МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ УКРАЇНИ

Донецький державний університет економіки і торгівлі

ім.М.Туган-Барановського

Кафедра іноземних мов

We Study Economics

Навчальний посібник

Донецьк 2006

МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ УКРАЇНИ

Донецький державний університет економіки і торгівлі

ім.М.Туган-Барановського

Кафедра іноземних мов

Моісєєва Ф.А., Бурдакова О.Л., Гавриліна О.І.,

Кудрявцева Н.М., Масюк Л.М.,Филипенко С.Л.

We Study Economics

Навчальний посібник

Затверджено на засіданні

кафедри іноземних мов

Протокол № 15 від 01.02.2006р.

Схвалено навчально-методичною

радою ДонДУЕТ

Протокол № _____ від _________2006р.

Донецьк 2006

ББК 81.2 Англ-923

М 94

УДК 811.111’276.6:33(075.8)

Рецензенти:

канд. філол. наук, доцент І.М. Подгайська

канд. пед. наук, доцент Г.К.Светліщева

Консультант:

докт.екон.наук, проф. Л.О.Омелянович

Моісєєва Ф.А..

М 94 We Study Economics: Навчальний посібник/ Ф.А. Моісєєва, О.Л.Бурдакова, О.І.Гавриліна, Н.М.Кудрявцева, Л.М.Масюк, С.Л.Филипенко – Донецьк: ДонДУЕТ, 2004. – 240 с.

Пропонований посібник призначено для студентів економічних спеціальностей заочного відділення.

Посібник містить 4 частини та має гнучку структуру, що дозволяє викладачеві користуватися матеріалом навчальних блоків за власним доглядом. Мовленнєві теми, тексти для читання, анотування та реферування, комплекс лексико-граматичних вправ забезпечують формування різноманітного тематичного словника та навичок спілкування у межах зазначеної тематики. Частина „Ділове листування” має за мету формування вмінь та навичок складання, написання та оформлення ділової документації.

Наповненість навчального посібника відповідає сучасним методичним вимогам до навчальної літератури.

ISBN ББК

© Колектив авторів, 2004

© Донецький державний університет

економіки і торгівлі

ім.М.Туган-Барановського, 2004

Мовленєвий практикум

Communication

Мовленєвий практикум

Communication

1. THE ECONOMY OF UKRAINE

Lead-in:

1. ferrous metallurgy – чорна металургія

2. domestic market – внутрішній ринок

3. manganese ore – марганцева руда

4. mercury – ртуть

5. mineral deposits – мінеральні поклади

6. black soil – чорнозем

7. precipitation – осадки

Ukraine is a country that is developed in both industry and agriculture. It may be said to be an industrial-agricultural country.

Speaking about the industry of Ukraine, two branches should be mentioned as primary in importance. The ferrous metallurgy industry, centered in the Pridniprovye Region, produces enough iron and steel to satisfy the needs of the whole country, with more left over to export. The Ukrainian machine-engineering industry manufactures diesel locomotives, railway cars, automobiles, tractors, missiles, sea and river vessels, as well as equipment for metallurgy, mining, textile industries, electric motors and industrial robots. The country also supplies its domestic market with many household appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines and TV-sets.

Some other branches of industry that are well-developed in Ukraine are the cellulose paper industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry, and oil processing.

Mining occupies an important place in the economy of Ukraine. Speaking about Ukrainian mining, one thinks first of the coal mines of Donbas. But coal is probably not the most important mineral mined in the country. Iron, manganese, titanium and uranium ores, as well as salt, graphite, mercury, gypsum, and mineral paints are among the mineral deposits that Ukraine possesses in quantities large enough to fully satisfy its needs.

U kraine has always been associated with grain production. That and sugar production are the main branches of Ukrainian agriculture. This is natural because of the characteristics of the country’s relief and climate. The territory of Ukraine is composed mostly of steppes and plains (over 95 % of the land), and the country possesses 25 % of all the black soil in the world. These features provide a great potential for agriculture, especially grain production. Another agricultural asset is the moderately continental climate with 300-600 millimeters of precipitation a year.

It may be said that Ukraine has everything to become one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Whether or not that happens will depend on the success of economic reforms, how well a transition to a market economy is achieved, and free market mechanisms are introduced. Of great importance are foreign investments that could be a great stimulus to Ukraine’s economic development.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. Is Ukraine developed in industry and agriculture?

2. What industries are primary in importance?

3. What are other well-developed industries?

4. What place does mining occupy?

5. Is agriculture important?

6. Why is Ukraine an agricultural country?

2. THE ECONOMY OF THE USA

Lead-in:

1. free enterprise system – система вільного підприємництва

2. consumers – споживачи

3. have risen enormously – значно зросла

4. purchasing power – купівельна спроможнісь

5. gross national product – валовий національний продукт

6. per capita – на душу населення

7. retail businesses – роздрібна торгівля

The American economy is a free enterprise system that has emerged from the labors of millions of American workers; from the wants that American consumers have expressed in the marketplace; from the efforts of thousands of private business people; and from the activities of government officials at all levels.

The nation’s income and productivity have risen enormously over the past 80 years. In this period, the money for personal consumption tripled in real purchasing power. The gross national product per capita has grown four times, reflecting the growth in labour productivity.

Together all sectors of the American economy produce almost $4.000 million dollars worth of goods and services annually. Their consumption is spread widely. Most Americans consider themselves members of the middle economic class, and relatively few are extremely wealthy or poor.

Despite the fact that the United States government supports many segments of the nation's economy, economists estimate that the public sector accounts for only one-fifth of American economic activity, with the other part in private hands. In agriculture, for example, farmers benefit from public education, roads, rural electrification, but their land is private property to work pretty much as they desire. More than 87% of farms are owned by the people who operate them; the rest are owned by business corpora­tions. With increasingly improved farm machinery, seed and fertilizers, more food is produced each year, although the number of farmers decrease annually.

T he bulk of America's wealth is produced by private industries and businesses — ranging from giants like General Motors, which sells $96,371 million worth of cars and trucks each year — to thou­sands of small, independent enterprises. America has traditionally supported free trade. Some 75% of American products currently face foreign competition within markets in the USA.

American industries have become increasingly more service-oriented. Of 12.6 million new jobs cre­ated since 1982, almost 85% have been in service industries. They include retail businesses, hotels and restaurants, communication and education, entertainment and recreation, federal and local government, office administration, banking and finance, and many other types of work. Careers in technical, business and health related fields have particularly experienced employee growth in recent years.

Although the American economy is not perfect, it does do what is expected of marketplace competition — gives Americans the opportunity to compare quality and prices and to decide what they really want to buy. As a result of the creativity, initiative and hard work which free enterprise has encouraged, the USA have become one of the most prosperous nations in the world.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. How can you characterise the American economy?

2. How much has the national product per capita grown?

3. How much do all American sectors produce annually?

4. What role does the public sector play?

5. Who is the bulk of American wealth produced by?

6. What changes have taken place in American industries?

7. Why do you think the USA have become one of the most prosperous nations in the world?

3. THE ECONOMY OF GREAT BRITAIN

Lead-in:

1. output – продукція

2. employment – зайнятість

3. recession – занепад

4. rate of inflation – інфляція

5. income tax rate – податкова ставка

6. turnover – обіг (оборот)

7. inward investment – внутрішні інвестиції

8. merger – злиття

Britain's economy is based primarily on private enterprise, which accounts for 75% of output and nearly 70% of employment. Just over 2% of the British workforce is engaged in agriculture, a lower proportion than in any other leading industrial country. Services contribute a growing proportion of production — 65%, while manufacturing accounts for 21%. By successfully exploiting oil and natural gas from the North Sea, Britain has become self-sufficient in energy and expects to remain such for some years. Exports, mainly to other EC countries, are equivalent to over half of domestic oil production.

International trade plays a vital role in Britain's economy. Exports of goods and services make up around 25% of national output. From 1981 to 1989 the economy experienced eight years of growth, but in 1990 with the recession in Britain and other major industrialised nations, growth slowed to about 1%. The rate of inflation went down in the early 1980s, went up in 1988, and dropped again in 1992. The unemployment rate in the country is about 10% of the workforce. Growth of manufacturing productivity in Britain is generally faster than in all other leading industrialised coun­tries.

The Government economic strategy is centred on keeping the rate of inflation down, within a range of 1 to 4%. As part of this strategy, public spending and borrowing is tightly controlled. At the same time government policy tries to improve the working of markets and promote enterprise and efficiency. A substantial amount of activity has been transferred from the public to the private sector through priva­tisation and contracting out. Since 1979, forty six major businesses have been privatized, including British Gas, British Telecom and British Steel.

The Government tries to take measures to reduce personal and corporate income tax rates. Industrial relations have been put on a more secure legal footing, and training opportunities have been expanded. Small businesses employ more than a third of private sector workforce and are responsible for one-sixth of total turnover. The Government provides assistance and guidance to help with problems affecting small companies. Britain is considered to have an attractive location for inward investment because of its mem­bership of the EC. Though markets in Britain operate as freely as possible, Government regulates mo­nopolies, mergers and anti-competitive practices.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is Britain’s economy based on?

