UNIT 6: MONEY

STARTING UP
How much cash do you have with you at the momcm?
a) know exactly
2 you normally check:
a) my change
3 Do you:
c) give away used ilems such as clothes?
4 How do you feel about borrowing money? Do you tend to:
a) always manage to stay in credit and save regularly?
5 Some people try not to pay the correct amount of tax. Is this:
a) a serious crime
6 If you lene! a colleague a small amount of money and they forget to pay it back,
do you:
b) remind them that they owe me money?

VOCABULARY
A.
1 2 3 4 5 6
shares recession Equity Stock forecast debt
stake market

B.
1 2 3 4 5 6
B C E A F D

C.
And now the business news ...
There was a further downturn in the economy this month as the . .
RECESSION. . . . . . . ' in the United States and Asia-Pacific region continues.
Yesterday was another day of heavy
trading on the . . . STOCK MARKET. . . . . . . .' . with big losses in share values.
The ...........FORCAST.........' for the near future is not good. as market confidence
remains low.
Paradise Lane. the struggling luxury hotel group is seeking new . . .....INVESTEMENT
...... .' to try and avoid . . . . . . . ........BANKRUPCY..... . . . .'. Following the
announcement of disastrous interim results. It currently has a . . . . . .DEBT .............. . . .
. .' of nearly $5 billion. There are rumours of rivals G H N taking a large.............EQUITY
STAKE. . . . . . . . . . . .' in the troubled hotel group.
Phoenix Media announced a 15% increase in ..........PRE-TAX PROFITS...........
on an . . . . . . . .ANNUAL TURNOVER . . . . of $4.5 million.
Added to the strong performance in the last quarter. this is likely to result in an
increased . . . . .....DIVIDED....... . . . . . . ." of over 14 cents per share. well up on last
year. which will certainly please shareholders·. Following a rise in sales in the emerging
markets of ...
* the people who own shares in a business
E.
Asia-Pacific region, share values, market confidence, luxury hotel group, interim results,
strong performance, emerging markets

LISTENING
A.
1. investment solutions
2. capital
3. level of return
4. design the strategy
B.
1. government
2. company
3. rate of inflation
4. stock
5. share
6. commercial
7. commodities
8. agriculture
9. hedge
10. absolute return

C.
He doesn’t mention HEDGE FUNDS.

READING 1: AN INSPIRATION STORY

Activity 1: Discussion
Do you know this man? What is special about him?
Nick Vujicic is an Australian preacher and motivational speaker. He was born with out
arms or legs and he faced obstacles in life. Nick overcome life’s challenges and
discovered key principles turn obstacles into opportunities; he has become one of the
most influential speakers in the world!  Millions of people have found hope, purpose
and the strength to overcome their challenges through Nick’s inspirational speeches
and powerful coaching.

Activity 2: Useful Vocabulary

Word / Part of Definition and Example

Phrase Speec
 h
involving a lot of excited movement or activity:
L1
After weeks of frenetic activity, the job was finally finished.
frenetic
There was frenetic trading on the Stock Exchange yesterday.

to spoil something or make it weaker so that it is

less effective:

impair A recurring knee injury may have impaired

L7 his chances of winning the tournament.

- to grow, develop, and become successful:

thrive
thrive on sth Some employees thrive on the challenge of
on st
intense workloads.

an area of knowledge or experience:
L10
When
the conversation turns to politics he's on familiar ground (=
he knows a lot about this subject).
Ground
Once we'd found some common ground (= things we
both knew about) we got along very well together.

