Bookkeeping system

The name derives from the fact that financial information used to be recorded using pen and ink in paper books – hence "bookkeeping" (whereas now it's recorded mainly in computer systems) and that these books were called journals and ledgers – and that each transaction was entered twice (hence "double-entry"), with one side of the transaction being called a debit and the other a credit.

It was first codified (приведено в систему) in the 15th century by Luca Pacioli. In deciding which account has to be debited and which account has to be credited, the golden rules of accounting are used. This is also accomplished using the accounting equation: Equity = Assets - Liabilities. The accounting equation serves as an error detection tool. If at any point the sum of debits for all accounts does not equal the corresponding sum of credits for all accounts, an error has occurred. It follows that the sum of debits and the sum of the credits must be equal in value.

UNIT 23 Balance of Trade

The balance of trade (or net exports, sometimes symbolized as NX) is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports of output in an economy over a certain period. It is the relationship between a nation's imports and exports.

A positive balance is known as a trade surplus if it consists of exporting more than is imported; a negative balance is referred to as a trade deficit or, informally, a trade gap. The balance of trade is sometimes divided into a goods and a services balance.

Early understanding of the functioning of balance of trade informed the economic policies of Early Modern Europe that are grouped under the heading mercantilism. An early statement appeared in Discourse of the Common Weal (благо)of this Realm of England, 1549: "We must always take heed (быть осторожным) that we buy no more from strangers than we sell them, for so should we impoverish ourselves and enrich them." Similarly a systematic and coherent (последовательные) explanation of balance of trade was made public through Thomas Mun's c1630 "England's treasure by forraign trade, or, The balance of our forraign trade is the rule of our treasure"

25. Foreign Exchange

The exchange of one currency for another, or the conversion of one currency into another currency. Foreign exchange also refers to the global market where currencies are traded virtually around-the-clock. The term foreign exchange is usually abbreviated as "forex" and occasionally as "FX."

Foreign exchange transactions encompass (охватывают) everything from the conversion of currencies by a traveler at an airport kiosk to billion-dollar payments made by corporate giants and governments for goods and services purchased overseas. Increasing globalization has led to a massive increase in the number of foreign exchange transactions in recent decades. The global foreign exchange market is by far the largest financial market, with average daily volumes in the trillions of dollars.