2. Is international trade important for Great Britain?

3. Was the rate of unemployment high in Great Britain?

4. What is the Government economic strategy centered on?

5. How does the Government try to reduce income tax rates?

4. MY UNIVERSITY

Lead-in:

1. extra-mural (part-time department) – заочне відділення

2. to be run by – управляти

3. staff – персонал

4. to provide an access to – забезпечувати доступ

5. to be at sb’s disposal – бути в розпорядженні когось

I am a student of Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade named after M. Tugan-Baranovsky. It is a leading university in our country and one of the oldest ones, it was founded in 1920. Studying at our university has always been prestigious and it is even more prestigious nowadays because our country has stepped onto the road of the transition to the market-based economy and needs qualified professionals in this field. Graduates from our university must be ready to work in state, regional and municipal bodies of the national economy and they have to meet all the requirements to specialists of present time.

The University comprises 5 faculties in its structure:

• the faculty of finance and accounting;

• the faculty of economics, management and international economic relations;

• the faculty of marketing, trade and Customs activity;

• the faculty of public catering;

• the faculty of processing and refrigerating equipment.

The University trains specialists for various fields of our economic life.

More than 11.000 students from Ukraine and from foreign countries study here.Students are trained in 12 specialities and you can get two or more professions at the same time. For those who combine work and study there is an extra-mural (or part – time) department, and I am a student of the part-time department.

The University is run by Rector and four Pro-Rectors. At the head of each Faculty there is the Dean and the Vice-Dean. A qualified teachers’ staff work here: a lot of well-known scientists and experts in economics, finance, management, trade and public catering deliver lectures and run practical classes.

The following educational scheme is offered to our students: Bachelor –Specialist – Master – Candidate of Science – Doctor of Science. Those who complete the course successfully are qualified for a wide range of jobs and further courses according to the educational scheme of the University.

There are 6 academic buildings where you can find a lot of lecture-rooms, computer classes, laboratories. Our University provides an access to special literature in Ukrainian, Russian and English, because our library has a large collection of books, journals and other papers in economics, engineering and technology of foodstuffs.

Our University is provided with its own computer classes and students have an access to a wide range of statistical database and software, to the Internet. Students and teachers of our university are involved in a very wide range of research projects, international projects with our foreign partners. There is no need to say that we can’t do without foreign languages, and first of all, English, because it is the language of international cooperation.

No doubt we must get a fundamental basis of knowledge, that is why we study both theoretical and applied subjects.

Our students are provided with sports and recreation facilities, three gymnasiums with the modern equipment are at our students’ disposal and they also have an access to free medical assistance.

I ’m proud to be a student of this educational establishment and invite all my younger friends to enter my University.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What University do you study at?

2. Who is it run by?

3. How many faculties are there in its structure?

4. What is your faculty?

5. Can students combine work and study?

6. What facilities are students provided with?

5. MY SPECIALITY. ECONOMIST

Lead-in:

1. enterprise – підприємство

2. utility – корисність, економічна вигідність

3. assume – брати на себе, приймати

4. responsibility – відповідальність, зобов’язання, обов’язок

5. entrepreneur – підприємець

6. acquire – набувати, здобувати, досягати

7. facilities – засоби, вигоди, сприятливі, умови, пільги

8. income – прибуток, дохід, надходження

9. employment – зайнятість, наймання, робота, служба

10. abundance – велика кількість, безліч

I am a student of the faculty of economics, management and international economic relations.

My speciality is economy of an enterprise and I am going to be an economist. An economist is someone who studies the way in which money and goods are produced and used in the systems of business and trade.

Generally economists focus on the way by which individuals, groups, businesses, enterprises and governments seek to achieve efficiently any economic objective they select. As economists say, they maximize utility.

For their parts, economists seek as much profit as they can extract from their operations. As an entrepreneur I will have to assume the responsibility and the risk for a business operation with the expectation of making a profit.

The entrepreneur generally decides on the product to select, acquires the facilities needed; and brings together labour, capital and production materials.

The job of the research economist is to increase our understanding of economic matters. The tools of statistics and mathematics help the researcher carry out this task. Government agencies and private business firms generate a vast array of economic statistics on such matters as income, employment, prices, and expenditure patterns.

Economics is a social science. The fields of political science, sociology, psychology, and economics often overlap. Because of the abundance of economic data and the ample opportunity for scientific research in the real world, economics is sometimes called the "queen of the social sciences". Once you have developed the economic way of thinking, economics will be relatively easy.

If the business succeeds, the economist gets the reward of profit. If it fails, he or she takes the loss.

Nowadays in Ukraine there is a great need in skilled economists to run small business as well as privatized state enterprises and large corporations. Market economy has not been formed in Ukraine yet. So it is important for economists in our country to be educated and well-trained.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the job of an economist?

2. What is the job of the research economist?

3. Do statistics and mathematics help the research economist?

4. Is economics a social science?

5. Why is economics called the ‘queen of the social sciences’?

6. MY SPECIALITY. MANAGER

Lead-in:

1. make decision – приймати рішення

2. assignment – призначення

3. choice – вибір

4. trust – довiра, віра

5. relationship – зв’язок, відношення

6. sales – продаж, збут

7. law – закон, право, юриспруденція

I am a student of the faculty of economics, management and international economic relations.

Management is the process of making decisions and issuing commands. The management function of decision-making is aimed at defining the work and behavior of the organisation that is necessary to realise a given mission. Based on these decisions, managers exercise the command function to initiate action on various work assignments.

Managers are people who, collectively or individually, are responsible for running a business or organization.

W hat makes a good manager? First of all, the ability to communicate, to get your ideas across and to listen to other people. Secondly, a good sense of organization so that working practices are efficient and problems can be anticipated and avoided. Thirdly, managers work long hours and therefore a great deal of stamina is required to avoid stress.

A good manager must also be confident in his/her own ability to deal with difficult situations and show qualities of leadership so that others will want to follow. Managers have to take the initiative and bring fresh creative ideas to old problems. But sound judgement is necessary when a choice of possible courses of action is difficult or risky.

Once decisions are taken, a manager has to make sure they are implemented and obeyed. For this, he or she must demonstrate integrity: this includes a sense of honesty, trust and loyalty to the organization and the personnel under his or her control. Managers should also be accountable to their own boss and be able to explain the reasons for making any decision.

New technology, new ideas, new values and new problems make up the decision agenda of today’s managers.

Management is usually broken down into specific parts, e.g. works management, personnel management, marketing management, etc.

Personnel management is concerned with people at work and with their relationships within an enterprise.

Marketing management includes all aspects of making a product available to the public: product development, pricing, advertising, sales, marketing research, transportation, consumer relations.

A given member of management must undergo a substantial education process in order to become aware of his (her) responsibilities and to become able to perform them adequately. He must receive training on the basis of practically every important area of marketing and business management, finance, production, sales, law plus much, much more.

A good manager is the one who can direct and control people effectively.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is management?

2. What are the management functions? What are they aimed at?

3. What makes a good manager?

4. What types of management do you know?

5. What is personnel management concerned with?

6. W hat aspects does marketing management include?

7. MARKET

Lead-in:

1. demand for goods – попит на товар

2. domestic market – внутрішній ринок

3. stock market – фондова біржа

4. market share – частка на ринку

5. consumption – споживання

6. meet the demand – задовольняти попит

An area where there is a demand for certain goods and services is called a market. A company which sells goods locally caters for the local market. Goods sold in the same country as they are produced are sold on the home (or domestic) market. A company which sells goods abroad is an exporter. An exporter sells goods on the international (or overseas) market. An importer buys goods abroad and imports them into his own country.

According to the character of concluded contracts, markets can be divided into 2 types spot market and futures markets.

Some markets, shops and stalls physically bring together the buyer and the seller. Other markets, Stock Exchanges for example, operate chiefly through intermediaries (stockbrokers) who transact business on behalf of clients. Both of them determine prices that ensure that quantity people wish to buy equals the quantity people wish to sell. Price and quantity cannot be considered separately. All trade depends on supply (having goods or services to sell) and demand (consumers, people who whant to buy). If you increase production but demand remains stable, the price will fall. Therefore many large suppliers do not produce to their maximum capacity. They put a ceiling on their output to keep the price high. A group of companies or countries producing the same sort of goods are called a cartel and when they completely control the market in those goods they are said to have a monopoly. In the USA there are antitrust laws against this sort of practice which kills competition. The percentage of the total of one kind of goods sold by one company or country is called its market share. However, suppliers usually keep stocks of theirs product so that if consumption suddenly increases, they can meet the demand. Certain goods always keep a percentage difference between their prices so if the price of one rises or falls, the others do the same. This is called maintaning the differentials. When several products are linked in this way, the price of one of them is usually taken as the reference price for all the others. If goods cannot be sold in the market, they will cease to be produced.

The market reflects any change in the economy. It is sensitive to interest rates, inflation, employment and political events in any country.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What do we call an area where there is a demand for certain goods?

