A Student's Guide To The Language Of Finance - Essential Expressions For Business, Finance, And Banking Students (2023)

A Student’s Guide
to the Language of Finance

Essential Expressions for
Business, Finance, and Banking Students
Steve Hart
A Student’s Guide to the Language of Finance
Steve Hart
A Student’s Guide
to the Language
of Finance
Essential Expressions for Business, Finance,
and Banking Students
Steve Hart
Bath, Somerset, UK
ISBN 978-981-19-4085-9 ISBN 978-981-19-4086-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4086-6
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc.
in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such
names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for
general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and informa-
tion in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither
the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with
respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been
made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps
and institutional affiliations.
Cover credits: Amana Images Inc/Getty images
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore
189721, Singapore
Preface
A common concern for business and finance students whose first language
is not English is their level of reading comprehension. Current resources
for ESL/EFL learners fall under two main categories: dictionaries of busi-
ness terms and practical exercise-based business English workbooks; yet
both types of resources fail to fully explore the language that connects
the formal and technical terms of the subject. It is the idioms and jargon
that occur throughout texts produced by journalists, content writers and
academics of the business world that serve to confuse readers the most.
The challenge in this area has been failing to understand that
learning the academic and subject-specific terminology will not suffi-
ciently improve the readability of financial papers, magazines and business
blogs for international students. These texts are dominated by figurative
language from both business and non-business circles. Without an under-
standing of these expressions, the sentences and the wider passages in
which they occur will be difficult to grasp.
Tutors expect students to read around their subject and keep up to
date with developments in the field. This is typically achieved through
accessing financial texts (e.g. broadsheet newspapers, mainstream papers,
business live feeds, blogs and other reportage). Subject-specific dictio-
naries can help learners define key terms but they fail to include the
vernacular that binds the terminology.
v
vi PREFACE
This problem is perhaps more apparent in finance and business

reporting than other subjects as jargon (idioms, phrasal verbs, collo-
quialisms, neologisms and doublespeak) is heavily relied upon. In some
cases, even context clues and surrounding vocabulary are insufficient for
speakers for whom English is a second language to confidently interpret
the text.
The intention of this book, then, is to unlock the jargon of the busi-
ness and finance world for international students. The book also contains
sections on spoken Business English, key academic terms found in text-
books and journals, and useful expressions to employ when writing an
academic paper. The hundreds of examples occurring throughout the
book will provide the necessary tools to unlock the language of the finan-
cial papers, they will assist in improving essay grades and the quality of
research papers, and they should contribute to effective communication
in the workplace.1
Bath, UK Steve Hart

April 2021
1 Note: Fictional companies and people created by the author to demonstrate usage
appear throughout the book. If there are real companies operating with these names and
real people with these names working in this industry, it is pure coincidence and the
content in no way relates to them or their activities.
Contents
1 Part A: Financial Language—Expressions from the Media 1

Set 1 Financial Language: Expressions from the Media 2
Set 2 3
Set 3 5
Set 4 7
Set 5 8
Set 6 11
Set 7 13
Set 8 14
Set 9 16
Set 10 17
Set 11 20
Set 12 21
Set 13 23
Set 14 24
Set 15 26
Set 16 29
Set 17 30
Set 18 32
Set 19 33
Set 20 34
Set 21 37
Set 22 38
vii
viii CONTENTS
Set 23 40
Set 24 41
Set 25 43
Set 26 45
Set 27 47
Set 28 48
Set 29 50
Set 30 51
Set 31 53
Set 32 55
Set 33 56
Set 34 58
Set 35 59
Set 36 62
Set 37 63
Set 38 65
Set 39 66
Set 40 68
2 Part B: Financial Language—Expressions from Spoken
Exchanges 71
Expressions from Meetings and Interviews 71
Expressions in Informal Conversations 83
3 Part C: Financial Language—Expressions
from the Textbooks 87
4 Part D: Financial Language—Expressions for Written
Assignments 125
Opening Statements 125
Opening Paragraphs 128
Adverbials (Sentence Starters) 130
Literature Review: Summarising Sources 132
Reporting Verb Selection 134
The Language of Mathematics 138
Results: Describing Trends and Outcomes 140
5 Answers 145
Part A 145
Performance Indicator: Sets 1–5 145
CONTENTS ix

Part B 150
Performance Indicator: So Which Term Should I Employ? 150
Works Consulted 151

Index 153
CHAPTER 1
Part A: Financial Language—Expressions

from the Media
The expressions used by journalists, bloggers and content creators in

the financial and business fields can often be difficult to understand and
interpret. Many of the terms employed by these writers are neither tech-
nical nor academic but instead a mix of slang, metaphor and idiom.
Fortunately, the same phrases are used time and again. Use this section
to familiarise yourself with these expressions so they are no longer a
barrier to your learning and understanding. The expressions appear in
groups of nine with definitions and examples provided. A short extract
containing each expression is then presented with questions underneath
to check understanding. Further multiple-choice questions are then posed
at intervals of five sets to reinforce understanding of the terms.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023
S. Hart, A Student’s Guide to the Language of Finance,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4086-6_1
2 S. HART
Set 1 Financial Language:

Expressions from the Media
Above board In a legitimate and honest way. Conducting affairs in a legal

and open fashion.
The first step is to ensure that their financial dealings are all above
board .
Across the board Applying to all; affecting everyone or everything within
the sector or an organisation.
By downgrading the stocks, they could cut forecasts across the board to
reflect current prices.
Add fuel to the fire Cause a (usually already bad) situation to worsen or
to become more intense.
This latest vote of no confidence will only add fuel to the fire.
After the (closing) bell After the stock market has closed.
S&P Dow Jones Indices made the announcement after the bell.
Allay concerns/fears To reduce or lessen someone’s concerns or fears
about something; to put to rest doubts.
The details of the announcement expected later today should allay any
concerns they may have had.
At arm’s length Avoiding close contact; deliberate discouragement.
They insist that the division is operating at arm’s length from the main
company and that they are pursuing different strategies.
At bay To control something and prevent it from being a problem for
you.
For that to happen, Orion has had to keep new entrants at bay.
At odds In conflict or at variance with; in disagreement with someone
over a matter.
It has been reported that parts of the finance sector are at odds over the
level of lobbying currently taking place.
At pains to show Eager and anxious to show something to someone,
often to convince them.
Orion has been at pains to show they have learnt from their mistakes of
2004.
1 PART A: FINANCIAL LANGUAGE—EXPRESSIONS … 3
There has been a healthy rebound across the board for most
economies and the last few days have certainly allayed fears and shown
the slowdown has well and truly passed. A typical example is Orion, a
firm that jumped more than 7.5% after the bell. The performance is in
stark contrast to last year when it was forced to file for court protection
to keep the firm’s creditors at bay.
Another company that has previously been in trouble, IDGm, is now
at pains to show it is taking heed of concerns raised by stakeholders. Its
March figures are certainly at odds with reports in the media, which had
added fuel to the fire that their financial transactions involving agency
staff were not completely above board. A spokesman for the company
reiterated that an internal investigation had put the blame firmly at the
door of one agency, who they are now keeping at arm’s length and will
presumably cut all further dealings with.
SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’
The economic recovery has been widespread. _______

IDGm are listening to their shareholders. _______
Orion’s shares were up 7.5% at the start of trading. _______
Media reports had suggested that IDGm’s agency dealings were poten-
tially fraudulent. _______
IDGm’s March figures support the reports in the media. _______
Set 2
At the helm In charge of an organisation. In command and directing.
During his eight years at the helm of the European Central Bank,
Michael garnered a reputation for getting his way.
At the mercy of Helpless to outside events or to the power of someone
else. Defenceless and vulnerable to something.
France’s debt is certainly worrying and puts the country at the mercy of
the financial markets.
Back out Withdraw from a commitment; decide not to do something.
Pawnbrokers ELM has suspended shares as lenders back out .
Backfire To have an opposite, undesired or unexpected effect to what was
expected or supposed to happen.
4 S. HART
Orion’s boss says that the US business block on their equipment will
backfire.
Backsliding To return to a worse state or revert to behaviour that is bad
or unhelpful.
The distinct possibility of such backsliding means the truce is likely to be
short.
Backstopping Supporting or backing up a financial instrument or trans-
action, often as a form of insurance or guarantee.
Central banks are now backstopping credit markets and encouraging
risky assets.
Backtrack To retract or reverse your opinion about something.
The problem is that he has delivered the same message for the past three
years, only to backtrack later on.
Baked into Something that is included or built into a forecast, scheme
or contract such as information or a provision.
Because their system is based on debt, there is a growth imperative baked
into it.
Ballpark A numerical amount or figure often representing an initial rough
estimate or approximation.
But it is not obvious that the regulator was even remotely in the right
ballpark with its £30m valuation.
The hurried announcement that Sir Morgan is retiring early next year
after 40 years with the company and 25 years at the helm has backfired,
as a key investor has backed out of a deal that was due to net the company
in the ballpark of three million dollars. With this money baked into
performance estimates released last week, the company may now have to
backtrack on their plans for structural modernisation of the business.
With many firms in the industry at the mercy of the current disin-
flationary environment and commodity prices continuing to backslide,
it really has been a welcome relief for European firms that the ECB has
committed to backstopping the euro.
Sir Morgan has been in charge of the company for 40 years. _______
The three million investment figure is only a rough estimate. _______
The company had already included this money in their performance
estimates. _______
The company are going ahead with modernising the business. _______
Commodity prices are down. _______
Set 3
Bear fruit To yield positive results or be successful through much work
and effort.
A sales process announced mid-year did not bear fruit and excess loans
are now a real problem.
Bear the brunt To suffer the most from a bad circumstance or problem.
Once again it was mineral firms that bore the brunt of the stocks sell-off
today.
Beef up To make something stronger or greater or to increase something.
Instead of endorsing the status quo, they should back bold measures to
beef up competition in the market.
Bellwether Something that is said to show how things will develop or
change; an indicator of future events.
Trade bellwether Singapore signals a deep recession is arriving soon.
Belt-tightening A reduction in spending; a focus on saving money.
The start of a term brings with it belt-tightening among these emerging
firms.
Bind (in a tough) In a difficult or confusing situation that is not easily
resolvable.
The drawbacks to raising interest rates by this amount does put the
country in a tough bind.
6 S. HART
Bit between their teeth Doing something in a determined and

purposeful way.
Berango told members of the convention that ‘shareholders really need to
have the bit between their teeth to resolve this issue.’
Black stuff (the) Slang for oil and sometimes coal.
When it comes to the black stuff, Manserts has played a leading role in
the transactions involving independent producers.
Bloat A large increase usually to excess and therefore seen in a negative
light.
Debt write-downs and guarantees will inevitably bloat the government.
Although the black stuff was at its lowest price since the end of May,
the worst predictions have yet to bear fruit. When the downturn hits, the
local workforce is likely to bear the brunt with many companies entering
a period of belt-tightening.
Tech companies have seen contrasting fortunes with inflated valuations
bloating the economy and leaving them in a tough bind as to what their
next move should be. But others have sought to poach staff to beef up
their investment capabilities and with the bit between their teeth are
looking to remain bold for the foreseeable future. It just goes to show
that the FTSE 100 may not be the economic bellwether it is presumed
to be for these industries after all.
The FTSE 100 has been a good indicator of the state of the economy for
these companies. _______
Petrol prices are at their worst since the end of May._______
The local workforce will be most affected by the downturn. _______
Some companies are looking to expand their investment capabilities.
______
Unrealistic valuations have given a false picture of the health of the tech
sector. ______
Set 4
Blood-letting Where a company with financial problems parts with a
number of employees.
The aim of the additional blood-letting was to catapult Orion into one
of the biggest firms in the world in terms of market capitalisation.
Blowback An unanticipated or unwanted effect; an unintended negative
result
Any blowback has usually been countered by aggressive FED easing.
Bode well/ill A sign that future plans or events will be good/bad or
favourable/unfavourable.
Regardless, both outcomes bode ill for share prices in the long run.
Boil down to The key or main reason for the situation or issue.
While it is common to see pauses in negotiations, this boils down to the
unwillingness of Ensno to relax their original terms.
Boot out To force someone to leave their role; to reject something.
Orion’s head of compliance has been booted out following a disagreement
over his succession planning arrangements.
Borne out Confirmed, proven or substantiated by.
This is borne out by the latest summary of conditions compiled by the
firm.
Bottomed out Having reached the lowest point or level, now expecting
a rise or an improvement.
The slump in manufacturing may also have bottomed out this month,
according to reports.
Bounce back To return quickly to a normal condition or a usual state
after a difficult time or situation.
RanCorps and ELM last night posted bumper results, showing that
online business bounced back strongly after a tough second quarter .
Bow to To reluctantly agree to do something; to unwillingly accept to
carrying out an action.
Oil giant Manserts has finally agreed to bow to its shareholders’ wishes
and reveal its data.
The current forecast does not bode well for the pound. And this is
borne out by the latest summary of business conditions. Meanwhile, the
8 S. HART
recent bill has increased fears of a blowback for businesses caught in the
middle and so don’t be surprised if we now enter a period of blood-
letting as a result.
UK retail sales have bounced back but economists are being cautious.
With footfall bottoming out and shops looking to close for the foresee-
able, there is very little cause for optimism in the months ahead. Their
continued existence will likely boil down to whether the business has an
online presence and, crucially, can offer a timely delivery service to its
customers. In banking news, RanCorps is set to be booted out of the
FTSE 100 index while Ensno is beginning to bow to pressure to axe
shareholder payments.
Economists are cautious because UK retail sales are still down. _______
Recent forecasts indicate the pound will struggle. _______
Footfall is now at its lowest. _______
The recent bill has meant businesses are now looking to blame each other.
_______
Despite pressure on them, there is no evidence Ensno are ending
shareholder payments. _______
Set 5
Bow out To withdraw or retire from a role or activity.

Michael Dune is bowing out with the business in good shape.
Bragging rights Having the right or privilege to boast about an achieve-
ment or a success, often at the expense of a rival.
The area in which they do have some bragging rights is innovation.
Break the deadlock To bring an end to a stalemate or impasse; to begin
making progress again after a pause or halt.
The index shed 538 points on Monday as policymakers failed to break the
deadlock on a suitable rescue package.
Brainchild Someone’s original idea or invention.

Orion is the brainchild of Daniel Sarry, a US entrepreneur who fell foul
of regulators in the United States last year.
Bring to account To hold someone responsible for something and to
publicly express this view.
RanCorps is under fire for failing to bring to account wealthy individ-
uals and large corporations.
Bring to bear To exert or apply pressure or influence; to bring something
into effect or operation.
And yet for many businesses the influence they can bring to bear across
their supply chains has the potential to unlock massive savings.
Buck the trend To go in a different way or against the norm; to succeed/
fail when others are failing/succeeding, but usually the former.
Ensno is bucking the trend, up 0.3% after the government imposed
restrictions.
Burn a hole (in your pocket) Eagerness to spend available money;
looking to invest as quickly as possible.
It was common knowledge that they still had £500 million from the
RanCorps deal, and it may have started to burn a hole in their pocket.
Call into question To raise or cast doubts about something.
These revelations about 3NP call into question the report’s findings.
After the company lost their bragging rights as the most innova-
tive in the industry, CEO Michael Mose has decided to bow out of
ELM and take up a position with Mendco, the brainchild of former
investment banker Millicent Rotsley. Mendco has posted some impressive
figures, bucking the trend in the industry and calling into question the
continued poor performances of its rivals.
Meanwhile, 3NP are hoping a new funding solution could soon
break the deadlock on their negotiations with investors, especially as the
leasing companies involved in last year’s scandal are now beginning to be
brought to account. And with Mendco’s profits seemingly burning a
hole in their pockets, don’t be surprised if they bring to bear further
eye-opening ventures in the coming months.
10 S. HART
The CEO is leaving ELM because they are no longer considered the most
innovative company in the industry. _______
Ms. Rotsley created the company Mendco. _______
The industry that Mendco do business in is performing well. _______
3NP are currently having trouble negotiating with investors. _______
Mendco’s profits have actually caused them problems._______
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR: SETS 1–5

—Which one of the following phrases relates to ‘honesty’?
at pains to show above board
at odds across the board
—If you are trying to ‘allay’ someone’s fears, then you are said to be...
increasing them reducing them
changing them ignoring them
—What phrase can be used when changes are made throughout a

company?
above board on board
across the board within the board
—What is a ballpark figure?

An exact figure A rough estimation
—If you hear that a company is going to be belt-tightening you wouldn’t

expect them to be…
taking on fewer staff investing heavily
looking for ways to save streamlining the business
money
—Which one of the following means to ‘reluctantly agree to do some-

thing’?
at odds backfire
borne out bow to
—Which one of the following is unlikely to be employed for a negative

situation or event?
buck the trend bind (in a)
blowback backsliding
Set 6
Call (someone’s) bluff To challenge someone to carry out a
threat because you don’t believe they would actually carry it out.
Now that star players cannot even be guaranteed to find a job elsewhere,
City firms are hoping to call their bluff.
Call time (on) To end or conclude.
Mining giant ELM has called time on new coal mine projects, after
promising to run down its remaining ten mines.
Cash in To use favourable circumstances to profit or gain an advantage.
The company has grown rapidly in recent years, cashing in on the
ongoing shift to cloud computing.
Caused/sent ripples An, often unexpected, event or action that spreads
through an industry or sector and forces people to sit up and take note.
Orion today caused ripples in the industry with the surprise announce-
ment that profits had plunged 22.6% during January–March.
Cede ground To withdraw a little from something; back down or make
concessions.
The escalating dispute has gone beyond verbal exchanges as the two firms
increase pressure on each other to cede ground .
Change tack To try a different method, direction or course of action.
Perhaps it is time for Ensno to change tack on executive pay.
Changing hands Acquiring ownership of something; passing to a
different owner.
12 S. HART
A year ago the shares were changing hands at more than £40.
Choke off To prevent, stop or limit something.
If you choke off liquidity in the markets it opens the door to developing
offshore.
Clamp down To take strong action to prevent or suppress something
that is harmful or undesirable.
Top banks are now clamping down on staff who stay away from the office.
It is clear that business activity has reduced and that the latest restric-
tions have choked off the recent recovery. Investors are certainly having
to change tack as risk management now takes precedence. Calling time
on speculative investment may also extend to cryptocurrencies, with
lawmakers set to clamp down on how they are used.
Meanwhile, Orion has cashed in on the recent market recovery having
called the forecasters’ bluff by investing heavily during the brief down-
turn that was supposed to last into next year. This success has caused
ripples in the sector, but recent reports that their production department
could change hands for £300m shows that their competitors are not
going to go quietly and willingly cede ground to these Orion upstarts.
Forecasters predicted that Orion would be investing heavily. _______

