VIP Class Notes (JJ)

Vocabulary

back stabber: 捅别人刀子的人

pause: 暂停

Reading

(一)Judge whether the following statements are true or false. Write “T” for True, and “F” for false.
1. Creditors prefer low interest rates. T
2. Dumping is typical of an open market. T
3. Market leaders often have a competitive advantage. T
4. Memorable brand names are often long and complicated. F
5. During a recession people buy more and sales figures go up. T
6. Many public sector enterprises have a monopoly in the market. T
7. Own label products sell at higher prices than branded products. F
8. Deregulation can increase the range of options for management. T
9. A well-established brand name can give a company a competitive edge. T
10. Most governments like to try to prevent any increase in inward investment. T
11. If a company pursues a policy of empowerment, customers are given power. T
12. If a company’s profits are good, they don’t need to worry about their competitor. F
13. If the bank lends money to a company, the bank is one of the company’s debtors. T
14. The diversification of a brand name can be a failure if it weakens the brand’s core values. T
15. The purpose of developing a brand image is to enable consumers to identify with a product. T
16. A company only needs to sell a few of a high-priced product for it to be a best-seller. F
17. A flight of capital is a sign that a government’s economic policies are popular with business. T
18. Some governments give subsidies to sectors of the economy which are threatened by overseas competition. T
19. If an industry dumps its products abroad it can cause problems for the same industry in the receiving country. T
20. If a government announces that it well be increasing investment in its country’s transport infrastructure, most business will be pleased. T

(二)Cloze
Decide which of the words given in the box below would best complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks. The words can be used ONCE ONLY.

a. Variable b. fixed c. creditors d. debtors e. medium
f. short g. assets h. liabilities i. investment j. commercial
k. intervals L. peridos m. institutional n. individual o. equity
p. debt q. bankrupt r. safer s. flows t. raise
u. original v. mutual w. higher x. lower

Companies finance most of their activities by way of internally generated cash__flows__. If they need to_raise_ more money to expand their operations they can either issue new shares-selling them to their existing owners or on the stock market (_equity_finance) -or borrow money (debt finance), usually by issuing bonds. Companies generally use a(n)_investment__bank to issue their bonds, and to find buyers, which are often_investors like insurance companies, _mutual__funds and pension funds.
Bondholders get back their _original_ investment (or ‘coupon’) on a fixed maturity date, and receive interest payments (the ‘coupon’) at regular _intervals__(six-monthly or annually) until then. Most bonds have _fixed_ interest rates.
For investors, bonds are generally __lower___ than stocks or shares, because if an insolvent or_bankrupt_company sells its_assets_, bondholders are among the _creditors_ who might get some of their money back. On the other hand, in the _short_ or long term, shares generally pay a _higher_  return than bonds.