2. What is the home (or domestic) market?

3. Where does an importer (exporter) buy and sell goods?

4. Does all trade depend on supply and demand?

5. What is a monopoly?

6. Does the market reflect any change in the economy?

7. What are the factors the market is sensitive to?

8. COMPANY STRUCTURE

Lead-in:

1. body – орган, установа

2. Executive Board – виконавча рада

3. stock holder – акціонер

4. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – головний виконавчий керівник

5. power – повноваження

6. research and development – наукове дослідження, розвиток (розширення роботи)

7. department – відділ

8. market research – дослідження

9. advertising and promotion sector – сектор реклами та рекламного заохочення до купівлі товару

10. public relations – публічний зв’язок

11. affiliates – філіали

12. parent company – основна компанія

13. chain of command – ланцюг (порядок) влади

The highest executive body in a company is the Executive Board (or the Board of Directors). It is accountable to stockholders, and the Board reports to them at the annual stockholders’ meetings. The President is the nominal head of the company, and is elected at the annual stockholders’ meeting. But the President does not supervise the day-to-day running of the company. That is the duty of the Senior Vice-President, or Chief Executive Officer (called a Managing Director in Britain). He or she has the real executive power. The other members of this board are also vice-presidents.

Every Vice-President is responsible for the operation of one or more departments. Executive departments may vary, depending on the company and its activity, but some that are found most frequently are Production, Marketing, Finance, Personnel (Human Resources), and Research and Development (R&D). The Personnel Department is usually under the supervision of the Vice-President for Finance and Administration, while the R&D Department is under the Vice-President for Production. Department heads are called directors or managers. They are supervised by vice-presidents. Departments, in their turn, may be subdivided into sections or sectors. For instance, the Marketing Department may have a Market Research Sector, a Sales Sector, and an Advertising and Promotion Sector.

There are some peculiar positions in a company’s hierarchy. One of them is a Public Relations Manager who either belongs to the Marketing Department or heads a special sector. His or her responsibilities are to create and maintain the best possible image for the company in the eyes of the public.

Many companies, especially multinational corporations, are also divided geographically. There are special departments, managers, directors, or even vice-presidents responsible for operations in certain geographical territories.

Corporations often have subsidiaries (affiliates) that are more or less autonomous. An affiliate is another company owned by a parent company. An affiliate or subsidiary appears when a parent company becomes the owner (proprietor) of more than 50 % of its capital.

Thus the structure of a company is quite complicated. This structure and hierarchy is called “the chain of command” and ensures the company’s efficient functioning.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the highest executive body in a company?

2. Is the Board of Directors accountable to stockholders?

3. Who is the nominal head of the company? Is he elected?

4. Who supervises the day-to-day running of the company?

5. What are the departments of the company that are found most frequently?

6. What are the responsibilities of a Public Relations Manager?

7. What is an affiliate?

8. When does an affiliate appear?

9. FORMS OF BUSINESS

Lead-in:

1. sole proprietorship – власність одної особі

2. assets – майно, активи

3. loan – позика

4. customer – покупець, замовник, споживач, клієнт

5. liability – відповідальність, забов’язання, заборгованість;

6. partnership – товариство

7. property – власність, майно

8. pool – об’єднувати

9. rіghts and duties – права і обов’язки

10. debt – борг

11. stock – акції, акціонерний капітал

The simpliest and the cheapest method of starting a business is a sole proprietorship because a sole proprietor invests his or her own capital and personal assets (anything that belongs to the person), or gets a loan from a bank. He or she alone decides what to do to achieve the objective of any business – profit.

The advantages of a sole proprietorship are:

• It is easy to start.

• It is inexpensive to start.

• It is flexible, because the sole proprietor holds all the authority.

• It is best adapted to a small business because it can provide individualized products and services to their customers.

The disadvantages are:

• It is unlimited in legal liability because the sole proprietor is personally responsible for all the debts and everything that is done in his or her business.

• It lacks stability and continuity because the sole proprietor’s disease is a threat to the business and his or her death usually stops it.

• It has a high risk of failure because the competition is usually high.

The second simple form of business organization is a partnership. In a partnership, no less than two and no more than twenty people (according to the British law) pool their property, capital (including intellectual capital), efforts, and managerial talents to do business and gain profits. The co-owners make a written agreement regarding how to invest capital and share dividends, called an Agreement on Capital and Dividends Share. They also write a Statute of their partnership where all the rights and duties of co-owners are regulated. The Statute is a legal document and its contents are regulated by law. At least one of the partners has unlimited liability, but quite often every co-owner is liable for all the debts of the partnership.

The advantages of a partnership are:

• It is easy to organize.

• It has potential additional sources for raising investment capital because new partners can be added.

• Every partner may act on behalf of the entire partnership.

The disadvantages are:

• The business suffers if partners have serious and constant disagreements over decisions-making.

• Senior partners have unlimited personal liability.

• In case of bankruptcy, the co-owners who invested more capital lose more than the junior partners who invested less.

A corporation (or company) is the most expensive way to organize a business. Corporations issue stock in shares, which are certificates of owing part of the corporation’s capital. Shares certify that a definite sum of money has been invested by a shareholder, who may own one or many shares and has the right to definite annual dividends. Stockholders (shareholders) also have the right to attend the stockholders’ meetings, which are nominally the supreme governing body of a corporation.

Corporations have great advantages that make them the strongest and most powerful form of business ensuring the greatest profits.

But there are also great disadvantages:

• It is difficult and expensive to start.

• It is difficult to control.

• It has much less freedom of operation than a sole proprietorship or partnership does.

• It has to pay corporate tax.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the simpliest and the cheapest method of starting a business?

2. What are the advantages of a sole proprietorship?

3. What are the disadvantages of a sole proprietorship?

4. What is the second simple form of business organization?

5. What are the advantages (disadvantages) of a partnership?

6. What is the most expensive way to organize a business?

7. What is the strongest and most powerful form of business?

8. What are the advantages (disadvantages) of a corporation?

10. Business strategy

Lead-in: 1. overall method – загальна метода, загальний спосіб 2. to achieve an objective – досягати мети 3. flexible – гнучкий 4. long-term – довгостроковий, довготерміновий 5. short-term – короткотерміновий, короткостроковий 6. profit - прибуток, дохід 7. share of the market – частина, частка, пай, акція 8. to reduce – зменшувати, скорочувати 9. margin - 1) грань, край, запас, маргінес 2) точка монетарного прибутку, нижче якої продукція є неприбуткова 10. to increase profits – збільшувати прибуток 11. to manufacture – виробляти 12. loss – втрата, збиток 14. secure – безпечний, міцний, гарантований 15. advantages and disadvantages – переваги і недоліки

Every company or firm develops its strategy, i.e., its overall method of achieving its objectives. The strategy must be very flexible, because only a flexible strategy permits taking into account market conditions, which are constantly changing.

Strategy depends on long-term and short-term objectives and prospects. The long-term objective is always profits. But a company may be ready to cut its profits for some time to have a greater share of the market to sell its products. Greater market share means greater profits in the future. So, a company may put gaining market share as its short-term objective. To achieve this, the company has to reduce its prices. But then, the margins will be lower. Margins are the differences between what it costs to manufacture a product and the price at which it is sold. Lowering the margins means cutting the profits.

I n this case, in order to increase profits over the long term, the company needs to increase production. Gaining market share allows it to increase production, and that increase cuts of the unit cost (i.e., the cost to manufacture one unit of what the company produces).

On the other hand, increasing production may cut profits as well, because the increased production requires new investments into machinery and technology.

The strategy, then, has to be oriented in two directions - the market and the manufacturing process. If we focus on the market, then the strategy is to gain market share. If we focus on manufacture as a source of profitability, then the quality of products should be improved. In that case, prices may be raised as well, in their turn raising the profits.

But this strategy does not work well if the market is competitive. Price increases, whatever the quality, may result in a drop in sales. A firm that does not increase prices, or the one that even reduces them, adapts to the market more easily.

To reduce costs without increasing (or even reducing) prices, companies often have to sub-contract some of their production. That means job losses in the company itself, though the remaining jobs become more stable and secure.

It may be said that developing a sound and flexible strategy is very difficult, because every strategy has its advantages and disadvantages. Many factors have to be taken into account.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is a business strategy?

2. What are the objectives that every strategy depends on?

3. Name two directions a stategy can be oriented in.

4. Why do companies have sometimes to sub-contract their production?

5. What factors, in your opinion, have to be taken into account in order to develop a sound strategy?

11. FRANCHISING

Lead-in:

1. franchising – привілей, ексклюзівні права і привілеї на переведення торгівлі чи бізнесу

2. agreement – згода, договір, угода

3. accounting – бухгалтерія, облік, розрахунок

4. bookkeeping – бухгалтерія

5. penalty – покарання, кара, штраф

6. trademark – фабрична марка, торгівельна марка

7. marketing strategy – стратегія торгівлі (маркетингу)

8. operating manual – підручник, посібник

9. quality control – контроль якості

10. renewal – відновлення

One of the fastest-growing and most important segments of business is franchising.

There are many different franchise agreements.

Franchising is a marketing system based on a legal arrangement that permits one party – the franchisee – to conduct business as an individual owner while abiding by the terms and conditions set by the second party – the franchiser.

The franchise is the contract granting the right to do business and specifying the terms and conditions under which the business will be conducted.

The franchisee is usually an independent local business person who agrees with the franchise owner to operate the business. The franchiser is the company that owns the franchise’s name and distinctive elements (such as signs, symbols and patents) and that provides operating systems, such as accounting, advertising, bookkeeping, marketing and other services. While the franchisee is given the right to produce and market the franchiser’s designated goods or services, that production and marketing must be done according to the terms of the licensing agreement. The contract specifies what the franchisee can and cannot do and prescribes certain penalties for non-compliance.

