1 Деньги

Money and its functions

Money is a commodity commonly accepted as a medium of economic exchange. The idea of money as a universal equivalent is familiar to us since our childhood. Money circulates from person to person and country to country, thus facilitating trade, and it is the principal measure of wealth. Money has four functions: [1] to serve as a medium of exchange, a commodity universally accepted in exchange for goods and services and for the discharge of debts or for the discharge of contracts; [2] to act as a unit of account, the unit that makes the operation of the price system possible and provides the basis for keeping accounts and calculating cost, profit, and loss; [3] to serve as a standard of deferred payments, the unit in which loans are made and future transactions are fixed; and [4] to provide a store of wealth, a convenient form in which to hold any income not immediately required for use.

2.Кредиты

Credit and crediting

Credit — transactions between two parties in which one (the creditor or lender) supplies money, goods, services, or securities in return for a promised future payment by the other (the debtor or borrower). [Creditor is someone who money is owed to. Debtor is someone who owes money.] Credit given is an indication of trust in that person to pay for the goods given or money lent. Credit transactions normally include the payment of interest to the lender. Credit may be extended by public or private institutions to finance business activities, agricultural operations, consumer expenditures, or government projects. Most modern credit is extended through specialized financial institutions, of which commercial banks are the oldest and most important. The lender must judge each loan he makes on the basis of the character of the borrower (his intention to repay), his capacity to repay (based on his potential for earning income), and his collateral (property or other goods that you promise to give someone if you cannot pay back the money they lent you). [Loan is an amount of money that you borrow from a bank.] Customers and lenders may publicly regulate the terms of credit transactions to prevent abuses.

3.Банки

Bank and its classes

Bank — an institution that deals in money and its substitutes and provides other financial services. Banks accept deposits and make loans and derive a profit from the difference in the interest rates. They also have the power to create money. The two major classes of banks are commercial and central banks. Commercial banks accept savings deposits, make loans and other investments, and offer financial services that facilitate the exchange of funds among individuals and institutions. In addition to the profit derived from the difference in the interest rates, commercial banks charge fees for various services. Central banks are involved in the issue of money and maintain the country’s foreign currency reserves. Central banks maintain the accounts of other banks and supervise their activities. Central banks act as bankers to governments, as the designers of monetary and credit policies, and as lenders of last resort to commercial banks in the case of a financial crisis. Central banks also play a significant psychological role as guarantors of the monetary system. Central banks may be nationalised organisations and are subject to government control, but some of them can have independence from governmental supervision.