Part 2. Vocabulary Practice

Business: Shares and the Stock Market

Company shares are listed or quoted on the stock market or stock exchange. (Bourse is also used, usually to refer to a European stock exchange.) Shares are also called stock or equities.

Traders, dealers and brokers buy and sell shares on behalf of shareholders, the investors who invest in them or make investments in them.

Blue chip shares or stocks or blue chips are the safest share investments in leading companies.

Despite the nervousness in shares, dealers feel the British Telecom offer will be a success.

The Righties saw an unprecedented rise in the number of healthcare companies listed on the world's stock exchanges.

Equities surged higher, enjoying their biggest rise since the end of October.

Investors were once again subjected to another volatile day.

Pensioners have challenged the fund's investments, which they claim are 'unorthodox'.

It may not be wise to invest all your eggs in one basket.

Individual investors account for 42 per cent of brokers' revenue.

City traders are still worried by the economic situation.

Christmas week is notorious for company announcements and shareholders' meetings that can no longer be put off.

Dealers reported some demand for blue-chip stocks, especially those quoted in New York. Glaxo rose 18p to 795p, Reuters 21p to 964p, ICI 7p to £11.26, Rothmans International 22р to £10.21.

Other things traded in financial centres such as Wall Street (in New York) and the City (the financial district of London) include commodities (like cereals and precious metals), currencies (like dollars, pounds and francs) on the foreign exchange markets and bonds (investment certificates with a fixed rate of interest).

Bonds issued by the British government are known as gilt-edged stocks or gilt-edged securities, or gilts.

Panic selling across the Atlantic came hours after the City had shut down for the weekend just as in 1987, when the hurricane that swept Britain sent traders home before the Wall Street collapse.

After oil and corn, sugar must rank as one of the most political of all commodities.

The near-panic conditions on the foreign exchange markets on Friday have made restoring calm over currencies a priority.

The bond market, initially cautious, has now reacted enthusiastically.

The government, which repaid £18 billion in 1989, will ask institutions for a similar sum in 1992 to fund its deficit with gilt-edged stocks.

Someone who plays the stockmarket is usually a private individual who tries to make money by buying and selling shares, often as much for amusement as for serious investment.

Speculators are people who make a living and sometimes become rich by speculating in shares, currencies and commodities.

Speculation, especially in currencies, often gets a bad press.

The reclusive woman built up her fortune by cannily playing the stock market with cash she had inherited from her father.

As far as savings, she has none. Instead Chris speculated in the financial markets, but it hasn't gone well.

The recent sterling crisis has shown that our economy — and therefore the fate or our nation — is not controlled by governments but by a handful of rich currency speculators.

The two dealers tried to make up for their losses by doubling their investment in further
speculation, which the bank now says was unauthorized.