Is a questionnaire answered by 500 people truly representative of the population as a whole? This is an isolated case and should not be seen as representative.

retail employee – noun - a shop worker: it is estimated that there is an assault on a retail employee during every minute of every day.

secretary – noun - a person who works in an office, working for another person, dealing with letters and telephone calls, typing, keeping records, arranging meetings with people, etc:

a legal/medical secretary Please contact my secretary to make an appointment.

shoplifters – noun - people who steal goods from shops: Shoplifters make up 62% of this total

shoot – noun – continue.

special – noun - a price for a particular product in a shop/store or restaurant that is lower than usual:

There’s a special on garden products this week. Brazilian coffee is on special.

strategic planning – noun - the activity of analysing the progress of a company or an organization and deciding what it must do in order to be successful in the future:

We use strategic planning to set long-term goals and short-term agendas. the director of strategic planning

time limit – noun - the length of time within which you must do or complete:

We have to set a time limit for the work. We don’t want to put a time limit on the agreement.

to manage – verb - to control or be in charge of a business, an organization, a team of people, a project, etc. :

I have been managing 3 companies in the UK with around 200 employees. How many people do you manage? The firm manages $3 billion in investments. We need people who are good at managing. She manages IBM’s e-business consulting division. He manages artists from around the world The bond is managed by Merrill Lynch

training – noun - the process of learning the skills that you need to do a job:

New employees do a month’s intensive training before starting. He had no formal training in design. You will receive in-house training throughout your first year. A training and development budget Training on cultural differences can help successful negotiation.

Unit 3

bear market – noun - a period during which people are selling shares, etc. rather than buying, because they expect the prices to fall

boom – noun - a sudden increase in trade and economic activity; a period of wealth and success:

a boom in sales The sales boom is attributed to low unemployment and low interest rates. the Internet boom of the 1990s a boom year (for trade, exports, etc.)

bull market – noun - a long period during which the prices of shares, etc. are rising and people are buying them:

We’ve been in a 25-year bull market. (figurative) It’s a bull market for talent._

collapsed - verb - to fail suddenly or completely:

Talks between management and unions have collapsed. Investors lost their money when the company collapsed.

crash - noun - a sudden serious fall in the price or value of sth; the occasion when a business, etc. fails:

a crash in share prices the dot-com crash The crash in the property market left millions of people with huge debt.

decline - noun - a process or period of becoming weaker, smaller or less good:

The country suffered a sharp decline in exports. She has failed to reverse the company’s decline. The rate of decline is now slowing. The currency has been in decline since the 1980s. An increase in cars has resulted in the decline of public transport. The company reported a 14% decline in sales.

decrease - verb - to become or make sth become smaller in size, number, etc:

Profits decreased by 9.4%, from €1.17 million to 1.05 million. People’s savings have decreased in value. Decreasing costs.

dip - verb - to go down in value or level, especially by a small amount or for a short period of time:

Sales of furniture have started to dip. Profits dipped slightly to $5.4 million from $5.7 million. The share price dipped 4.5%. Inflation could dip below the 2% level. There are fears that the economy could dip back into recession.

dividend - noun - an amount of the profits that a company pays to shareholders:

The company will pay a dividend of 10 cents a share. The board declared (= announced) a quarterly dividend of $0.125. Dividends are taxed at the standard rate of income tax. They increased the dividend payout for the year from 7¢ to 9¢. The insurer has proposed a dividend cut of nearly 40 per cent. The company is holding its dividend at 14.6¢.

Dow Jones - noun - a company in the US that publishes measures (indexes) of the share prices of important companies. Its most famous measure is the Dow Jones Industrial Average:

the Dow Jones Stoxx Index of shares in European companies Dow Jones Averages™

EMU - abbr - European Monetary Union ./an arrangement by which countries in Europe use similar economic policies and a single currency (the euro); the group of countries who use the euro:

EMU entry/membership Wages are lower than the EMU average.

exchange rate - noun - the relation in value between one currency and another:

The current exchange rate is 50 rupees to the euro. the rupee/euro exchange rate The euro has a high exchange rate against the yen. movements/fluctuations in the exchange rate We need a competitive exchange rate (= attractive to buy) to get the economy growing. The peso was pegged to the US dollar at a one-to-one exchange rate.

