Unit 24 exchange rates

Vocabulary

peg – to fix something such as prices or wages at a particular level, or fix them in relation to something else

parity – the state of being the same or equal to something else

promissory note – a document stating that someone promises to pay a particular sum of money on a certain date

overvalued – a currency, group of shares etc that is overvalued has a higher value than it should have and will probably fall

Adjust – to make small changes to something in order to correct or improve it

devaluation – a reduction in the value of something, especially in the official exchange value of money

revaluation – an increase in the value of a country’s money in relation to that of other countries

abandon – to stop doing or using something because it is too difficult or unsuccessful

supply and demand – the relationship between the amount of products and services that are for sale and the amount that people want to buy, especially in the way this affects prices

purchasing power parity – if two currencies have PPP, an amount of the country’s currency needed to buy particular goods there will be the same amount of goods in another country when exchanged into the currency of that country. This is used to see if currencies are correctly valued against each other on the currency exchange markets

deregulate – to remove or reduce the number of government’s controls on a particular business activity, done to make companies work more effectively and to increase competition

chase – to follow rapidly in order to catch

capital gain – profit that is made when an asset is sold for more than it cost, or more than its book value

spread – the difference between two rates of interest, the buying and selling price of shares, currency, etc

dirty float – when a currency that is supposed to be floating is actually being kept close to a particular value by the actions of a country’s central bank

diverge – if two or more rates of interest, unemployment etc diverge, the difference between them becomes larger

suspend– to officially stop something from continuing or happening for a short time

hedge – if you hedge a financial risk, you protect yourself against it

tall order – a request or piece of work that is unreasonably difficult to perform

rake – to search carefully by turning over a pile of things

cushion – to reduce the force or (unpleasant) effects of something

muddle through – to reach successful results without having a clear plan or using the best methods

volatile – of a quickly changing, undependable nature, easily becoming dangerous

1. Give English equivalents to the following words and expressions.

1. смягчать/уменьшать действие чего-л.

2. приводить в соответствие, регулировать

3. прочесывать (тщательно обыскивать); рыться

4. искусственно поддерживать (курс, цену), устанавливать цены/стоимость

5. непостоянный, изменчивый

6. прекращать регулирование; снимать законодательные ограничения

7. равенство, паритет, соответствие, соотношение

8. страховать себя от возможных потерь

9. гнаться, преследовать

10. с завышенной оценочной стоимостью

11. кое-как довести дело до конца

12. капитальная прибыль; прирост капитала

13. ревальвация (повышение ранее установленной стоимости валюты)

14. отклоняться, отличаться

15. спрос и предложение

16. "Грязный" плавающий курс (курс валют, определяемый рынком, но с частичным вмешательством правительства)

17. отказываться, оставлять

18. трудная задача, трудное дело

19. паритет покупательной силы

20. обесценение, обесценивание, девальвация

21. приостанавливать

22. простой вексель, долговое обязательство

23. разница, разрыв (между ценами, курсами, издержками)