There are two types of franchising systems: product and trademark franchising and business format franchising.

Product franchising is an independent sales relationship between the franchiser and the franchisee in which the latter is given the right to use some of the franchiser’s identity.

Business format franchising is characterized by an on going business relationship between franchiser and franchisee that includes not only the product service and trademark (or trade name) but also the other components of the operating system: marketing strategy and plan, operating manuals and standards, training programs for operating the system, quality control, and communication between franchiser and franchisee.

Franchisees get training from the company that helps them to manage their business and advertising. This continuous support is one of great advantages of franchising. Not less important is using the brand name of a company that is known and advertised nationally, or even worldwide. It is easier for a franchisee to raise money from banks than it is for a sole proprietor because a franchisee has a large company’s support.

But there are disadvantages as well:

• A franchisee has less independence than other sole proprietors;

• He or she has to pay part of his or her profits to the company (royalty payments).

• A franchisee cannot sell his or her business if he or she does not have a franchiser’s agreement of doing so;

• Renewal of the franchise is not automatic, so a franchisee can lose his or her franchise.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is franchising (the franchise)?

2. What is the franchisee?

3. What is the franchiser?

4. How many types of franchising systems do you know?

5. Is it easier for a franchisee to raise money from banks than it is for a sole proprietor? Why?

6. What are advantages and disadvantages of franchising?

12. GOODS MANAGER

Lead-in:

1. spice – приправа

2. starch – крохмаль

3. confectionery – кондитерські вироби

4. crockery – фарфор

5. knitwear – трикотажні вироби

6. haberdashery – галантерея

7. stationery – канцелярські товари

8. hosiery – панчішні вироби

9. durability – довговічність

10. demand for the goods – попит на товари

I am a student of the faculty of Marketing, Trade and Customs Activity at Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade named after M. Tugan-Baranovsky. There are 3 departments here: the department of Marketing, Goods Management and Customs Activity.

My speciality is Goods Manager. It seems to me that our speciality is the most interesting and necessary for people engaged in trade. Our faculty prepares 2 types of goods managers: Goods Managers of Food products and Non-Food Stuffs. Food is the source of energy for the maintenance of life. That's why there are many kinds of foodstuffs in the world. We get food from animals and birds, plants and fish. Goods Managers of food products study 9 different groups of food products: 1) milk products, 2) meat products, 3) fish products, 4) grain products, 5) vegetables and fruit, 6) oils and fats, 7) drinks, beverages and spice, 8) starch and sugar containing substances and confectionery, 9) egg products.

The work of Goods Managers of food products is very important and many-sided. We study useful properties of goods; determine the most rational ways of food-products usage. Goods managers must know the regime of food-products storage for preserving their quality.

The ability to know some new wants and demands of customers, to recognise new trends and developments is very important. So Goods Managers of Food Products study physical, chemical and biological properties of goods and change of these properties while moving from producers to customers.

Goods Manager of Non-Food Stuffs also study different groups of products: plastic goods, consumer service chemicals, crockery and glassware, ceramics, building materials, furniture, electrical appliances, textile goods, ready-made garments, knitted garments, footwear, fur, haberdashery, stationery, hosiery, perfumery and cosmetic, gold and silverware and so on.

Clothing traditionally may be divided into ready-made clothes, hosiery, knitwear, hats, linen. According to the sex and age of a person clothing may be divided into: men's wear, women's wear and children's wear. But nowadays women's wear is gradually becoming identical in many cases with men's wear. The names of many articles of clothes are the same in men's and women's wear; for example, heavy-weight coats, light­weight coats, raincoats, anoraks, cloaks, cardigans, pullovers, sweaters, shirts, etc. The name "trousers" may include slacks, pants, jeans, cords.

The dressing of children moves now towards the miniaturization of adult fashion, including cords, velour skirts, jeans, dresses and suits.

Most people try to have in their wardrobes clothes in natural colours and made of natural materials, the prices on such clothes are rather high, but it would be probably explained by the fact that consumers are looking for durability, value and quality and are prepared to make a purchase which will cost them more but which is expected to last longer.

To be a qualified goods manager means to know if there is any demand for the goods, what the market potential is, to know local conditions and preferences, local trading customs and habits, what seasonal factors should be taken into account and the like.

In order to be specialists our students study foreign languages, mathematics, chemistry, psychology. Besides, great attention is paid to the special subjects.

I like my future speciality and I think that we, young specialists, must do all we can to meet the requirements of Ukraine in full.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the name of your faculty?

2. What are the names of your faculty’s departments?

3. What is the name of your speciality?

4. What is the work of Goods Manager connected with?

5. What types of Goods Managers do you know?

6. What kinds of foodstuffs are there in the world?

7. What groups of non-food goods do you know?

8. What subjects do you study?

13. MY SPECIALITY. MARKETING MANAGER

Lead-in:

1. business dealing – угода

2. demand – попит

3. target market – цільовий ринок

4. marketing mix – комплекс маркетингу

5. joint-venture – спільне підприємство

I am a student of the faculty of Marketing, Trade an Customs Activity at Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade named after M. Tugan-Baranovsky. There are 3 departments here: the department of Marketing, Goods Management and Customs Activity.

My speciality is Marketing Manager. It seems to me that our speciality is the most interesting and necessary for people engaged in trade. I am going to specialize in marketing.

M arketing is an activity that includes different kinds of business dealings with the movement of goods and services from producer to consumer. It surrounds our everyday life.

The students who graduate from our department deal with market research. The ability to know some new wants and demands of customers, to recognise new trends and developments is very important in marketing. Those who produce must know what goods and services, where, at what prices, why, for what purpose their customers would like to buy. Marketing research in this respect helps producers very much.

But it is a poor strategy to try to produce something for everybody or to serve all customers. You cannot satisfy everyone. That is why, to be successful, businesses usually select certain customer groups on which to concentrate their attention, i.e., groups of population that have something in common and with whom a certain product or service is most likely to succeed. Examples of such groups may be: middle-aged housewives, or university students, or retired people, etc. Every such customer group is called a target market. Obviously, different marketing approaches (for instance, different advertising) may be needed to attract people from different target markets to the same product or service.

To be a good Marketing Manager means to know the ABC of marketing (so-called Marketing Mix). It includes the Four P's: product, price, place and promotion. So in order to be specialists the future marketing managers study special subjects. We must know if there is any demand for the goods, what the market potential is, what sort of competition we’ll meet, i.e. how the price of our goods compares with other competitive products, local conditions and preferences, local trading customs and habits, what seasonal factors should be taken into account and the like.

Besides, great attention is paid to foreign languages, mathematics, history, philosophy and so on. After graduating from our faculty we are sent to work at the shops, at the joint-ventures, at the advertising companies, at the marketing departments of different enterprises, companies and firms. I like my future speciality, and I think that we, young specialists, must do all we can to meet the requirements of the popula­tion in full.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the name of your faculty?

2. What are the names of your faculty’s departments?

3. What is the name of your speciality?

4. What is the work of Marketing Manager connected with?

5. What customer groups do you know?

6. What does it mean to be a good Marketing Manager?

7. What subjects do you study?

14. MY SPECIALITY. CUSTOMS INSPECTOR

Lead-in:

1. Goods Management – товарознавство

2. Customs Activity – митна справа

3. cargo – вантаж

4. to prevent smuggling – запобігти контрабанди

5. various duties – різноманітні збори

6. drug law enforcement – виконання закону про наркотики

I am a student of the faculty of Marketing, Trade an Customs Activity at Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade named after M. Tugan-Baranovsky. There are 3 departments here: the department of Marketing, Goods Management and Customs Activity.

My speciality is Customs inspector. Until recently Ukraine had no institution to train Customs specialists. But now some higher educational establishments, and Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade among them, train such specialists.

The work of Customs inspectors is very important and many-sided. They deal with passengers, cargoes, transport. The passengers going through customs have to declare certain items they are bringing into the country. Customs inspectors are trained to recognize the passengers who are carrying things into a country illegally to prevent smuggling.

As with merchandise processing, modern computer technology and communications are being used extensively to facilitate the processing of the ever - increasing numbers of travellers entering different countries.

Besides, working with passengers, checking imports and exports there are many other types of work done by Customs inspector. They control payments of various duties, see that appropriate licences are held, inspect the books and accounts and see that the right amount of tax is paid.

According to Customs regulations, one of the duties of a Customs inspector is to prevent drug smuggling. Drug smuggling is a very serious problem nowadays. Drug traffickers use any and every means of transport to smuggle drugs from source area to their market destination.

There are many effective ways of detecting cases of drug smuggling but the best tool for drug law enforcement is a well-trained and experienced Customs experts. The majority of the drugs seized resulted from the work of such officers.

In order to be specialists our students study foreign languages, mathematics, chemistry, psychology. Cooperation between Customs services in different countries is an important element in this work, that is why foreign languages are very important for Customs inspectors. Besides, great attention is paid to special subjects.

I like my future speciality and I think that we, young specialists, must do all we can to meet the requirements of Ukraine in full.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the name of your faculty?