(of machines) very powerful:
high- L12 a high-powered motorbike
powere
a high-powered computer
d

noisy activity:

hurly- L18 We got tired of the hurly-burly of city life, so we moved to

burly the country.

to make a serious or formal request, especially to the public,

appeal
for money, information, or help:
L19
The police areappealing to the public for any information about
the missing girl.
 agreements to buy and sell particular shares, goods, etc. on
a particular date in the future at a fixed price. Futures can
L22 be traded on financial markets:
futures corn/gold/oil futures Oil futures topped $88 a barrel for the
first time.

the quality or state of
being likely to change suddenly, especially by becoming wor
Volatilit L31 se:
y the volatility of the political situation

Activity 3:
Find idiomatic expressions in the article heading which mean:
1. Someone who does a lot of complicated business transactions  wheeler-dealer
2. A young person who is very skilled or successful at something whizz-kid

Activity 4:
Read the following article:

Kieran Prior: Goldman Sachs’s whizz-kid wheeler dealer

From the Sunday Times
Working on the noisy, frenetic trading desk at Goldman Sachs's London offices on
Fleet Street earlier this decade, Kieran Prior and John Yeatts, two bright and ambitions
twenty somethings from very different worlds, became close friends.

Although Prior, then 23, was just a year older than Yeatts when they met, he enjoyed
giving practical advice, teasing the American about his Saturday-night dates. Yeatts
returned the favour. When traders ordered lunch delivered to their desks,Yeatts cut up
Prior's food and fed him one small bite at a time. Prior was born with a rare condition
that affects his movement and impairs his speech. He cannot get out of his wheelchair
unaided, and has never been able to walk.
Yet despite these physical limitations, Prior is thriving on Goldman's trading desk -
possibly the most demanding and competitive testing ground in finance - winning the
admiration of colleagues while gaining experience, confidence and responsibility.

It's not easy managing investments of any size for the high-powered trading machine
that supplies much of the earnings of Wall Street’s most profitable firm. It is
extraordinary that Prior is able to do so with such physical limitations.

Gary Williams, the former head of European equity trading, who hired Prior nearly eight
years ago, has enormous respect for his determination. ‘He is an exceptionally smart,
perceptive guy who has purposefully risen to - and overcome - so many challenges.’
said Williams. ‘The noise and hurly-burly of the trading floor make trading more difficult
for someone in Kieran's position, but the challenge actually appeals to him.’

Intellectually, Prior, now 29, has few limits. Since joining Goldman as a financial
analyst in the equity division in 2000, Prior - whose IQ score of 238 puts him in the top
1% of the world's population - has risen from performing basic research analysis and
trading Euro Stoxx futures to running a $50m (£25m) group of European equities and
derivatives.

Prior joined Goldman just four days after he graduated from university. Early on, he
caught the attention of John Thornton, Goldman’s then- president, as Thornton was
walking across the trading floor. Thornton stopped for a brief chat - and was amazed.

‘I couldn’t help but be impressed,’ said Thornton. ‘First of all, Kieran’s sheer, raw talent
is impressive, and when you add to that the determination he shows getting through the
day in a place like Goldman Sachs, which is so demanding, it is just breathtaking.’

Prior is free to invest in almost any business sector, but recently narrowed his focus to
just 20 companies because of the extreme volatility in the markets. ‘I joined Goldman in
a bear market; he said, ‘but these markets are the most difficult I‘ve ever seen, so I'm
just using this period of volatility to learn as much as I can.’
Activity 5:
Complete the profile

Name Kieran Prior

29
Age

Finacial Analyst
Job

Duties Running a group of European equities and derivatives

Goldman Sachs
Company

London
Work location

238
IQ

Determined, smart, perceptive, likes challenges

Personality/ Strengths

Current area of Focusing on 20 companies

specialization

Activity 6:
What is your reaction to Kieran’s story?

Activity 7:
Find words in bold in the text that mean the following.
1. a financial market in which prices are falling bear market
2. people who deal in shares and bonds traders
3. someone who carefully examines the financial state of a company financial analyst
4. sudden and quick change volatility
5. the area of a financial market where a particular company does business trading
desk
6. the capital that a company has from shares rather than from loans equities
7. the careful examination of the performance of companies and stocks research
analysis
8. the part of the economy made up by companies business sector
9. the profit that a company makes in a particular period of time earnings
10. things such as options or futures based on underlying assets such as shares, bonds
and currencies derivatives

Activity 8: Read and decide whether the following statements are true (T), false
(F) or not given (NG).
1. Kieran Prior and John Yeatts are both from London.
2. Although Prior was physically challenged, he won the admiration of his colleagues
and boss by his talent.
3. According to Gary Williams, Prior is a man who loves the challenge of the trading
floor.
4. Prior can only work in some fields of business despite his gift.
5. Prior is well-known for his IQ score.
6. Prior said that he got a lot of experience from the bear markets.

