BUSINESS ENGLISH 2

When I was eighteen I inherited £1000 from my grandmother. I invested half of the money on the __________ and the rest I put in the bank. I bought ________ in three

different companies and each one pays me a _________ every year. I also have a 20% _________ in a small company started by a friend of mine. There are four other __________ in the company. I have a small house in London. It is probably ________

£250,000 now. I borrowed £100,000 from the bank when I

bought it. I work as an accountant and ________ a reasonable salary, but I have to pay a lot of __________. My father gave me quite a lot of money for my studies and I still __________ him about £5,000. I

_______ him back about £100 a month. I ______ a lot of money on my favorite sport, skiing, but I also like to try and ________ for my old age.

2.Read the text again. Are these statements true or false.

1.He owes his grandmother £1,000.

2.He sold his house in London.

3.He has shares in four companies.

4.He is a lawyer.

5.He pays a lot of tax.

6.His father gives him £100 a month.

7.He spends a lot of money on his hobby.

3. Reading. Read the article and choose the correct answer to the questions below. Mind the new words.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

Prince Alwaleed is the member of the Saudi royal family. He is also Chairman of Kingdom Holdings. This company has investments all over the world, totaling over $15 billion. It is a major shareholder in Disneyland Paris, where it holds a 25% stake. The company also owns the Four Seasons hotel group, has a 5% shareholding in Citicorp, owns 5% of Apple Computers, and in addition has stakes in many other companies such as TWA, Netscape and Motorola.

Prince Alwaleed is one of the most successful investors in the world. Chairman of his first company at the age of fourteen, Prince Alwaleed was brought up in Beirut before returning to Saudi Arabia to attend military school.

He studied at

University in San Francisco and got his Masters from Syracuse University. He made his first fortune in the eighties investing in real estate in Saudi Arabia. He also worked as a local partner for Korean companies in the country. By 1988 he was worth over $1billion. Luckily for him there is no income tax in Saudi Arabia.

In 1991 he made the first investment in his life. He bought shares for $890 million in Citicorp, America’s largest bank at that time. That stake is now worth $5.5 billion. His latest project is to built the highest skyscraper in Riyadh. Riyadh is continuing to grow as the commercial capital of Saudi Arabia, and it looks as if the $350 m Kingdom Centre will be yet another profitable investment.

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3.1 Choose the correct answer.

1.Kingdom Holdings….

a.is a subsidiary of Citicorp.

b.has a stake in Citicorp.

c.borrows money at 5% at Citicorp.

2.When he was fourteen he….

a.studied in San Francisco.

b.ran his first company.

c.bought shares in Disneyland Paris.

3.In the eighties he…

a.invested in property in Saudi Arabia.

b.worked in Korea.

c.lost over $1 billion.

4.His stake in Citicorp…

a.is worth $890 million.

b.has increased by $890 million.

c.cost $890 million.

5.Kingdom Holdings…

a.owns a quarter of the shares in Disneyland Paris.

b.has a small stake in Disneyland Paris.

c.is the majority shareholder in Disneyland Paris.

3.2 Match the numbers. Find them in the text. What do they refer to?

4 (7) Listening.

4.1 Look at the headlines from financial press. Listen to the financial news stories and match them with the headlines.

Mind some new words.

entrepreneur предприниматель

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a.

b.

Italian investor takes 30% stake in hotel group

c.

German giant buys French insurance company

d.

Staff receive day’s income

4.2 Listen again and answer the following questions.

1. How much did Mr. Vieri pay for his stake?

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2.What was the share price at the end of the day?

3.What nationality is the furniture company?

4.Why was the money given to the staff?

5.How much was the base rate increased by?

6.What was the effect on share prices?

7.Is AGF buying Allianz, or is Allianz buying AGF?

8.Where will the headquarters of the new company be?

5. Make your own sentences finding ways of completing the given ones.

1.My company spends too much on ………………………………...

2.My company doesn’t spend enough on …………………………..

3.I owe money to ……………………………………………………

4.I am paid ………………………………………………….............

5.It’s best to borrow from …………………………………………..

6.I spend a lot on ……………………………………………………

7.My best ever investment was …………………………………….

8.Money is ………………………………………………………….

9.I can’t afford ………………………………………………………

10.A new car costs ………………………………………………….

6. A good way to remember vocabulary is by collocations, words which often appear together. Find words, which can go with these key words, as in the examples.