The growing trend of risk management is changing the way investors
behave. _______
Lawmakers are looking to encourage the use of cryptocurrencies. ______
_
Speculative investment is set to end. _______
Orion’s success has not prompted a reaction from those working in the
sector. _______
Set 7
Claw back To get back something lost or to recover usually as a result of
a great effort.
The amount being clawed back this past year has surprised many in the
sector.
Clear-cut Something that is straightforward and easily understood; free
from uncertainty.
A longer-term analysis, however, suggests that things are not so clear cut.
Clock (is) ticking When the time for something to be done is running
out or limited and action needs to be taken soon.
The 10-year yield has fallen below the threshold, which suggests that the
clock is ticking on the country’s economic expansion.
Clocking (up) To accumulate, gain or achieve.
They have had a dramatic increase in trading volume, clocking up $1.5
billion in the first 6 months of the year.
Close out To bring something to an end or accomplish something by
completing the final task or act.
Hopefully the markets can close out what has been a positive first quarter.
Come under fire To be strongly criticised.
The government has come under fire for failing to force pension
companies to reveal their charges.
Connect the dots To bring together information from different areas and
arrive at an understanding about something; to represent the final piece
of information thus forming a complete picture.
These reports connect the dots on how corporations succeed despite the
restrictions.
Cough up To pay for something, often begrudgingly or reluctantly.
Why should the UK taxpayer cough up another e300m to rescue
RanCorps?
Crack down Act forcefully to restrict or suppress an activity.
Prices sprung upwards this afternoon after Orion said that it would
crack down on those suppliers refusing to comply with the new standards.
14 S. HART
Stocks fell on Friday to close out a difficult week for pharmaceutical

companies who had come under fire for their pricing strategies. With
health trusts reportedly having to cough up six hundred dollars per unit,
the government is set to step in and crack down on exploitative pricing.
The clock is ticking for Orion to haul itself out from under a massive
debt burden with one suggestion being that they might attempt to claw
back bonuses from executives. One insider said they needed to work
together to connect the dots between their financial realities and the
company they aspire to be, but the way forward is not clear cut. Regard-
less, they will need to reduce the expenses that they have been clocking
up in recent months.
Pharmaceutical companies have been criticised recently. _______

Orion does not have much time to sort out their debt problem. _______
The company needs to find a way to understand their financial situation
so they can achieve their aspirations. _______
Pharmaceutical companies were making health trusts pay six hundred
dollars a unit for their products. _______
Orion has been thinking about reducing the bonuses of executives. ____
___
Set 8
Crimped Checked, restrained or hindered.
Michael Herney, president of Orion, says any further gains could soon
be crimped if you look at historical trends.
Cushion the blow To ease or lessen the effects of something bad or
disappointing.
The bank tried to cushion the blow by offering them preferential terms.
Cut a deal Come to an agreement or arrangement; make a deal.
Failure to cut a deal will certainly complicate UK trade policy.
Cut ties To end or discontinue relations; to end something or leave
something behind.
They are looking at a complete overhaul, as new boss Daniel Sarry
attempts to cut ties with the past.
Dampen/Dash hopes To reduce/ruin someone’s hopes or plans.

She also dampened hopes of a rapid rebound in the economy, pointing
out that the slump is still deeper than after the financial crisis despite
the mini recovery.
Deal a blow To negatively affect something, making it more likely to fail.
These are figures that will deal a blow to any hopes of a bounceback this
month after a tough first quarter.
Delinquencies Late payments on loans or other liabilities.
Small business delinquencies jumped in July, and lending activity also
plummeted.
Derail To obstruct or prevent something from succeeding; to disrupt the
progress of something.
China’s stock market crash may derail the government’s economic
reforms.
Dial in Configure, set up or fine-tune.
More than half of their clients have begun to dial in these systems to
make transactions smoother.
Although regulators dealt a blow to the sector, dashing hopes that
the schemes might in fact be going ahead, the government has sought to
cushion the blow with a promise of foreign investment. Indeed, several
countries have expressed interest in cutting a deal.
With stocks crimped by a delay in trade talks, the sector has also seen a
huge rise in small business delinquencies. Although Orion has dialled in
a commitment to carbon neutral activities, their decision not to cut ties
with known polluters could derail the positive sentiment the company
has been receiving.
Regulators had bad news for the sector. _______

The government has actually made things worse for the sector. _______
Stocks have failed to rise. _______
Small businesses are struggling to make payment on debt. _______
Orion has received positive sentiment because it has refused to deal with
known polluters. _______
16 S. HART
Set 9
Dial up To increase something and make its effect stronger.
The tension between the two firms was dialled up yet again yesterday.
Dipping back Returning to a lower level.
UK stocks are now dipping back as the session draws to a close.
Doing the rounds News, rumour or gossip that is circulating.
There is also talk doing the rounds that some corporate entities are
looking to relocate their headquarters.
Doling out Distributing or handing out money, shares, advice, etc.
Firms that do take up the loans will be prevented from doling out cash.
Double-digit A number/percentage that is 10 or greater; between 10
and 99.
They have managed to shake off the economic gloom and delivered
double-digit growth in sales.
Double down Strengthen a commitment to a, sometimes risky, strategy
or course of action.
As a result, management are expected to double down on pricing control
and create a more efficient system.
Dovish Supporting low interest rates to stimulate the economy and
policies that reduce unemployment rather than inflation.
The stock markets were deflated on the news that a dovish Fed is set to
leave rates unchanged.
Down the line Further along into the future rather than immediately.
Even if they went ahead with this there would still be economic conse-
quences further down the line.
Drag (on) To cause difficulty or delay in progressing with something.
The legal disputes that are plaguing Ensno are having a big drag on the
performance of its partners.
Also: drag on A situation that continues for much longer than expected.
The impact of the recession could drag on for several years.
With optimism now doing the rounds as economies reopen, Orion
may look to double down on their expansionary policies. Having enjoyed
double-digit growth pre-lockdown, the company is set to dial up costs
once more with the recent announcements that market expectations are
no longer considered dovish. Many have assumed this will mean Orion
will push prices up down the line and reward its shareholders by doling
out cash.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 technology index was the biggest drag on
the overall benchmark index and, after an initial spike, the greenback has
also dipped back.
Orion is looking to limit their expansion plans. _______

The American dollar initially rose but has since fallen. _______
Orion is likely to push prices up immediately. _______
Market expectations are for policies to be pursued that keep interest rates
low. _______
Orion achieved growth of at least 10% before the lockdown. _______
Set 10
Draw a line under To decide something is finished so you can move on.
The settlement is now expected to draw a line under what has been a
year-long saga.
Draw down To take money from a fund that a financial institution has
made available.
Ensno has also wisely used government support to draw down 200
million dollars.
Draw up To prepare or formulate a plan, guidelines or a contract.
Corporations have been told to draw up climate rules or have them
imposed.
Dried up Depleted, reduced or significantly cut; no longer available.
Oil prices plummeted because demand dried up almost overnight when
the lockdown was announced.
Driven by Influenced by or the main reason for something.
The recovery was driven by consumer spending after the contraction in
Q3.
18 S. HART
Drive home To emphasise a point powerfully or forcefully; make some-

thing clearly understood.
Merfland’s observations drove home the importance of ensuring they took
the right approach.
Drum up To increase or encourage by persistent effort.
Mendco has been forced to cancel a bond sale of £150m after failing to
drum up interest from investors.
Dwarfing Causing something to seem small in comparison.
With combined assets of £1.4bn, the new merger will dwarf the £750
million assets of the present financial leader, Orion.
Evasive action (take) To deliberately avoid or to escape from a difficult
or troubling situation.
Many firms are taking evasive action in the face of this uncertainty.
As many companies look to take evasive action given the recent down-
turn in an effort to recover the losses driven by rising concerns about a
global recession, Orion has decided to draw down on its funds as it also
seeks to recover and draw a line under a recent tax controversy.
Meanwhile, with this downturn dwarfing previous ones by at least five
per cent, liquidity drying up and the high street struggling to drum up
trade, the government is seeking to drive home the message that good
times are just around the corner by drawing up a five-point plan to get
shoppers back to the towns.
Orion’s recent tax controversy may not be over. _______

The current downfall is smaller than previous ones by five percent. _____
__
The high street is finding it difficult to attract customers. _______
The government has created a plan to attract customers back to the high
street. _______
Orion is looking to spend money from funds to rebuild its business. ___
____
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR: SETS 6–10.

—Which of the following refers to trying a different method or way of
doing something?
changing hands doling out
changing tack draw down
—Which one of these refers to a gain or increase in something?

crimped cede ground
derail dial up
—If you call time on a project, you…

announce how long it will last start it
end it postpone it
—Which term should be used to complete the following sentence?

This is just one of several rumours currently _________
cushioning the blow doling out
dealing a blow doing the rounds
—If a share price began at 90p then went up to 120p and is now at 108p,
what term could be used to describe its current situation?
draw down claw back
dried up dip back
—Which of the following does NOT relate to coming to an arrangement

or agreement?
cut a deal close out
draw up drum up
—Which of the following is not a recognised term?

