UNIT VII. WALL STREET
Assignment 1
Read the text. Translate it (orally). Make use of the Notes and the Vocabulary.
TEXT
WALL STREET
Wall Street itself is the street in Lower Manhattan, New York City which has been the location of some of the chief financial institutions of the United States.
The street is narrow and short and extends only about seven blocks from Broadway to the East River. It takes its name from the town wall built in 1653 across Manhattan Island to protect the Dutch colonists of New Amsterdam from both the Native American Indians and the English.
Even before the American Civil War the street was recognized as the financial capital of the nation. That is why symbolically «Wall Street» means the financial centre of the United States (just as the «City» of London is the financial centre of the United Kingdom) because of the concentration of business institutions in the area.
The Wall Street, or financial, district contains the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, investment banks, government and municipal securities dealer trust companies, the Federal Reserve Bank, insurance corporations, and the International Cotton, Coffee, Sugar, Cocoa, and Commodity Exchanges. The district is the headquarters of many of the country's stock-broker-age firms.
Wall Street is a worldwide symbol of high finance and investment and, as such, has entered modem mythology. To 19th-century populists, Wall Street was a symbol of the rapacious robber barons who exploited farmers and labourers. In prosperous times Wall Street has symbolized the route to quick riches. After the devastating stock market crash of 1929. Wall Street seemed the bastion of financial manipulators able to destabilize national economies.
The New York Stock Exchange, NYSE, is a voluntary association of about 1300 members who trade in securities (stocks and bonds) either on their own account or as brokers for others. The Exchange, sometimes called «the nation's market places, was founded on May 17, 1792, when Alexander Hamilton, the first US Secretary of the Treasury, decided to issue government bonds to consolidate and refund the debts incurred during the War of American Independence; a «market place» for the selling and buying of these bonds became necessary.
Membership of the NYSE was nude saleable in 1868. The price of membership has varied considerably over the years: in 1929, just before the Wall Street Crash put an end to the stock-market speculation which had characterized the 1920s, the price reached the enormous sum of $625,000. In 1942, during a recession, it fell to $17,000.
Originally a «call market», in which the President of the Exchange «called off» the name of each stock and brokers made their bids to buy or their offers to sell, in 1871 the NYSE became an «auction market» in which stocks are sold to the highest bidder continuously throughout the day.
The Exchange deals only in «listed» stocks, i.e. stocks which are on the official trading list of the Exchange. In order to be listed, a company must have at least 2,000 stockholders, with at least 1 million shares distributed among them, and an annual turnover of at least $2.5 million. In 1998, there were more than 2,500 listed stocks.
A feature of the New York Stock Exchange is the Dow Jones Average, statistics which shows the average price of stocks and bonds traded on the Exchange. (The UK equivalent is the «Financial Times Stock Exchange 100-Share Index».) Computed every trading hour of every business day by Doe Jones & Co., a financial publishing company, the Average shows the average price of the stocks of 30 industrial firms, 20 transportation firms, and 15 utility (service) companies. Movement of the Average is expressed in points and is widely regarded — by investors, financiers, and governments — as an indicator of the health of the US economy.
Notes and Commentary
Lower Manhattan — часть острова Манхэттен и района Нью-Йорка с
гем же названием; район всемирно знаменит благодаря таким известным
/лицам и достопримечательностям как Бродвей, Тайме Сквер, Эмпайр
Стейт Билдинг, музей Метрополитен, Колумбийский университет, и др.
New Amsterdam — к 1626 году голландские купцы, приехавшие в
Америку, расселились на берегах реки Гудзон и назвали свою колонию
Новыми Нидерландами, а главный город — Новым Амстердамом; спустя девять лет англичане захватили эту территорию и переименовали город в Нью-Йорк
the American Civil War — Гражданская война между Севером и Югом
США (1861-1865)
the New York Stock Exchange — Нью-Йоркская фондовая биржа
the American Stock Exchange — Американская фондовая биржа
the Federal Reserve Bank — Федеральный (государственный) Резервный
Банк
the New York Commodity Exchange — Нью-Йоркская товарная биржа
US Secretary of the Treasury — министр финансов США
the War of American Independence — Война за независимость США
(1776-1781) под руководством Джорджа Вашингтона
the Dow Jones Average — индекс Доу Джонса
the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100-Share Index — индекс ста акций Лондонской фондовой биржи, публикуемый газетой Файнэншл Тайме
Vocabulary
financial institution финансовое учреждение; финансовая организация
investment bank инвестиционный банк
securities (n) (often in pl) ценные бумаги
dealer (n) дилер
trust company трастовая компания
insurance corporation страховая корпорация
commodity exchange товарная биржа
stock-brokerage firm брокерская фирма
investment (n) инвестиции
riches (n, pl) богатства; ценности
stock market crash крах фондового рынка
national economy экономика страны
stock (n) акции (как часть капитала компании); доля
во владении компанией
bond (n) облигация
broker (n) брокер
to refund debts возмещать (погашать) долги
to incur debts влезть в долги
recession (n) спад (производства)
bid (n) предложение; ставка
«listed» stock «зарегистрированные» акции (акции компаний, внесенных в реестр фондовой биржи)
stockholder (n) акционер
turnover (n) оборот
statistics (n, pl статистика; статистические данные
treated as sing)
point (n) пункт
Text analysis
Assignment 2
Find the Russian equivalents of the following.
