BUSINESS NEWS 1/3 Who is Carlos Ghosn and why is he in the news? Before listening, suggest words for the gaps in the first part of the news. The first letter is given to you. Then listen and check your ideas. Carlos Ghosn has declared his innocence. On Tuesday, the ousted Nissan c made a first public appearance since his November arrest. He told a Tokyo court he was unfairly detained based on meritless and unsubstantiated accusations and that he had properly reported his c from Nissan. Ghosn, taken in on November 19 has been formally charged with misreporting his i. Since then, he s been rearrested twice on further charges. Nissan quickly shot back at Ghosn s claims. The c said it had uncovered substantial evidence of misconduct after an informant prompted an investigation. But, at a separate news conference, Ghosn s lawyer said the company had agreed to take on his personal foreign e contracts. They also expressed concern over how long he might be held. I m afraid it will take at least another six months until the first trial takes place. The case has rattled Nissan s alliance with Renault. Ghosn remains c and CEO at the French a. He d been pushing for a deeper tie-up with Nissan at the French government s urging. The idea had provoked opposition within the Japanese f. Which are the biggest automakers in your country? Find words in the first part of the news that mean the following. 1 the person who is in charge of an organization 2 the money received by an employee from an employer as a salary or wages 3 money received, especially on a regular basis, for work or through investments 4 commitment to buy or sell a specified amount of foreign currency on a fixed date and rate of exchange 5 the head of a company s board of directors 6 company Which tech giants are doing well and which are not doing so well? Rearrange the letters in brackets to make words for the gaps in the next part of the news. Then listen and check your ideas. Samsung unveiled its latest gadgets this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But it seems to have joined Apple in the ranks of troubled tech giants. On Tuesday, it warned (fitpros) would be down almost 30 percent in the latest quarter. The Korean (irfm) says a slide in demand for chips is to blame. It also warned that profits would remain weak in the coming months. New smartphones due to be released in the second half of 2019, its earliest hope for an (turupn). Samsung is the world s biggest
BUSINESS NEWS 2/3 (akemr) of smartphones and semiconductors. The drop in profits comes a week after Apple made the rare move of cutting its (ningears) forecasts and the two stories are likely related. Samsung is a big (liesuppr) to its US rival. Both firms also face similar challenges. (Dmnd) in China, the biggest market for smartphones, shows signs of going soft. Competition from Chinese (brnds) including Huawei is also on the rise. Then there is concern over the impact of the US-China (trd) war. It s all a negative for (nvstrs). Samsung shares down by almost a quarter last year. On Tuesday, the (stck) was off a fresh 1.7 percent. What was the last gadget you bought? Rearrange the letters to make the words defined. They were all in the story above. 1 earnings in trade or business after paying the costs of producing and selling goods and services 2 a period of three months regarded as one fourth of a year, used especially in reference to financial transactions 3 company 4 an increase in something such as business or economic activity 5 a company, organization, or country that supplies or sells a product or a service 6 a situation in which countries try to damage each other s trade, typically by the imposition of tariffs or quota restrictions 7 one of the equal parts into which a company s capital is divided What are the US and China currently discussing? Discuss the meaning of the following words and complete the gaps in the next story with the correct form of the words. Then listen and check your ideas. deal losses recession markets output economy trade tariffs monetary output economic shares The bull shifted back into focus on Tuesday as, after Monday s, Europe s shares hit a three-week high on hopes of a breakthrough in US-China talks. The focus of those, Beijing where negotiators left the hotel for a second day of discussions on how US import on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods and reciprocal tariffs by China might be eased. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has predicted that Beijing and Washington can reach a trade they can live with. Nothing is more important for German export oriented than a solution to the trade dispute. If there is a solution, world economic peace is maintained. If there is no solution there will be many more very depressed faces. Though, despite the lift in sentiment, those faces were in evidence on Tuesday as Germany digested yet more negative news on its and the eurozone s largest. After data showing industrial orders slid by a percent in November, more data shows actual dropped by 1.9 percent. The
BUSINESS NEWS 3/3 hope now for that global growth worries spread to the Fed to prompt looser policy. The Federal Reserve has clearly stated that the best is over for the US economy. There is no, but in order to prevent anything close to it I don t see the Fed raising interest rates again in 2019. In the meantime, officials in southern Germany declared a state of emergency on Monday amid heavy snow falls. Analysts say it could put another dent into in an economy suffering not just an chill, but a real one. How do you think the markets will fare in 2019? Which are your favourite British-made cars? Suggest words for the gaps in the final story. Then listen and check your ideas. It s the fastest rate they ve fallen since the global financial. UK car sales dropped 6.8 percent to 2.3 million vehicles in 2018, the biggest dip since nosedived over 11 percent ten years ago. A nearly 30 percent drop in for diesel cars was the most significant factor in the decline. Diesel has been pummeled since the VW emissions of 2015. But the industry has also warned of the existential threat posed by Brexit. The auto employs over 850,000 people in the UK and has been one of the country s few success stories since the 1980s. Britain is due to leave the globe s biggest bloc in just over 80 days with the prime minister s agreement expected to be voted down. That could lead to the imposition of and custom checks, another potential spanner in the works for. Which is the most successful manufacturing industry in your country? Write sentences of your own with five of the words you would like to learn from those you focused on in the first three stories. e.g. The first thing I discuss when going for a new job is the compensation. What does the highlighted expression from the news mean? Demand in China, the biggest market for smartphones shows signs of going soft. There are other expressions with go. What do you think these mean? 1 go off on a tangent 2 go with the flow 3 go out of one s way 4 go through the motions 5 go for broke 6 go (round) in circles Match the expressions to these definitions: be relaxed and accept a situation, rather than trying to alter or control it suddenly start talking about a completely new subject do something without any enthusiasm or commitment make a special and exceptional effort achieve little because you repeatedly deal with the same point or problem risk everything in an all-out effort React to the statements read to you using the expressions above.