expansion - noun - an act of increasing or making sth increase in size, amount or value:

There was little expansion in business investment last year. a period of rapid economic expansion The company has announced plans for a major expansion of its retail business. the producer’s expansion into overseas markets We undertook an aggressive expansion programme in Eastern Europe. The manufacturing sector saw a 14 per cent expansion last year.

fall - verb - to decrease in amount, value or level:

Orders for new products have continued to fall. Their profits fell (by) nearly 30 per cent. The company’s shares fell sharply on Tuesday. a period of falling prices Our market share has fallen to its lowest level ever. The index could fall below 10 000.

FTSE-100 - noun - an average of the share prices of the 100 largest companies traded on the London Stock Exchange:

The FTSE 100 Index fell 11 points to 3567. FTSE 100 companies/stocks

growth - noun - an increase in the size, amount or degree of sth:

Sales showed 0.3 per cent growth in the first quarter. rapid growth in consumer spending Online travel is the company’s biggest growth area (= a part of the business where sales are growing fast). Internet companies are on a steep growth curve.

increase - verb - to become or to make sth greater in amount, number, value, etc:

Revenues increased 4.5 per cent to ¥3 537 billion. The rate of inflation increased by 2%. Oil has increased in price. concerns over increasing unemployment We need to increase productivity. They’ve increased the price by 50%.

invested - noun - the amount of money invested in a business by its owners or shareholders

Nikkei - noun - a measure of the share prices of the 225 most important companies that are traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

peak - noun - a period of time when the level, value or rate of sth is at its highest; the best or most successful point:

Inflation is believed to have reached its peak. She’s at the peak of her career.

plunge - verb - to decrease suddenly and quickly:

Share prices have plunged in recent months.

prediction - noun - a statement that says what you think will happen; the act of making such a statement:

The sales figures confirmed our predictions. Not many people agree with the government’s prediction that the economy will improve.

recession - noun - a difficult period in the economy of a country or group of countries, when there is less trade and industrial activity than usual and more people are unemployed.

recover - verb - to improve and begin to return to a normal position or level after a period of difficulty:

The market is recovering from its 20-year low. She made two big mistakes and her business has never recovered. Technology stocks recovered strongly on Wednesday. Inflation is likely to edge higher as the economy recovers.

rise - noun - an increase in an amount, a number or a level:

The industry is feeling the effects of recent price rises. There has been a 10% rise in sales. Credit-card use is on the rise. Operating profits have shown a rise of 3%.

slump - noun - a sudden fall in sales, prices, etc:

a sharp slump in share prices The sales slump continues to hit retail stores. Economists have detected signs of a slump in consumer confidence.

soar - verb - if the value, amount or level of sth soars, it rises very quickly:

Unemployment has soared to 18%. Share prices soared. Smaller companies are unable to pay soaring insurance premiums. The price of a barrel of crude oil soared to$30.

spot rate - noun - the rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another currency at the present time rather than at a future date

stabilize - verb - to become, or to make sth become, steady and unlikely to change:

Demand seems to be stabilizing after the fall. government measures to stabilize prices The peace treaty will have a stabilizing influence on oil prices.

sterling - noun - the money system of the UK, based on the pound:

the value of sterling We accept payment in US dollars or in pounds sterling.

stock market - noun - the business of buying and selling shares in companies and the place where this happens; a stock exchange:

The company was floatedon the stock market (= its shares were sold to the public) in 2004. to invest in the stock market It is the only company of its type to be listed on the stock market. Pension funds have been hit hard by falling stock markets. US investors suffered big losses in the stock market slump.

yen - noun - the unit of money in Japan:

a net loss of 110 million yen

Unit 4

advertising campaign – noun – a siries of advertisement.

advertising executive – noun – a person with an important job in the advertising business.

although - conjunction - despite the fact that:

She walked home by herself, although she knew that it was dangerous.He decided to go, although I begged him not to.

blue collar workers – noun - people who work with their hands

caring - adjective - describes someone who is kind and gives emotional support to others: