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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.