The Joint Stock Company

By Tod Fallen

The most important form of 1) b__siness organization in the UK is the joint stock company. Basically, it consists of an 2) a__sociation of people who contribute 3) to___ards a joint stock of capital for the 4) p_rpose of 5) ca__rying on business with a view to profit. A company may be defined as a legal person created to engage in business, capable of 6) o__ning productive assets, of entering into contracts, and of 7) emplo__ing labor in the same way as an individual.

There are two 1) ______ of Joint Stock Company, the private company and the public company. In 1986 there were some 860 000 joint stock companies in the UK, of which about 6000 were public 2) _______. The public companies are much 3) ________ units and account for about two-thirds of all the capital 4) ________ by companies. In general, private com­panies are small 5) _______, often consisting of the 6) _______ of one family. Both public and 7) ______ companies must have at least 2 members.

A public company must 1) (to have, have) a mini­mum allotted share capital of 50 000 pounds (sterling) of which at least one-quarter 2) (has pay, has been paid up). A private company must include the word “limited" in its name while a public company must have the words “public limit­ed company” at the end of its name although this can be 3) (abbreviating, abbreviated) to plc. The basic distinction between a private and a public company 4) (are, is) that a public company can offer its shares and debentures for sale to the general public. In the case of a private company it 5) (been, would be) a criminal offence 6) (asking, to ask) the public to subscribe to its shares. All com­panies must file annually, with the Registrar of Companies details of their turnover, profits, assets, liabilities and other relevant financial information about their structures and activities.

Текст 2

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From The Washington Post

08.09.2005

Money

By Rodney Brooks

Bank-notes and 1) __oins are not the most important form of money in developed 2) econom__es. In the UK about 90%, by 3) val__e, of all 4) transac__ions are settled by means of cheques. The money so 5) transfe__ed consists of bank 6) d__posits. If there is no money in the form of a bank deposit then any cheques drawn on that 7) a_count will be worthless.

1) _____ were used as early as the second half of the seventeenth century, but they did not come into general use 2) ______ the second half of the nineteenth century. The Bank Charter Act of 1844 put strict 3) _______ on the note issue at a time when the output of goods and 4) ________ was expand­ing rapidly. The need for an 5) _______ of the money 6) _______ to keep pace with 7) ______ output greatly stimulated the use of bank deposits.

This most 1) (developed, developing) form of money (i.e. bank deposit) consists of entries in the banks' ledgers, or more likely nowadays, of records on computer tapes. The greater part, in value terms, of the payments made each day 2) (is carried, are carried) out by adjustment made to the totals in different bank deposits. A payment from one person to another merely 3) (requires, is required) that the banker reduces the amount in one deposit and increases it in another. Transferring money, therefore, 4) (has become, becomes) little 5) (more, bigger) than a kind of bookkeeping exercise; the money itself 6) (does not consist, was not consist) of some physical tangible commodity.

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From The Times

15.10.2007