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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the author, __________ and other investment banks were responsible for driving up the price of oil through the commodities speculation market.

2. What is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority (over 50%)?

3. What do SWFs refer to?

4. Where was Barack Obama born?

5. What United States Representative said that Obama's health care initiative was a "backroom deal that had nothing to do with the public perception"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What led to the end of the Yom Kippur War, as discussed in Chapter 5?

2. How did the power structure of Congress change with Scott Brown's election in Chapter 6: The Trillion-dollar Band-Aid - Health Care Reform?

3. Why did Obama support giveaways to pharmaceutical companies, as discussed in Chapter 6?

4. What does Taibbi assert as an ominous element of health care legislation?

5. What administration was responsible for easing regulations on the stock market in Chapter 4?

6. What was the author shocked to discover from a friend working for a SWF in Chapter 5?

7. What changed the regulation for trust funds and pension funds, as described in Chapter 4?

8. Define "derivatives." What creates derivatives?

9. What was index speculation comprised of, as described in Chapter 4?

10. How does Taibbi describe the design of Obamacare?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the actions of AIG and Joe Cassano in the period before the 2008 crash. What risks was AIG taking?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the changes in speculative trading during the George W. Bush administration. What did these changes mean for Goldman-Sachs?

Essay Topic 3

Define and analyze commodity index investing, the speculative commodities market and the commodities futures market. When did these terms and processes arise on Wall Street?

(see the answer keys)

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