The five questions from Friday, March 20, 2026, with their answers. This puzzle is
no longer playable; today's game is on the home page, and
the last seven days can still be played in the
practice archive.
1 When funding costs spike and leveraged players must unwind positions rapidly, causing cascading price moves, what is this event called?
Answer: DELEVERAGING(12 letters)
Reducing debt relative to equity or assets, by repaying borrowings, raising capital, or selling assets.
2 Despite cooling headline CPI, equities sold off as real yields rose sharply, compressing multiples even as earnings held what valuation driver is being repriced?
Answer: DISCOUNT(8 letters)
A reduction from a reference price; in valuation, the rate used to convert future cash flows into present value.
3 A pricing model fails because it assumes continuous markets, but in reality prices jump discretely during stress what assumption is violated?
Answer: CONTINUITY(10 letters)
4 Investors overweight recent winners, reinforcing trends beyond what fundamentals justify, what behavioral bias is this?
Answer: RECENCY(7 letters)
5 The 2008 financial crisis was triggered by the collapse of structured products tied to U.S. housing what underlying asset class drove these securities?
Answer: MORTGAGES(9 letters)
Loans secured against real property, where the lender can foreclose if the borrower fails to pay.