2. What are the names of your faculty’s departments?

3. What is the name of your speciality?

4. What is the work of Customs inspectors connected with?

5. What is the most important duty of Customs inspectors?

6. What subjects do you study?

15. FINANCE AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Lead-in

1. provision of money - грошове забезпечення

2. customs revenues -митний дохід

3. insurance system – страхова система

4. economic entities – господарській суб’єкт, організація

5. national revenue – національний дохід

6. ensuing fiscal year – наступний фінансовий рік

7. recurrent and capital expenditure – поточні та капітальні витрати

8. tax bodies – податкові організації

What is finance? The term ‘finance’ derives from Latin “finances”, meaning “money payment”. Finance is the provision of money at the time when it is needed. It is a system of monetary relations leading to formation, distribution and use of money in the process of its turnover between economic entities.

The financial system is the network of institutions through which firms, households and units of government get the funds they need and put sur­plus funds to work. There are considerable differences in the financial systems of various countries, but they also have much in common. To the typical features of the financial systems of all modern societies belong the following parts:

a) the budget system;

b) the taxation system;

c) the state credit system;

d) income from state-operated enterprises;

e) customs revenues;

f) the social insurance system.

Financial systems operate at two levels: central institutions operating on a country-wide scale and institutions acting on a local scale.

Savers and borrowers are connected by financial intermediaries includ­ing banks, insurance companies, pension funds, mutual funds, and finance companies.

Finance in an economic system comprises two parts: public finance and finance of economic entities.

Public finance is the provision of money through taxes to be spent by national and local government authorities on projects of national and local benefit. It is a collective term for the financial flows and also the financial institutions of the public sector. It is not the private finances of individuals that are important in the development of economy, but public finances, that is, those expressing relations between the state and individuals and groups.

Public finance has the following four functions:

1. the provision of essential services;

2. the encouragement or control of particular sectors of the economy;

3. the implementation of social policy in respect of social services, and

4. the encouragement of the growth of economy as a whole.

The major instrument of any financial system is the budget. In a market-oriented economy, the budget is the most important tool for achieving national priorities and goals through the allocation and distribution of resources, and the maintenance of a stable macroeconomic environment.

The budget is an estimate of national revenue and expenditure for the ensuing fiscal year. When expenditure exceeds the revenue the budget has a deficit. Revenue and expenditure forecasting is the most fundamental step in the process of budget preparation. Adequate planning of recurrent and capital expenditure depends critically on an accurate forecast of revenue availability. The determination of the expected overall deficit in the public sector and therefore the macroeconomic impact of fiscal policy requires accurate forecast of tax collection and expenditures.

In Ukraine, public finance is a sum of budgets of all levels of subjects of the state, extra-budgetary and reserve funds.

Budget preparation at the state level involves a number of institutions. The Ministry of Finance is the central coordinating institution in charge of compiling and presenting the budget. It has major inputs from ministries in various sectors of the economy and the state tax bodies.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What does the term “finance” mean?

2. What is financial system?

3. Are financial systems of various countries different?

4. What are the typical features of financial systems of different countries?

5. What is public finance?

6. What are the main functions of public finance?

7. Is budget the main instrument of any financial system?

16. MARKETING AND PROMOTION

Lead-in:

1. storage – зберігання, склад

2. customer purchasing power – купівельна спроможність покупця

3. marketing research – маркетингове дослідження

4. promotion – просування товару

5. to persuade – переконувати

6. marketing mix – структура маркетингу

Marketing is an activity that includes different kinds of business dealings with the movement of goods and services from producer to consumer. It is a very complex process. It includes such activities as product planning, storage, buying, pricing, promotion, selling, traffic, distribution of ideas and research. The aim of marketing is to find out what the other person wants, then manufacture it for him. So marketing is the management function which organizes and directs all business activities involved in assessing and converting customer purchasing power into effective demand for a specific product or service so as to achieve the profit, target or other objectives set by a company. Those who produce must know what goods and services, where, for what prices, why, for what purpose their customers would like to buy. Marketing research in this respect helps producers very much. A marketer must determine what customer needs are. It’s done by way of market segmentation. Every market can be divided into segments or, in other words, into separate groups of consumers. First, there are demographic factors like age, income, educational background, occupation, size of family, type of home and neighbourhood, etc.

Then there are psychographic factors – the customer’s opinions and interests, hobbies, vacation spots, favourite spots, etc.

The ABC of marketing is the so-called Marketing Mix. It consists of 4 elements: product, price, place and promotion.

Place means the location of certain goods and services and their distribution.

Promotion includes all kinds of communications in marketing, say, advertising, sales, direct mail, free additions and fairs. The primary objectives of promotion are to inform consumers (potential customers) of the existence of certain goods, and services, to demonstrate their advantages and to persuade the consumer to buy them.

The third element of Marketing Mix is Product. It is often connected with research and development of a new product or service, testing it, searching the potential markets and introduction to the market.

Product is the most controllable of the 4 elements of Marketing Mix.

The most changeable element of all the 4 is Price. As prices rise, we can buy fewer things or only things of lesser quality; on the contrary, as prices fall, customers can buy more things or things of better quality.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is marketing?

2. What is the aim of marketing?

3. What segments can every market be divided into?

4. What is the ABC of marketing?

5. What does Marketing Mix consist of?

6. What is promotion?

7. What is the most changeable element of Marketing Mix?

17. TYPES OF GOODS

Lead-in:

1. consumer products – споживчі товари

2. convenience goods – товари повсякденного попиту

3. shopping goods – товари попереднього вибору

4. specialty goods – товари особливого попиту

5. advertisements – рекламування

6. durable goods – товари тривалого користування

7. luxury goods – предмети розкоші

8. necessities – предмети першої необхідності

Nowadays most marketing specialists divide the consumer products, into three groups: convenience goods, shopping goods and specialty goods.

Convenience goods are the products that consumers buy quickly and often and that are readily available, low priced and heavily advertised. Usually they are inexpensive items like toothpaste, soda, razor blades. People use them every day and don't even think about their prices or brands. A very important role in buying this or that item plays a habit to a particular sort of food, brand of cigarettes or whisky, to some familiar shops or supermar­kets. But there exist some other goods the purchase of which requires more thought.

These are fairly important things that a person doesn't buy every day, like a new stereo, a washing machine, a good suit etc. These are shopping goods, products for which a consumer spends a lot of time in order to compare prices, quality and style. Various sources of information are consulted - advertisements, salespeople, friends and relatives.

People use a different approach when they shop for specialty goods, items that have been mentally chosen in advance and for which there is no acceptable substitute. These are things like Chanel perfume, M. Voronin suits, etc. – goods the buyer especially wants and will seek out, regardless of location or price.

The English marketing specialists divide goods into almost the same subgroups, but name them normal, durable and luxury goods. Also they define the inferior goods which tend to be low-quality goods – for poor people. For low-quality goods there exist high-quality but more expensive substitutes.

It is also useful to distinguish necessities. All inferior goods are necessities; necessities, hovewer, also include normal goods. Poor people satisfy their needs for food and clothing by buying low-quality goods. As their income rises, they switch to nicer food and clothing.

Luxury goods tend to be high-quality goods for which there exist lower-quality, but quite adequate substitutes. As income rise the quantity of food demanded will rise but only a little. So food cannot be a luxury, but it is not an interior good either.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What groups do marketing specialists divide the consumer products into?

2. What are convenience goods?

3. What plays a very important role in buying goods?

4. What are shopping goods?

5. What are specialty goods?

6. What examples of specialty goods can you name?

7. What groups do English marketing specialty divide goods into?

18. ADVERTISING

Lead-in:

1. advertising – рекламування

2. mass media – засоби масової інформації

3. setting the objectives – настанова завдань

4. drawing up a budget – розробка бюджету

5. appeal – звернення, заклик

6. total expenditures – сукупні витрати

7. steady demand – постійний попит

Advertising is the act of making a product, a job vacancy, an event publicly known. It is a non-personal form of communication through paid means of information distribution with a clearly stated source of financing.

In business billions are spent on advertising. Products and services are advertised through mass media (including radio broadcast, television, newspapers and magazines), billboards, handbills, booklets and so on. In big business the whole army of specialists is employed in the field of advertising. They work out advertising programmes, provide means for advertising purposes, discuss and solve many advertising problems with the owner or manager of a company.

Making advertisement is a complicated five-stage process which includes such stages as setting the objectives, drawing up a budget, the appeal, the choice of means of information distribution and assessment of the results.

The objectives should be clearly stated, no matter whether it’s informing, persuading or reminding. Informing prevails on the stage of introducing a new product on the market. Persuading forms a special demand for a certain brand of products. Some persuading adverts tend to be comparative, i.e. they tend to show advantages of one brand over the other one of the same trade class. Comparative adverts are used to promote such categories of goods as deodorants, tooth paste, tires and cars. Reminding is important to make the consumer remember the product but not to persuade or inform.

The budget can be drawn up according to such principles as “on the level of competitors”, “out of certain objectives and goals”, etc. Any advertiser should keep in mind the four AIDA points – attention, interest, desire, action – consequent stages of the consumer’s response before buying.

The choice of means of information distribution depends on setting the following questions: stating the range of frequency and the impact of the advert, choosing a specific advertising means and the right schedule.