dial up clamp up
dry up draw up
20 S. HART
Set 11
Even keel (on an) Remaining calm or stable or progressing steadily,
especially during or after a difficult time.
Until the global economy is on an even keel, these commodities will
continue to be a safe bet.
Eye-watering An extremely large or high amount, often more than
expected.
ELM has posted an eye-watering £350 million half-year loss as 200 staff
leave.
Face down To confidently confront an adversary until they give in or
back down.
The Orion board will have to face down shareholders who are objecting to
proposals to offer a one-off £500,000 payment to the new chief executive.
Fall foul To come into conflict or get into trouble for doing something
that is not allowed.
It appears that 50,000 account holders fell foul of the limits on their
accounts.
Fall short Fail to meet the expected or required level or amount.
RanCorps has blamed global market fears for their third-quarter earn-
ings falling short.
Fall through Fail to happen; to be unsuccessful in something.
Ensno shares plunged after the CEO indicated that the deal might even
fall through.
Feather in their cap An achievement to be proud of.
Without a digital presence, such a result would certainly be a feather in
the cap of the company.
Feed into To contribute to.
Job creation is always an important element, as it feeds into GDP
growth.
Feeling the pinch To experience financial problems.
The weakness in the markets has come at a time when the global
economy is feeling the pinch from various quarters, not least the current
pandemic.
The leading banks have admitted to falling short on protecting their

customers from fraud after reports that thousands have fallen foul of
online scams in recent months.
Meanwhile, Orion has posted an eye-watering £2.5bn yearly loss but
bosses have looked to face down their critics, claiming that the poor
performance is due to external factors. One feather in their cap is the
new innovation centre which they hope will feed into the financial side
of the business. Their nearest rivals Ensno are also feeling the pinch.
After talks fell through on a merger, the hope is that the economy will
soon be back on an even keel for these companies.
Leading banks have been accused of not doing enough to prevent fraud.
_______
Orion has refused to accept criticism of their huge yearly loss. _______
The new innovation centre has been viewed as a success. _______
Ensno is currently struggling as well. _______
Talks are ongoing between Ensno and Orion about a possible merger. __
_____
Set 12
Fend off To successfully defend against or repel an unwanted situation,
attack or other difficulty.
A spokesman has said the signs are good that these donations will help
fend off interest from other companies.
Find their floor Be at their base level and therefore unable to fall any
further; to reach a stable level.
This indicates an end of the cycle and we are now entering a situation
where commodities have to find their floor .
Firm up To secure; to make more solid and resilient.
CEO Sayles is hoping to firm up a deal that was tentatively struck a
week ago in which it would partner RanCorps in this overseas market.
Fit the bill To be exactly what is required; to satisfy a condition.
The list of companies that fit the bill though is probably short.
22 S. HART
Fizzle out Ending in a disappointing or weak way after a promising

beginning.
The FTSE 100 began the day strongly, rising by over 4%, but then fizzled
out.
Flagging up To indicate or stress the importance of something by
bringing it to someone’s attention.
Auditors had failed to flag up concerns surrounding the company’s
viability.
Flex (their) muscles To show off power and strength.
The banks will no doubt be more willing to flex their muscles when this
latest crisis eventually ends.
Flush out To expel or expose someone or something; to bring to light.
The new chief executive sought to flush out the employees responsible as
part of a strategic review.
Free rein Unrestricted freedom to do or say anything.
These companies have operated with a free rein and been subject to
too few restrictions for too long.
Early gains in London’s FTSE 100 fizzled out on Friday as commen-
tators suggested that Orion’s shares will soon find their floor. A
spokesperson for the company said that once they gain a solid foothold
in the sector they will resume firming up their plans to expand, giving
themselves free rein to invest and perhaps even flex their muscles on the
continent. ‘We’ve flagged up a few sustainable ventures and if these fit
the bill then we can get back to doing what we do best, fending off
competition and using our corporate fund to flush out rival bidders’.
FTSE 100 early gains remained steady on Friday. _______

Orion may well be looking to do business on the continent. _______
An Orion spokesman said that they have identified some sustainable
ventures. _______
The corporate fund will be used to outbid other companies. _______
Even if they gain a solid foothold in the sector, Orion will still be
restricted in its investment capabilities. _______
Set 13
Free up To make available; to allow something to operate unrestricted.
They are looking at payment holidays to free up tens of millions of
dollars.
Freewheeling Acting independently and experimentally without regard
for rules; carefree.
More importantly, the deregulation was largely responsible for the
freewheeling financial capitalism of the period.
Gain traction To become popular and achieve recognition; to develop or
grow.
Shares struggled to gain traction as new data showed that the economy
came to a standstill in April.
Gather steam To increase, progress or gain momentum.
Ensno’s shares also rose almost 20% as takeover talks gathered steam last
night.
Gearing up Getting ready or preparing for an activity.
The company is also gearing up to launch its first consumer-facing
product, an app that seeks to connect employees working on similar
projects.
Give a leg up To give help to something or to someone starting out or
struggling; to help improve someone’s situation.
If the payments system was reformed it would give a leg up to new
entrants.
Give legs Encourage, promote or help something to develop and
succeed.
These new stock accounts will certainly give legs to the bull market.
Go against the grain To do something different or contrary to what is
normal or usually practised.
Orion’s shares have gone against the grain, surging while most stocks are
falling.
Go bust To experience financial failure; to go bankrupt.
It has also hit other areas for these companies, with many of their
suppliers going bust.
24 S. HART
After the freewheeling spending of the last few years, sustainability has
begun to gain some traction among companies in the sector. Govern-
ment subsidies are now giving a leg up to high street retailers by seeking
to create a consumer spending drive and resurrect initiatives that had been
gathering steam before the lockdowns. Many retailers, then, are gearing
up for a busy period, those lucky enough to have avoided going bust
anyway. Orion was one company that went against the grain by freeing
up their staff to work from home and double up as couriers to give legs
to their online business.
Over the last few years spending has been high. _______
Many retailers have gone out of business. _______
Orion has reinvented itself online by allowing its employees to become
delivery drivers. _______
Sustainability is becoming popular with companies in the sector. _______
Government subsidies are failing to help companies. _______
Set 14
Go cap in hand To ask for help, often politely and humbly.
RanCorps was able to raise the funds. It meant they avoided the
embarrassment of going cap in hand to the government to ask for a
bailout.
Golden handcuffs Financial benefits designed to encourage employees
to stay with a company.
The golden handcuffs that were being hastily prepared for the directors,
failed to lift the mood.
Go to the wall To fail; to lose everything.
Firms not making enough cash to cover their debt will certainly go to
the wall.
Green/Greenback US dollars; paper money.
When the greenback was falling rapidly late last year, some countries
threatened to dump their dollar assets.
Gut feeling A personal instinctive feeling that is often not based on facts.
Financial traders who rely on gut feeling will often outperform those
who are more analytical.
Hammer out To arrive at an agreement after intense negotiation or
effort.
Leaders are now faced with hammering out a deal to stabilise both a
country and its currency.
Hard line stance An uncompromising and inflexible position taken on a
matter.
The new administration is taking a hard-line stance on employees
booking extended breaks.
Hard on the heels Soon after something else.
The Federal Reserve has put another $6bn into the economy, hard on the
heels of a $10bn injection last March.
Hard to square To find it difficult to accept that one idea or thing can
exist with another.
It has been hard to square the optimism in the markets with the reality
of what is set to be another long-lasting recession.
Market observers are finding the recent strong performance of Orion
hard to square with economic conditions currently. Their positive figures
have followed hard on the heels of Monday’s data revealing that manu-
facturing posted its biggest monthly fall in four years. News of the falling
value of the greenback has led several companies to go cap in hand
to investors for emergency cash. Two major rivals to Orion are still in
negotiations about sharing premises but reports suggest one side has
finally softened their hard-line stance on possible locations. With Michael
Dune, Ensno’s chief executive, now tied to a golden handcuffs deal and
his previous company having gone to the wall, the gut feeling is that
Dune is keen to shore up the business and therefore will seek to hammer
out a deal soon.
Orion’s strong performance has not come as a surprise. _______

The US dollar is struggling. _______
Michael Dune is looking to return to his previous company. _______
Michael Dune’s previous company is looking to do a deal with Ensno. _
______
26 S. HART
The weak American dollar has led companies to beg investors for money.
_______
Set 15
Hash out To talk over and resolve something through a lengthy discus-
sion.
They believed that their advisers could hash out a deal behind the scenes.
Hawkish Favouring higher interest rates and keeping inflation down.
Although recent Fed analysts have taken a more hawkish tone, it seems
there is still uncertainty around their next move.
Head off To divert, block or prevent something.
The Bank of England has drafted an action plan to head off the
impending recession.
Head south To go in the wrong direction; to begin to fail or go bad.
There were concerns when Orion’s governance and profits began to head
south.
Head up To lead a project or scheme or be in charge of, say, a department
or branch.
Mose also helped head up the operational side of the division so has
experience in this area.
Headwinds/Tailwinds Events or conditions that slow down/speed up
economic growth.
The increased regulatory costs will be a headwind for the company’s
prospects.
Share buybacks could prove to be a useful tailwind for long-term returns.
Hedge (their) bets Taking two options rather than committing to one
because of uncertainty or risk.
Securitisation could help financial institutions to hedge their bets.
Held up To endure or continue; to stay strong.

Consumer finance has held up quite well through the crisis.
Also: to delay or impede.
The current situation has held up Orion’s plans to extend their opera-
tions.
Hinge on Dependent or reliant on; determined by.
Whether they will be able to carry this out will likely hinge on their
performance in the coming months.
News agencies are leading with the hawkish remarks from a senior
US Federal Reserve official alongside Orion’s warning of economic head-
winds next year given their latest profit slump. With share prices contin-
uing to head south, Orion’s management team are looking to hedge
their bets by setting up two intermediary divisions while streamlining
other areas of the business. John Berango will head up one of these divi-
sions and hopes to hash out a deal with investors in the coming days and
head off the economic damage created by the pandemic. Meanwhile,
reports suggest that hopes of a recovery in the sector may well hinge on
the success of small businesses and exports, which have held up better in
recent weeks.
Orion is optimistic about next year. _______

John Berango is leaving an intermediary division of the company. ______
Small businesses are key to the economic recovery of the sector. _______
Exports have done well recently. _______
Share prices are slowly rising. _______

