Материал: 2425

Russian-British projects secure large investments in Russian economy

Today Economy Minister Andrei Shapovalyants said large-scale joint energy projects with such British companies as British Petroleum, Dana Petroleum and British Gas may bring up to $3 billion of direct investments into Russian economy. Besides, Russian and British parties implement various projects in telecommunication and food processing industry. British companies invested total of $2.64 billion into Russian economy.

27.Read the following list of the words and find the odd one. a) banks; insurance; shipbuilding; financial;

b) intelligence; markets; international; exchange; c) services; applicant, currency; officers; business.

28.Talk to your partner about British investments in Russian economy.

29.Work with a partner. Discuss the Russian-British relationships. Prove your ideas. Think about their economic situations, political views, beliefs, hopes, memories and regrets.

Economic Issues

30. Study the word combinations, translate them and try to remember.

31. We are living in hard times. What do you think the greatest threats to the world economy are?

188

32.Which of these do you consider to be the key global issues? Are there others that you believe to be even more important? What do you think their economic implications might be?

33.Which countries or geographic areas do you think will have the most direct or indirect impact on the global economy over the next five to ten years? Can you justify your view?

34.Compare your views with your partner and those expressed in the article, The Death of Economics.

The Death of Economics

The world economy is falling apart. And no one has a clue what’s going wrong – least of all the economists.

Whereas in the past, supply and demand had a way of evening themselves out, we now swing from hyperinflation to soaring unemployment as slump follows boom. The once predictable business cycles which drive the market economy have gone out of control. The economic statistics issued by governments seem more unreliable than ever. And, for the first time, politicians have started talking about ‘the death of economics’.

Speculative Greed

A major cause of the crisis has been the business sector’s ruthless pursuit of capital. It was largely corrupt property speculators and poorly managed financial institutions that caused the collapse of the Japanese economy in the 90s and the subsequent ‘Asian meltdown’. The dotcom boom at the beginning of the 21st century was also motivated by short-term speculative greed. More money actually changes hands in four and a half days on the global currency markets than is exchanged annually through trade in merchandise and services. Business, it seems, is a very slow way to make money. The fastest way to make money is money.

Merger-mania

Two decades of bigger and bigger mergers and acquisitions have compounded the problem. In 1997 alone $ 1.6 trillion were spent on M&As. For the board members and shareholders of the companies concerned, there were huge windfall profits to be made, but for the companies themselves it was not always good news. Not was it good news for the thousands laid off as a result of bringing ex-competitors together. In the new globalised economy, the need to grow at all costs has also led compa-

189

nies like Enron and WorldCom to become increasingly creative in their accounting methods. In some companies has become common practice.

Different Worlds

But the real long-term crisis is the widening gap between rich and poor. Thirty per cent of the world’s population represents ninety per cent of the world’s GDP, whilst the other seventy per cent have to survive on the remaining ten per cent. The income ratio between the richest and poorest countries went from 30:1 in 1960 to 74:1 in 1997 – and it’s getting worse. So it isn’t trade deficits, post-communist chaos or the global arms build-up that pose the greatest threat to the world economy. Nor is it political instability in Africa and the Middle East, international terrorism or the Latin American debt crisis. It is the emergence throughout both the developed and developing world of a vast and permanent underclass of seriously poor.

Cheap Labour from the East

In some cities in Central and Eastern Europe, unemployment is running as high as eighty per cent. Wages have fallen so far behind escalating inflation that immigration controls in the West have had to be tightened to prevent an influx of workers from the East. But, of course, this hasn’t stopped some Western companies exploiting cheap labour in both Eastern Europe and South-East Asia, and putting their own employees out of work.

The Working Poor

In the USA, where unemployment benefit is cut after six months and staying out of work is not an option, they are creating jobs at the cost of decreased incomes. For in many of the inner cities of the USA they have something approaching a Third World economy. According to the latest figures, 12.7% of Americans currently live below the poverty-line. The problem is not so much unemployment as under-employment, with millions of people in low-paid, dead-end, so-called ‘McJobs’ that have zero prospects.

Corporate Rule

The result of all this is that corporations now exercise an unprecedented influence on the global economy and the distribution of wealth, as the world’s governments, powerless to regulate them, become increasingly irrelevant. Near-monopolies like Microsoft are hard to fight and in industries like telecoms, the top ten companies control eighty-six per cent of the market. In fact, half the world’s richest institutions are not countries but companies. No wonder then that both countries and companies try to con-

190

ceal the real figures. As the famous saying goes, ‘It’s often easier to be economical with the truth than truthful about the economy’.

35.Which of the following topics does the article discuss?

1) the boom-bust economy;

2) political extremism;

3) the money markets;

4) social inequality;

5) retraining the unemployed;

6) corporate fraud;

7) the black economy;

8) government cover-ups.

36.What are your personal reaction to the article?

I totally agree that … .

I think the point about … is probably true.

I don’t agree with the point about … at all.

I already knew … , but I didn’t realise … .

I’m not sure I can believe … .

What shocks me most is … .

37. Find the words and expressions in the article which mean:

1)no one has any idea (Introduction);

2)a period when the economy is weak (paragraph 1);

3)a period when the economy is strong (paragraph 1);

4)sudden and complete economic failure (two words) (paragraph 2);

5)is exchanged (paragraph 2);

6)made things worse (paragraph 3);

7)large amounts of money you get unexpectedly (paragraph 3);

8)rising rapidly (paragraph 5);

9)to be made stricter (paragraph 5);

10)the arrival a large number of people (paragraph 5);

11)never having happened before (paragraph 7);

12)it’s not surprising (paragraph 7).

191

38. Without referring to the text, complete the following notes on the article using the pairs of words in the boxes.

profits + employees institutions + collapse boom + greed

hyperinflation + unemployment markets + money

supply + demand debts + acquisitions increase + acquisitions

1.In the past … and … used to even themselves out.

2.We now swing from … to soaring … .

3.Poorly managed financial … caused the … of the Japanese economy.

4.The dotcom … was motivated by short-term … .

5.The currency … are where the real … is made.

6.The … in the number of mergers and … has compounded the problem.

7.Shareholders made huge … but thousands of … were laid off.

8.Many companies now hide … to finance … .

unemployment + inflation population + GDP

jobs + poverty threat + underclass power + institutions truth + economy crisis + gap controls + influx

1.The real … is the widening … between rich and poor.

2.Seventy per cent of the world’s … has to survive on just ten per cent of its … .

3.The greatest … to the world economy is a new … of seriously poor.

4.… is running high and wages have fallen behind … .

5.Immigration … have been tightened to prevent an … of workers from the East.

6.In the USA many have low-paid, dead-end … and live below the … - line.

192