The economics of advertising continue to be subject to much discussion. It is true that the total expenditure on advertising is high. Most of it is spent on promoting “branded goods”. This is almost inevitable: if advertised goods were not branded, the buyer would have no guide to enable him to recognise in the shops the goods he has seen mentioned in an advertisements.

Unless goods were branded, no mass market could be created under modern condition and there would be no steady demand.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is advertising?

2. Is advertising expensive?

3. How can products and services be advertised?

4. How many stages are there in making advertisement?

5. What is intorming advertisement?

6. What is persuading advertisement?

7. What is reminding advertisement?

8. What four AIDa points should any advertiser keep in mind?

19. EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS

Lead-in:

1. fair – ярмарок

2. exhibition – виставка

3. scope – розмах

4. transaction – угода

5. order – замовлення

6. potential customer – потенційний клієнт

7. to pave the way – прокладати шлях

8. consolidation – укріплення

9. on the spot – на місці, відразу

10. participation fee – внесок за участь

Every year a lot of international, national and specialized fairs and exhibitions are held all over the world. The number of countries and companies who take part in them is growing from year to year and the scope of fairs and exhibitions is becoming larger.

Firms and companies are always eager to participate in them because they attract thousands of visitors, including many potential buyers. You will find no better chance for advertising your goods and making contracts and agreements with future customers. Exhibitions and fairs are a unique chance for establishing new markets because nothing else can cause your products or services to be known outside your region or country as well.

There are many advantages of fairs and exhibitions - making transactions, getting new orders, making contracts and agreements, advertising your products, contacting potential customers expanding your market and opening up new ones.

International fairs and exhibitions pave the way for the consolidation of friendship among countries and nations.

But there is a difference between an exhibition and a fair. At a fair you do not only exhibit your goods but also may sell it on the spot. At an exhibition you usually only exhibit, without selling directly - though every exhibition has a commercial center where one can make contracts and agreements for future supplies.

It is usually quite expensive to participate in a fair or an exhibition. The participation fee is often quite high. Next, you pay for the exhibition space - the greater the space is the more you pay. Then, you should prepare that space to exhibit your goods or services. That means installing a stand or a booth, which may cost quite a lot. Another expense is the booklets or brochures placed in your booth and on bulletin boards, advertising or giving information about your company and its products. Firms and companies try to make their own presentations during fairs and exhibitions, and often organize receptions. These presentations and receptions provide opportunities of contacting potential customers, advertising the products, and greatly stimulating contract-signing. But they are expensive. So international or country-wide exhibitions and fairs provide much greater opportunities.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. Are exhibitions and fairs becoming popular from year to year?

2. Who participates in exhibitions and fairs?

3. Why are exhibitions and fairs a unique chance for new markets?

4. What is the difference between them?

5. How much does participation in exhibitions and fairs cost?

6. Have you (or your firm) ever participated in exhibitions or fairs?

20. MY SPECIALITY. ACCOUNTING AND AUDIT

Lead-in:

1. stockholders – акціонери, власники акцій

2. consumers and suppliers – споживачи і постачальники

3. performance of the company – стан, робота компанії

4. earnings and expenditures – дохід і витрати

5. payroll record – платіжна відомість

6. Ledger – головна книга, гросбух

7. to oversee – стежити

8. instigator of malpractice – підбурювач службового злочину

9. internal and external audit – внутрішній та зовнішній аудит

I am a student of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade and I am majoring in accounting. No doubt my specialty is in great demand nowadays, because accounting is needed in any society and is not confined to “capitalist” or “mixed” economies.

Our faculty trains specialists in the following specialities and specializations: “Accounting and Audit”, “Finance and Credit”, “Banking”. We study the following disciplines: the theory of book-keeping, book-keeping of foreign economic activities, accounting, analysis and audit in the sphere of national economy.

So, what specifically is accounting?

Accounting contains elements both of science and art. The important thing is that it is not merely a collection of arithmetical techniques but a set of complex processes depending on and prepared for people, because most accounting reports depend on people’s opinions. Accounting reports are prepared in order to help people make decisions.

It is difficult to find an all-inclusive definition but we can say that accounting is concerned with the provision of information in financial terms. Provision of information includes recording, classifying, summarizing, and interpreting of financial events and transactions.

Accounting information can be divided into two categories: financial accounting or public information and managerial accounting or private information.

Financial accounting provides information to external decision-makers: stockholders, creditors, customers, suppliers. As for managerial accounting it provides information for internal decision-makers (managers), who need this information to know what the performance of the company was like in the past and what can be done about making current and future decisions.

Book-keeping is part of accounting and it involves the recording of economic activities of the company. At the end of each period the information of Journals is introduced into the Ledger, that shows all the earnings and the expenditures of the company and on the basis of all the totals book-keepers prepare a Trial Balance.

Accounting documents include the following: sales documents (cash receipts, invoices), purchasing documents, payroll records, bank documents etc.

We must say that an auditor’s role is very often confused with that of an accountant. There are three main roles of auditors: they are responsible for overseeing a company’s finances, responsible for informing authorities of malpractice and they must track down the instigators of malpractice. There are internal auditors (accountants of the same company who evaluate the company’s financial records) and external, or independent auditors, who perform outside audit. Upon completion of the audit they submit a document called Auditor’s Report or Auditor’s Opinion.

In conclusion we can say that there are many challenges to representatives of the accounting and auditing profession, but the role of accountants and auditors in controlling a complex process of financial activities is really significant.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is accounting concerned with?

2. How many categories can accounting information be divided into?

3. Is there any difference between managerial accounting and financial accounting?

4. What does book-keeping involve?

5. Can you give examples of the main documents that book-keepers have to prepare?

6. What are the three main roles of auditors?

7. Do you think the role of Auditor’s Report is important for the performance of any company?

21. MY SPECIALITY. FINANCE AND CREDIT

Lead-in:

1. municipal bodies – муніципальні заклади

2. Stock Exchange – Фондова Біржа

3. money circulation – грошовий обіг

4. cash flow – рух готівки, ліквідності

5. post-graduate courses – аспірантура

6. debt and equity – борг і власний капітал

7. financial losses – фінансові збитки, витрати

I am a student of Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade, and I major in Finance and Credit at the Faculty of Accounting and Audit.

My speciality is very popular nowadays because our country has stepped onto the road of the transition to the market-based economy.

Our faculty is one of the largest in our university and it trains specialists in the following specialities: “Accounting and Audit”, “Finance and Credit”, “Banking”.The majority of students of our speciality will be experts in the sphere of finance and credit.Graduates from our department must be ready to work in state, regional and municipal bodies, in the sphere of banking, stock exchange operations, financial and insurance companies and investment funds.

No doubt specialists in finance and credit must get a fundamental economic basis of knowledge, that is why we study economic theory, macro-and microeconomics, theories of money circulation, financial and credit system, investment activity, taxes and taxation.

We can’t do without deep insight into studies of the following processes: financial market operations, budgeting, planning, accounting and audit at different levels, cash flow management, financial institutions and financial markets operations, management of working capital.

Specialists in the sphere of finance and credit can apply to post-graduate courses or, if they want to find a challenging job in banks, stock-exchanges, big financial and investment companies, they have to meet all the requirements for financial specialists of present time.

Nowadays it is necessary to combine economics with studying of foreign languages, and first of all, English, because it is the language of international cooperation.

In our University we have an access to special literature in English, because our library provides a large collection of books, journals and other periodicals in Economics, Finance and Credit, Taxation.

Our Faculty is provided with its own computer classes and students have access to a wide range of statistical databases and software.

Students of our faculty are involved in a very wide range of research projects, international projects with our foreign partners. Those who complete the course successfully are qualified for a wide range of jobs and further courses.

A substantial number of students apply to post-graduate courses, others are employed by financial institutions, both private and state ones.

Generally speaking, the world of finance is challenging. To ensure a company’s long-term survival and prosperity, finance managers need to make decisions about obtaining, managing funds and controlling them.

That is why most organizations have financial managers, and financial departments responsible for financial operations.

The financial Manager should decide on the suitable balance of debt and equity – what mixture of debt and equity is best for the firm. Managing the working capital is necessary to ensure the performance of the company. Decisions on any basic questions of finance involve risks. That is why no firm can avoid some financial losses; efficient financial management can bring those losses to a minimum, thus maximizing the profits.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What are the disciplines that students of your speciality study?

2. What financial processes must you get an insight into?

3. Are there any prospects for students who are interested in academic research?

4. What do finance managers have to make decisions about?

5. Can you name the functions that financial departments perform?

6. What are the main questions concerning finance any company has to answer?

7. When is financial management in any company efficient?

22. MY SPECIALTY. BANKING

Lead-in:

1. money circulation – грошовий обіг

2. taxes and taxation – податки і оподаткування

3. banking facilities – банківські засоби обслуговування, можливості

4. lending institutions – кредитні заклади

5. real estate – нерухоме майно, нерухомість

6. insurance services – послуги страхування

7. to transfer accounts – перевести рахунки

8. stocks and shares – акції та облігації

9. foreign currency transactions – валютні операції

10. travel insurance – страхування туристів

11. to lend money – позичати гроші

Everybody is interested is money, and bankers deal with it more than anyone. Banking is as old as money. The primary function of bankers was to match up those who had more money or capital than they needed to those who needed money or capital to realize their plans.This made money for bankers and helped expand the overall economy more rapidly.

