You didn’t have to wear a white shirt and chinos to win our pub quiz, but it didn’t hurt. How would YOU have fared?

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It’s a hard life, so why bother making it easier with simple pub quiz questions?

Twenty-five teams who apparently agreed with that sentiment joined us in the City of London last night for the FT Alphaville Pub Quiz — with ancient rivalries tested and new legends forged.

Teams battled it out over eight rounds, including an unprecedented three picture rounds, to determine their trivial supremacy. The event was generously supported by Finalto, who even threw two of their own teams into the mixer.

Best of all, we had a surprise celebrity guest host! British TV legend and OG maths influencer Carol Vorderman joined us at Ping Pong Bow Bells House to host a round and sprinkle some star dust over proceedings.

London provided its usual potent mix of finance-y types, and victory went to Ctrl + Alt + QE, a potent mix of HSBC’s finest and FTAV Friday charts quiz all-stars. They took home winners’ T-shirts, signed copies of Carol’s book, a Finalto swag bag, and the all-important winners’ mugs.

Ctrl + Alt + QE had scraped to victory with 56 points out of a possible 85, barely holding off the Gilt Trippers, who had returned to defend their crown after winning back in September. The ’Trippers ended on 55 points — close, but no mug. In third place came FTAVPQ stalwarts Quizteam Lagarde, representing the regional branch of a mild billionaire’s outreach programme.

With a 27-point spread between Ctrl + Alt + QE and the last-placed 2s and 10s, it was probably — once again — quite a hard quiz. Here are the final standings:

1. Ctrl + Alt + QE (56 points)

2. Gilt Trippers (55 points)

3. Quizteam Lagarde (50 points)

4. Quizzy Englander (49 points)

4. Throne and the Powell (49 points)

6. Crazy Rich Bayesians (47 points)

6. Lagarde-ians of the Galaxy (47 points)

8. The Bored Ape Squad (46 points)

8. Top of the Monopoly Board (46 points)

10. Labour Farce Survey (45 points)

10. Pure Rarefied Alpha (45 points)

12. Quizzee Kwarteng and the Magic Money Trees (44 points)

12. Wake Up and ASML the Coffee (44 points)

14. Ain’t No Party Like a Central Counterparty (42 points)

15. Significant Risk Takers (41 points)

15. Systematic Quizternalisation (41 points)

17. Ntrivia (40 points)

18. Quizzness With Personality (37 points)

18. Ten Basis Pints (37 points)

20. Dracula’s Capitalists (36 points)

20. Fin-tellects (36 points)

22. ScoringKitties (34 points)

23. Beta Males (32 points)

23. Randos (32 points)

25. 2s and 10s (29 points)

Here are those scores as rectangles:

How might YOU have done? The full quiz awaits below these pictures…

Two important notes before we get started:

• Answers were (hopefully) correct at time of quizzing, but if you’ve returned here from the far future they may have changed.

• The quizmaster is always right.

Answers are at the bottom — don’t cheat!

Rounds

1. On Your Marks [markets and companies]

2. Double-dip Vibecession [econ]

3. Countdown [rankings]

4. Charts & Minds [Picture Round 1]

5. Un Loco Logo [Picture Round 2]

6. Bnks fr th Mmrs [Picture Round 3]

7. ThinkedIn [career paths]

8. General Legends [general knowledge]

1. On Your Marks

1. The top weighting in the DXY dollar index is the euro. What’s the third largest?

2. Which group recently overtook Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy to become the world’s most valuable luxury company?

3. Which bank published ‘AI in 2025: 25 themes in 25 memes’?

4. Which Global Industry Classification Standard sector has the highest weighting in the FTSE 100?

5. Retailer WHSmith recently offloaded its high-street shops to Modella Capital. What brand name will those shops now operate under?

6. To the nearest five months, what is the average length of a US bear market since 1835?

7. How much, to the nearest $10bn, has Meta’s Reality Labs lost since the company changed its name from Facebook?

8. Which US asset manager had the highest operating profit in 2024?

9. What’s the common nickname for the set of EU capital rules designed to reduce the financial burden for banks which own insurers? A: The Danish Compromise

10. How many stocks are in the FTSE 250?

2. Double-dip Vibecession

1. Here’s an excerpt from the Office for National Statistics guidance for one of the items in its inflation basket: “Can have crust or crustless”. What’s the item

2. Which country received the highest initial “discounted reciprocal tariff” as part of Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ plans?

