The GuestQuiZMAster (GQM): Sourabh Shukla

QuiZMAster: Mr. Sourabh Shukla

1. It is listed on the NYSE under the ticker BEN, in honor of Benjamin Franklin, who was admired by founder Rupert Johnson, Sr. In 1973 the company's headquarters moved from New York to San Mateo, California. Identify this great investment firm originally founded in New York in 1947.

2. In 2007 it was the only bank in the United States to be rated AAA by S&P,though its rating has since been lowered to AA- in light of the financial crisis of 2007–2011. In its present form is a result of an acquisition of California-based firm by Minneapolis-based Norwest Corporation in 1998 and the subsequent 2008 acquisition of Charlotte, NC based Wachovia. Although Norwest was technically the surviving entity in the 1998 merger, the new company renamed itself ___________, capitalizing on the 150-year history of the nationally recognized name and its trademark stagecoach. Identify this fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization as presently it is one of the Big Four banks of the United States with Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase.?

3. It is the successor to American Express Financial Advisors (AEFA), a former subsidiary of the American Express Company. In 2005, American Express spun off AEFA as an independent company. The holding company is incorporated in Delaware. The company's headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's primary subsidiaries include Columbia Management Investment Advisers and RiverSource Life Insurance Company. Identify this leading diversified financial services companies in the U.S.?

4. This financial services organization was officially formed on January 1, 2002 with the merger of Aid Association for Lutherans and Lutheran Brotherhood. The organizations were established in 1902 and 1917 respectively. The merger formed the largest fraternal benefit society in the United States. It today maintains a network of nearly 1,400 local chapters. It is also the only not-for-profit organization listed on the Fortune 500. They also supplemented donations to the Haiti relief for the 2010 Haiti earthquake and provided funding for the 2003 film Luther. Identify this Fortune 500 financial services organization with dual corporate headquarters based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Appleton, Wisconsin?

5. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500, behind AT&T and ahead of JP Morgan Chase. In 2003, it split off a portion of its financial operations into a hedge fund called Black River Asset Management, with about $10 billion of assets and liabilities. Identify this family owned business?


6. It was created in 1968 by Union Tank Car Company as their holding company. In 1981, it was acquired as a subsidiary of Marmon Group, a holding company formed by Jay Pritzker and Robert Pritzker. It was spun off as a separate company under Pritzker control in 2005. The wealthy Pritzker family, most famous for owning the Hyatt hotel chain, began divesting the family's assets in late 2001 following the death of Jay Pritzker. Notable major divestitures include Hyatt Hotels Corp. public in 2009 and selling majority stake in this firm in 2010.

In April 2010, the Pritzker family, with Penny Pritzker sold controlling interest of this firm to a new majority owner, the Chicago-based private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners and they acquired 51% stake and the Pritzker family maintained 49% ownership. Identify his firm with 250 offices in the U.S. and in 25 other countries which is based in Chicago, Illinois and filed with the SEC to raise up to $325 million in an initial public offering in July 2011.

7. It traces its history back to July 20, 1841, with the formation of The Mercantile Agency in New York City by Lewis Tappan. The company was formed to create a network of correspondents who would provide reliable objective credit information. The company previously spun off Moody's and Nielsen and it also spun off Cognizant Technology Solutions as an independent organization in the year 1994.Identify this Fortune 500 public company headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, USA.


8. It is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, packaging, building products and related chemicals. Identify this independently operated and managed company of Koch Industries since November 2005?