Now banking is considered to be one of the most prestigious professions and that is why I decided to become a student of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at Donetsk State University of Economics and Trade and to major in Banking.

Our faculty is one of the largest in our university and it trains specialists in the following specialities: “Accounting and Audit”, “Finance and Credit”, “Banking”.The majority of students of our speciality will be experts in the sphere of banking and finance and will work in state, regional and municipal banking and financial institutions.

No doubt specialists in banking must get fundamental knowledge, that is why we study economic theory, macro-and microeconomics, theories of money circulation, financial and credit system, investment activity, taxes and taxation, bank organization, banking facilities and services, types of banks, operations of financial and lending institutions.

We can’t do without deep insight into studies of the following processes: personal and commercial services in banking, trust services, cash management services, investment and real estate services, insurance services, credit facilities, new types of services in banks, pension schemes, customers’ needs surveys, etc.

Specialists in the sphere of banking can apply to post-graduate courses or, if they want to find a challenging job in banks and banking institutions, they have to meet all the requirements for financial specialists of present time.

Nowadays it is necessary to combine economics with studying of foreign languages because at present banks provide services connected with foreign currency transactions.

We have an access to special literature in English, because our library provides a large collection of books, journals and periodicals on all the subjects of the University’s profile.

Our Faculty is provided with its own computer classes and students have an access to the Internet facilities.

Members of our faculty are involved in a very wide range of research projects, international projects with our foreign partners.

Students who complete the course successfully are extremely well qualified for a wide range of jobs and further courses.

A substantial number of students can go to post-graduate courses, others are employed by financial institutions. If you are interested in further academic study, there are Master’s degree courses, post-graduate courses, where you can submit a dissertation.

Needless to say that the banking industry has changed greatly in recent years: banks have more customers than ever before, people have realized that having a bank account is a greater help in organizing their financial affairs.

Banks can offer their customers various services: from things like cashing cheques and looking after their savings to insurance, taxation and investment.

Banks are one of the most efficient financial organizations in the world and the higher your grade in the bank is the more responsibilities you have.You can start by preparing customers statements and learning to use accounting machines.Then you will get more personal contact with customers opening new accounts and transferring existing accounts throughout the country. Being a foreign clerk means that you will be dealing with foreign currencies, traveller’s cheques and travel insurance.

If you help customers to manage their financial affairs, you can act on their behalf to buy or sell stocks and shares.And finally, you can be involved in one of the bank’s major activities – lending money.

Because of bank’s importance in the functioning of the economy, there is a set of rules developed by the Government to guide bankers and protect society.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What was the primary function of bankers?

2. Why is the speciality of a banker popular nowadays?

3. What disciplines do future bankers study at the university?

4. What banking procedures and operations do you have to get an insight into?

5. Why do you think banks have more customers than before?

6. What kind of services do banks provide for their clients?

23. IMF AND THE WORLD BANK

Lead-in:

1. the IMF – МВФ (Міжнародний Валютний Фонд)

2. statutory purpose – установлений законом намір

3. global prosperity – глобальний добробут

4. stability of exchange rates – стабільність валютного курсу

5. labour market – ринок праці

6. sustainable economic growth – сталий економічний ріст

7. poverty reduction – зниження бідності

8. budget transparency – прозорість бюджету

9. to bolster the social sector – підтримувати суспільний сектор

The International Monetary Fund is a specialized agency of the United Nations set up in 1945 to help promote the health of the World economy. The IMF was conceived in 1944 at a United Nations Conference at Bretton Woods, when representatives of 45 governments agreed on a framework for economic cooperation. This cooperation was designed to avoid a repetition of the disastrous economic policies of the Great Depression.

The statutory purposes of the IMF today are the same as when they were formulated in 1944, but they have become more important because of the expansion of its membership. The number of IMF member countries has more than quadrupled from the 45 states involved in its establishment and now the Fund has 184 members.

The IMF works for global prosperity by promoting the balanced expansion of world trade, stability of exchange rates, monitoring economic and financial developments, giving advice to its members. The IMF also lends to member countries to support reform policies, provides the governments and central banks of its member countries with technical assistance and training. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, for example, the IMF helped the Baltic States, Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet countries in the transition from planned to market-based economic systems.

The IMF’s main business is a macroeconomic and financial sector policies.

The IMF focuses mainly on a country’s macroeconomic policies – that is, policies relating to the government’s budget, the management of money and credit, and the exchange rate. It also concentrates on financial sector policies, including the regulation and supervision of banks and other financial institutions. In addition, the IMF pays due attention to structural policies that effect macroeconomic performance – including labour market policies.

The IMF advises each member on how its policies in these areas may be improved to achieve such goals as high employment, low inflation and sustainable economic growth. Strengthening the international financial system, promoting sound economic policies among its member countries, the IMF is helping to make globalization work for the benefit of all.

At the same time as IMF was created, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), more commonly known as the World Bank, was set up to promote long-term economic development. The IMF and the World Bank Group – which includes the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Development Association (IDA) – complement each other.

The World Bank is concerned mainly with longer-term development and poverty reduction issues.The activities include lending to developing countries and countries in transition to finance infrastructure projects, the reforms of particular sectors of the economy, and broader structural reforms.

Each institution must focus on its areas of expertise, but in areas where they both have expertise – such as fiscal management, budget execution, budget transparency, tax and customs administration – they coordinate closely.

And now a few words about partnership of the World Bank and Ukraine.

The agreement was signed in September 1992 at the ceremony at the US State Department and Ukraine became the 167^th member of the Bank. Since 1992 partnership between Ukraine and the World Bank resulted in a number of joint projects.These projects were designed to improve the public and private sectors, to raise agriculture and energy, to protect the environment, to bolster the social sector. The World Bank has launched the preparation of the new 2004 to 2006 Country Assistance Strategy for Ukraine and this project will involve cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. When was the IMF set up?

2. What was the purpose of the fund?

3. What does the IMF mainly focus on?

4. Are there any more questions that the IMF pays due attention to?

5. What institutions does the World Bank Group include?

6. Can you characterize the spheres that each institution of the World Bank Group must focus on?

7. Name the sectors of the economy where Ukraine and the World Bank cooperate.

24. THE BANKING INDUSTRY

Lead-in:

1. to earn profit – заробляти прибуток

2. to pay and to charge interest rates – сплачувати i стягувати (нараховувати) відсотки

3. lenders and borrowers – кредитори і позичники

4. takeovers and mergers – злиття та поглинання підприємств

5. Government bonds – урядові облігації, державні цінні папери

6. Annual General Meeting – щорічні загальні збори

7. mortgage loan – заставна позика

8. fluctuate – коливатися, хитатися

9. insurance services – страхове обслуговування

Banks are one of the most important financial institutions. The first and most important function of a central bank is to accept responsibility for advising the government on the country’s financial policy.

There are two types of banks: commercial banks and investment banks – or merchant banks as they are called in Great Britain. The aim of commercial banks is to earn profit; they make a profit from the difference between the interest rates they pay to lenders and those they charge to borrowers.

Commercial banks deal mainly with individual customers, e.g. private citizens, small businesses. They receive and hold deposits, pay money according to customer’s instructions, lend money, exchange foreign currencies, give credit, and so on.

Investment banks – or merchant banks – raise funds for industry on the various financial markets, finance international trade, deal with takeovers and mergers, issue government bonds. Investment banks make profits from fees and commissions they charge for their services.

Banks are usually organized to follow their functions and supply the services as efficiently as possible.

The English commercial banks have branches in all the major towns and have a similar structure. Their owners are shareholders, they provide the necessary capital. They are all organized on the joint stock principle and are registered public companies. The Chairman and Board of Directors are elected by the ordinary shareholders at the Annual General Meeting and responsible for the efficient management of the bank. The Board will appoint a Managing Director and senior executives who will be responsible for the running of the bank.

At the end of each business year the Directors recommend and the Annual General Meeting decides how much of the profit should be distributed by the shareholders as a dividend, and how much should be retained in the business. Preparing for the Annual General Meeting, a bank publishes its Report and Accounts. These must be sent to every shareholder and are available for anyone with an interest in the affairs of the bank.

In recent times the difference between commercial and investment banks has been slowly disappearing as the so-called “financial supermarkets” replace them. These are a combination of a commercial bank, an investment bank, and an insurance company, offering the full range of financial services.

Whether depositing or borrowing money, a customer is most interested in the bank’s interest rate. The minimum interest rate is usually determined by the central bank, and the interest rates offered by other banks sometimes fluctuate.

There has been an explosion of new service options in banking recently. Trust services are one of the most important and rapidly growing bank service areas today.Apart from that banks introduce such services as cash management services, mortgage loans, investment services, insurance services, etc.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the most important function of a central bank?

2. Name two types of banks.

3. What do commercial banks deal with?

4. What functions do investment banks perform?

5. How is the Board of Directors elected in English commercial banks?

6. What questions are discussed at the Annual General Meeting?

7. What is a ‘financial supermarket’ and what services does it provide?

8. Can you name new service options in the sphere of banking?

25. MONEY

Lead-in:

1. medium of exchange – засіб обміну

2. unit of account – одиниця розрахунку

3. store of value – засіб збереження

4. notes and coins – банкноти і монети

5. purchasing power – купівельна спроможність

6. standard of deferred payment – стандарт відкладеного платежу

7. Legal Tender – законний платіжний засіб

8. bank liabilities – банківські зобов’язання

The main function of money is a medium of exchange, but it performs other functions: a unit of account and a store of value.