The headquarters of the country's stock-brokerage firms; to make saleable;
the devastating stock market crash of 1929; the financial capital of the nation; to
make one's bid to buy; a worldwide symbol of high finance; government and mu-
nicipal securities dealers; a «market place» for selling and buying bonds.
Assignment 3
Look through the above text again. Suggest the English for the phrases below.
Рассматривать как показатель здоровой экономики; спекуляции на фондовом рынке; выпускать государственные облигации; значительно
изменяться с годами; ежегодный оборот; дестабилизировать экономику
страны; важнейшие финансовые учреждения (институты); средняя цена
акций и облигаций.
Assignment 4
On a separate sheet of paper, translate from English into Russian Paragraphs 8, 9 and 10 of the text beginning with the words «Originally a 'call market'...» and ending with the words «...the health of the US economy». When translating, please keep in mind the norms of the Russian language.
Assignment 5
Fill in the correct word or phrase from the 1st below. Use the words or phrases only once.
Average; War; bank; trading; stocks; commodity; trust; financial; robber.
1) a ______________ exchange
2) ______________ manipulators
3) the Dow Jones ______________
4) the ______________ of American Independence
5) a ______________ baron
6) an investment _____________
7) a ______________ company
8) every ______________ hour
9) the average price of the ______________
Assignment 6
Fill in the correct preposition.
1) _______ one9 own account
2) to put an end _______ something
3) to trade _______ the Exchange
4) to deal _______ «listed» stocks
5) the route _______ quick riches
6) to be _______ the official trading list
7) to trade _______ securities
8) to distribute shares _______ stockholders
9) to express the movement of the index _______ points
Assignment 7
Determine which of the following statements are true and which are false. Put T or F in the empty boxes. Rewrite false statements to make them true.
Since many financial institutions are situated in Wall Street, the street itself is very broad. |
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The Dow Jones Average is only of great importance to the New York Stock Exchange: it has nothing to do with world economies. |
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If a company is not on the official trading list of the Exchange, its stocks are not bought or sold by the brokers. |
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The foundation of the New York Stock Exchange goes back to the 18th century when the US government needed a special place to sell and buy bonds. |
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Wall Street is a financial district. |
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Assignment 8
Look through the text again. Find the words and word combinations to describe the Dow Jones Average and its importance. Write these phrases in the space below.
The Dow Jones Average
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Assignment 9
Supply answers to the following questions about the text (in written form).
1. Where does the name of the street come from?
2. What is situated in Wall Street?
3. When did Wall Street begin gaining popularity?
4. How did it happen that at the end of the 1930s Wall Street played a leading part in destabilizing national economies?
Assignment 10
From the text, select those facts and ideas concerning the history and organization of the New York Stock Exchange (in written form).
Assignment 11
Say what the text is about. Comment on the content of the text (orally).
Assignment 12
Present the general idea of the text in five-six sentences. Do it in written form.
GRAMMAR REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT
Assignment 13
Review the Grammar material «The Infinitive. The Complex Object».
The main patterns of the Complex Object are those presented in the sentences
below. Study the patterns. Make sure you are familiar with all of them and you
know how to translate the sentences from English into Russian.
I want my broker to buy 2,000 shares of that oil company.
Mrs Thatcher once said she wanted Britain to make a return to Victorian values.
He wished those books to be returned tonight.
I would like your company to be listed at the stock exchange.
She expects them to sign the agreement.
I suppose (think, consider) Peter to be a good economist.
The boss ordered the required documents to be ready in the morning.
She saw him enter the door of the rival financial institution.
He hasn't heard anyone call his name.
Ann watched him loose his temper.
Joel was eager to let the world know that he had created a new blend of coffee.
My mother made me fill in the application form.