The news generated by once-in-100-year crises tends to drown out other events that take place. So it was with 2020, a year filled with stories about the COVID-19 pandemic and its damage to the macroeconomy and businesses. But CFO.com covered plenty of other corporate finance happenings these past 12 months, some pandemic-related, some not. Take our quiz on these stories to see how many you might have already forgotten.
1. Which was the first well-known retail chain to declare bankruptcy in 2020?
A. The Gap
B. Papyrus
C. Friendly’s
D. Pier 1
2. Late in 2019, two veteran tech giants got into a skirmish when the smaller one offered to buy the larger one. The deal fell apart in March. Which company was the takeover target?
A. Cisco Systems
B. NCR
C. HP
D. Dell
3. In May, the U.S. Treasury Department did something it hadn’t done since 1986. What was it?
A. Boosted the sale of Treasury securities to an all-time high
B. Suspended issuance of 3-year notes
C. Conducted an audit of its IT spending
D. Issued 20-year bonds
4. Two Illinois residents sued Microsoft, Google, and Amazon in July for violating a biometric privacy law. What technology did the case involve?
A. Natural language processing
B. DNA identification
C. Digital fingerprinting
D. Facial recognition systems
5. Which company did NOT announce an acquisition or merger in 2020?
A. Morgan Stanley
B. Palantir Technologies
C. Zoom Video Communications
D. 7-Eleven
6. Which big-name CFO did NOT announce they were leaving their position in 2020?
A. Amy Hood (Microsoft)
B. Paula Price (Macy’s)
C. Kelly Kramer (Cisco Systems)
D. Alan Graf (Fedex)
7. As of late November, which company’s stock was in negative-return territory for 2020?
A. Microsoft (MSFT)
B. Facebook (FB)
C. Deere & Co. (DE)
D. JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
8. At the beginning of 2020, before the pandemic hit, one closely-watched U.S. economic indicator hit a 10-year low. Which indicator was it?
A. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index
B. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment cost index
C. The U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly housing starts
D. The BLS’ producer price index
Answers: 1-B; 2-C; 3-D; 4-D; 5-B; 6-A; 7-D; 8-A