The eurozone was thrown into renewed crisis this month as EU leaders struggled to agree on new stability measures.
As reported by the Guardian, “A world recession has drawn closer after the G20 summit failed to agree to fresh financial help for distressed countries and debt-ridden Italy was forced to agree to IMF monitoring of its austerity program.”
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This is the second of a two-part Business English Pod series on idioms related to money.
Many of our day-to-day business transactions involve money, so it’s common to hear money idioms used frequently in business discussions. We use them to talk about handling money and to describe situations with lots of money or no money at all. But we also use them to talk about situations that have nothing to do with money – such as evaluating ideas or speculating on their impact.
In the last episode, we met Kevin and Leah, two employees at a cosmetics company. They’re planning a promotional campaign on a small budget. So they’re brainstorming ideas that will spark customer interest at a reasonable cost.
Now, they’re thinking of ways to show that their company’s cosmetics line is good value for money-conscious consumers.
Listening Questions
1. What idea does Kevin suggest at the beginning of the dialog?
2. What are two things the company will have to do if it accepts Kevin’s idea?
3. What are Leah’s concerns about the idea?
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This is the first of a two-part Business English Pod series on idioms related to money.
It’s difficult to imagine business without money. After all, making money is the main goal of many businesses. Profits often determine a company’s success. And companies must spend money, and budget carefully, to reach their business goals. So, it’s not surprising money idioms are featured regularly in business conversations.
We’ll be covering many of these idioms today. Take note of them as you hear the dialog, but don’t worry if you don’t understand them the first time around. They’ll all be explained in the debrief and you’ll have a chance to practice them at the end.
We’ll be listening to Kevin and Leah, two colleagues at a mid-sized cosmetics company. Cosmetics is the industry name for make-up – products used to enhance a person’s appearance, such as mascara or eye shadow. They are discussing promotional plans for the coming year while working on a tight budget, so there isn’t much money to spend. Kevin and Leah don’t agree on the best way to spend the money and must find a compromise.
Listening Questions
1. What promotional plan does Kevin suggest?
2. Does Leah agree with this idea? Why or why not?
3. What does Kevin think the company needs to show?
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For the final lesson in our two-part business English vocabulary series on financial English vocabulary related to bankruptcy, we’re going to look at General Motor’s impending Chapter 11 filing. A bankruptcy filing by GM would rank as the third-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
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Today, we’re beginning a two-part Video Vocab series on Business English vocabulary related to bankruptcy. This lesson will focus on financial English vocabulary related to the two most common types of bankruptcy in U.S. law: Chapter 11 and Chapter 7.
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