The CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced he is retiring from his position as CEO of the Wall Street regulator. Name him.
A. Greg Sankey
B. Jack Brennan
C. Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.
D. Rick Ketchum
Bill Gates occupies the first position on the Forbes 400 list of billionaires. By what multiple is Bill Gates wealthier than the combined wealth of the nine billionaires (including Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo) occupying places 392-400?
A. 2
B. 5
C. 15
D. 40
The SEC approved new crowdfunding rules allowing startups to raise money from mom-and-pop investors over the internet. How much would individuals with annual incomes or net worth less than $100,000 be permitted to invest?
A. $1,000 or 10 percent of their net worth, whichever is less.
B. $2,000 or 5 percent of their net worth or income, whichever is greater.
C. $5,000 or 5 percent of their net worth, whichever is greater.
D. $10,000
The newly formed Washington, D.C., advocacy group Financial Innovation Now looks to influence the political debate on issues such as security and fraud prevention, real-time payments, online lending and access to basic financial services. Name the three companies behind Financial Innovation Now.
A. Google, Amazon, Apple
B. Reuters, CNBC, AP
C. CNN, Intuit, LendingClub
D. Citibank, Wells Fargo, PayPal
The economy of the greater New York City Metropolitan Area is over $1.45 trillion dollars (2014). How many nations (excluding the U.S.) have GDPs that exceed that of the gross metropolitan product (GMP) of the New York City Metropolitan Statistical Area?
A. 12
B. 28
C. 47
D. 62
The approximately 400,000 workers in the New York City finance industry collect more than half of all the wages paid in Manhattan. What portion of all Manhattan jobs are held by workers in the finance industry?
A. One in 20
B. One in 12
C. One in 6
D. One in 3
The federal budget bill, which was signed into law by President Obama in November, will close two Social Security income-bolstering claiming strategies, including the file and suspend strategy which essentially allowed individuals to collect spousal benefits while their own checks continued to grow. According to the AARP, what percentage of all Social Security recipients took advantage of the file-and-suspend strategy?
A. One-tenth of 1 percent
B. 2 percent
C. 17 percent
D. 27 percent
After many rumors, Amazon actually opened its first brick and mortar book store. Called Amazon Books, the store will stock about 5,000 titles, which as bookstores go is relatively modest. Where is the Amazon Books store located?
A. San Francisco
B. New York City
C. Seattle
D. Portland, OR
Many millennials report that some aspect of talking to a financial advisor scares them, according to a new online survey conducted by Harris Poll. What percentage of millennial Americans say they are scared?
A. 33 percent
B. 59 percent
C. 82 percent
D. 100 percent
Lions Gate Entertainment announced plans to build a theme park around The Hunger Games franchise, joining a crowded field of movie-inspired theme parks. Other studios are planning theme parks around their hit movie properties. Which of the following movie franchises has not been announced as a theme park?
A. Avatar
B. Star Wars
C. Planet of the Apes
D. James Bond
A. Greg Sankey is the newest commissioner of the SEC.
B. Jack Brennan is CEO of Vanguard Securities.
C. Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is an American economist, who is president and CEO of TIAA-CREF. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1999 to 2006.
D. Rick Ketchum 64, said he plans to retire in the second half of 2016, after spending more than three decades serving as an industry regulator. FINRA will look at internal and external candidates to succeed him.
B. Bill Gates has five time more money than the combined wealth of the last nine billionaires—each worth $1.7 billion—on the Forbes 400. The nine are:
B. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3 to 1 to approve the rule, the last piece of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. Those with a higher net worth or income would be able to invest 10 percent of the lesser of their annual income or net worth in these transactions, with a cap of $100,000 over a 12-month period.
A. Three of the technology industry’s fiercest rivals — Amazon, Apple and Google — have aligned behind their shared business interest in promoting tech-friendly changes to the financial services sector.
A. Only 12 nations have economies larger than New York City’s. They are:
United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, United Kingdom, Italy, India,
Russia, Canada, Spain, and Australia.
C. Although finance industry workers hold fewer than one of every six jobs in the borough, the pay gap between workers in the finance industry and the 1.5 million other workers in Manhattan continues to widen.
A. One-tenth of 1 percent - The AARP supports the change because the elimination of the file-and-suspend strategy is used by such a small number of claimants.
C. Amazon Books opened in the upscale University Village Mall in Seattle, WA. Barnes and Noble closed a bookstore in the same shopping center in 2011.
C. 82 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 34 said they had advisor fears. Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of Americans say that some aspects of talking to a financial advisor scares them. Fears ranged from privacy issues to the costs. The survey included more than 2,000 U.S. adults.
D. MGM, which owns the distribution rights, has not announced any plans to create a theme park around the James Bond movies
A. Avatar Land is up and running at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.
B. On August 17, 2015, Disney announced plans for Star Wars attractions at Disneyland, California, and at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
D. Twentieth Century Fox has announced plans for Planet of the Apes theme parks in Malaysia.
Test Your Knowledge
of Today's Financials News
A. Greg Sankey is the newest commissioner of the SEC.
B. Jack Brennan is CEO of Vanguard Securities.
C. Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is an American economist, who is president and CEO of TIAA-CREF. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1999 to 2006.
A. Greg Sankey is the newest commissioner of the SEC.
B. Jack Brennan is CEO of Vanguard Securities.
C. Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is an American economist, who is president and CEO of TIAA-CREF. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1999 to 2006.
ANSWERS
A. 2
C. 15
D. 40
A. $1,000 or 10 percent of their net worth, whichever is less.
C. $5,000 or 5 percent of their net worth, whichever is greater.
D. $10,000
B. Reuters, CNBC, AP
C. CNN, Intuit, LendingClub
D. Citibank, Wells Fargo, PayPal
B. 28
C. 47
D. 62
A. One in 20
B. One in 12
D. One in 3
B. 2 percent
C. 17 percent
D. 27 percent
A. San Francisco
B. New York
D. Portland, OR
A. 33 Percent
B. 55 percent
D. 100 percent
A. Avatar Land is up and running at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.
B. On August 17, 2015, Disney announced plans for Star Wars attractions at Disneyland, California, and at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
D. Twentieth Century Fox has announced plans for Planet of the Apes theme parks in Malaysia.
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