4354

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10.The amount … money a company has to pay to the government … taxes is one more important factor.

11.… a period … economic recession there is a rise … unemployment.

12.Some of the variation … price are due to differences … local raw materials, some are due to variation … taxes.

13.India benefits … low labor costs, and … addition raw materials are plentiful.

14.High corporate taxes can have a negative effect … the economy.

15.Profits … the company fell … $ 2 million … $ 1,3 million.

V. Match up the words from the left and right columns to make common

VI. Paraphrase using your active vocabulary.

1.Unfortunately there are a lot of con men in Russian business.

2.Did the newspapers really affect the outcome of the election?

3.I prefer buying goods made by local manufacturers rather than made abroad.

4.He seems to have entered politics solely for personal gain.

5.The economy of this country was in a period when trade and industry are not successful.

6.He had to spend decades to make his business lucrative.

7.There are a lot valuable substances such as wood, oil and many others in our country.

8.Many small businesses focus only on the home market.

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VII. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1.На условия ведения бизнеса в России могут влиять следующие факторы: политическая ситуация в стране, налоги, инфляция, иностранные инвестиции, инфраструктура и многое другое.

2.В период экономического спада прибыль многих предприятий падает, и они вынуждены производить сокращения. В таких условиях происходит рост безработицы.

3.Цены на многие бренды во всех странах разные, это зависит от обменного курса, от разницы в налогах, а также от разницы сырьевых материалов.

4.В Сингапуре имеется очень хорошо развитая инфраструктура, а также там очень высокий уровень развития торговли и инвестиций.

5.Ирландия привлекает много иностранных инвестиций. Международные корпорации открывают там свои филиалы, и поэтому многие ирландцы имеют возможность получить работу, не выезжая заграницу.

6.Компания “IKEA” имеет свои магазины в 30 странах и продолжает расширяться, открывая новые магазины каждый год.

7.Россия имеет довольно слабую инфраструктуру, для изменения этой ситуации требуются дополнительные средства.

8.В России происходят серьёзные политические, экономические и социальные изменения.

9.Те, кто плохо знаком с российскими условиями, не должны полагаться лишь на свой опыт ведения бизнеса в других странах.

10.При ведении бизнеса в России нужно учитывать, что законодательство страны имеет слабые стороны, а её экономика находится в развивающемся состоянии.

11.Многие стороны российского рынка исследованы и разработаны довольно слабо.

12.Отечественное производство потребительских товаров стало постепенно выходить на хороший уровень в России.

13.Также очень быстро развивается производство оборудования, это раскрывает огромные потенциальные возможности.

14.Высокие корпоративные налоги могут оказать негативное влияние на экономику страны.

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VIII. Presentation

Choose a country and describe its business environment. You may use the following points in your presentation:

a)political stability of the country

b)its infrastructure

c)inflation

d)technology

e)international trade

f)labour costs

g)taxes

Is it very profitable to do business in this country?

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UNIT 10. FINANCE

Pre-reading activities

1. Discuss this situation in pairs.

Imagine you are 25 years old and you want to start a clothing business. You need $15,000 to help you set it up. Who would you ask for a loan? How easy or difficult would it be to get a loan?

2.What kind of services does the bank provide?

3.Have you ever used bank services? If yes, describe them.

Reading

"BANKER TO THE POOR" GIVES NEW YORK WOMEN A BOOST

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, known as the "banker to the poor" for making small loans in impoverished countries, is now doing business in the center of capitalism - New York City.

In the past year the first U.S. branch of his Grameen Bank has lent $1.5 million, ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, to nearly 600 women with small business plans in the city's borough of Queens. People around the country are struggling to repay mortgages and credit card debts, but Grameen America says its loan repayment rate is more than 99 percent. "While other banks are collapsing, this one remains strong," Yunus told reporters at a street fair, where about 100 Grameen America borrowers sold wares ranging from food and flowers to clothes and jewelry. "Microcredit has been one area the crisis has not impacted. The crisis has not touched it, still it is robust as ever," said Yunus, who started Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1983.

Zemia Shoffner received a loan of $2,000 in January from Grameen America, which she used to take a baking class to expand her catering expertise and drum up more business. "I have been running my business for about three years now and the course meant a lot because it makes me more marketable," Shoffner told Reuters. "This has really allowed me to live my dream. I had another job and I wasn't really happy, so now I really have the freedom to pursue my passion. It means everything," she said.

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In Bangladesh Grameen Bank has lent nearly $8 billion, in increments of a few dollars to a few thousand, to millions of poor borrowers - almost all women - to run small businesses. Bangladeshi economist Yunus and his Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

Karen Giral, 20, who is pregnant with her second child and lives in Elmhurst, Queens, has paid off her first loan of $600 and now has a second loan of $1,000. She has used the money to build her business selling Avon products. "It was a really big help because to save up that much money is ... hard," said Giral, who heard about Grameen America from her mother.

In addition to America, the Grameen Bank operates in Kosovo, Turkey, Zambia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Indonesia. Microfinance institutions around the world say they are struggling to raise funds for loans. But Grameen Bank in Bangladesh - where 98 percent of loans are repaid - uses deposits to finance loans. Grameen America now operates by lending out money gathered through donations and money from payments on existing loans. The bank is applying for a U.S. credit union license to generate the deposits it needs to make more loans. "Microcredit cannot depend on small donations. This is a business, it should be run like a business," Yunus said.