3. Which was the initially stated discounted tariff for that country?

4. In 2021, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman to lead which intergovernmental organisation?

5. Where does the IMF forecast the UK will rank for growth among G7 countries this year?

6. Name this economic rule: when the three-month moving average of the US’s national unemployment rate rises by half a percentage point or more relative to its low during the previous 12 months, a recession has begun.

7. Complete this top three ranking of UK exports: third, financial services; second; machinery & transport equipment; first, what?

8. According to Eurostat, people from which European nation are least likely to trust Eurostat?

9. Who is the only Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee to have voted exactly three times as a hawk, and three times as a dove? Clue: it’s a woman.

10. The 1985 Plaza Accord to depreciate the dollar was named after New York City’s Plaza Hotel. Who bought the hotel three years later?

3. Countdown

Your task in our Countdown round is simple: we’ll list three things, and a metric. You have to order them from highest to lowest by that metric.

1. Christine Lagarde, Jerome Powell, Andrew Bailey. By age.

2. Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage. Entries in their MPs’ Register of Financial Interests.

3. Lehman Brothers, State Street, Barclays. Age.

4. Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Elon Musk. Height.

5. Mervyn King, Catherine Mann, Charles Goodhart. Net hawk votes on the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, measured as hawk votes minus dove votes.

6. The FTSE 100, the Russell 2000, Microsoft. Market cap, in dollars, as of Wednesday’s close.

7. Christine Lagarde, Robin Wigglesworth, Carol Vorderman. By follower count on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

8. Matt Hancock, Dua Lipa, David Cameron. Points the football team they apparently support has in the current Premier League season.

9. Croatia, Estonia, Latvia. When did they adopt the euro (from first to last).

10. Small caged mammals, Indian takeaways, golf balls. Number of prices the Office for National Statistics attempted to observe for inflation basket items in March.

4. Un Poco Logo

[High-res]

5. Charts & Minds

[High-res]

6.  Bnks fr th Mmrs

[High-res]

7.  ThinkedIn

We all love a good CV stalk. Here, we’ve listed some jobs held by certain people you may recognise. Your job is simply to name the person! Please note, though these are in chronological order they may not be a comprehensive job history.

1. Denny’s busboy; Denny’s waiter; Nvidia?

2. Bank of England grad scheme; HBOS customer relations manager?

3. Goldman M&A analyst; McKinsey partner; president of Citigroup?

4. Management consultant at Boston Consulting Group; assistant to the president at American Express; president of Citigroup?

5. US managing editor of the Financial Times; minister of international trade; deputy prime minister?

6. Door-to-door salesman; pinball entrepreneur; investment salesman; securities analyst?

7. Daily Telegraph diarist; investment banker; podcaster? A: George Osborne

8. Lead economic writer at the Financial Times; chairman of Norwich City F.C.; podcaster?

9. MIT; Jane Street; The Centre for Effective Altruism?

10. Fitel code debugger; Bankers Trust product manager; DE Shaw?

+ on-the-night bonus (replacing 10): Hawley Arms, failed pop star, Reuters, FT?

8. General Legends

1. There’s a blue plaque on this building [Bow Bells House, 1 Bread Street] that marks it as the birthplace of a famous poet. Which poet?

2. According to The Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk has fathered at least how many children?

3. Which Premier League football club has the highest total net spend since the end of 2019/20 season?

4. How many Wetherspoons pubs are there in Northern Ireland? Exact answers only.

5. Which failed former FTSE 250 company bought a majority stake in Manchester’s ASK Real Estate, co-founded by Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall, in 2016?

6. In the 2011 movie Margin Call, which actor played a character based on former Lehman CEO Dick Fuld?

7. Which US bank launched the first index fund?

8. What is the name of the star Salomon Trader who inspired the title to Michael Lewis’s book Liar’s Poker?

9. In February, Palantir boss Alex Karp said “whatever is good for America will be good for Americans and very good for Palantir”. Unrelatedly, in the Lord of the Rings universe, how many Palantir stones are there in Middle Earth?

