The 15 quiz questions
Question 1 : What day is nicknamed "Black Thursday" in American stock market history?
Possible answers:
- 24 October 1929
- 19 October 1987
- 9 August 2007
- 15 September 2008
Explanation: On October 24, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange collapsed, marking the beginning of the Great Depression. This day is known as "Black Thursday."
Question 2 : Which American bank went bankrupt in September 2008, triggering the global financial crisis?
Possible answers:
- Lehman Brothers
- Bear Stearns
- Goldman Sachs
- Morgan Stanley
Explanation: The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008, was the largest bankruptcy filing in American history and triggered the global financial crisis.
Question 3 : What is the name of the American real estate crisis of 2007-2008?
Possible answers:
- Subprime crisis
- Asian crisis
- Dot-com crisis
- Oil crisis
Explanation: The subprime crisis takes its name from the risky subprime mortgages granted to borrowers with poor creditworthiness.
Question 4 : Which American president launched the New Deal to emerge from the Great Depression?
Possible answers:
- Herbert Hoover
- Dwight Eisenhower
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Harry Truman
Explanation: Franklin D. Roosevelt launched the New Deal in 1933, a set of programs to revive the American economy after the 1929 crisis.
Question 5 : Which European country experienced a severe debt crisis starting in 2010?
Possible answers:
- Greece
- Portugal
- Spain
- Sweden
Explanation: Greece revealed in 2010 a deficit much larger than announced, triggering a debt crisis that threatened the eurozone.
Question 6 : What 1973 event caused the first oil shock?
Possible answers:
- The Iranian Revolution
- The Suez Crisis
- The Yom Kippur War
- The Vietnam War
Explanation: The Yom Kippur War (October 1973) led Arab OPEC countries to decree an oil embargo, quadrupling the price per barrel.
Question 7 : What is the name of the stock market crash of October 19, 1987?
Possible answers:
- Black Friday
- Black Tuesday
- Black Monday
- Black Sunday
Explanation: "Black Monday" saw the Dow Jones lose 22.6% in a single day, the largest percentage drop in history.
Question 8 : What is a "speculative bubble"?
Possible answers:
- An overvalued company
- An excessively rising market
- A variable rate loan
- A currency with high inflation
Explanation: A speculative bubble occurs when asset prices deviate from their real value due to speculation, before bursting suddenly.
Question 9 : Which crisis erupted in Asia in 1997?
Possible answers:
- The Hong Kong crisis
- The Asian financial crisis
- The Asian dragon crisis
- The yen crisis
Explanation: The Asian financial crisis of 1997 began in Thailand with the collapse of the baht, before spreading to all of Southeast Asia.
Question 10 : What term refers to a company "too big to fail"?
Possible answers:
- Too large to crash
- Too strong to fall
- Too massive to collapse
- Too big to fail
Explanation: "Too big to fail" refers to financial institutions whose failure would have systemic consequences, justifying government intervention.
Question 11 : What is "quantitative easing" used after 2008?
Possible answers:
- A reduction in public spending
- Money creation by the central bank
- A decrease in interest rates
- A tax increase
Explanation: Quantitative easing is a monetary policy where the central bank buys financial assets to inject liquidity into the economy.
Question 12 : Which speculative bubble burst in 2000-2001 in the United States?
Possible answers:
- The tulip bubble
- The oil bubble
- The housing bubble
- The dot-com bubble
Explanation: The Internet bubble (or dotcom bubble) burst in March 2000, leading to the collapse of many overvalued technology companies.
Question 13 : Which country experienced famous hyperinflation in the 1920s?
Possible answers:
- Italy
- United Kingdom
- France
- Germany
Explanation: Weimar Germany experienced extreme hyperinflation in 1923, when wheelbarrows of banknotes were needed to buy bread.
Question 14 : Which international organization was created after World War II to stabilize the economy?
Possible answers:
- The OECD
- The IMF
- The WTO
- The ECB
Explanation: The IMF (International Monetary Fund) was created in 1944 during the Bretton Woods agreements to ensure the stability of the international monetary system.
Question 15 : Which global economic crisis was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020?
Possible answers:
- The Great Recession
- The COVID-19 recession
- The health crisis
- The global depression
Explanation: The COVID-19 recession (sometimes called the "Great Lockdown" by the IMF) caused a 3.1% drop in global GDP in 2020, the sharpest contraction since World War II, due to lockdowns and supply-chain disruptions.
