A Personal finance Traditional banking ‘I’m Elizabeth I have an account at the local branch of one of the big banks I have a current account which I use to write cheques, make bill payments, and so on It’s a joint account with my husband Normally, we’re in the black, but sometimes we spend more money than there is in the account and we go into the red and have an overdraft We have an overdraft facility – an agreement with the bank to be in this situation as long as the overdraft stays within a certain amount There are charges that are taken from the account if we go overdrawn And of course we pay interest (see Unit 32) on the overdraft The interest rate is quite high Note 35 BrE: current account, cheque account AmE: checking account BrE: cheque; AmE check ‘I also have a deposit account or savings account for keeping money for the longer term This account pays us interest but not very much, especially after tax! ‘We have a credit card with the same bank too, plus other cards with other credit card companies Paying with plastic is very convenient But we pay off the total amounts we’ve spent every month, so we don’t pay interest on these, luckily ‘We also have a mortgage – a loan to buy a house This is with a type of bank called a building society Luckily, we were not affected by the credit crunch, when banks were much more hesitant to lend than before, or negative equity, when house prices fell and left some buyers owing more on their mortgage than their house was worth.’ B Internet banking ‘In the old days, there was always a queue when I went to my bank, but now they offer internet banking Through my computer at home, I can check my account balances – the amount I have in each account – and transactions – money going in and coming out I can even apply for a personal loan online If there’s a problem, I can always phone the bank’s call centre (see Unit 24).’ C Personal investing Note ‘We have some unit trusts – shares in investment companies that put BrE: unit trusts money from small investors like me into a range of companies One AmE: mutual funds type of unit trust here in the UK is in the form of an ISA – an individual savings account – but there are many other financial products available for savers ‘My husband and I have life insurance which would pay out if either of us dies This is just one of the insurance policies that we have ‘I pay contributions into a private pension, which will give me a regular income for my retirement when I stop working (see Unit 7) I’ve never joined a company pension scheme and the government state pension is very small! ‘I’m lucky: I recently received a windfall, an unexpected one-off increase in the value of my pension fund, when my pension company was demutualized (see Unit 12) ‘Some financial institutions now offer all these financial products.’ 78 Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate Exercises 35.1 Look at A opposite and say if these statements are true or false 35.2 You talk about the local ‘agency’ of a bank Americans refer to current accounts as cheque accounts A joint account is held by more than one person If you put €10,000 into a new account and spend €11,000, you are overdrawn by €1,000 An account for saving money is called a safe account An account that pays a lot of interest has a high interest rate Lisa is looking at her bank’s internet site Look at B opposite What does she click on if she wants to the following? ONLINE BANKING My account (a) See account balances and statements (b) See credit card statements (c) Check out our rates – highest of any major bank (d) Apply for our new low-interest credit card (e) Borrow up to £25,000 Apply online Immediate approval (f) Read our list of fees and charges 35.3 see what rate of interest she is getting on her savings account see if she is in the red on her current account see how much she owes on her existing credit card obtain a new credit card understand why she has been charged for something she thought was free apply for a personal loan Read the article and answer the questions relating to expressions from A, B and C opposite COMPLAINTS ABOUT FINANCIAL PRODUCTS REACH RECORD LEVELS Complaints about financial products and services leapt by 30 per cent last year to hit a record, underlining growing dissatisfaction with banks and insurers The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) said the sharp rise was fuelled by “sudden surges” in complaints about unauthorized overdraft charges and loan payment protection insurance (PPI), driven largely by media and internet campaigns The FOS said that during the year, it referred 123,089 new cases for more detailed dispute-resolution work A spokesman said it had seen the number of mortgage and banking disputes more than triple, while insurance complaints had doubled There was a tenfold increase in complaints about charges on current accounts, and a sixfold increase in complaints about PPI, which has been heavily criticized amid claims that it is overpriced and is mis-sold to people who would never be able to make a claim Meanwhile, the number of disputes relating to travel and health insurance fell during the period Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the FOS, said: “This