Vocabulary

to cut a deal = to make a deal

floor-based stock exchange – традиционная фондовая биржа ( в отличие от электронной); all-electronic stock exchange – полностью компьютеризированная фондовая биржа

to spin off a unit (of a company) – отпочковать, выделить подразделение компании в самостоятельное предприятие; a spin-off – отпочковывание подразделения компании

seat – “место” на бирже: членство на фондовой или срочной бирже, дающее право совершать сделки; места свободно продаются и покупаются; seat-holder – член биржи; seat price – цена места на бирже

public offering – публичное предложение инвесторам новых ценных бумаг; выпуск ценных бумаг для широкой публики

derivatives – дериваты ( деривативы) : производные ценные бумаги : свопы (swaps), опционы (options), фьючерсы (futures)

pay packet = compensation packet – компенсационный пакет (зарплата плюс бонусы)

Exercises

1. Answer the questions:

1. Why will April 20 be remembered as an important date in the history of the NYSE?

2. What brought about the event?

3. How has the reputation of the Big Board been tarnished recently?

4. How is Mr. Thein going to escape any potential conflict of interest at the exchange?

5. Will the consolidation ensure an immediate synergy effect? Why?

6. What can stymie the deal?

7. How will the new status of the NYSE affect its relationship with Wall Street firms?

8. What could serve as proof of the merger success?

2. Write down synonyms to the following that you know or write them out of a dictionary:

to dwindle, chief executive, to unveil, shareholder, consolidation, competitor, trader, to slide, hurdle, to call into question, to resist, to manage, to boot out, to fail.

3. Make up word combinations with the following and translate them into Russian:

deal, market share, reputation, conflict, public.

NYSE Сhief Expands To-Do List

By Edgar Ortega

New York: John Thain said Thursday that he planned to remain at the helm of NYSE Group to oversee(осуществлять надзор) the merger with the Paris-based Euronext and an expansion in U.S. derivatives trading that may include another acquisition.

“He thinks that he has to stay in his position to make sure that the whole Euronext deal is integrated(чтобы сделка оказалось успешной) and that we deliver,” Thain said during an interview this week. “If you look at the mix of our business, I’d like the derivatives piece to be bigger because derivatives are both growing faster and have better margines.”

Thain gave himself three to five years to run the New York Stock Exchange, the world’s largest equity market, when (Since) he became chief executive after leaving his job as president of Goldman Sachs in 2004. Since then, he has turned the 214-year-old NYSE into a publicly traded company, overhauled its trading systems and engineered the $12.4 billion takeover of Euronext to create the first trans-Atlantic equity exchange.

Thain, 51, said that he now planned to stick around to deliver on the company’s forecast for (He promised) a three-fold increase in profit to $938 million in 2008. His to-do list includes increasing the NYSE’s stake in National Stock Exchange of India. NYSE Euronext also may invest in Chinese exchanges once the government restrictions are eased, perhaps as soon as next year, he said.

“There is no deadline here; there is no reason why I can’t stay longer,” Thain said. “I still think that making the changes we needed to make will take the better half of five years, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t stay longer than that.”

NYSE Euronext will own stock exchanges in New York, Chicago, Lisbon, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, handl(es)ing more than $100 billion in trades each trading session. It also will own the big European futures market, Euronext.Liffe. Last month, the NYSE reached an agreement with the Tokyo Stock Exchange that could lead to the markets making investments in each other.

“We still have a global vision and we’re two-thirds of the way through that,” Thain said. “We still need the Asian pieces.”

NYSE Group shareholders have supported the strategy (because) The stock is up 30 percent

since its debut a year ago to $83.40. Shares of the Nasdaq index have fallen 27 percent in the same period. During Thain’s tenure, the value of NYSE membership surged four-fold.

The NYSE competitors in derivatives trading are growing through acquisitions. Derivatives are financial instruments derived from stocks, bonds, loans, currencies and commodities, or linked to specific events like changes in the weather or interest rates.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world’s biggest futures market, plans to gain shareholder approval next month for its $8.9 billion purchase of the Chicago Board of Trade. The New York Mercantile Exchange will develop new contracts to trade in Canada after buying 10 percent of the Montreal exchange.

“Finaly I don’t think you will see us do another big deal at least for a year because we have to make sure we have the Euronext deal done,” Thain said.

Notes

1. to-do list – a list of what to do

2. Euronext – Europe’s leading cross-border exchange, making international trading cheaper and easier

3. the derivatives piece – the share of derivatives

4. the better half of five years – больше половины пятилетнего срока

5. the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) – Нью-Йоркская товарная биржа (НИМЕКС)

Assignment: make up a summary of the text in Russian

Don’t just read the news, understand it

Unit 5

Operations with Securities