The use of money as a medium of exchange is as fundamental to the development of economic systems as the invention of the wheel for transport. In all advanced economies the greater part of the supply of money consists of deposits in bank accounts, rather than notes and coins.

To act as an efficient medium of exchange, money must also function as a store of value. With money, the act of purchase can be separated from the act of sale, money then acts as a temporary means of holding purchasing power.When the overall price level is stable, or even falling, money can be more than a temporary store of value.

Even in periods of rapid inflation people continue to hold money in order to carry out transactions, because of the great convenience it allows.There may be better stores of value, but they lack the liquidity (i.e. the ability to be used directly to make purchases) which is the characteristic of money. Other assets may be better stores of value, but they can not be converted into purchasing power without some cost.

Money also acts as a measuring unit to assess the relative values of different commodities. Money performs this measurement function when it becomes a standard of deferred payment: if I wish to borrow a given sum now an interest charge will be added to it so that I know how much I will have to repay in the future. Inflation erodes the usefulness of money in this role.

One of the requirements for money is that the item should be limited in supply. The supply of the monetary unit should also be relatively stable. From the convenience point of view it is desirable that money should be portable and durable, and also homogeneous. Money should also be divisible into small units for minor transactions.

In Britain, the most obvious form of money is the currency in circulation, known as Legal Tender.

Since the greater part of money supply now consists of bank deposits, it is necessary to mention the banking system.

The banking system of Great Britain consists of a number of institutions, with the Bank of England playing a crucial role.

The Bank of England regulates the supply of money, influences interest rates and oversees the operations of commercial banks; it also manages the National Debt.

Banks are distinguished from other intermediaries by the fact that their liabilities (bank deposits) can be spent directly as money, which makes them the focus of monetary policy.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What are the main functions of money?

2. Why do people continue to hold money even in periods of rapid inflation?

3. What is liquidity?

4. Explain the term ‘standard of deferred payment’.

5. Why is it necessary that money should be portable, durable and homogeneous?

6. What are the functions of the Bank of England?

7. What is the main difference between banks and other intermediaries?

26. TAXATION

Lead-in:

1. to raise revenue – підвищувати дохід, прибуток

2. excise duties – акцизний збір

3. tax on profit – податок на прибуток

4. income tax – прибутковий податок

5. to levy taxes – стягувати податки

6. the Board of Inland Revenue – Податкова Управа (Англія)

7. PAYE – Pay Аs You Earn – виплачування податків відрахуванням з заробітної плати

8. income tax liability – загальна сума податку, що підлягає виплаті

9. health insurance – страхування здоров’я

10. tax haven – фіскальний оазис, “податкове сховище”

11. money laundering – відмивання грошей

The primary function of taxation is to raise revenue to finance government expenditures, but taxes can have other purposes. Indirect excise duties, for example, can be designed to dissuade people from smoking and drinking.

Governments can also permit various measures reducing companies’ tax bills.

There is always a lot of debate as to the fairness of tax systems.

Business profits, for example, are generally taxed twice: companies pay tax on their profit (corporation tax in Britain, income tax in the USA), and shareholders pay income tax on dividends.

The most important taxes are personal and corporate income tax.

Income tax in most countries is progressive; it is one of the ways by which governments can redistribute wealth.

For tax purposes, corporate income is defined as revenue minus expenses.

UK personal taxation is both simple and relatively low. There are two rates: 25 per cent on taxable income up to £ 23.700, and 40 per cent on income above this figure.

How is personal tax levied?

In Great Britain the Board of Inland Revenue obliges employers to operate a PAYE (Pay As You Earn) scheme, which means the tax is deductible at source, from empoloyees’ wages or salaries; in other words, by the employers before making out the monthly salary cheque or bank transfer to the employee. The tax is then collected directly from the employer.

At the same time we should mention that the employer is obliged to deduct National Insurance from the employee’s salary – the employee’s contribution being roughly 9 per cent of income, the employee’s ranging from 5 to 10 per cent.

The higher the tax rates, the more people are tempted to cheat.

Lots of people have undeclared, part-time evening jobs with small and medium-sized family firms, on which no one pays any tax or national insurance.

To reduce income tax liability, some employers give highly-paid employers lots of “perks” instead of taxable money, such as company cars, free health insurance. Life insurance policies, pension plans by which individuals can postpone the payment of tax, are known as tax shelters. Donations to charities that can be subtracted from the income on which tax is calculated are described as tax deductible.

Companies have a variety of ways of avoiding tax on profits. They can make a tax loss, multinational companies often set up their head offices in such countries as Monaco, the Bahamas, where taxes are low; such countries are known as tax havens.

Criminal organizations practise “money laundering” – they pass money through a series of companies in order to disguise its origin from tax inspectors.

Different tax systems in different countries create problems, so the question of the tax harmonisation within the European Community is being discussed.

Changes in tax-planning techniques will create a number of tax opportunities: companies in low-tax countries will have a competitive advantage over those in high-tax ones.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What is the main function of taxation?

2. Why do you think there is a lot of debate about the fairness of tax systems?

3. What are the most important taxes?

4. What do some employers do to reduce income tax liability?

5. How do companies avoid tax on profits?

6. What is money ‘laundering’?

7. Do you think the question of tax harmonisation is likely to be solved?

27. STOCK EXCHANGE

Lead-in:

1. currency market – валютна біржа

2. commodity exchange – товарна біржа

3. labour exchange – біржа праці

4. stock market – фондова біржа

5. gilt-edged securities – першокласні цінні папери

6. bid price – курс покупця

7. offer price – курс продавця

8. bull – ‘бик’, спекулянт, що грає на підвищення ціни

9. bear – ‘ведмідь’, той, що грає на пониження ціни

10. stag – ‘олень’,той, що купує нові акції, щоб їх одразу продати

11. put option – опціон продавця

12. call option – опціон покупця

13. over-the-counter market – ринок позабіржової торговлі

T here are different kinds of exchanges: currency markets, commodity exchanges, labour exchanges.We shall try to consider stock markets and stock exchanges, which are the most important financial institutions in the sphere of international economic relations.

Stock markets play a significant role in the economy of any country.

Stock markets are control centres where businesses and governments come to raise money and expand their operations.

There are actually two different markets for stocks: the new issues market or the primary market, where stocks are offered for sale for the first time, and the secondary market, where stocks can be bought and sold by individuals and institutions.

The phrase “the stock market” means many things: it is a place where stocks are traded, and it also refers to the biggest and most important stock exchanges in the world: the New York Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market, based in Washington, DC, and the Over-the Counter Market (OTC).

A stock exchange is a market for dealings in stock and shares, handling gilt-edged and all kinds of commercial and industrial shares. The London Stock Exchange provides a market for British government stocks and the stocks and bonds of a large number of foreign governments and corporations. Only members are admitted to the stock exchange and business is transacted according to a pre­scribed set of rules.

Before the “Big Bang” on 27 October 1986 there were about 4,100 Stock Exchange members (jobbers, middlemen who bought and sold shares from other traders on the Stock Exchange, and brokers).

There are no jobbers in the Stock Exchange now, they are market makers. A market maker buys and sells securities making money by charging a commission on each transaction.

Anyone who wants to buy or sell shares on the Stock Exchange does it through the broker who acts as a middleman between a seller and a buyer for a commission.

Companies apply to the Stock Exchange to have their shares listed. Only “quoted” shares can be bought or sold on the Stock Exchange. A Stock Exchange quotation is the price of a share which usually gives the bid price and an offer price. The bid price (or the selling price) differs from the offer price and the differ­ence between them is called the “spread”. The Stock Exchange quo­tations appear daily in the financial press and the financial section of newspapers.

The greater part of the business transacted on stock exchanges is investment business, but a small part consists of speculative opera­tions. There are three kinds of speculators: bulls, bears and stags.

Speculation is also possible in the form of options: call op­tions, put options and put and call options.

The price of the stock in the market reflects investor demand. The tendencies of the market are indicated by indexes. Some of the most important in­dexes are: FT Actuaries Share Indices, FT - Stock Ex­change 100 Share Index (FT - SE 100 or Footsie), based on the prices of 100 leading companies (this is the main London index, DOW JONES, FAS, NIKKEI, etc.).

The biggest and the most important stock market in the world is the New York Stock Exchange.

NYSE is also known as the Big Board and the Exchange, it was founded in 1792 and is located at 11 Wall Street in New York City.Brokers buy and sell stock in about 2,570 different companies at the NYSE.

AMEX stands for American Stock Exchange; it has the second biggest volume of trading in the US, here brokers buy and sell Stocks in over 840 companies.

There is one more market place: it is trading of common stock “over-the-counter” or “OTC”.

Most securities other than common stock are traded over-the-counter, through vast telephone and other electronic networks that link traders.

Questions for comprehension check-up and discussion:

1. What types of exchanges do you know?

2. How many markets are there for stocks?

3. What is a stock exchange?

4. What is the role of a market maker?

5. What is a Stock Exchange quotation?

6. Give the names of the most important stock exchange indexes.

7. What do the letters “OTC” stand for?