time last year we had hoped we were starting to see a downward trend in complaint numbers for the first time But instead, events during the year have led to the service receiving record numbers of new cases.” Which of these financial institutions are mentioned specifically? a) banks b) insurance companies c) building societies Which of these financial products the problems mentioned relate to? a) pensions b) current accounts c) loan payment protection insurance d) life insurance policies Which other financial products are mentioned? For which products has the number of complaints increased? For which ones has it decreased? Over to you • Think of one advantage and one disadvantage of online banking • What is the biggest bank in your country? Is it a national or international bank? Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate 79 36 A Financial centres Financial centres Financial centres are places where there are many banks and other financial institutions The financial centre of London is called the City or the Square Mile, and in New York it is called Wall Street Financial centres bring together investors (see Unit 32) and businesses that need their investment in order to function and develop A speculator is an investor who wants to make a quick profit, rather than one who wants to invest over a longer period of time B Traders in Wall Street Stock markets Note Brokers, dealers and traders buy and sell on behalf of these investors and, in some cases, for themselves or the organizations they work for BrE: financial centre AmE: financial center Note The chief executive of Advanced Computers went through this process: ‘We needed to raise capital (see Unit 32) to develop and expand, so we decided to float the company – in other words to go public ‘Our shares were issued and listed for the first time on a stock market that specializes in small companies ‘Our shares were oversubscribed – there weren’t enough shares for all the investors who wanted them! ‘The shares rose by 10 per cent on their first day The flotation was a big success.’ C BrE: stock (countable) list/quote shares on a stock market flotation initial public offering (IPO) AmE: stock (uncountable) list shares on a stock market Stock markets outside the main English-speaking countries may be referred to as bourses Other financial markets Products that are bought and sold on other financial markets include: commercial paper – short-term lending to businesses (less than a year) bonds – longer-term lending to businesses and the government (over several years) currencies (foreign exchange or forex) – buying and selling the money of particular countries commodities – oil, metals and farm products, for example cereals These are traded directly between dealers over the telephone and computer networks Some commodities are traded in a central building called a commodities exchange Shares, bonds and commercial paper are securities, and the financial institutions that deal in them are securities houses Securities markets are also called capital markets D Derivatives A futures contract is an agreement giving an obligation to sell a fixed amount of a security or commodity at a particular price on a particular future date An options contract is an agreement giving the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a security or commodity at a particular price at a particular future time, or in a period of future time These contracts are derivatives Dealers guess how the price of the related underlying shares – the shares that the derivatives relate to – is going to change in the future, and use derivatives to try to buy them more cheaply than they could otherwise 80 Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate Exercises 36.1 A financial journalist talks about the importance of financial centres Complete the gaps with expressions from A opposite Now that a lot of buying and selling can be done over computer networks, (1) b_ _ _ _ _s and (2) t_ _ _ _ _s not need to be in one place, and (3) s_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _s can make money by dealing over the internet from a computer in their living room In New York, the area around (4) W_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is home to many (5) f_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ i_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _s such as the New York Stock Exchange London is one of Europe’s most important financial (6) c_ _ _ _ _s: over 500 foreign banks have offices in London But more and more of these financial institutions are not actually based in the traditional area of the (7) C_ _ _ or (8) S_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , as it’s often referred to As in New York, they are moving to areas where property is cheaper 36.2 Wall Street Complete the sentences using appropriate forms of expressions from B opposite Use British English A lot of companies that went bankrupt in the crash should never have in the first place All three technology firms have announced plans to more than £900 million through stock market The shares were and we will see other companies in this field coming to the market this year The new law would prohibit oil companies