- •Рецензенты:
- •Unit 1. Accounting and financial statements
- •1. Match the terms with the definitions.
- •2. T 1 Listen to Sarah Brandston, an accountant in New York, talking about bookkeeping and tax accounting. Then answer the following questions.
- •4. Insert the words in the box in 3 in the gaps in the text. Accounting and financial statements
- •Vocabulary
- •5. Complete the following sentences.
- •6. Answer the following questions.
- •1. Match these terms with the definitions below.
- •2. Discuss the questions.
- •Types of Bank
- •8. Speak on accounting and financial statements. Unit 2. Banking
- •Vocabulary
- •3. Find the words or expressions in the text which mean the following.
- •4. Match the verbs and nouns below to make common collocations from the text.
- •6. Speak on types of bank. Unit 3. Stocks and shares
- •1. Discussion.
- •2. Read the following text and answer the questions.
- •Companies
- •Vocabulary
- •3. Write questions that could produce the following answers.
- •4. Find the words in the text which mean the following.
- •6. Match the following words and definitions.
- •7. There is a logical connection among three of the four words in each of the following groups. Which is the odd one out, and why?
- •8. Speak on companies. Unit 4. Bonds
- •1. In Tom Wolfe's novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Sherman McCoy is a bond dealer in New York. One weekend his six-year-old daughter comes up with a question.
- •2. Can you explain what bonds are - to an adult rather than a six-year-old? If not, listen to Richard Mahoney, a Vice-President with j.P. Morgan and Co. In New York.
- •3. Match the words and phrases.
- •4. Discuss the following questions.
- •5. Read the text below and answer the following questions.
- •Vocabulary
- •6. In each case, which of the three statements is true?
- •7. Match the expressions with the definitions.
- •8. T 3 Listen to Richard Mahoney again, defining three different types of bonds. After listening to the definitions, try to work out:
- •9. Speak on bonds. Unit 5. Futures and derivatives
- •1. Match the words with the definitions.
- •2. Select ten or eleven of the following words that you would expect to find in a text about futures and options.
- •3. Read the text, and see if you find the words you selected. Futures, options and swaps
- •Vocabulary
- •4. Complete the following sentences.
- •5. Find words in the text that are in an obvious sense the opposite of the terms below.
- •7. T 5 Read the following extract from the talk while listening to the second part, and then match up the expressions in italics with the definitions or synonyms below.
- •8. T 6 Listen to the third part of the talk and answer these questions.
- •9. Discuss the questions.
- •Unit 6. Market structure and competition
- •Market leaders, challengers and followers
- •Vocabulary
- •3. Find words in the text which mean the following.
- •4. Match up these words with the definitions below.
- •5. Classify the following markets according to whether you think they are example of the following.
- •6. Speak on market leaders, challengers and followers. Unit 7. Takeovers, mergers and buyouts
- •1. Match up these words with the definitions below.
- •2. You will hear Max Pocock, a director of the international corporation Leica, talking about how it was formed.
- •3. T 8 Listen to the second part of the interview and answer the following questions.
- •4. Read the following text and underline the arguments in favour of leveraged buyouts. Leveraged buyouts
- •Vocabulary
- •7. Speak on leveraged buyouts. Contents
- •Коваль Оксана Ивановна
Market leaders, challengers and followers
1.......................................................................................................
In most markets there is a definite market leader: the firm with the largest market share. This is often the first company to have entered the field, or at least the first to have succeeded in it. The market leader is frequently able to lead other firms in the introduction of new products, in price changes, in the level or intensity of promotions, and so on.
2.......................................................................................................
Market leaders usually want to increase their market share even further, or at least to protect their current market share. One way to do this is to try to find ways to increase the size of the entire market. Contrary to a common belief, wholly dominating a market, or having a monopoly, is seldom an advantage: competitors expand markets and find new uses and users for products, which enriches everyone in the field, but the market leader more than its competitors. A market can also be expanded by stimulating more usage: for example, many households no longer have only one radio or cassette player, but perhaps one in each room, one in the car, plus a minidisc player or a Walkman or two. 3.......................................................................................................
In many markets, there is often also a distinct market challenger, with the second-largest market share. In the car hire business, the challenger actually advertises this fact: for many years Avis used the slogan 'We're number two. We try harder.' Market challengers can either attempt to attack the leader, or to increase their market share by attacking various market followers.
4.......................................................................................................
The majority of companies in any industry are merely market followers which present no threat to the leader. Many market followers concentrate on market segmentation: finding a profitable niche in the market that is not satisfied by other goods or services, and that offers growth potential or gives the company a differential advantage because of its specific competencies.
5.......................................................................................................
A market follower which does not establish its own niche is in a vulnerable position: if its product does not have a 'unique selling proposition' there is no reason for anyone to buy it. In fact, in most established industries, there is only room for two or three major companies: think of soft drinks, soap and washing powders, jeans, sports shoes, and so on. Although small companies are generally flexible, and can quickly respond to market conditions, their narrow range of customers causes problematic fluctuations in turnover and profit. Furthermore, they are vulnerable in a recession when, largely for psychological reasons, distributors, retailers and customers all prefer to buy from big, well-known suppliers.