—When you achieve something to be proud of you…
have a feather in your cap go cap in hand
go against the grain find your floor
28 S. HART
—Which one of the following can be used to describe positive growth or

conditions?
headwinds head south
tailwinds fizzle out
—Which one of these terms does NOT relate to something being ‘held
up’?
stood firm delayed
remained steady cancelled
—If you get into trouble for doing something against the regulations or
guidelines you…
fall foul fall short
fall out fall through
—If you ‘go bust’ you…

gamble everything on a work as hard as possible
project
fail financially leave for another company
—If an idea of yours is beginning to get noticed or praised it is said to

be…
heading south gaining traction
going to the wall going against the grain
—If you have hawkish tendencies then you favour…

high interest rates and low high interest rates and
inflation high inflation
low interest rates and low low interest rates and
inflation high inflation
Set 16
Hit a snag To encounter an obstacle or difficulty.
Deal talks have hit a snag over the question of whether the company’s
external departments are to be included.
Hit the wire To receive wider attention; circulated by the media.
As the day drew to a close, news hit the wire that several companies have
pulled out of the talks.
Hive off To sell part of a business to different owners; to transfer or
separate something from the main group.
RanCorps has reported record group losses as they prepare to hive off
some of their business interests.
Hold fire To delay making a decision or taking action.
It is likely that they will hold fire on further hikes until after the report
is published.
Hold off To delay doing something; to postpone.
Orion is right to hold off on extending the contract for now as they look
to concentrate on domestic matters.
Hot on the heels To happen quickly after something else.
It comes hot on the heels of RanCorps’ $600,000 settlement reached with
two EU suppliers.
Hunker down To settle in and remain largely inactive in preparation for
adversity or a tough situation.
As investors hunker down ahead of the announcement, stocks have fallen
flat.
In good faith Honesty in a person’s conduct, often in relation to a
contract or agreement.
The requirement that directors act in good faith is at the core of this
duty.
In line with In agreement with; similar to.
While the figures are lower than expected, a spokesperson for ELM said it
was roughly in line with expectations.
Investors are set to hunker down amid rising worries that recent talks
to raise funds for the sector have hit a snag. Following hot on the heels
was the decision of the central bank to hold fire on delivering a further
30 S. HART
stimulus this week with the rest of the economy performing much better.
Meanwhile, Orion’s shares took a tumble when their results hit the wire,
owing to the fallout from two directors being found guilty of not acting
in good faith when partnering with the loss-making firm Manserts, who
had hived off several of its branches in line with the actions of most
large corporations in the industry. So far, Orion has held off closing any
of its own branches.
Investors are likely to remain quiet for the time being. _______
The central bank will soon provide a further stimulus. _______
Closing down branches has been a common occurrence in the sector.
_______
Orion has also closed branches. _______
Recent talks to raise funds for the sector have encountered difficulties.
_______
Set 17
In pole position Leading; in the best position to succeed or secure
something.
UK utility Ensno had been in pole position to take it on but refused
after receiving little reassurance from the government.
In rude health In a strong and healthy state.
These latest figures are the surest sign yet that the economy is in rude
health.
In the firing line In a position or situation that is likely to attract criticism
or judgement.
With these latest cuts, the UK investment trusts find themselves once
again in the firing line.
In the offing/pipeline Likely to happen in the near future; being
planned.
3NP are understood to have held talks with certain wealth funds
although experts insist that no deals are in the offing .
There are said to be at least ten pieces of financial regulation in the
pipeline.
In the running Having a chance to win or be successful.

Millicent Rotsley is also in the running for the top job.
In the wake of Happening after or as a consequence of an event, often
a negative one.
RanCorps is one of a growing number of firms reducing their office space
in the wake of the pandemic.
Iron out To resolve or work out, usually differences or small problems.
Both parties will now have a further week to iron out the details.
Itchy fingers A strong desire or need to get involved in something.
Some bond traders with particularly itchy fingers might take it close to
the 7.25 level.
Jump ship Leave a difficult situation or failing company, often suddenly.
Mr. Herney’s decision to jump ship to manufacturing giant ELM in
February may have contributed to this.
Bosses have been in the firing line recently for implementing a series
of cost-cutting measures in the wake of the financial crisis. Among
these is Orion who have made several staff redundant despite recently
posting profits and appearing in rude health, with expansion plans in
the pipeline. They are in pole position to acquire RanCorps and CEO
Michael Herney is also in the running to be a chief consultant for the
government’s latest sector initiative. Meanwhile, Ensno is looking to iron
out gaps in cash flow by diversifying into new product lines. They are also
getting itchy fingers about developing their plans to diversify abroad as
they look to bounce back from the growing impact of the crisis and the
fact that several of their rivals for contracts abroad have recently jumped
ship.
Bosses have been criticised for trying to cut costs. _______

Orion appears to be performing well. _______
Michael Herney has a good chance of becoming a chief consultant. ____
__
Ensno is having doubts about their plans to diversify abroad. _______
Several of Ensno’s rivals have secured overseas contracts. ________
32 S. HART
Set 18
Jump the gun To do something too soon or before it is supposed to be
done.
Investors may have jumped the gun and started trading a little early.
Keep a lid on To control something; to prevent something from
increasing.
Central banks have helped keep a lid on the government’s borrowing
costs.
Keep (the) powder dry To be ready for a future event; to be prepared
to take action if necessary.
They have these cash reserves to keep the powder dry should opportunities
present themselves.
Keep under wraps Keep secret or concealed.
They certainly tried to keep the involvement of their CFO under wraps
but ultimately were found out.
Kick in To start to have an effect or influence.
Cash flow is going to come under significant pressure once these repay-
ments kick in.
Kick on To continue or carry on; to press ahead.
Business leaders will obviously be hoping that the economy can kick on
now.
Kickstart To take action to get something going or make something
happen.
This is one of several measures available to them to kickstart the recovery.
Knee-jerk An immediate reaction or automatic response to something
without much thought going into it.
This was simply a knee-jerk response to failing with the initial bid.
Knock-on (effects) Indirectly causing other events or things to happen;
creating an inevitable chain of events.
There will almost certainly be knock-on effects from the latest twist in
the Ensno-RanCorps saga.
Businesses are now ready to kickstart the recovery as stimulus efforts
finally kick in. With Ensno’s recent scandal coming out after months
of trying to keep it under wraps, Chief Executive Daniel Sarry may
not want to make any bold moves. But they will certainly be keeping
their powder dry in the hope that their image can be quickly restored,
though the knock-on effects could last for some time. Meanwhile, Orion
is trying to keep a lid on expectations after posting good recent numbers.
They may well have jumped the gun over the announcement that they
plan to take the company private, typical of the knee-jerk responses from
management, but will kick on with business plans that include the hiring
of new regional staff.
Ensno tried to stop people finding out about a recent scandal. _______
Orion is not getting carried away about their recent performance. ______
Ensno is likely to recover quickly from their setback. _______
Orion’s management are known for making hasty announcements. _____
_
Orion’s plan to hire regional staff has suffered a setback. _______
Set 19
Lay off To dismiss employees, often temporarily, through lack of busi-
ness.
Ensno are set to lay off nearly 200 staff after a steep fall in orders.
Lay to rest Bring to an end.
This should now lay to rest the argument that investors attach little
importance to CSR performance.
Leapfrog To move ahead; to advance or progress at the expense of others.
The result means that Orion has now leapfrogged 3NP to become the most
valuable firm in the sector.
Lend weight To provide evidence for something; to give credibility to an
opinion or belief.
The improved performance lends weight to their decision to reject this
latest offer.
Line (their) pockets Obtain money by taking advantage of or exploiting
a situation.
One of the main objectives is to cut out these questionable deals that help
directors line their own pockets.
34 S. HART
Lock(ed) in To receive and retain favourable terms, rates or benefits.

This includes allowing the holder to lock in great rates for several years.
Lock horns To begin a confrontation or argument with an individual or
company; to compete with someone.
The dispute has seen Chief Executive Michael Mose lock horns with
Ensno’s boss John Berango.
Loom large Something forthcoming that is threatening or worrying.
Unfortunately, the threat of tougher regulation looms large over the
sector.
Lose track To become unaware of what is happening; to stop paying
attention to something.
While the economy has picked up a little, firms must not lose track of the
challenges they still face.
By laying off hundreds of staff, management has effectively laid to
rest the flawed argument from some quarters that Ensno have lined their
pockets in the current crisis and been unaffected. It also lends weight
to the suggestion that they had indeed lost track of their spending and
failed to monitor budgets. Further troubles loom large. It is time for the
company to lock in their long-time investors if they are to finance any
future ventures. Orion is now set to leapfrog their competitor and lock
horns with neighbours RanCorps in a bid battle for successful start-up
3NP.
Ensno has done well in the current crisis and been unaffected by it. ____
__
The forecast for Ensno is not good because of mismanagement. _______
Orion is set to move ahead of their rivals now. _______
Ensno has temporarily dismissed hundreds of staff. _______
Orion will compete with 3NP to buy out RanCorps. _______
Set 20
Lose/gain ground Fall back/advance in position; lose/gain an advan-
tage.
Oil demand will lose ground again as a result of this new lockdown.
Lose steam To decrease, stall or lose momentum; lose enthusiasm or

energy to carry out or perform something.
Although there were signs of recovery in the summer, the rebound appears
to have lost steam.
Lukewarm With little enthusiasm or interest.
The proposals so far have received only lukewarm support.
Make a stand To hold firm against something or resist.
It seems Orion was keen to make a stand against the sharp rise in fees.
Making waves To make a significant impression, sometimes in a way that
shocks people.
The company has recently been making waves in the European market.
Mooted Suggested as something to discuss; proposed or put forward.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed that the project, first mooted
five years ago, would indeed be going ahead.
Move in lockstep Linked to or dependent on one another; move at the
same time and same rate as each other.
These stocks do seem to move in lockstep with the index.
Mull over To think carefully about something; to give much considera-
tion to something.
Investors have several things to mull over before trading resumes in
March.
Murky waters A situation that is unclear and potentially difficult and
confusing.
This leaves those firms who have relied on this funding in the past in
murky waters .
Despite operating in very different ways, Orion and Ensno appear to be
moving in lockstep at the moment with both making waves in foreign
markets. Ensno had lost ground to its competitors with several luke-
warm performances but with a new management structure in place, first
mooted back in March last year, they are now looking to make a stand
and are currently mulling over several deals. Meanwhile, RanCorps find
themselves in murky waters following complaints about pay equality,
with their stock and bonds losing steam as a result.