that invest in that country from on US stock markets Around the world, businesses are being judged by according to their ability to earn profits The airline expects to make a small profit next year, its first since it on the bourses (2 possibilities) 36.3 Use expressions from C and D opposite to describe the following a bank that makes companies’ shares available a contract to buy 500 tons of wheat for delivery in three months coffee and copper dollars, euros and yen lending to a company for less than a year lending to a local government authority in the form of ten-year investment certificates shares, bonds, etc but not currencies or commodities the London Metals Exchange the right to buy shares in a company in one month’s time at $1.50 per share Over to you • What is your country’s main financial centre? • What commodities are most commonly traded in your country? Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate 81 37 Trading A Market indexes If there is demand for shares in a company, for example because it is doing well, its share price goes up The overall value of shares traded on a stock market is shown by an index (plural indexes or indices) Here are some of the most important indexes: London: FTSE: the Financial Times Stock Exchange index – pronounced ‘Footsie’ New York: Dow Jones Industrial Average – specializes in shares of long-established companies New York: Nasdaq – specializes in shares of hi-tech companies B Paris: CAC 40 Frankfurt: DAX Tokyo: Nikkei Hong Kong: Hang Seng Shanghai: SSE Market activity: good times … buying and selling of shares a large number being bought and sold big increases in value famous companies that are profitable in good times and bad rising level of prices highest level ever end of the working day started the day 10 increasing by 11 ending the day higher 12 feelings are optimistic 13 to pass the ‘round’ number of … 14 an important level, but one that is not easy to get through Home News Finance Sport Lifestyle Popular Trading1 has been heavy on the New York Stock Exchange, with very high turnover2 of one and a half billion shares changing hands3 We’ve seen some spectacular gains4, especially among blue chips5 The bull market6 seems set to continue, after yesterday’s record high7 at the close8 with prices continuing to rise today, having opened9 at 14,600 and gaining10 121 points to close up11 at 14,721 Sentiment is bullish12: some of the dealers I’ve spoken to expect the Dow to go through the important 15,000 level13 sometime soon, but others see this as a psychological barrier14 that will be difficult to pass C Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct … and bad Home News Finance Sport Lifestyle Popular There was panic selling1 on the New York Stock Exchange today as share prices fell to new five-year lows2 in a massive sell-off3 We’ve seen some very big declines4, with billions of dollars wiped off5 the value of some of America’s bestknown companies, and more than ten per cent of total market capitalization6, closing down 1,095 points7 at 10,072 The bear market8 seems set to continue, with more falls9 in the next few days Dealers are still very bearish10: there is no sign of a rally11 If prices continue to fall, we may be looking at a real stock market collapse12 or crash12, like the ones in 1929 and 1987 Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct 82 Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate selling shares at any price lowest level for five years selling decreases taken off the total value of shares on the market ending the day lower falling level of prices decreases 10 pessimistic 11 prices starting to rise again 12 very serious drop in the value of shares, with very serious consequences Exercises 37.1 Complete the article using information from A opposite Yesterday in Asia, in (1) , the Hang Seng closed 1.6 per cent up at 15657 exactly In Tokyo, the (2) was also up, at 15747.20 In New York last night, the (3) closed 1.8 per cent higher at 10824 exactly, and the hi-tech (4) index was 3.3 per cent up at 3778.32 Turning now to Europe, in early trading in (5) the FTSE 100 is 0.1 per cent down at 6292.80 The French (6) index is also slightly down at 6536.85 The DAX in (7) , however, is 0.1 per cent higher at 6862.85 37.2 Use expressions in B opposite to answer these questions What are shares in companies like IBM, Shell, and Procter & Gamble called? What is the activity of buying and selling of shares on a stock market? How you describe the situation on a day with twice as many shares sold as usual on a particular stock market? How you describe dealers who think shares in general will gain ten per cent in one day? What is the name for a period when the stock market index has gone from 20,000 to 25,000? How you describe dealers who think that prices will fall? How they refer to the idea that 30,000 on a particular stock market index is important but not easy to get through? 