__

money

__ __

__

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__

__ pay rent

__

7. Reading. Read the text and explain the words in bold.

A Bank Run

A bank run (also known as a run on the bank) occurs when a large number of bank customers withdraw their deposits because they believe the bank is, or might become, insolvent.

A bank run can occur even when started by a false story. Even depositors who know the story is false will have an incentive to withdraw, if they suspect other depositors will believe the story.

A banking panic or bank panic is a financial crisis that occurs when many banks suffer runs at the same time. A systemic banking crisis is one where all or almost all of the banking capital in a country is wiped out. The resulting chain of bankruptcies can cause a long economic recession.

Several techniques can help to prevent bank runs, though they do not always work.

1. A bank can temporarily suspend withdrawals to stop a run. This is called suspension of convertibility.

2. Bank regulation can impose a reserve ratio requirement, which limits the proportion of deposits which a bank can lend out. This makes

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it less likely for a bank run to start, as more reserves will be available to satisfy the demands of depositors.

3. Deposit insurance systems insure each depositor up to a certain amount, so that their savings are protected even if the bank fails. This removes the incentive to withdraw deposits simply because others are withdrawing theirs.

Many of the recessions in the United States were caused by banking panics. The Great Depression contained several banking crises consisting of runs on multiple banks from 1929 to 1933.

The financial crisis of 2007–2009 was centered around marketliquidity failures that were comparable to a bank run. The crisis contained a wave of bank nationalizations. It was caused by low real interest rates. They stimulated an asset price bubble fueled by new financial products that were not stress tested and that failed in the downturn.

Vocabulary

a bank run (a run on the bank) – массовое изъятие вкладов из банка to withdraw – снимать со счета

to wipe out – уничтожать

recession – падение, спад, рецессия

to suspend – приостанавливать, временно прекращать

convertibility – обратимость, конвертируемость (валюты, ценных бумаг)

to impose – облагать (налогом), налагать (обязательство) reserve ratio – норма резерва

to fail – обанкротиться

failure – банкротство, несостоятельность interests rate – ставка процента

assets – активы, средства, фонды bubble – бум

downturn – спад деловой активности

8. Give Russian equivalents: an incentive

chain of bankruptcies

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to cause to prevent to satisfy to insure

9. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:

price, financial, bank, interest, economic

1._____ rates

2._____ bubble

3._____ recession

4._____ crises

5._____ customer

10. Correct the statements that are false:

1. A bank run occurs when some bank customers withdraw their deposits.

2. Nothing can help to prevent bank runs.

3. To stop a run banks can temporally suspend withdrawals.

4. Depositors’ savings cannot be protected when the bank fails.

11. Answer the questions:

1. What is a bank run?

2. When does a bank panic occur?

3. Is it possible to prevent bank runs? How?

4. What was the financial crisis of 2007-2009 caused by?

12. Use words/phrases from the list to help you retell the text: a bank run, insolvent, a banking panic, suffer runs, to prevent bank runs, suspension of convertibility, impose, a reserve ratio requirement, deposit insurance systems, interest rates.

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1.What sort of brochure is this?

2.Have you ever come across similar materials? Where?

3.Who is it designed for? Why do you think so?

New words:

Student Account

This is an offer with mutual benefits – in other words, it’s good for you and it’s good for us. There is a good chance that in five years’ time, you could be a successful entrepreneur running your own business. By

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then, as one of our best clients, your good reputation will be your collateral in securing loans. Therefore, we want to invite you to join us now with this great special offer.

What’s in it for me?

–A bank card that lets you withdraw money at thousands of ATMs nationwide.

–Free advice and counseling about saving and money management.

–Free bonus credit for your mobile phone if you pay with your bank

card.

–No bank charges – we don’t charge you for having an account with us.

–Free monthly statements so that you can check your balance and keep track of your income and expenses.

–Discount card that gets you a 10% discount at selected music and sports stores.

What do I have to do?

Stop by your local branch. Bring a current ID – a passport or a

driver’s license is fine – and a recent bill (telephone, etc.) with your name or your parents name and address on it.

3. Answer the questions.

1.Which of the benefits offered by the bank are of greatest value to students?

2.What advantages are there for banks when they make special offers to students?

3.Why is it advantageous for music and sport shops to offer a discount?

4 (8). Listening. Chris is a student who wants to apply for a credit card. After the first listening to his conversation with a bank employee, complete the notes.

Mind some new words:

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