Download Mar 8th 2014 | From the print edition - E-SGH

Business this week
Mar 8th 2014 | From the print edition
Synonyms of the words in bold, items 1-3
plunge, stimulate/encourage, lift/raise, point, recover/improve, collect/obtain
1. Global stockmarkets fell sharply
(w odpowiedzi na) Russia’s
intervention in Ukraine, and then rallied as the threat of a full-scale invasion
receded. The rouble tumbled to
(do rekordowo niskiego
poziomu) against the dollar, prompting the Russian central bank to jack up
(stopy procentowe) from 5.5% to 7%. The Russian currency has lost around 10%
of its
(wartości) since the start of the year, leading to fears of an
inflationary spike in the weakened Russian economy.
2. China kept its target for annual GDP growth
(na poziomie) 7.5%. For
much of last year the economy looked as if it might miss that target until a strong
fourth quarter boosted annual GDP to 7.7%. Many economists think the figure will
be harder to reach this year, unless the government
(złagodzi
restrykcje) on lending.
3. Standard Chartered, a bank
(z siedzibą w )London that reaps most
of its income from Asia, reported a
(zysk przed opodatkowaniem)
of $6.1 billion for 2013, which was 11% lower than in 2012 and its first drop in
profit for ten years.
Synonyms of the words in bold, items 4-6
reduce/limit, territory, prepare, conspire/plot, tough/tight, not supported, not impeded or
hindered, manipulate/falsify, disregard/ignore, cancel/abandon,
4. Australia’s government announced that it wants to scrap rules that cap foreign
ownership of Qantas, the country’s biggest airline, at 49%. Tony Abbott, the
prime minister, said the
.
(
przewoźnik) will be freer to compete if it is “unshackled and un-propped up by
government”. Qantas recently reported an underlying loss of A$252m ($224m) for
the half year to December and announced 5,000 job cuts. It has struggled to
compete on its international routes with the new crop of airlines from the
(państw z Zatoki Perskiej), and with Virgin Australia on its home turf.
5. The Bank of England
(zawiesił) a member of staff amid an internal
review into
(zarzuty) that officials at the central bank condoned or
were informed of manipulation
(na rynku walutowym). It
said it had found no evidence so far that any of its employees colluded in
rigging rates, but was suspending a staff member while it investigates whether
“rigorous internal control processes” were followed. Separate investigations have
led to more than 20 traders at several commercial banks being either sacked or
suspended.
6. The Japanese government prepared to draw up plans to regulate Bitcoin and tax
transactions
(dokonywane za pomocą tej waluty) , following
the collapse of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange and various hacking incidents.
Synonyms of the words in bold, items 7-12
a big and safe company, footing/grip, push/boost, existing physically, claimant,
7. A federal judge in Manhattan
(orzekł) that a penalty imposed
against Chevron in Ecuador for polluting local villages had been “obtained by
corrupt means”. The decision gives Chevron ammunition in its long-running legal
battle over allegations that Texaco, which it
(przejął) in 2001,
caused the pollution. The American
.
(gigant przemysłu
naftowego) has been ordered by an Ecuadorean court to pay $9.5 billion. This
week’s
(orzeczenie) found that the order had been secured
through
(łapówkarstwo) and coercion by the plaintiffs’ lawyer
in New York.
8. Vivendi, a French media conglomerate, received two
(oferty) for
SFR, a telecoms operator,
(przed ostatecznym
terminem) it had
(ustalił) for offers. The bids are from Bouygues,
a blue-chip industrial group, and Altice, a cable-TV and mobile-telecoms
company backed by Patrick Drahi, a French-Israeli telecoms entrepreneur. Any
deal would be
(szczegółowo sprawdzony) by Europe’s
(antymonopolowe) regulators, but also by the French government, which has
made it clear it will not tolerate job cuts.
9. RadioShack’s troubles
(pogłębiły się) , when it revealed that its
sales in the last three months of 2013 were down by a fifth compared with the
same period a year earlier. The American electronic-goods retailer is to close
1,100 stores, which still leaves it with around 4,150 bricks-and-mortar
locations. The glory days in the 1980s are long gone. Its share price
(gwałtownie spadła) by 17% after it reported its earnings, leaving it with a market
valuation below $230m.
10. Global
(przesyłki, transport) of personal computers fell by 9.8% in
2013,according to IDC, a market-research firm, the biggest decrease in its
tracking
.
(ankieta). PC
(przesyłki, transport)
were forecast to decline by 6.1% this year.
11. Eurostar, which runs trains through the tunnel connecting Britain and France,
.
(przewiózł) 10m passengers last year for the first time since it
began operating in 1994. Eurostar is
(prosperuje) partly
because of the “demand for services from business travellers, particularly those
based in the UK where the
.
(ożywienie
gospodarcze) has a stronger foothold.”
12. Bill
Gates
reclaimed
his
crown
as
the
world’s
richest
man
(znajdując się na szczycie) the Forbes list for the first time in four years. The
Microsoft founder has a net worth of $76 billion. Carlos Slim, a Mexican telecoms
(potentat), fell to second place with $72 billion. Mark Zuckerberg was the biggest
gainer; his Facebook shares helped propel him to 21st in the ranking, with a net
worth of $28.5 billion.