Activity 9: Comprehension Questions

1. How old are Kieran Prior and John Yeatts?
2. What is Goldman’s trading desk like?
3. Why does Goldman’s trading desk attract him?
4. In what field of the market can he work?
5. What did Mr. Thorn think of him when they first met?
6. Why did he narrow his scope of specialisation?

Activity 10: Pronoun Reference

What does the underlined pronoun refer to?
1. Prior was born with a rare condition that affects his movement…”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………...
2. “ but these markets are the most difficult I’ve ever seen…”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Activity 11: Word Form

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the word.
1. ambition
Luke is ………….. and does not want to be a sales assistant in his life. In fact, he hopes
to get a promotion and become Assistant Manager very soon.
2. amazement
The Board of Directors was ………….. at the candidate’s knowledge of South
American cultures
3. analyze
The CEO gave a brief …………… of the present economic situation that influenced the
company performance.
4. limit
There was a …………… imposed on the volume of goods we were able to ship as the
tax situation was burdensome.
5. profit
When you are running a business at the end of the day, the main thing that matters is
how much  …………… you were able to make.

Activity 12: Words in Phrases

Find words in the article to complete the following phrases and write them in the
blanks.
Paragraph 1
1. Working ……on….. the noisy, frenetic trading desk
Paragraph 2
2. Prior was born ……in…….. a rare condition
Paragraph 3
3. Prior is thriving …………. Goldman’s trading desk
Paragraph 4
4. It’s not easy managing investments ………… any sizes
Paragraph 5
5. Gary Williams has enormous respect …………… his determination

Activity 13: Focusing on Words

Fill in each blank in the paragraphs below with ONE suitable word. When you
finish, turn back to the article and check your answers.

Yet despite these physical limitations, Prior is thriving on Goldman's (1) ……………
desk possibly the most demanding and competitive testing ground in finance - winning
the admiration of colleagues while (2) …………… experience, confidence and
responsibility.

It's not easy managing investments of any size for the (3) …………… trading machine
that supplies much of the earnings of Wall Street's most profitable firm. It is
extraordinary that Prior is able to do so with such physical (4) ……………

Gary Williams, the former head of European (5) …………… trading, who hired Prior
nearly eight years ago, has enormous respect for his determination .'He is an
exceptionally smart, perceptive guy who has purposefully risen to - and overcome - so
many challenges.' said Williams. 'The noise and (6) …………… of the trading floor
make trading more difficult for someone in Kieran's position, but the challenge actually
(7) …………… to him.'

Intellectually, Prior, now 29, has few limits. Since joining Goldman as a financial analyst
in the equity (8) …………… in 2000, Prior - whose IQ score of 238 puts him in the top I
% of the world's population - has risen from performing basic research analysis and
trading Euro Stoxx (9) …………… to running a $50m (£25m) group of European
equities and (10) …………….
Activity 14: Discussion
Talk about a person who has affected your life. List his/her characteristics that you like.
LANGUAGE REVIEW
Task A
1 Decline, drop, fall, decrease
2 double
3 fluctuate
4 gain, increase, rise, improve
5 Halve
6 level off
7 pak
8 plummet
9 recover
10 rocket, jump
11 triple
Task B
a decline, a gain, a drop, an increase, a plummet, a doubling, a fail,
a halving, a leveling off, a tripling, a recovery, a decrease, a
fluctuation, an improvement, a peak, a rise, a jump
Task C
1. from…to
2. by
3. of
4.at
5. of
6. of
Task D
Sales rose from just under €5 million last year to €7 million this year, There has been an
increase in sales of €2 million.
Sales reached a low point of €1 million in April. Sales reached a peak of €7 million in
July.