Weekly Review Quiz as of 2009-04-23
Economics: Micro
Indie Films Suffer Drop-Off in Rights Sales
by Lauren A.E. Schuker
04/20/2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124018425311033183.html
1. The sales of foreign-distribution rights to U.S. independent films is rapidly drying up because
a) burgeoning online piracy is sapping the international demand for the legal viewing of these films.
b) with the credit crunch distributors do not have the financial capital to purchase the rights.
c) increasing competition from local films has decreased the international demand for U.S. films.
* d) all of the above.
e) none of the above.
Oracle Snatches, Sun Foiling IBM
by Don Clark and Ben Worthen
04/21/2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124022726514434703.html
2. Oracle Corp. stuck a surprise deal to buy
a) Siebel Systems Inc., elbowing aside International Business Machines Corp.
b) International Business Machines Corp., elbowing aside Siebel Systems, Inc.
* c) Sun Microsystems Inc., elbowing aside International Business Machines Corp.
d) International Business Machines Crop., elbowing aside Sun Microsystems Inc.
e) PeopleSoft Inc., elbowing aside International Business Machines Corp.
Crazy-Quilt Jobless Programs Help Some More than Others
by Ianthe Jeanne Dugan
04/20/2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124018063766132897.html
3. The Trade Adjustment Assistance Program
a) offers subsidies to U.S. manufacturers and farms that go out of business due to imports or production shifts to other countries.
* b) offers superior unemployment benefits to U.S. manufacturing and farm workers who lose jobs due to imports or production shifts out of the country.
c) is about to be eliminated under a new Obama administration proposal to limit the size of the federal government.
d) is about to be eliminated under a new Obama administration proposal to promote the competitiveness of U.S. industry.
e) is a major program of the Obama administration stimulus package.
Food Firms Cook Up Ways to Combat Rare Sales Slump
by Julie Jargon
04/22/2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124024718501035543.html
4. Campbell Soup Co. says that it started noticing subtle behavioral shifts a year ago in the ways that people grocery shop and prepare meals. Specifically, consumers were
a) going to more stores.
* b) preparing lunches to take to work.
c) going to stores where, despite fewer choices, they get high value.
d) all of the above.
e) none of the above.
Student Loans: Default Loan Rates Are Soaring
by Anne Marie Chaker
04/21/2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124027600001437467.html
5. The number of defaults on student loans is
a) plummeting.
b) slightly falling.
* c) skyrocketing.
d) slightly increasing.
e) holding constant.