36 S. HART
Orion and Ensno are performing equally well at the moment. _______
Ensno is performing better now they have a new management structure.
_______
Ensno is now hoping to build a stand. _______
RanCorps is performing less well after complaints against the company.
_______
The stocks and bonds of RanCorps are faring better though. _______

—If you are in with a chance of securing a role, you are said to be…
in the running in the offing
in the firing line in rude health
—If you are going to wait for a bit and delay a decision you are…
making a stand making waves
laying to rest holding fire
—Which one of these terms does NOT mean move on or move ahead?
leapfrog kick on
kickstart lock in
—Which one of these terms does NOT relate to a ‘knee-jerk’ response?

hasty quick
considered automatic
—As you can’t decide on which project is better, you decide to invest
time in both and…
hedge your bets jump the gun
hunker down lose track
—If your managers have been lukewarm in their praise for you, you may
find yourself…
in the firing line in rude health
making waves kicking on
—If you are ready and prepared to take action, then you are…
hunkering down keeping your powder dry
kicking in hiving off
Set 21
Netting out Remaining after tax and other costs have been deducted.
After netting out these elements, cash flow is obtained.
New blood Newly hired or recruited employees; people bringing new
ideas and energy.
Orion will soon welcome new blood onto the board after Daniel Sarry
announced plans to retire after the AGM.
Nip in the bud Put an end to something before it becomes a problem.
Ensno will be hoping to nip these problems in the bud before they become
an issue for the firm.
Nosedive A sudden and extreme drop or fall, e.g. in prices, profits or
reputation.
The shares nosedived after manufacturing data revealed that the
economy was still suffering.
Not be drawn (on details) Refuse to reply to questions or give informa-
tion on something.
Millicent Rotsley would not be drawn on speculation about these takeover
bids though.
38 S. HART
Notch up To achieve; to register or gain.

US stock markets have notched up record highs thanks to rising oil prices.
Off/On the back of As a result of or helped by something; following.
On the back of the report, the management are said to be looking at ways
to improve their CSR.
Off the hook Escape from or be freed from a difficult situation; to avoid
being punished.
Orion may have avoided being fined but that does not mean other
companies are off the hook too.
Off the table Withdrawn; no longer available or on offer.
Apparently though, access to key algorithms is well and truly off the table.
With their main rival notching up record profits, netting out at
around 4.6 million, off the back of a multi-million refinancing deal,
Orion is desperately seeking new blood after their own shares took a
nosedive. CEO Michael Herney would not be drawn on where they
would likely be recruiting but he has said that any plans to restructure
head office were now off the table. He also admitted that they had been
let off the hook after some failed ventures did not affect profits too much
but that further mistakes would certainly need to be nipped in the bud
for the company not to suffer.
Orion’s main rival has made a 4.6 million pre-tax profit. _______
Orion’s shares have fallen considerably. _______
Herney is going ahead with plans to restructure head office. _______
Orion has suffered financially due to failed ventures. _______
Herney refused to answer in which department they would be looking to
recruit. ________
Set 22
On a tear Showing a sudden burst of activity; experiencing a period of
success.
The markets have been on a tear with overseas investors largely respon-
sible.
On board To be in agreement with or in support of something.

The new programme has just been launched with 20 banks on board.
On course (for) Developing or progressing as planned; likely to achieve.
FTSE is on course for its biggest fall since the financial crisis.
On record Said or written down officially or publicly.
She is on record as saying that the directors knew nothing about the
scheme.
On stream (come) Begin to operate fully or become available.
Orion has now received approval to proceed with the development, which
is expected to come on stream in 2022.
On the backburner Postponed or delayed; no longer receiving attention
or no longer a priority.
Financial planning tends to be something often put on the backburner .
On the brink At a crucial or critical point; close to a very unpleasant or
difficult situation.
Some of the biggest names in the sector are teetering on the brink of
financial collapse as lenders tighten the screws.
On the cards Likely to happen.
A return to the bad old days of the late nineties was on the cards before
the reforms.
On the front foot Having an advantage or the initiative.
Stock markets are starting the new week on the front foot .
Orion is on course to post its largest quarterly rise on record largely
thanks to its new product coming on stream and the optimism generated
by alternative energy stocks, which are currently on a tear. With carbon
guzzling RanCorps on the brink of collapse, companies are beginning to
come on board in the hopes of re-energising the environmental agenda
after it had been on the backburner during the financial crisis. A battle
may well be on the cards, then, with businesses jostling for position and
seeking to stay on the front foot with all things green.
40 S. HART
Orion is set to announce record profits. _______

Orion’s success is largely down to the release of a new product. _______
Alternative energy stocks are on the slide. _______
The environmental agenda was not a topic of discussion during the crisis.
_______
Many companies are keen to go green now the crisis is over. _______
Set 23
On the hook Liable or answerable for something.
If companies do fail, then these banks will be on the hook.
On the line At risk or in trouble.
3NP is considering closing its European division, putting hundreds of
jobs on the line.
On the radar To be noticed and attracting attention with a view to
something happening in the near future.
ELM is bound to be on the radar of some of the wealthier firms in the
sector.
On the slide Getting worse; reducing or lowering.
Oil is also currently on the slide, falling back below $30 a barrel.
On track Making progress and proceeding as expected.
Despite four consecutive days of losses, Wall Street was on track to end
the week up 0.4 per cent.
On the wane Becoming weaker or decreasing.
Enthusiasm to invest has been on the wane across the industry.
Opening salvo The initial action in a series; the, often dynamic, begin-
ning to a discussion or act.
Orion will look to block Ensno’s access to these markets in an opening
salvo that is likely to provoke a strong response.
(Not) out of the woods (Not) out of danger or difficulty.
The forecast is promising but these firms are not out of the woods just yet.
Pay/ Paying off To result in reward or success.

In the short term, the action is likely to pay off with investors returning
to the sector.
In an impressive opening salvo, new CEO Margaret Sayles boasted
that RanCorps was now back on the radar of overseas investors and on
track to post good numbers after the company had been on the slide for
several years. She also admitted to happily putting her neck on the line
and doing whatever it takes to fulfil the company’s undoubted potential.
Although not out of the woods yet and needing a few more years of
sustained growth, Sayles’ stance is certainly paying off in terms of market
optimism. Her predecessor had been on the hook for mismanagement
and not reacting to the fact the business had been on the wane for some
time.
CEO Margaret Sayles believes RanCorps can now attract overseas invest-
ment. _______
RanCorps is expected to post good numbers. _______
Sayles is prepared to risk her reputation and make unpopular decisions.
_______
The company may still go bankrupt if growth does not continue for a
sustained period. _______
The previous CEO was blamed for the poor performance of the company.
_______
Set 24
Pan out Unfold; end up; evolve; succeed.
If it fails to pan out , then we will likely see investors move into different
markets.
Paper trail A written record that provides evidence of activities and
actions.
The paper trail does indicate that some customers are not receiving the
same service.
42 S. HART
Pare gains/losses Reduce; trim.

The currency has pared its losses somewhat and is almost flat against the
euro.
Park To put something aside, perhaps for later or until required; to
postpone something.
It seems the board has parked that idea for now, viewing it as too
expensive.
Pave the way Create a situation that makes something possible or enables
something to happen.
Further spending can often pave the way for higher taxes.
Pegged Fixed or tied to something else; held.
Digital currencies are often pegged in this way.
Penny-pinching Aversion or unwillingness to spend money.
A period of penny-pinching will inevitably follow on from these excesses.
Perk up To improve, recover or rally.
The government must provide a further stimulus to perk up demand in
the economy.
Peter out To gradually become smaller, then disappear.
The gains made by the currency have petered out.
There are growing concerns that the recovery will peter out if these
new restrictions are imposed. Indeed, after several months of penny-
pinching and much uncertainty as to how things will pan out in the short
term, many firms operating in the sector are paring back on projects until
business confidence perks up. Orion, for one, has parked their plan to
expand into Asia, paving the way for a purely domestic focus. And with
a paper trail exposing several failures during lockdown, Ensno’s debt has
now been pegged at 12 million.
Many fear that the recovery will not last. _______

Orion has decided to expand into Asia. _______
A lot of firms have been careful with their money recently. _______
There is proof that Ensno has made mistakes during the lockdown. ____
__
Ensno’s debt is now more than 12 million. _______
Set 25
Phase out To gradually stop or end something.
The tax relief on this product has now been phased out.
Pick up To increase or improve.
When demand picks up they will likely look to resume their projects in
the Near East.
Pick up the baton Take on the responsibility for something.
Other departments will need to pick up the baton when the division is
temporarily closed.
Pitting against Competing against something or someone else.
The new product will pit Orion against the likes of ELM.
Play ball Be willing to do what is asked or expected of you; to cooperate.
Some shareholders will refuse to play ball, leaving the company with an
interesting dilemma.
Play down To make a problem or task seem less important, less difficult
or less likely.
The Bank of England has played down the possibility of another cut in
interest rates.
Play out Develop or unfold.
This latest crisis has played out in a matter of weeks.
Pony up To pay what is owed; to settle a debt.
It represents the final opportunity for these investors to pony up and add
the divisions to their portfolio.
Pop (in value) A sudden rise or increase.
A pop in value is unlikely for these stocks based on recent trends.
Despite a fivefold pop in value, a spokesperson for Orion has sought
to play down the significance of the latest results. ‘We will wait and see
how the recovery plays out. Currently, manufacturing has picked up
quite a bit so as distributors we need to pick up the baton.’ With many
investors refusing to play ball and the government effectively pitting
businesses against each other with their grants, companies are being
forced to pony up additional cash while phasing out ventures that are
not environmentally sound in order to be eligible for the scheme.
44 S. HART
The spokesperson for Orion is not getting carried away by their recent
valuation. _______
She is unsure how long the recovery might last. _______
Investors are not currently active in the market. _______
The government grants are difficult to obtain. _______
Companies must give up projects that are not environmentally friendly if
they wish to receive government money. _______