10. Which now-defunct bank sold the bonds that helped finance the Louisiana Purchase?

…and that’s it! Answers below.

Let us descend the Ladder of Revelation…

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1. On Your Marks

1. The top weighting in the DXY dollar index is the euro. What’s the third largest? A: Sterling

2. Which group recently overtook Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy to become the world’s most valuable luxury company? A: Hermès

3. Which bank published ‘AI in 2025: 25 themes in 25 memes’? A: Deutsche Bank

4. Which Global Industry Classification Standard sector has the highest weighting in the FTSE 100? A: Financials

5. Retailer WHSmith recently offloaded its high-street shops to Modella Capital. What brand name will those shops now operate under? A: TGJones

6. To the nearest five months, what is the average length of a US bear market since 1835? A: 25 months

7. How much, to the nearest $10bn, has Meta’s Reality Labs lost since the company changed its name from Facebook? A: $68.9bn (so $70bn)

8. Which US asset manager had the highest operating profit in 2024? A: Fidelity

9. What’s the common nickname for the set of EU capital rules designed to reduce the financial burden for banks which own insurers? A: The Danish Compromise

10. How many stocks are in the FTSE 250? A: 250

2. Double-dip Vibecession

1. Here’s an excerpt from the Office for National Statistics guidance for one of the items in its inflation basket: “Can have crust or crustless”. What’s the item? A: A quiche

2. Which country received the highest initial “discounted reciprocal tariff” as part of Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ plans? A: Lesotho

3. Which was the initially-stated discounted tariff for that country? A: 50%

4. In 2021, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman to lead which intergovernmental organisation? A: The World Trade Organization

5. Where does the IMF forecast the UK will rank for growth among G7 countries this year? A: Third

6. Name this economic rule: when the three-month moving average of the US’s national unemployment rate rises by half a percentage point or more relative to its low during the previous 12 months, a recession has begun. A: Sahm rule

7. Complete this top three ranking of UK exports: third, financial services; second; machinery & transport equipment; first, what? A: ‘Other business services’

8. According to Eurostat, people from which European nation are least likely to trust Eurostat? A: France

9. Who is the only Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee to have voted exactly three times as a hawk, and three times as a dove? Clue: it’s a woman. A: Rachel Lomax

10. The 1985 Plaza Accord to depreciate the dollar was named after New York City’s Plaza Hotel. Who bought the hotel three years later? A: Donald Trump.

3. Countdown

Your task in our Countdown round is simple: we’ll list three things, and a metric. You have to order them from highest to lowest by that metric.

1. Christine Lagarde, Jerome Powell, Andrew Bailey. By age. A: Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde, Andrew Bailey.

2. Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage. Entries in their MPs’ Register of Financial Interests. A: Kemi Badenoch, Keir Starmer, Nigel Farage

3. Lehman Brothers, State Street, Barclays. Age. A: Barclays, State Street, Lehman Brothers

4. Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Elon Musk. Height. A: Ellison, Musk, Zuckerberg

5. Mervyn King, Catherine Mann, Charles Goodhart. Net hawk votes on the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, measured as hawk votes minus dove votes. A: Mervyn King, Catherine Mann, Charles Goodhart

6. The FTSE 100, the Russell 2000, Microsoft. Market cap, in dollars, as of Wednesday’s close. A: Microsoft, FTSE 100, Russell 2000

7. Christine Lagarde, Robin Wigglesworth, Carol Vorderman. By follower count on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. A: Vorderman, Lagarde, Wigglesworth

8. Matt Hancock, Dua Lipa, David Cameron. Points the football team they apparently support has in the current Premier League season. A: Dua Lipa (Arsenal), Matt Hancock (Newcastle), David Cameron (Aston Villa or West Ham)

9. Croatia, Estonia, Latvia. When did they adopt the euro (from first to last). A: Estonia, Latvia, Croatia

10. Small caged mammals, Indian takeaways, golf balls. Number of prices the Office for National Statistics attempted to observe for inflation basket items in March. A: Golf balls, Indian takeaways, small caged mammals