U.S. President Barack Obama recently announced the creation of a $100 million microfinance growth fund for small lenders in the Western Hemisphere to allow them to continue making loans despite the global recession. "$100 million is a very small amount to start. Grameen Bank in Bangladesh lends more than $100 million a month," said Yunus, adding that it was a welcome "first step." In Queens, Grameen America borrowers must have two forms of identification and a tax return to show their financial situation. They also must open up a bank account that requires them to deposit $2 a week, on top of repaying their loan, to foster a habit of saving.

Leslie Kane, vice president of finance and strategy for Grameen America, said reducing poverty through microfinance banking is not just for developing economies. "Many Americans say, 'Oh we don't have poverty in the United States.' But we do, just like every country around the world we need to focus on microcredit," she said.

For Yoly Castillo, 37, a Colombian immigrant who lives in College Point, Queens, a $1,000 loan from Grameen America not only helped her start a clothing business seven months ago but also inspired her to study business administration at college. "This business has made me open up my horizons, it's amazing," said Castillo, who also works part-time as a medical biller and pays back $22 a week on her loan. "I never expected this of myself .... It has given me so much strength."

(www.english-to-go.com)

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Vocabulary notes:

impoverished – poor

borough – a town or district which is an administrative unit to struggle – to have difficulty handling or coping with

mortgage – a legal agreement by which a bank lends money at interest in exchange for taking title of the debtor's property

to repay – to pay back

loan repayment rate – a fixed price paid or charged for a loan to collapse – to fail suddenly

wares – articles offered for sale

microcredit – the lending of small amounts of money at low interest to new businesses in the developing world

robust – strong

catering – providing people with food and drink at a social event

to drum up – to attempt to obtain something by canvassing or soliciting marketable – able or fit to be sold or marketed

increment – an increase or addition, especially one of a series on a fixed scale to save – to keep and store up (something, especially money) for future use

to raise funds – to increase the amount of funds deposit – a sum of money paid into a bank

donation – something that is given to a charity, especially a sum of money recession – a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and

industrial activity are reduced

tax return – a form on which a taxpayer makes an annual statement of income and personal circumstances, used by the tax authorities to assess liability for tax

to foster – to encourage the development of something

Discussion

1.What is microcredit? Who can use such loans?

2.Find information about people who got loans in the article and complete the table. If no information is given, write 'not given':

3.Discuss the following statements in pairs or small groups. What do they mean? What is your response?

"Many Americans say, 'Oh we don't have poverty in the United States.' But we do, just like every country around the world we need to focus on microcredit," she said.

"Microcredit cannot depend on small donations. This is a business, it should be run like a business," Yunus said.

"This business has made me open up my horizons, it's amazing," said Castillo, who also works part-time as a medical biller and pays back $22 a week on her loan. "I never expected this of myself .... It has given me so much strength."

4.What type of personal investments do you prefer?

5.What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different types?

Vocabulary

I. Give English equivalents.

Ипотека; бедный; микрокредитование; малый бизнес; сбережения; товары; экономить; потерпеть крах, неудачу; налоговая декларация; погашать заём; зазывать, вербовать; депозит; расширять бизнес; стимулировать, побуждать; товарный, рыночный; спад, рецессия; процентная ставка; акционер; товарооборот; открытая акционерная компания; финансовый год; годовой отчёт; инвестор; отчёт о прибылях и убытках; балансовый отчёт; вычитать; валовая прибыль; чистая прибыль; банковский счёт; текущий счёт; счёт в зарубежном

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банке; депозитный счёт; накладные расходы; валюта; доход от операций; доход в расчёте на акцию.

II. Match up the words on the left with the definition on the right.

III. Give Russian equivalents.

Mortgage, balance sheet, to raise funds, annual report, recession, to collapse, tax return, deposit, to foster, bank account, loan repayment rate, to repay, microcredit, financial year, donation, marketable, overheads, impoverished, savings, gross profit, net profit, current account.

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Josie: Are you kidding? Of course not. That bank just laughed at me, just like the others.

Yoko: Well I may have some good news. I was on the subway and I've just been reading an article about the Grameen Bank.

Josie: Isn't that the … that's in Bangladesh and other places? It loans money to people to start …?

Yoko: Yes, but now it's here in New York! They've started a … business, Grameen America and it has a branch here in Queens.

Josie: Really? That would be so great if they would give me a loan. But they'll just laugh too!

Yoko: No, they have already lent money to nearly 600 women here in New York. I thought you'd be interested so I got a copy of the newspaper.

Josie: Well, what would I need to show them?

Yoko: Hang on, okay well, you need 2 forms of ID, and a …. That's because they want to see your financial situation. And you need to open a ….

Josie: What's that for?

Yoko: Well, as well as paying off your loan, you need to put in $2 a week to encourage you to save.

Josie: This all seems too good to be true! Where is the bank getting its money from?

Yoko: Wait a minute, oh yes, here it is. It takes money from … and also from payments on existing ….

VI. Use the following words and make word partnerships to name typical

VII. Your bank features basic accounts for customers. Write 1–2 characteristics for each type of account.

current account deposit account offshore account