1 What major global consumer goods giant is reportedly exploring the sale of its food division to McCormick in March 2026 as it shifts its corporate focus toward beauty and personal care?
Answer: UNILEVER (8 letters)
◀ All past puzzles
Finance terms from the week of Monday, March 30, 2026
25 clues and answers from Monday, March 30, 2026 to Friday, April 3, 2026, each with a plain-language definition where the term is one worth knowing. These puzzles are no longer playable; today's game is on the play page and the last seven days are in the practice archive.
Terms covered: fsoc, correlation, libor, spac, buyout, float.
Monday, March 30, 2026
2 What United States government body released new guidance on March 25 2026 regarding the designation of nonbank financial companies to better monitor systemic risks in the broader economy?
Answer: FSOC (4 letters)
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, created after the 2008 crisis to watch for risks that cross the boundaries of individual regulators.
3 What economic school of thought argues that market economies are inherently unstable and require active government fiscal intervention to maintain full employment and stable prices?
Answer: KEYNESIANISM (12 letters)
4 What major British insurance firm was the subject of a 10.8 billion dollar acquisition interest from Zurich Insurance Group in March 2026 to strengthen global professional liability offerings?
Answer: BEAZLEY (7 letters)
5 What American cryptocurrency liquidity provider filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware on March 15 2026 to undergo a formal corporate restructuring?
Answer: BLOCKFILLS (10 letters)
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
1 This major American entertainment company entered a definitive agreement in December 2025 to be acquired by Netflix in an 82.7 billion dollar transaction. The deal, which was amended to all-cash in early 2026, includes its legendary film and television studios, HBO, and the Max streaming service.
Answer: WARNER (6 letters)
2 This semiconductor manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2025 as part of a restructuring agreement to reduce its debt by 4.6 billion dollars. The company, a specialist in silicon carbide technology, aimed to slash its annual cash interest payments by 60 percent to preserve liquidity for its chip fabrication plants.
Answer: WOLFSPEED (9 letters)
3 In February 2026, these two major American energy producers announced a 58 billion dollar "merger of equals" to consolidate their positions in the Permian Basin. The transaction follows a trend of massive consolidation in the shale oil sector, creating a new giant with a combined production capacity exceeding one million barrels per day.
Answer: DEVON (5 letters)
4 This 25 billion dollar leveraged buyout of a tobacco and food giant in 1988 was led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and became the definitive symbol of 1980s corporate greed. The fierce bidding war between the private equity firm and a management group led by F. Ross Johnson was later chronicled in the best-selling book and film titled Barbarians at the Gate.
Answer: NABISCO (7 letters)
5 This statistical measure represents the degree to which two securities move in relation to each other, expressed as a figure between negative one and positive one. A reading of 0.85 between two global tech stocks suggests they trade in a highly similar pattern, while a reading of negative 0.5 would indicate that the assets tend to move in opposite directions during a market cycle.
Answer: CORRELATION (11 letters)
A statistical measure, between -1 and +1, of how two variables move together.
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
1 What major American city filed for Chapter 9 protection in July 2013 with an estimated debt burden between 18 and 20 billion dollars, marking the largest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the United States?
Answer: DETROIT (7 letters)
2 Which California based software firm saw its 20 billion dollar acquisition by Adobe terminated in December 2023 after facing insurmountable opposition from regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union?
Answer: FIGMA (5 letters)
3 What 71 billion dollar transaction closed in March 2019 resulted in the Walt Disney Company absorbing the majority of the entertainment assets of a media empire formerly controlled by the Murdoch family?
Answer: FOX (3 letters)
4 What five letter acronym represents the group of major emerging national economies that expanded in January 2024 to include new members like Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates?
Answer: BRICS (5 letters)
5 Which Japanese conglomerate led by Masayoshi Son launched the nearly 100 billion dollar Vision Fund in 2017 to make massive bets on late stage technology startups?
Answer: SOFTBANK (8 letters)
Thursday, April 2, 2026
1 What major American aerospace corporation agreed in 2024 to acquire its primary fuselage supplier for 4.7 billion dollars in an all stock deal to address systemic quality control issues following a midair door plug blowout?
Answer: BOEING (6 letters)
2 What massive asset management firm based in Pennsylvania reached 8 trillion dollars in assets under management in 2023 and is structurally unique because it is owned by its own funds and their shareholders?
Answer: VANGUARD (8 letters)
3 What identifier is used for the automated system that calculates the daily interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the London interbank market?
Answer: LIBOR (5 letters)
The London Interbank Offered Rate, a former benchmark for the rate at which banks lend to one another, once referenced by trillions in contracts.
4 What specific type of investment vehicle raised over 160 billion dollars in 2021 as blank check companies before facing intense regulatory scrutiny and a massive wave of liquidations in 2023?
Answer: SPAC (4 letters)
A special purpose acquisition company - a shell that raises money in a listing and then seeks a private business to merge with, taking it public.
5 What specific five letter word refers to a legal entity that holds no active business operations or significant assets but is often used in complex corporate restructurings or to facilitate acquisitions?
Answer: SHELL (5 letters)
Friday, April 3, 2026
1 Which American fitness equipment company saw its market value crash from nearly 50 billion dollars in early 2021 to less than 1 billion dollars by 2024 as post pandemic demand for home workouts evaporated?
Answer: PELOTON (7 letters)
2 What specific term describes the process of a private equity firm using a significant amount of borrowed money to meet the cost of an acquisition with the assets of the company being acquired used as collateral?
Answer: BUYOUT (6 letters)
The acquisition of a controlling stake in a company, often taking it private. A leveraged buyout funds most of the purchase with debt secured against the target itself.
3 What identifier is used for the automated system that calculates the daily interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the London interbank market?
Answer: LIBOR (5 letters)
The London Interbank Offered Rate, a former benchmark for the rate at which banks lend to one another, once referenced by trillions in contracts.
4 What financial term refers to the total amount of a company's equity that is traded on the open market and is not held by insiders or restricted shareholders?
Answer: FLOAT (5 letters)
The portion of a company's shares actually available for public trading, excluding closely held blocks. In insurance, premiums held before claims are paid.
5 Which American retail giant announced in 2024 that it would acquire the smart television manufacturer Vizio for 2.3 billion dollars to accelerate the growth of its high margin advertising business?
Answer: WALMART (7 letters)