37.3 Match the headlines (1–4) containing expressions from C opposite with the graphs (a–d) TECHNOLOGY STOCKS SEE BIG DECLINES a b POINTS $ PER TON 10,000 5,000 IN MORNING TRADE 4,000 7,500 3,000 SHARES CONTINUE THEIR 2,000 NEW-YEAR RALLY 1,000 2,500 12 NOON 1PM COPPER PRICES AT TEN-YEAR HIGH 5,000 PANIC SELLING AS INVESTORS RUSH TO SELL AT ANY PRICE 2PM 3PM 4PM c YEARS AGO 10 YEARS AGO TODAY d POINTS POINTS 10,000 6,000 9,000 5,500 8,000 5,000 7,000 9AM 10AM 11AM 12PM 1PM JANUARY Over to you • Which company would you buy shares in today, and why? • What might start panic selling on the stock market? • What is the difference between a bull market and a bear market? Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate 83 38 A Indicators Finance and economics Finance is: money provided or lent for a particular purpose the management of money by countries, organizations or people the study of money management A company with money problems has financial problems High finance involves very large amounts of money used by governments and large companies A person’s or organization’s finances are the money they have and how it is managed, etc The related adjective is financial Economics is: the study of the way in which money works and how it is used calculations of whether a particular business activity will be profitable or not A profitable activity is economic and an unprofitable one is uneconomic A government with money problems has economic problems Economic indicators (see below) are figures relating to how well a country’s economy – system of money, production, etc – is working B Note Do not confuse ‘economic’ with economical If something is economical, it is cheap to buy, to use or to If not, it is uneconomical You don’t say ‘I’m studying economy’ but ‘I’m studying economics.’ Inflation and unemployment Inflation is rising prices, and the rate at which they are rising is the inflation rate The related adjective is inflationary The unemployed are people without jobs in a particular area, country, etc The level of unemployment is the number of people without a job Unemployed people are out of work, and are also referred to as jobless (adjective) or the jobless, especially by journalists When there are not enough people available to work, there are labour shortages C Trade Note The balance of payments is the difference between the money coming into and going out of a country The trade balance is the difference between payments for imports – goods and services from abroad – and payments for exports – products and services sold abroad When a country exports more than it imports, it has a trade surplus When the Nouns: export, import opposite is the case, it has a trade deficit The amount of this Verbs: export, import surplus or deficit is the trade gap If the trade gap gets bigger, it widens; if it gets smaller, it narrows D Growth and GDP Economic output is the value of goods and services produced in a country or area Gross domestic product or GDP is the value of all the goods and services produced in a particular country GDP per capita is the total output of a particular country divided by the number of people living there The size of an economy is also sometimes measured in terms of gross national product or GNP This also includes payments from abroad, for example from investments Growth is when output in the economy increases The growth rate is the speed at which a country’s economy grows and gets bigger 84 Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate Exercises 38.1 Read the definitions (1–9) and write words from A opposite The first one has been done as an example 38.2 A country’s system of money, work, etc.: economy The study of this subject in schools, universities, etc.: Adjective used to talk about profitable activities: The opposite of 3: Adjective meaning ‘cheap’: The opposite of 5: How money is used, and the study of this: An organization’s money and how it is managed: its Adjective related to 8: An economics reporter is talking about the economic situation in China Complete what she says with expressions from B, C and D opposite ‘China’s economic indicators show that growth is likely to continue at its current level, with a of about per cent per year over the next few years (1) Unemployment is not a problem, with very few people (2) In fact, there are (3) , for example in agriculture As far as the (4) is concerned, China (5) more than it imports, but the (6) will narrow as the cost of its manufactured goods increases China will continue to import more services than it exports, so the (7) in this area will continue to (8) .’ 38.3 Look at D opposite and complete the bar graph and the pie charts using the information The growth rate in China for the first ten years remained stable at around per cent per year After that the economy took off and a period of very fast growth followed, with 10 per cent growth per year, dipping to per cent nine years later Growth then picked up – at 10 per cent per year for the following nine years, but reaching 12 per cent this year Thirty years ago, 75 per cent of GDP in China came from agriculture, 20 per cent from industry and per cent from services At that time, GDP was US$1,000 per person in today’s terms Today, GDP per person is US$5,500, 45 per cent coming from industry, 45 per cent from agriculture and 10 per cent from services China growth rate 12 11 10 % 30 years ago 20 years ago 10 years ago this year China GDP services industry agriculture China GDP 30 years ago China GDP this year Over to you • What is the difference between a trade surplus and a trade deficit? • What is the inflation rate at the moment in your country? Is it rising or falling? • Which three countries currently have the highest GDP? Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate 85 39 A Indicators Going up Journalists in particular use these verbs to describe amounts or figures that are going up B BT SHARES ADVANCE IN ACTIVE TRADING Shares in BT increased in value, and a lot of them were bought and sold TRADE SURPLUS JUMPS TO RECORD LEVEL The value of exports over imports is higher than ever FUEL PRICES SET TO SKYROCKET Prices for fuel are going to rise by a large amount UNEMPLOYMENT LEAPS TO TEN-YEAR HIGH The number of people without work is now higher than it has been for ten years GOOGLE SOARS AS INTERNET GROWTH CONTINUES Shares in Google have increased greatly in value due to continued growth in internet use VW PROFITS UP AS CAR SALES CONTINUE TO SURGE Profits in VW have increased thanks to rapidly rising car sales Going down The verbs here are used to talk about amounts, figures, etc that are going down 1,000 JOBS AXED AS DEFENCE PLANT CLOSES A defence company has told 1,000 factory employees that they are to lose their jobs EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK CUTS RATE IN SURPRISE MOVE The ECB has reduced interest rates when this was not expected SIEMENS EASES ON PROFITS WARNING Siemen’s share price has gone down slightly after they said that profits would be lower than expected 10 SEPTEMBER RETAIL SALES PLUMMET Sales in shops have fallen a long way in September 11 GOVERNMENT SLASHES INCOME TAX TO TEN PER CENT 12 C EURO DIVES TO NEW LOWS The government has reduced income tax by a large amount to 10 per cent The euro is worth less in relation to other currencies than it has ever been Peaks and troughs If a series of figures rises to a level and then stops rising, it levels off or levels out and remains steady or stable, perhaps before going down again If it reaches a peak – its highest level – and then goes down, it peaks at that level If it reaches a trough – its lowest level – and then bottoms out, it stops falling D Boom and bust Demand is the amount of goods and services that people want in a particular period A boom is when there is rising demand, fast economic growth, falling unemployment, etc Stagnation is when the economy is growing slowly, or not at all Stagflation is when there is slow growth, but prices are increasing fast A recession is a period when there is negative growth – a period when the economy is getting smaller because it is producing less A slump is a very bad recession A depression is a very bad slump Boom and bust is a period of growth and rising company profits followed by one with falling growth and losses (See also go bust – Unit 33.) 86 Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate Exercises 39.1 Look at these headlines containing words from A and B opposite and say whether the statements about them are true or false Sales have risen by a small amount ELECTRIC CAR SALES LEAP 39.2 Sterling Plummets As US Dollar Falls Slightly The British pound has fallen a lot in value, but the US dollar has fallen less POLES AIM TO SLASH NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET DEFICIT The Polish government wants to reduce the difference between what it spends and what it receives in taxes Brazilian President Axes Finance Minister The president of Brazil has asked the minister to stay in his job ZIMBABWE INFLATION SKYROCKETS Prices in Zimbabwe have risen sharply ELI LILLY SURGES ON HOPES FOR DRUG APPROVAL EL’s share price has increased because it appears that a new drug it has developed will be approved for use AMB JUMPS 13% ON BID HOPES Shares in AMB have fallen because it may be a takeover target Complete the crossword with expressions from C and D opposite 10 11 Over to you Across the worst economic situation (10) Inflation when it reaches its highest level (5) When a figure goes up to a level and stays there, it (6, 3) 11 When output starts rising from its lowest level, it (7, 3) Down a period when the economy is not healthy (9) worse than down, but not as bad as across (5) If the economy gets smaller, there is growth (8) rising prices without rising growth (11) a very slow economy (10) If inflation doesn’t change, it remains (6) 10 a very positive economic situation (4) • Have banks in your country cut interest rates this year – or have they increased them? • What is the difference between stagnation and stagflation? Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate 87 ... opposite and complete the bar graph and the pie charts using the information The growth rate in China for the first ten years remained stable at around per cent per year After that the economy. .. guess how the price of the related underlying shares – the shares that the derivatives relate to – is going to change in the future, and use derivatives to try to buy them more cheaply than they could... in the economy increases The growth rate is the speed at which a country’s economy grows and gets bigger 84 Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate Exercises 38.1 Read the definitions (1–9) and