QUIZ OF THE YEAR / A question of business: Test your memory with an A to Z primer on the wheels and deals that made the headlines in 1993
A is for animosity, acrimony and antipathy:
1 Which captain of industry was accused of making 'a monumental blunder' by the Police Federation?
2 Which analyst was accused of writing a 'poisonous' research note and by whom?
3 Which former footballer said: 'They are out to ruin me and I don't know why'?
4 Who said that hiring his chief executive was 'the biggest mistake of my life', and about whom?
B is for brands. In 1993, who became the owner of:
1 The Wonderbra?
2 The Benny Hill Show?
3 Yves Saint Laurent?
4 Phileas Fogg snacks?
5 Terry's All Gold chocolates?
6 The New York Post?
7 Marvin Gaye's Heard It Through the Grapevine?
C is for career changes - some of them spectacular:
1 Which former Financial Times journalist and textiles boss decided to have a go at banking?
2 Which former editor of the Economist also decided to have a go at Banking?
D is for disasters, of which there were many. Which organisation:
1 Spent pounds 155m developing a drug, large doses of which, it turned out, hastened death?
2 Lost its most precious asset to northern Cyprus?
3 Uncovered a pounds 1bn discrepancy after revaluing hotel assets?
4 Spent pounds 75m on a computer that didn't work?
E is for economics, the sub ject that posed the year's toughest examinations.
1 What is the inflation rate and when was it last this low?
2 Did unemployment rise, fall or stay the same over the year?
3 Who likened his colleagues to 'literary critics who read prose but never read poetry, or mathematicians who understand arithmetic but are bewildered by algebra'?
4 Who said Chancellor Clarke lacked 'the spine, knowledge and drive' to bring down the public sector deficit?
F is for families, whose official year is upon us. Name:
1 Two French brothers who both got the sack in 1993.
2 The clan that booted out a chief executive to keep the company wholly in the family.
3 The philanthropic businessman who took over the family concern from his cousin and finished pounds 700m down on the year.
G is for gold. Which pair of investors had a brief and profitable love affair with the precious metal?
H is for hatchets (buried). Why were the sharks removed from the Harrods food hall?
I is for inscription. On what was written 'From C and M. Don't let the buggers get you down'?
J is for justice (or the British version of it, at any rate). Name the accused who:
1 Was acquitted of stealing pounds 5.2m, in a trial that marked the end of an eight-year financial scandal.
2 Got 180 hours of community service after being found guilty of fraudulent trading.
3 Was clocked speeding at more than 110mph, but got off with a pounds 160 fine and a 21-day driving ban after the magistrate's clerk calculated he had to manage on pounds 20 a week spending money.
K is for knighthoods. Which two of these four businessmen missed out last week: Iain Vallance of BT, Ed Wallis of PowerGen, Brian Pearse of Midland Bank, Neil Shaw of Tate & Lyle?
L is for losses, and 1993 was a bumper year for them.
1 Which company suffered the biggest-ever loss in Britain - of pounds 1.2bn?
2 Which suffered the biggest in the world - dollars 5bn?
3 Where was a 'dollars 12.4bn black hole' discovered?
M is for moves, not always that smart. Who moved:
1 From Leeds to Halifax?
2 On to the BBC staff?
N is for non-starter. What proposed pounds 7bn marriage never got as far as the engagement columns?
O is for optimism, not seen much in 1993. Who said:
1 'There may be some temporary inconvenience but no loss of efficiency'?
2 'To us it's blindingly obvious it's going to be a success. We know there's a huge gap in the marketplace for the music we'll be playing. This isn't rocket science'?
P is for politicians. Any company worth its salt has a tame ex-cabinet minister on the board. N M Rothschild took on its old employee, Norman Lamont. Which former minister now sits on the board of:
1 Barclays Bank?
2 Hanson?
3 Glaxo?
4 British Telecom?
5 GEC?
6 British Gas?
7 Smith New Court?
8 Tate & Lyle?
Q is for quarrying. Which British company wants to supply the aggregate for Europe's motorways by razing a Hebridean mountain?
R is for redundancy. It was a cracking year for pay-offs. Who:
1 Received a record pounds 2.9m severance payment?
2 Was sacked after 11 months in the job, but had his departure sweetened (hint, hint) with pounds 1.1m?
S is for stock markets. Bra zil's boomed by 4,000 per cent - a more modest 79 per cent after taking account of inflation. In US dollar terms, which was:
1 The world's best performing stock market?
2 The worst?
T is for takeover bids, and some were unhappy. But:
1 Which predator was jolly glad its pounds 221m bid failed?
2 Which company reduced a former Footsie stock to a penny share?
3 Which defending merchant bank 'sold out' its own client?
U is for underground. What tunnel, twice as long as the Channel tunnel, is about to be opened two years ahead of schedule?
V is for VAT. What gets clob bered on 1 April this year?
W is for what the heck or whatsisname. So what is or was:
1 Equa?
2 Gatt?
3 Opraf?
X is for ex-employee. Which fiasco prompted a marketing manager to comment: 'Some people were just stupid about it. I mean, people were booking weddings around their two free tickets'?
Y is for youth. Which is the youngest: Archie Norman, head of Asda; Gerry Robinson of Granada; John Clare of Dixons; Martin Taylor of Barclays; Keith Edelman of Storehouse; Liam Strong of Sears; Eric Nicoli of United Biscuits?
Z is for zillions. From pro viding what product or service did the following make their piles:
1 Peter Wood?
2 Graham Kirkham?
3 Gavyn Davies?
4 Brian Souter?
Answers: Page 14
(Photographs omitted)
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