Finance trivia showdown between teams from Alphaville and Unhedged newsletters. Topics include orange juice futures, age comparison, guessing the number of stocks in the S&P 500, a pub quiz showdown answering questions about government debt and the Bank of Japan's intervention, and guessing the price of Dogecoin.
Orange juice futures have increased by 95% this year due to weather conditions and trading appeal.
Instacart, not Birkenstock, has fallen the furthest from its opening price, demonstrating the challenges of predicting stock performance.
Deep dives
FT AlphaVille and Unhedged compete in a Popquiz
In this special edition of the On Hedge Podcast, teams from FT AlphaVille and Unhedged compete in a Popquiz. The quiz is hosted by Katie Martin and features questions about various topics including orange juice futures, recently listed stocks, the Bank of Japan, and more. While FT AlphaVille ultimately emerges as the winner, both teams showcase their knowledge and make educated guesses throughout the quiz.
Orange juice futures surge by 95%
One of the questions in the Popquiz pertains to the price increase of orange juice futures. FT AlphaVille correctly answers that orange juice futures are up 95% this year. The team attributes the surge to factors such as weather conditions in Florida and the appeal of trading in the commodities market.
Misjudging the stock performance of Birkenstock and Instacart
In another question, Unhedged is asked to identify which recently listed stock has fallen the furthest from its opening price between Birkenstock and Instacart. Despite their best efforts, Unhedged incorrectly picks Birkenstock, while FT AlphaVille reveals that the correct answer is Instacart, which is down around 40%. The humorous exchange highlights the challenges of predicting stock performance.
Today on the show, host Katie Martin pits two teams against one another in a historic finance trivia showdown, complete with trash talk, ridiculously hard questions, and strongly-worded protests. In one corner, the cerebral duo behind the FT’s Alphaville newsletter, Alexandra Scaggs and Robin Wigglesworth. In the other, the brains behind the FT’s Unhedged newsletter, our own Robert Armstrong and Ethan Wu. An epic clash like this will not be seen again in our lifetimes, or at least not until another slow news week.