Last year's Biz Quiz must have been really hard: No one got a perfect score, even though we threw in a freebie question (see question 3). Who came the closest to answering all the questions correctly? 18-year-old Alexander Richman of Milton, who got just two wrong and answered all five online bonus questions correctly. The senior at Milton High School reads the paper every morning at home. Richman, who is applying to colleges in the Boston area and plans to pursue a business degree, said reading the paper paid off for him in a big way - he's getting a Globe commemorative book of the 2007 season of the Boston Red Sox. "I knew them all," said Richman, who said he enjoys finance the most. "It was common sense and reading the paper." Still, he added: "Overall, it was pretty difficult. You had to know your news." Two runners-up also will get the commemorative book. Thanks to all who participated: Keep reading the Globe in 2008.
1. Where in the Boston area did Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. both sign leases for office space?
c) Kendall Square, Cambridge
2. In which field has Waltham defense giant Raytheon Co. become an undisputed leader?
d) Workplace diversity
3. Which area business school named a new dean or president in 2007?
Any of the answers:
a) MIT's Sloan School of Management
b) Bentley College
c) Brandeis International Business School
d) Babson College
4. How many credit and debit card numbers were stolen when a computer hacker breached TJX Cos.' security system?
c) 100 million
5. Where were most of the toys manufactured this year that were recalled because of safety concerns?
c) China
6. Which Boston icon closed its historic store in September but has promised to return to Downtown Crossing in 2009?
7. Which Massachusetts chain was sold to a private equity firm after a bitter dispute between brothers who founded the company?
a) Friendly's
8. After 25 years of searching, which high-end store opened its first Massachusetts store this year in the Natick Collection?
d) Nordstrom
9. What is the Kraft Group building next to Gillette Stadium?
b) shopping center
10. Which electronics retailer filed for bankruptcy this year?
c) Tweeter
11. Thermo Fisher Scientific is the biggest life sciences company based in Massachusetts in terms of its stock market value.
a) True
12. Which two professional sports leagues embraced the resale of tickets at big markups this year?
a) The National Football League and Major League Baseball
13. The Federal Communications Commission will auction off a portion of the radio airwaves in January - a move that could bring new competition to the cellphone world. Why are the 700 megahertz airwaves for sale?
b) The airwaves will open up as television stations switch to digital broadcasting.
14. It was a big year for Apple, the company that launched the iPhone in June. The company also launched an electronic book reader, hoping to disrupt the publishing industry.
b.) False
15. Which Boston sports superstar has launched his own video game software company?
c) Curt Schilling
16. Which New England company has built machine-gun-armed robots for use in Iraq?
b) Foster-Miller
17. How many people have received new mortgage loans from MassHousing since Governor Deval L. Patrick announced a program in July to refinance troubled borrowers?
d) 1
18. Which Boston hospital lost money in fiscal 2007 despite cash infusions from the state and other hospitals?
d) Caritas Carney Hospital
19. Which of the planned new office tower buildings did not go under construction during 2007?
c) The 40-story South Station tower
20. According to the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources, the highest average price for heating oil this year (2007) was:
a) $3.27 per gallon
Bonus online questions:
1. Which of the year's popular video games was not developed in Massachusetts?
c) Halo 3
2. Which union began an organizing drive at Boston's teaching hospitals and won an endorsement from Mayor Thomas M. Menino?
c) Service Employees Union Local 1199
3. The Arlington nonprofit organization Bolder Giving created a group whose members give away what percentage of their income or net worth?
b) 50 percent
4. Which economic crisis spurred a specialty practice group at several Boston law firms?
b) subprime mortgages
