Quotes of the Day
1. The euro will:
A. Tumble as Italy defaults
B. Recover its strength after China swoops in and saves the day
C. Remain the biggest worry for the global economy as Europe's leaders continue to dither
D. Cease to exist
2. The U.S. economy will:
A. Get better but seem just as bad
B. Crash as the bursting China bubble drags the rest of the world down
C. Grow more than 2% as the Fed joins in the Europe rescue and cash-rich companies expand
D. Boom, driven by financial products few can explain
3. The U.S. economic bubble most likely to reinflate is:
A. Miami Beach condos, because of record investment by Brazilians
B. Iowa and Illinois farmland, because of record corn shortages in China
C. New York City hotel rates, because of record tourism
D. Hotels, mobile homes and tent spaces near shower facilities within 300 km of Williston, N.D., because of the oil sands boom
4. Iran's Ayatullah Ali Khamenei will:
A. Mobilize his country for war after Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. strike Iran’s nuclear sites with U.S. support
B. Launch Potemkin reforms to counter public unrest over economic hardships
C. Die of old age, reigniting public demonstrations
D. Run out of patience and jail Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for treason
5. Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe will:
A. Win re-election
B. Get rich selling diamonds
C. Retire
D. Die of prostate cancer
6. Dominique Strauss-Kahn will:
A. Persist in giving unsolicited advice to the E.U. on saving the euro
B. Dump his Sofitel Hotel loyalty card
C. Partner with Silvio Berlusconi in a crisis-management consultancy
D. Enter the monkhood
A. Win re-election
B. Be forced by his cancer to drop out of the race
C. Exhume Simón Bolívar's bones and name El Libertador his running mate
D. Blame an opposition victory on U.S.-engineered election fraud and declare martial law
8. China will undergo a leadership change — without any election. The new head of state will be:
A. Vice President
Xi Jinping
B. Vice President
Xi Jinping
C. Vice President
Xi Jinping
D. Vice President
Xi Jinping
9. The Republicans will:
A. Continue to hold televised debates, even though they are turning off independent voters
B. Nominate Mitt Romney, as they always planned
C. Draft Jeb Bush, who turns 59 on Feb. 11
D. Vote for Newt Gingrich, who will stun the Tampa convention with his choice of Deepak Chopra as a running mate
10. North Korea's new 20-something leader, basketball-crazy Kim Jong Un, will try to prove that he is as tough and nutty as his predecessor father. Kim will:
A. Detonate a nuclear device
B. Test-launch a missile or two
C. Open a Facebook account that only accepts other dictators as friends
D. Buy the Dallas Mavericks and name himself center
Answers: 1: C; 2: A; 3: B; 4: B; 5: all of the above; 6: A, B; 7: A; 8: all of the above; 9: A; 10: B
- This time they're for you. Practice your punditry and forecast the coming year's international news