—Which one of these terms does NOT refer to a decrease in value?
pop on the slide
nosedive on the wane
—If you take responsibility for something when no one else is prepared
to, you…
pave the way pick up the baton
go on the backburner play it out
—If a company seeks new blood, they are…

looking for somewhere to looking to take over a
invest company
looking to recruit looking to save
money
—If something is likely to happen, it is…

on the cards on the wane
on board on the line
—If you let things develop without interfering, then you are waiting to
see how something…
pans out phases out
peters out nets out
—If you ‘nip something in the bud’ you…

take on the responsibility for something
gradually stop something
put an end to something before it becomes a problem
reduce or trim something
—Which one of these terms has a negative meaning?

on a tear on the brink
on the front foot on track
Set 26
Priced in Where the stock price already reflects the expectations relating
to the company’s future performance.
Investors had already priced in these weak economic forecasts.
Prop up Support or assist something or someone in a difficult situation.
This was seen with the Federal Reserve’s recent attempts to prop up the
US economy.
Pull back to decide against doing something; to become lower.
The announcement helped pull back projections for the size of the fall in
price.
Also: pullbacks a short steady drop against the trend.
There is always the risk of pullbacks when companies create negative
headlines.
Pull out To leave or withdraw.
Weaker companies are beginning to pull out of the region as the recession
bites.
46 S. HART
Pull(ing) off To accomplish something unexpectedly or succeed in the

face of adversity or difficulty.
Orion may well pull off triple digit returns this year as the industry
enjoys increased investor interest.
Push through To succeed in getting something done or agreed quickly.
The government must push through with these reforms so the system can
be properly protected.
Put on hold To leave something until later; to postpone.
Many deals are being put on hold with all this uncertainty in the air.
Put to bed To finally settle a matter; to solve a problem.
These results should put to bed any notion that ELM will be looking for
buyers soon.
Rack up Accumulate or acquire.
RanCorps has spent the past year racking up sizeable debts.
Orion has yet to put to bed the notion that they are struggling
to come up with a product to match Ensno’s latest best-seller. Having
racked up huge gains of late, Ensno will now attempt to push through
with its overseas plans. Investors have already priced in this expansion
with the stock surging of late and sector-wide optimism being achieved
with the government announcing it will provide $300m to prop up the
industry through the next six months. This hasn’t stopped Orion from
pulling out of establishing a new headquarters in the city and putting
on hold plans to change their business model. You see, consumers are
pulling back on spending so it will be interesting to know what Orion
and its dynamic CEO can pull off in the new financial year.
Orion is close to coming up with a new product. _______

Ensno will seek to enter overseas markets on the back of its success. ____
__
The stock price reflects the future plans of Ensno. _______
Orion will establish a new headquarters but not change its business
model. _______
Consumer spending is down. _______
Set 27
Rally (on) A renewal or recovery.
The stock market rallied on the news that vaccines are now ready to be
rolled out.
Ramp up A great increase in energy or activity.
Ensno is set to go on a recruitment drive as it looks to ramp up its plans
to enter South East Asia.
Rap across the knuckles A gentle warning or minor punishment.
The fine is merely a rap across the knuckles compared to the $200 million
one dished out to 3NP late last year.
Reach a watershed To reach a stage where an important change is likely
to occur; a critical moment.
This year sees Orion reach a watershed when they open their new
innovation centre exactly twenty years after forming.
Red flag A warning sign; something that draws attention to a problem
or difficulty.
The country’s surging debt is a definite red flag for the health of the
economy.
Rein in Control or limit; to moderate.
It may be difficult to rein in expectations if the stock continues to rise
at the same rate.
Rest on their laurels To be satisfied with progress or achievement and
to lack any ambition to go further.
Steady growth is often an excuse for many to simply rest on their laurels.
Ride a wave To benefit from a favourable situation through an association
or connection.
Some firms are riding a wave of renewed optimism in the sector and
posting strong figures.
Ride out To get through or survive something difficult or testing.
Efforts in this area have risen markedly as firms look to ride out the
pandemic.
Business leaders are refusing to rest on their laurels after managing to
ride out the latest crisis. The period of having to rein in finances could
soon be over and we have already seen some activity in the sector where
companies are ramping up their hiring for the months ahead. Meanwhile,
48 S. HART
the new industry safeguards reached a watershed last week after talks
between business leaders went well and a decision is now imminent on
how the sector can be better protected from future dips. Markets rallied
on the news and companies will now look to ride this wave of optimism
for as long as possible. The overly aggressive stance of RanCorps during
the independent enquiry over their recent dealings will likely serve as a
red flag for the investigators, with many feeling they will be lucky to
escape with just a rap across the knuckles after their latest transgression.
Business leaders are now looking to capitalise after coming through the
latest crisis. _______
A critical point has been reached in talks over industry safeguards. _____
_
Markets will likely dip in the future because of these talks. _______
Companies are keen to hire staff at the moment. _______
RanCorps is likely to escape with just a minor punishment following the
investigation. _______
Set 28
Riding high Experiencing success or popularity.
There are several reasons why the stock market is currently riding high.
Right to the wire To go all the way to the end; up to the deadline.
Given the history between the two firms, these negotiations are set to go
right to the wire.
Ripped off Cheated out of something; to be stolen from.
Banks are under the microscope for how well they are protecting
customers from being ripped off .
Rocketed Increased or rose rapidly.
Stock markets have rocketed with the news of a potential bail out from
the government.
Rolling out Officially beginning or launching something.

Only when the new standards are officially rolled out will we see their
true impact.
Roll up (sleeves) To prepare to do something difficult or demanding; to
fully commit to working hard on something.
The stage is set for these firms to roll up their sleeves and prove how ethical
they really are.
Root out To remove or eliminate; to find something and then take action
to eradicate it.
Steps will soon be taken to root out loss-making branches of the company.
Row back To change opinion or reverse a previous statement or decision.
Orion CEO Michael Mose has decided to row back on their international
expansion plans.
Ruffle feathers To offend, irritate or upset people.
They are not afraid to ruffle the feathers of other members of the senior
management team.
Having ruffled many feathers with his stringent efforts in rooting
out revenue fraud in the industry, Sir Ken Merfland is looking to roll
up his sleeves and tackle a new project: rolling out a set of measures to
stop worker exploitation. Stocks have rocketed to record highs on the
back of his previous success, forcing companies to row back on previous
statements suggesting there were no issues with fraud in the sector. One
company that has been cleared of any wrongdoing is Ensno, who have
been found to not have deliberately ripped off its customers. Ensno’s
stock is now riding high, although negotiations with key figures to begin
exporting before the tariff rise are set to go right to the wire.
Sir Ken Merfland’s efforts to uncover revenue fraud were welcomed by

all. _______
Merfland is now looking to end worker exploitation. ______
Stocks are doing well because of his efforts to clean up the sector. ______
Companies maintain that there are no issues with fraud in the sector. ___
___
Ensno look set to succeed with their plans to begin exporting before the
rise in tariffs. _______
50 S. HART
Set 29
Rule out Eliminate or exclude; to stop considering something.
With the volatility in the market, Berango would not rule out the
possibility of further price hikes.
Run down A reduction in activities or productivity; a weakening of
resources or reduction in size; cease trading
Some of these departments may have to be run down if they continue to
post losses.
Run up Accumulate or acquire (often debts).
This often occurs when governments start running up huge debts.
Scale(ing) back Reduce in size, scope or activity.
Many small and medium-sized companies have been forced to scale back
their operations.
Set alarm bells ringing To cause people to believe that something is
wrong; to indicate there is a problem.
CEO Daniel Sarry may have to reassess the firm’s future direction after
its annual report set alarm bells ringing .
Shake up To make major changes; to drastically reorganise.
If fees do end up being halved, then it will shake up the UK investment
market.
Shave off To cut or eliminate; to reduce an amount.
These cost-cutting plans could well shave 150m off their current expenses.
Shell out To pay money for; to pay the cost of.
However, Orion is likely to have to shell out £10m in fees to secure the
contract.
Shore up To give support to something and make it stronger.
In a bid to shore up finances, many of the smaller companies in the sector
are pooling their resources.
Alarm bells are ringing at RanCorps after the company ran up
losses of 700 million dollars. Having shelled out significant amounts of
compensation to customers, it seems that not even last year’s leadership
shake up has been effective. The firm will now be expected to run down
its operations in the coming months with even a scaling back unlikely
given the alarming figures. Redundancies at Orion cannot be ruled out
either after the company decided to shave off the division that made
its flagship product. Shoring up the company’s finances will now be the
priority after seeing what has happened to their close rival.
One reason RanCorps is struggling is because they had to pay compensa-

tion to customers. _______
RanCorps recently changed at least one of its management team. ______
There does not seem much hope that RanCorps can continue trading.
_______
Orion has decided against making anyone redundant. _______
Orion has reduced the size of one of its divisions. _______
Set 30
Shot in the arm A sudden boost or stimulus that has a positive effect.
This competition could well be a shot in the arm for the country’s growth
prospects.
Shrug off To ignore, disregard or dismiss something as not important.
3NP has shrugged off criticism over their plans to relocate abroad,
blaming rising business rates.
Sign off Officially approve something; conclude an action or activity.
US lawmakers are set to sign off on a fiscal stimulus deal.
Sit out To not participate in something; to not be involved.
Several firms have decided to sit out these preliminary talks and instead
play a waiting game.
Sit tight To take no action and instead just wait patiently.
The best thing investors can do is to sit tight .
Size up Carefully examine and evaluate something to form a judgement
or opinion.
The company has also been sizing up several firms in South America.
Smooth over To resolve or clear up a problem; to lessen the severity of
a problem or difficulty.
If economic performance is assessed over a three-month period, it is likely
to smooth over any irregularities.
52 S. HART
Snap Unexpected, sudden or spur of the moment; to end or break.

