Which of the following functions are not typically associated with global private equity/buyout firms like Blackstone and KKR?

	a.	Private equity firms are not listed on the stock exchange themselves.
	b.	Private equity firms operate worldwide but primarily in the US, Europe and Asian financial hubs.
	c.	Private equity firms buy poorly performing companies on the stock exchange with debt/equity and then take them private.
	d.	Private equity firms restructure companies to improve their valuation metrics before taking them public again in an IPO (e.g: Blackstone Hilton leverage buyout deal).
	e.	Private equity firms manage billions of dollars for university endowments, pension funds, life insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds and other global institutional investors.

The fall in M&A deals and investment banking revenue in 2022 has the following impact on Goldman Sachs net profit. Which of the following statements is correct?

	a.	Slightly positive impact
	b.	Highly negative impact
	c.	Highly positive impact
	d.	Slightly negative impact
	e.	No impact

Which of the following macro factors did not have a major impact on HSBCs new strategy?

	a.	Low returns on equity and operating losses in the banks US and French retail banking network.
	b.	Geopolitical tensions between China and Britain after anti-Beijing protests erupted in Hong Kong.
	c.	HSBCs decision to remain the worlds local bank and not sell any local subsidiary or branch network.
	d.	The rise of Asia as global economic growth engine.
	e.	The need to slash costs and reduce expensive real estate square footage in expensive cities like London/Hong Kong as the pandemic led to the rise of hybrid work culture.