisory council of which professional services firm?

4. Samsung Electronics has crossed which milestone for mobile handset sales for the first time in the company’s history?

5. STAR India has relaunched its second GEC STAR One in a new avatar. What is it now called?

6. Which company has acquired RightsFlow, a firm that manages royalty payments for songwriters and music publishers, for an undisclosed amount?

7. Which Indian company has entered into a 20-year deal with Sabine Pass Liquefaction, a subsidiary of US-based Cheniere Energy Partners, to import 3.5 million tonnes a year of gas in ships?

8. Which company emerged as the country's biggest in terms of annual revenue as per an annual list of Fortune 500 companies in India?

9. Which company has formed a joint venture with Germany-based Preiss Daimler (PD) Fiber Glass group to manufacture glass fabrics in India?

10. Which company launched a carbon neutral service, whereby customers will be awarded carbon credits for shipments done by the company?

11. Which MNC is ending Andrea Jung's long run as its chief executive?

12. Which well known business personality indicated he is prepared to commit $200 million or more of his wealth to build the world's largest airplane as a mobile platform for launching satellites at low cost?

13. Which MNC’s founding contract was sold at auction for $1.59 million last week?

14. Mangu Singh is the new managing director of which well known entity?

15. In what is believed to be the largest ever corporate grant devoted to the advocacy, intervention and rescue of people being held, forced to work or provide sex against their will, which MNC is donating $11.5 million?

16. Which celebrity has joined online store Babyoye.com as a partner?

17. Which milestone has BMW crossed last week at its manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur in Chennai?

18. Which brand has topped a study on the social brand value of the world's 50 most valuable brands?

19. Janet Robinson will step down as chief executive of which well known publication company?

20. Which well known NGO will have exclusive stores and shop-in-shops selling a range of merchandise from February, starting with a signature clothing line?

21. Which celebrity has been roped in by Viacom18 as a brand ambassador for its new channel Sonic?

22. Which company has launched an exclusive Manchester United store in Mumbai, the Premier League club's first Manchester United store in India?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 403 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

Biz Quizzard 402

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week December 05 - 10. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Four days after the multinational rolled out a new brand of milk and yogurt, which organization has shot off a legal notice to Nestle over trademark infringement of its dairy brand A+?

2. Which MNC has announced a $3.4 billion cash deal to buy US web-based software company SuccessFactors, joining the scramble among technology firms to offer cloud-computing services to businesses?

3. Which company has revived the singing telegram concept through its latest product?

4. A 14-car crash / pileup recently in Japan made global news. Why?

5. According to a report last week, which hotel has overtaken the iconic Taj as the costliest in Mumbai?

6. Apollo Group Inc, the largest for-profit college in the United States, will enter the lucrative Indian education market by partnering with which media company?

7. Prabha Parameswaran will be the new India managing director for which MNC?

8. Which MNC has appointed Sunil Dutt as its managing director for India?

9. Who will take charge of the $2-billion construction conglomerate SP Group?

10. Which company has acquired the Hong Kong-based jewellery company Crown Aim for an undisclosed amount?

11. Which MNC has acquired location-sharing service Gowalla?

12. Which company has launched a dialysis centre chain under a new brand Renkare?

13. Google has released a magazine reading application for smartphones or tablet computers powered by Android or Apple software. What has it been branded as?

14. In a new consumer-outreach initiative, which company has chosen 12 hitherto unknown children to be its brand ambassadors?

15. Which Indian institute has been ranked second in the list of top business schools from which Asia-Pacific employers most prefer to recruit executives?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 402 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

Biz Quizzard 401

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week November 28 - December 03. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Which brand has launched a 75-second television commercial 'Har maa ke dil mein' to cut through the clutter of consumer product advertising?

2. Which company has announced it will launch 60 exclusive stores, called Beauty Zones, to hawk its products?

3. Auto major Daimler has decided to drop which super-luxury brand?

4. Which MNC is aiming to transform its image with the launch of the ‘86 Sports Coupe’?

5. The leadership institute of which Indian company will now sell its exclusive leadership content and services to other companies?

6. The Delhi high court has passed a decree restraining Shipra Laboratories from selling or advertising soap or any other product under the Safeguard brand. Which MNC owns the trademark?

7. Which company has launched its cruiser bike Intruder M800 in India?

8. Which company is running a teaser digital campaign called The Hunt for the True Snexy - India's First Reality Snack Show?

9. Which business personality is among the five Indians who figure in Foreign Policy magazine's prestigious list of Top 100 Global Thinkers?

10. Which MNC has filed a patent for covering a computer system that can monitor the behaviour of employees while also assigning positive or negative scores to each action?

11. Who is the Business Standard Banker of the Year for 2010-2011?

12. The world's largest selling drug went off patent in the United States on November 30. Name it?

13. AMR Corp filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New York court last week. The company owns which airline?

14. Which MNC will launch the iconic Porsche sports car marquee in India next year?

15. Which milestone has Bharti Airtel crossed in the African market?

16. Which company has named B Sai Kumar as its Group CEO?

17. Which MNC will launch Sonic, its fifth television channel in India?

18. Which conglomerate said it would buy the Omaha World-Herald, the hometown newspaper of its founder?

19. Who has been named the European investment banker of the year?

20. Which bank has launched a premium bouquet of credit cards for women, called ‘Solitare Premium' and ‘Solitare'?

21. Which business group has been ranked 4th in the world and 1st in Asia-Pacific in the 'Top Companies for Leaders' study by AON Hewitt, The RBL Group and Fortune?

22. Ferrari recently unveiled its official biography - The Ferrari Official Opus - Enzo Diamante – in India. What is the book’s claim to fame?

23. PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) has filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court against which 3 companies for using bullock-carts to transport its products?

24. Nestle recently unveiled its new brand of milk and yoghurt in India. Name it?

25. Vinay Pathak is seen as Subbu in the ‘Subbu sab janta hai’ campaign (TVC currently on air) of which company?

26. After languishing for almost a decade, the century-old textile brand of Mafatlal is making a comeback by re-branding itself. What is the new brand?

27. A rare and pristine copy of the first issue of Action Comics, famed for the first appearance of Superman, set which new record last week?

28. Which company has become India's top-ranked company for research and development (R&D), as per a list compiled by the European Commission?

29. AK Garg, director, HR, BSNL, has been appointed CMD of which company?

30. Tom Glocer is stepping down as the chief executive of which news and information company?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 401 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli