Unit 8» Financial Markets and Investments

1. Read the extract from the article from the CNN Money website and complete it with the expressions listed.

curb              highs              spurred              flat equity              market

soared              import              tariffs              pickup              jump

regained              rallied              fueledslow-growth

Steel’s Red-Hot Resurgence

Steel stocks have ...

New York (CNN/Money) — Steel stocks have... (2) some luster in recent months as the economic rebound has spurred demand for steel and investors have bet the ... (3) that took effect Friday would help the industry.

The question for investors now is, do the stocks have much room to rise further or is the party over for this typically ... (4) sector?

“We think some of these stocks are attract ive. Steel prices are rising and a number of these stocks have made a strong move in a ... (5), but some of them are starting to look a little pricey,” said Wayne Atwell, analyst with Morgan Stanley.

The rally in steel stocks in part reflects an increase in the price of steel, due to the ... (6) in the economy even before the tariffs took hold. The stocks of major U.S. producers of hot-rolled sheets of steel, used for car and appliance manufacturing, have ... (7) from their post Sept. 11 lows.

In January, hot-rolled sheet cost about $ 210 a ton, but now prices are reaching $ 330-to-$ 350 a ton, near the... (8) hit in late 1997 and into 1998, according to Mark Parr, industry analyst with McDonald Investments.

A combination of strong car sales ... (9) by incentives from auto companies, reduced supply due to mills going dark, and talk of the coming tariffs ... (10) the recent price increase, Parr added.

“In advance of the tariffs, the mills were in the market indicating [the tariffs] were coming and encouraging buyers to get orders in,” he said. “The tariffs were higher than some investors expected and reinforced the price ...(11).”

The Bush administration announced the tariffs last month, saying the duties ranging from 8 to 30 percent would help ... (12) cheaper steel from flooding the US market, allowing a key domestic industry time to get back on its feet.

2. After filling in the gaps read the extract once more and decide which of the statements are True and which are False and write T for True and F for False.

1. Demand for steel has increased due to the economic recovery.
2. Investors are sure that stocks have much room to rise further.
3. Steel stocks depend on the increase in the price of steel.
4. In 1997 the price of hot-rolled sheet was $ 210 a ton.
5. The Bush administration hoped that the tariffs would prevent the flooding of the US market with expensive steel.

3. Give English equivalents and makeup your own sentences:

• наиболее популярные акции, имеющие высокий курс;
• размещение акций;
• переходить в другие руки;
• рынок с понижательной тенденцией;
• повышение цен/курсов на рынке.

4. Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1. The staggering number of steel companies seeking bankruptcy protection since 1997 is a sign of the industry’s plight in recent years.
2. The stocks of all three companies are currently trading under a dollar.
3. Reflecting improved prospects for some of the companies, Morgan Stanley upgraded US Steel recently to an “overweight” position from “equal-weight” due to “tightness in the market and our expectation for higher prices.”
4. The 2003 price-to-earnings ratios for the large steel companies, except Steel Dynamics, are at a premium to the ratios following the last steel high in late 1997.
5. Since steel is a slow-growth industry, steel stocks typically trade at a discount to the Samp;P 500, which is trading at about 23 times earnings for 2003, according to First Call.

5. Render the extract from the article using the active vocabulary.

По данным Института международного финансирования, этого влиятельного клуба ведущих мировых финансовых учреждений, в 2001 г. портфельные капиталы уходили из развивающихся экономик.

Айра Миллстейн, опытный юрист, возглавляющий консультационную группу Мирового банка по частному сектору, считает, что любое решение должно принимать во внимание очевидный факт — капитал склонен перетекать в те государства и те компании, которые демонстрируют ответственное отношение к проблемам корпоративного управления. После 1997-1998 гг. его призыв находит все больше и больше внимательных слушателей.

Однако недавнее решение калифорнийского пенсионного фонда Calpers, который решил продать все свои таиландские, филиппинские, малазийские, индонезийские акции в связи с проблемами корпоративного управления, в том числе низкими стандартами на рынке труда и отсутствием гражданских свобод, заставило развивающийся мир задуматься о том, как именно он должен себя вести. Можно ли это назвать социально ответственным выбором инвестиций? Или это пример того, что некоторые эксперты в области корпоративного управления называют «немым капиталом»?