II. Vocabulary.

2.1. Give Russian equivalents for the following terms and expressions all found in the article above.

Insider share dealing; cross-border takeovers; strong contenders; retail banking; distribution and marketing network; capital-intensive advanced engineering industries; exporting advanced products; short-term ups and downs; the Basel II accord; banks' reserve assets; loan books; the scrapping of the state guarantees; long-standing shareholdings; capital-gains tax bills; the welfare system; private equity; buy-outs of existing firms; high-tech investment; a disproportionate return; a Nobel prize-winner for economics; the constraints of the old corporatism; basic manufacturing.

2.2. Give English equivalents (all found in the text above) for the following Russian words and expressions.

Банкротство; обанкротиться; рыночная капитализация; начинающее предприятие; внешние инвестиции в страну; возрождение Европы; заключать сделки с профсоюзами на местах; согласиться на сокращение заработной платы; доверие деловых кругов; сдерживать рост заработной платы; сохранить свое преимущество; повысить производительность; сохранить конкурентоспособность на мировом уровне; введение евро; сравнить показатели деятельности различных банков; выявить низкие доходы немецких банков; по настоянию Евросоюза; повысить свою доходность; фонды прямых инвестиций.

2.3. In the text, find terms corresponding to the following definitions.

a) any intangible economic activities that contribute directly or indirectly to the satisfaction of human wants;

b) an accounting measure of a firm's profitability, which expresses the firm's profits for a time period as a percentage of its period-ended capital employed;

c) a condition under which an individual or firm's liabilities to creditors exceed assets;

d) the proportion of a commercial bank's total assets which it keeps in the form of liquid assets to meet day-to-day currency withdrawals by its customers and other financial commitments;

e) normal banking services provided for customers by the main high street banks.

2.4. Explain the meanings of the following notions, draw examples to illustrate their usage.

a) protectionism;

b) Big Bang;

c) an American business model;

d) globalisation in action;

e) the renaissance of European business;

f) a conservative, bank-based capitalism;

g) a more entrepreneurial capital-markets system;

h) the new financial-market capitalism;

i) the Basel II accord;

j) Fortress Germany;

k) "creative destruction";

l) a corporate model of capitalism;

m) private equity.

2.5. a) Complete the following collocations as they occur in the text

A	B
1. to sharpen	a) the advantage
2. to sustain	b) the competitive edge
3. to face	c) funds
4. to outlive	d) global competition
5. to raise	e) new service industries
6. to override	f) an American business model
7. to meet	g) one's usefulness
8. to foster	h) a deal
9. to take	i) union decisions
10. to strike	j) closure

b) translate the above collocations into Russian;

c) make use of them to express the main ideas of the article.

2.6. Complete the sentences below using the following words from the text

to adapt; to come; to stagger; to get; to keep; to owe; to hold (x2); to burden; to breed

1.The renaissance of European business .....much to a change of climate in Germany.

2. Many German firms are now striking local deals with trade unions to ..... round inflexible labour practices.

3. Since the arrival of the euro German companies have been much more disciplined than British or Italian firms about .....down wages which helped them to sustain their advantage.

4. Europe's airlines make money whereas America's ..... in and out of bankruptcy.

5. Critics think that private equity could be dangerous, ..... firms with debt and stripping out cash to pay to the new owners a disproportionate return.

6. Even the best car producers have to acknowledge that they are trying harder to ..... up with the new rivals in the market.

7.German workers have sacrificed their pay and increased their productivity to ..... on to their jobs.

8. The Basel II accord on banks' reserve assets, due to ..... into effect next year, is already forcing German banks to pay more attention to the quality of their loan books.

9. German banks had to ..... to international norms in everything from accounting to managing for value and concentrating capital in core businesses.

10. Private-equity firms are inclined to move uneconomic production offshore, thus they ..... resentment about job losses.

2.7. a) Say how you understand the following sentences from the text, pay special attention to the words and expressions in bold type. Reproduce the context each of the sentences is used in (turn to additional sources of information if necessary).

1. Europe's strength in financial services is evident not just in the City of London, which since the Big Bang liberalisation of British finance 20 years ago has expanded into the old docklands area of Canary Wharf to accommodate the flood of foreign banks that have poured into London.

2. Rationalisation in insurance has created global outfits such as France's AXA, Germany's Allianz and Italy's Generali.

3. Two failing European flag-carriers, Sabena and Swissair, were allowed to go irrevocably bust.

4. EasyJet and Ryanair, two low-cost airlines, took an American business model and made it fly.

5. European manufacturing companies have begun to overhaul themselves.

6. In addition to the radical reshaping at companies such as Philips and Siemens, the car industry has recast itself from a regional into a global mould, led by BMW, Mercedes and Audi.

7. Japanese and South Korean investment in Europe is forcing local firms to match the incomers' productivity and quality.

8. The resilience of German business has allowed it to survive a dismal period for the German economy when the bills for unification came in.

9. The country also has a long tradition of exporting advanced products, and not just luxury cars and power stations.

10. The struggle in the 1990s to overcome the disadvantages of a strong D-mark sharpened the competitive edge of many German exporters, whereas the Italians relied on devaluation.

11. Ordinary Germans may have found the going tough in recent years, but German business has managed to retain its global competitiveness.

12. "Local banks stopped lending money at subsidised rates and companies needed to raise funds on the international markets..."

13. But some observers think Germany has got only half-right; it still needs to reform its labour market and its welfare system.

14.Welfare should concentrate on topping up low wages rather than providing a substitute income for those not prepared to work at lower rates.

15. Pension funds are now overtaking banks as the main source of finance because they are under pressure to invest some of their funds in something other than bonds and quoted equities.

16. It is not afraid to take difficult decisions that family-owned and listed companies often shy away from.

17. That new financial underpinning will dispense with the need for the old protectionism.

b) Translate the above sentences into Russian.