BUSINESS NEWS teacher s notes: page 1/2 student pages: 3 level: B1+ week of: 14.01.19 Find words in the first part of the news that mean the following. 1 chief / CEO 2 compensation 3 income 4 foreign exchange contract 5 chairman 6 firm Rearrange the letters to make the words defined. They were all in the story above. 1 profits 2 quarter 3 firm 4 upturn 5 supplier 6 trade war 7 share What does the highlighted expression from the news mean? go soft = not do well Match the expressions to these definitions: 2 be relaxed and accept a situation, rather than trying to alter or control it 1 suddenly start talking about a completely new subject 4 do something without any enthusiasm or commitment 3 make a special and exceptional effort 6 achieve little because you repeatedly deal with the same point or problem 5 risk everything in an all-out effort Complete these sentences with the expressions: 1 haywire 2 through the motions 3 for broke 4 off on a tangent 5 out of his way 6 with the flow React to the statements read to you using the expressions above. Read these statements to the students and ask them to react using the expressions studied: He only has a week left at this job, so he s not working very hard he s just doing the basics. Suggested answer: When you know you re leaving a job, you tend to just go through the motions. He knew it was his last chance to win a trophy, so he put all his effort into it. Suggested answer: So he went for broke. Meetings where I work are too long because people begin talking about things other than the point in question. Suggested answer: I hate it when people go off on a tangent in meetings. John is very kind. He ll do anything he can for you. Suggested answer: I like people who go out of their way to be nice. I used to try to get everyone to agree with what I thought about a situation, but now I just let things happen and don t say anything. Suggested answer: Sometimes it s better just to go with the flow. We ve been discussing the same point for over a month now and we re not getting anywhere. Suggested answer: You need to stop going round in circles and make a decision.
BUSINESS NEWS teacher s notes: page 2/2 Transcript 1 2 3 4 Carlos Ghosn has declared his innocence. On Tuesday, the ousted Nissan chief made a first public appearance since his November arrest. He told a Tokyo court he was unfairly detained based on meritless and unsubstantiated accusations and that he had properly reported his compensation from Nissan. Ghosn, taken in on November 19 has been formally charged with misreporting his income. Since then, he s been rearrested twice on further charges. Nissan quickly shot back at Ghosn s claims. The company said it had uncovered substantial evidence of misconduct after an Samsung unveiled its latest gadgets this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But it seems to have joined Apple in the ranks of troubled tech giants. On Tuesday, it warned profits would be down almost 30 percent in the latest quarter. The Korean firm says a slide in demand for chips is to blame. It also warned that profits would remain weak in the coming months. New smartphones due to be released in the second half of 2019, its earliest hope for an upturn. Samsung is the world s biggest maker of smartphones and semiconductors. The drop in profits comes a The bull shifted back into focus on Tuesday as, after Monday s losses, Europe s shares hit a three-week high on hopes of a breakthrough in US-China trade talks. The focus of those, Beijing where negotiators left the hotel for a second day of discussions on how US import tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods and reciprocal tariffs by China might be eased. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has predicted that Beijing and Washington can reach a trade deal they can live with. Nothing is more important for German export oriented shares than a solution to the trade dispute. If there is a solution, world economic peace is maintained. If there is no solution there will be many more very depressed faces. Though, despite the lift in sentiment, those faces were in evidence on It s the fastest rate they ve fallen since the global financial crisis. UK car sales dropped 6.8 percent to 2.3 million vehicles in 2018, the biggest dip since sales nosedived over 11 percent ten years ago. A nearly 30 percent drop in demand for diesel cars was the most significant factor in the decline. Diesel has been pummeled since the VW emissions scandal of 2015. But the industry has also warned of the existential threat posed by Brexit. The informant prompted an investigation. But, at a separate news conference, Ghosn s lawyer said the company had agreed to take on his personal foreign exchange contracts. They also expressed concern over how long he might be held. I m afraid it will take at least another six months until the first trial takes place. The case has rattled Nissan s alliance with Renault. Ghosn remains chairman and CEO at the French automaker. He d been pushing for a deeper tie-up with Nissan at the French government s urging. The idea had provoked opposition within the Japanese firm. week after Apple made the rare move of cutting its earnings forecasts and the two stories are likely related. Samsung is a big supplier to its US rival. Both firms also face similar challenges. Demand in China, the biggest market for smartphones, shows signs of going soft. Competition from Chinese brands including Huawei is also on the rise. Then there is concern over the impact of the US-China trade war. It s all a negative for investors. Samsung shares down by almost a quarter last year. On Tuesday, the stock was off a fresh 1.7 percent. Tuesday as Germany digested yet more negative news on its and the eurozone s largest economy. After data showing industrial orders slid by a percent in November, more data shows actual output dropped by 1.9 percent. The hope now for markets that global growth worries spread to the Fed to prompt looser monetary policy. The Federal Reserve has clearly stated that the best is over for the US economy. There is no recession, but in order to prevent anything close to it I don t see the Fed raising interest rates again in 2019. In the meantime, officials in southern Germany declared a state of emergency on Monday amid heavy snow falls. Analysts say it could put another dent into output in an economy suffering not just an economic chill, but a real one. auto sector employs over 850,000 people in the UK and has been one of the country s few manufacturing success stories since the 1980s. Britain is due to leave the globe s biggest trading bloc in just over 80 days with the prime minister s agreement expected to be voted down. That could lead to the imposition of tariffs and custom checks, another potential spanner in the works for manufacturers.