Unit 1 Finance

1(1) Listening. Listen and practice. Mind the new words.

to borrow	брать в долг, занимать
interest rate	процентная ставка
offshore bank account	банковский счет в оффшорной зоне
to be tax-free	не облагаться налогом
public company	государственная компания
share	акция
shareholder	акционер
financial results	финансовая отчетность
tax year	налоговый период
annual report	ежегодный отчет
profit and loss account	счет прибыли и убытков (доходов и расходов)
turnover	оборот
to be obliged by law	быть обязанным по закону

Companies and individuals often borrow money, and it is important to find a favorable interest rate. Rates are variable, and can rise or fall depending on the market. Many investors, (people who use their money to earn more money), choose foreign or offshore bank accounts because they are tax-free. Anyone can buy shares in a public company and become a shareholder. All public companies in the UK are obliged by law to publish their financial results at the end of the tax year. They do this in their annual report to shareholders. Annual reports include profit and loss accounts which show turnover, or the total sum of money, which is coming into the company.

2. How much do you know about money? Answer the questions.

1. Why do public companies publish annual reports?

2. Who uses information in a profit and loss account?

3. Do the directors or shareholders own the company?

3. Look at the five lists of numbers and choose a term from the box that describes each one.

cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers, fractions, decimal numbers, percentages

1. __________0, 10, 15, 20 …………………

2. __________1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th………………..

3. __________ ½, ¼ ¾ ……………………..

4. __________0.25, 0.50, 0.75………………

5. __________9%, 25%, 75%.......................

4. Saying numerals. Look at the written forms of the dates, times, money and dimensions. Can you say them? Listen and repeat the numerals.

1.	24.10.2001 24.11.1975 1.3.1960 27.5.2010 5.6.1961
2.	7.05 p.m. 3.45 4.15 9.35 12.30 3.55
3.	£ 100 $101 1,000 yen €1,101 £5000 $1,000,000 €1,000,000,000
4.	10 cm 1,000 kg 100 cm^2 5.8 km 15 m 4 g

5(2). Listening. Listen and repeat the numerals above.

6. Say the numerals.

$105,673, 29.12.2011, 11.20 p.m., 7.9 km, €1,594, 17.06.2003, 5.45 a.m., £45,592, 56cm²

7(3). Listening.

Cardinal numbers

7.1. In 1999 a minimum wage was set in Britain. Workers were happy, but the employees were not. Why is this?

7.2. Listen and complete the paragraph.

In 1999 the minimum wage was set at £________ an hour for adults and £__________ for young workers aged between eighteen and twenty-one. Employers wanted the minimum wage to be £___________ but workers wanted it set at £_____________.

7.3. Is there a minimum wage in Russia? Do you think government should set a minimum wage?

8(4). Listening.

Ordinal numbers

8.1. Look at the chart. It shows the world ranking of the cost of living in 13 European cities. Listen and complete the gaps in the chart.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES IN THE WORLD
City	This year	Last year
a	5	3
Zurich	6	3
b	7	6
Geneva	8	5
c	10	28
Stockholm	13	8
Copenhagen	14	8
Vienna	14	8
Dusseldorf	d	14
Lyon	e	15
Amsterdam	24	21
Helsinki	24	23
f	26	26

9(5). Listening.

Decimals

9.1 Look at the bar chart showing annual holidays in eight different countries. Listen and complete the missing figures at the end of the bars.

10(6). Listening.

Percentages

10.1 Listen to two people discussing their weekly expenditure on different things and complete the table.

	Matthew (male)	Robyn (female)	Average British person (from the survey pie chart)
Food and drink			22%
Housing		not given	16%
Transport			15.2%
Household goods and services			14%
Leisure goods and services			16%
Tobacco		0%	2%

10.2 Compare the percentages in the table with yours. Tell about your own weekly expenditure.

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

A Bank

A bank is a financial institution licensed by a government. It provides financial services to customers enriching its investors.

Banks act as payment agents. They conduct checking or current accounts for customers, pay cheques drawn by customers of the bank, and collect cheques deposited to customers' current accounts.

Banks borrow money when they accept funds deposited on current accounts or accept term deposits. They also issue debt securities such as banknotes and bonds.

Banks lend money by making advances to customers, or installment loans. They invest in marketable debt securities and other forms of money lending.

Banks provide almost all payment services.

The principal types of banks in the modern industrial world are commercial banks and central banks. Commercial banks accept deposits from the general public and make loans to individuals and businesses and sometimes to governments. Central banks, in contrast, deal mainly with their national governments, with commercial banks, and with each other. Central banks issue paper currency and are responsible for regulating commercial banks and national money stocks. Central banks operate for the public welfare and not for maximum profit.

There are institutions which are also called banks but they don’t perform all banking functions. They are classified as financial intermediaries. Such institutions include finance companies, savings banks, trust companies, insurance companies and so on.