4. Un Poco Logo

[High-res]

1. A: PwC

2. A: Berkshire Hathaway

3. A: Adidas

4. A: Citi

5. A: Nvidia

6. A: Domino’s

7. A: M&S

8. A: B&M

9. A: Willis Towers Watson

10. A: State Street

11. A: Michelin

12. A: Sainsbury’s

13. A: Rheinmetall

14. A: Toyota

15. A: London Stock Exchange Group

5. Charts & Minds

[High-res]

1. A: Fed funds rate upper bound

2. A: Rheinmetall shares

3. A: Tesla vehicles sold

4. A: Gold

5. A: BP market cap

6. A: UK food and beverage inflation year-on-year

7. A: Jane Street trading revenues

8. A: Norges Bank Investment Management assets under management

9. A: Implied odds of Robert Francis Prevost (now Pope Leo) becoming pope

10. A: New Taiwan Dollar 

6.  Bnks fr th Mmrs

[High-res]

1. A: People’s Bank of China

2. A: Bank of Japan

3. A: US Federal Reserve

4. A: Swiss National Bank

5. A: Reserve Bank of Australia

6. A: Bank of Canada

7. A: European Central Bank

8. A: Bank of England

9. A: Bank of Mexico (Banxico)

10. A: Bank of Thailand

7.  ThinkedIn

We all love a good CV stalk. Here, we’ve listed some jobs held by certain people you may recognise. Your job is simply to name the person! Please note, though these are in chronological order they may not be a comprehensive job history.

1. Denny’s busboy; Denny’s waiter; Nvidia? A: Jensen Huang

2. Bank of England grad scheme; HBOS customer relations manager? A: Rachel Reeves

3. Goldman M&A analyst; McKinsey partner; president of Citigroup? A: Jane Fraser 

4. Management consultant at Boston Consulting Group; assistant to the president at American Express; president of Citigroup? A: Jamie Dimon

5. US managing editor of the Financial Times; minister of international trade; deputy prime minister? A: Chrystia Freeland

6. Door-to-door salesman; pinball entrepreneur; investment salesman; securities analyst? A: Warren Buffett

7. Daily Telegraph diarist; investment banker; podcaster? A: George Osborne

8. Lead economic writer at the Financial Times; chairman of Norwich City F.C.; podcaster? A: Ed Balls

9. MIT; Jane Street; The Centre for Effective Altruism? A: Sam Bankman-Fried

10. Fitel code debugger; Bankers Trust product manager; DE Shaw? A: Jeff Bezos

+ on-the-night bonus (replacing 10): Hawley Arms, pop star, Reuters, FT? A: Jemima Kelly

8. General Legends

1. There’s a blue plaque on this building that marks it as the birthplace of a famous poet. Which poet? A: John Milton

2. According to The Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk has fathered at least how many children? A: Fourteen

3. Which Premier League football club has the highest total net spend since the end of 2019/20 season? A: Chelsea

4. How many Wetherspoons pubs are there in Northern Ireland? Exact answers only. A: Three

5. Which failed former FTSE 250 company bought a majority stake in Manchester’s ASK Real Estate, co-founded by Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall, in 2016? A: Carillion

6. In the 2011 movie Margin Call, which actor played a character based on former Lehman CEO Dick Fuld? A: Jeremy Irons

7. Which US bank launched the first index fund? A: Wells Fargo

8. What is the name of the star Salomon Trader who inspired the title to Michael Lewis’s book Liar’s Poker? A: John Meriwether

9. In February, Palantir boss Alex Karp said “whatever is good for America will be good for Americans and very good for Palantir”. Unrelatedly, in the Lord of the Rings universe, how many Palantir stones are there in Middle Earth? A: Seven

10. Which now-defunct bank sold the bonds that helped finance the Louisiana Purchase? A: Barings

If you somehow want more, other recent quizzes can be found here and here and here and here and here and here and here.

As ever, threats / praise / sponsorship offers to alphaville@ft.com. The FTAV Pub Quiz will return after the summer.