Quiz: Test your knowledge of business news in 2014

On New Year's Day 2014, hackers revealed they had accessed and published online 4.6 million user names and phone numbers taken from what fast-rising Internet company?

A. Instagram

B. Snapchat

C. Vine

D. Pinterest

After nearly a century in Los Angeles, Occidental Petroleum announced in February that it was moving its headquarters where?

A. New York

B. New Orleans

C. Houston

D. Chicago

In March, Facebook said it was paying $2 billion for Oculus VR, a company that does what?

A. Makes virtual reality headsets

B. Provides mobile messaging

C. Makes solar-powered drones

D. Builds self-driving cars

What 2014 movie made the most money at the U.S. box office?

A. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

B. "Guardians of the Galaxy"

C. "The Lego Movie"

D. "Transformers: Age of Extinction"

In May, what business tycoon agreed to pay a record $2 billion to buy the Los Angeles Clippers from Donald Sterling?

A. David Geffen

B. Oprah Winfrey

C. Steve Ballmer

D. Larry Ellison

What automaker recalled 2.6 million cars because of an ignition switch issue linked to more than 30 deaths?

A. Toyota

B. General Motors

C. Ford

D. Volkswagen

After allegations of misconduct at the Los Angeles company he founded, Dov Charney was suspended as chief executive in June, then fired in December. What company was it?

A. Amgen

B. American Apparel

C. Unified Grocers

D. Trader Joe’s

In August, Amazon announced it was spending $970 million to buy Twitch Interactive, the massively popular online site dedicated to what?

A. Live sports broadcasts

B. Streaming movies

C. Retail price comparison

D. Video gaming

"Bond king" Bill Gross sent shudders through financial markets in September by abruptly leaving what Orange County company?

A. Janus Capital Group

B. Capital Group

C. Pimco

D. Western Asset Management

In September, Mapp Biopharmaceutical of San Diego won a $24.9-million federal contract to speed the development of ZMapp, a drug to combat what?

A. Hepatitis

B. AIDS

C. West Nile Virus

D. Ebola

The Los Angeles City Council voted to increase the minimum wage to $15.37 for workers at what type of businesses?

A. Fast-food restaurants

B. Grocery stores

C. Large hotels

D. Hospitals

What TV provider stopped carrying CNN, Cartoon Network and other Turner Broadcasting channels for a month, starting in October, in a dispute over prices?

A. Dish Network

B. Time Warner

C. Comcast

D. DirecTV

Ride-sharing service Uber found itself in the news for all of these issues except what?

A. New Delhi, India, banned Uber after a driver for the service was accused of raping a passenger

B. An Uber driver, trying to find a Costa Mesa address, drove part way to Costa Rica

C. Los Angeles and San Francisco district attorneys accused Uber of false advertising

D. An Uber executive described plans to investigate journalists critical of the company

In October, which telecom company agreed to pay $105 million in penalties and refunds for illegally billing mobile phone customers for unauthorized ring tones and other services?

A. Verizon

B. T-Mobile

C. Sprint

D. AT&T

What restaurant chain got an angry reaction from U.S. lawmakers when it announced it would move its headquarters to Canada, where it is likely to pay less in taxes?

A. McDonald’s

B. Wendy’s

C. Burger King

D. Taco Bell

In November, Irish firm Actavis agreed to pay $66 billion for what healthcare company?

A. Allergan

B. Valeant Pharmaceuticals

C. Avanir Pharmaceuticals

D. Tenet Healthcare

What two companies merged to create the largest publicly traded company in the city of Los Angeles?

A. Northrop Grumman and Raytheon

B. City National Bank and East West Bank

C. Kaiser Permanente and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

D. Aecom Technology and URS

What company raised $870 million in its December stock market debut, becoming the biggest California-based IPO of the year?

18. What company raised $870 million in its December stock market debut, becoming the biggest California-based IPO of the year?

(Andrew Gombert / European Pressphoto Agency)

Andrew Gombert / European Pressphoto Agency

A. Lending Club

B. GoPro

C. Alibaba

D. Airbnb

In 2014, Bank of America agreed to pay billions of dollars to settle government allegations of all of these except what?

A. Sales of mortgage loans that had been made to unqualified borrowers

B. Fraudulent lending activities by Countrywide Financial, a company acquired by Bank of America

C. Illegal credit card practices

D. Excessive ATM fees

What company had to scramble to control the damage after a massive leak of sensitive documents in November?

A. Sony Pictures Entertainment

B. Columbia Pictures

C. TriStar Pictures

D. 20th Century Fox

Answers

1. B

2. C

3. A

4. B

5. C

6. B

7. B

8. D

9. C

10. D

11. C

12. A

13. B

14. D

15. C

16. A

17. D

18. A

19. D

20. A