A snap devaluation has sent shockwaves through the financial markets.
Snap back Recover quickly; return to a previous state or condition.
GDP growth is expected to snap back in 2021.
With the budget announcement a real shot in the arm, investors may
well shrug off their recent lack of activity and help the economy to snap
back as we head into 2021. Others are less optimistic that the financial
losses of recent times can be swiftly smoothed over despite shares snap-
ping an eight-day losing streak. Meanwhile, the big banks are sitting out
of the debate around reforming the sector as accountancy firms refuse to
sign off on several company accounts until their grievances are heard.
Investors may well be sizing up new markets ahead of the announcement
from the financial regulators and are therefore likely to sit tight on any
planned activity in the sector.
The recent budget is good news for the economy. _______

Some believe investors will now be looking to invest and help the
recovery. _______
Share prices have gone up according to the latest figures. _______
The big banks are waiting to have their say on reforming the sector. ___
____
Accountancy firms are unhappy with the current situation and are refusing
to approve company accounts. _______

—If you put a problem or dispute ‘to bed’ you…
resolve it make it worse
create it lose it
—If something is given a ‘shot in the arm’ it often has a…

negative effect neutral effect positive effect
—Which of these relates to changing an opinion or reversing a previous

decision?
snap back row back
scale back pull back
—If something goes all the way to the end it…

comes down to the wire rests on its laurels
ruffles feathers sets alarm bells ringing.
—If you remove or eliminate something you…

sit it out shell it out
ride it out root it out
—Which one of the following means to accumulate?

prop up rack up
shake up shore up
—If you roll something out you…

launch it resolve it
examine it terminate it
Set 31
Snap up To buy or obtain something quickly and opportunistically.
The company’s shares are being snapped up following the announcement
that they are set to win the contract.
54 S. HART
Snuff out To quicky put an end or stop to.

The news could snuff out the recovery and lead to further losses for these
firms.
Soft showing Poor or weak performance.
The soft showing in international markets has also affected the brand
domestically.
Sound(ed) out To discover people’s opinions, stance or possible actions
regarding something.
Key investors are being sounded out over a £500m rescue plan for
RanCorps.
Soured To deteriorate or worsen; to become disinterested or stop liking
something.
The crisis has naturally soured consumer confidence.
Sour note An unpleasant or negative event, often representing the end
of something.
Stocks also ended the week on a sour note.
Spanner in the works Something that prevents an activity or a plan from
working or going well.
This latest request has thrown a spanner in the works but both firms
remain confident a deal can still be done.
Spill over To spread to other areas; to take longer than expected.
Falling demand in the sector may well spill over into the wider economy.
Spin/spinning off Something created as a by-product of something else,
such as a sister company; to split off or separate.
The alternative is for them to spin off some assets into a separate
company.
The week ended on a sour note for Orion who were foiled in their
attempts to spin off their UK business. The plan fell through after a
major backer threw a spanner into the works by demanding a greater
share of the spun off company. With the economy souring, Orion was
looking to do the deal after its soft showing in this market. They will
now have to sound out other business corporations such as Ensno who
have been snapping up divisions of several companies of late. Meanwhile,
RanCorps are ditching sales targets in the hope that they will snuff out
the mis-selling that has plagued them this year and prevent their bad
performance from spilling over into 2021.
Orion is looking to expand its UK business. _______

A major backer pulled out of a deal with Orion over the potential share
of the business. _______
Orion has been performing poorly in the UK market. _______
Ensno has many failing divisions in its company. _______
RanCorps is looking to fix its mis-selling problem by ending sales targets.
_______
Set 32
Splash out Spend a considerable amount of money.
Consumers continued to splash out last month, pushing up sales in many
areas.
Spurred by Encouraged or influenced by.
The rise was largely spurred by the poor performance of the pound.
Square off To prepare to compete or challenge one another; to sell off.
Small firms squared off against larger ones in the industry over action
to improve access to suppliers.
Squeeze To feel strong pressure; a reduction or restriction usually on
spending, investing or borrowing.
Interest rates are at a low level, squeezing profits in the banking sector.
Stand down To leave or resign from a job or position.
Orion’s chief financial officer Michael Dune will stand down next June
after three years in the job.
Starting to bite Beginning to take effect, often with unpleasant results.
The reality of another quarter with little income is starting to bite for
many retailers.
Stave off To stop something negative or bad from happening.
These measures will go far to help stave off another global financial
crisis.
Steel (itself/themselves) Prepare or get ready for something difficult or
disruptive.
Firms will therefore have to steel themselves for another set of measures.
56 S. HART
Steer clear Avoid or stay away from.

These investors steer clear of early stage companies and focus instead on
large corporations.
After a squeeze on its operations overseas and rising operational costs
starting to bite, RanCorps may need to steel itself for bids as well as
stave off offers from rivals for certain divisions that are turning a profit.
Indeed, it does seem like Orion is always willing to splash out on risky
ventures but equally would steer clear of silly acquisitions and this may
be in that category. Either way, RanCorps will look to square off their
entire overseas portfolio and, spurred by fears over the company’s future,
Chief Financial Officer Mark Malls has also agreed to stand down with
immediate effect.
RanCorps is performing poorly overseas. _______

Orion often make silly acquisitions. _______
RanCorps will look to keep their overseas portfolio. _______
CFO Mark Malls has now left the company. _______
RanCorps is unlikely to receive bids from companies looking to buy them
out. _______
Set 33
Step down To leave or resign from a, usually, important job or position.
The finance director of ELM is to step down.
Sticking point Something that is leading to a delay or halting progress
during talks or negotiations.
The final price was always likely to be a sticking point .
Striking distance Near or close to achieving something.
The sector is said to be at striking distance of achieving these government
targets.
Strip/Stripping out To take away or remove.
If these indexes are stripped out, then the gains do outweigh the losses.
Stump up To pay the necessary costs, often reluctantly.

It just means that existing shareholders will have to stump up even more
money.
Tail off Gradually reduce in amount, value or effort.
Interest will tail off once the prices return to normal levels.
Take a tumble To fall or slip to a lower level.
Share prices will inevitably take a tumble as a result when the financial
markets open.
Take heart To find encouragement and optimism; to take comfort from
something.
Investors will take heart from the news that a settlement is now on the
way.
Take it on the chin To accept defeat, criticism or misfortune without
complaint.
According to a source, the board is understood to have no plans to
challenge the decision and is prepared to take it on the chin.
Even though its maverick founder has decided to stand down after
thirty years, Orion is now in striking distance of surpassing Ensno as the
sector’s most valuable firm. Despite stripping out nearly £25m in costs
from the business by streamlining three of its divisions, Ensno’s profits
have tailed off and last week it failed to convince the company’s main
backers to stump up more cash for its latest project. An insider, though,
suggested the company could ‘take heart from the fact that talks are
due with two other investors. It is a great project but funding is always
the sticking point and we don’t have as much as we would like at the
moment.’ Ensno’s stock took a tumble yesterday following these reports.
‘We’ll take it on the chin and make sure we get the investment we need
to push on through with this,’ they added.
Orion has surpassed Ensno as the sector’s most valuable firm. _______
Ensno has spent £25m streamlining some of its divisions. _______
An insider for Ensno was positive that further backers could be found for
their project. _______
Ensno’s stock is down. _______
Orion’s founder is going to be leaving the company. _______
58 S. HART
Set 34
Take stock To take time to think carefully about a decision or the current
situation.
Business leaders are expected to take stock of the progress the sector has
made.
Take the edge off To lessen the effect of an unpleasant or trying
situation.
Reports that the government will offer some funding have taken the edge
off the fee increases.
Take the plunge To (finally) do something that is important, difficult or
nerve-wracking.
Before they take the plunge, would-be investors will require access to this
data.
Take the reins To take charge or assume control.
Michael Herney is set to take the reins of this investment trust.
Take the wind out of their sails To make someone feel less confident or
less enthusiastic about something.
The announcement that the other deal will now not go ahead has taken
the wind out of Mendco’s sails somewhat.
Taking hold Taking effect or becoming established.
Emergency measures to combat this are beginning to take hold in many
countries.
Taking their cues Listening to and acting upon what someone else is
saying or doing.
But rather than taking their cues from these weekly announcements,
investors seem to be acting on their own initiative.
Taking their toll Starting to have a negative impact.
Several stores are set to close as disappointing retail sales take their toll.
Taking up the slack Doing the work that has been left undone and that
no one else is doing.
Heads of division are increasingly taking up the slack with these cuts to
frontline staff numbers.
Fresh from taking the plunge and starting their own consumer busi-
ness, Ensno is now looking for a big-name investor to take the reins of
the newly formed division. Other divisions have been taking up the slack
for too long on the consumer side of things. Indeed, Ensno have taken
their cues from great rivals Orion who became aware that changes in the
sector were beginning to take their toll on the business and that expan-
sion was needed. Ensno’s new division should also take the edge off the
disappointing performance in this area of late where the loss of two key
consumer contracts took the wind out of the company’s sails just as
it was recovering. Consolidation policies are beginning to take hold in
every boardroom now, as companies take stock of the radical changes
currently sweeping the sector.
Ensno is looking for an investor to run a new division of the company.

_______
Orion has recently done a similar thing. _______
Changes in the sector have meant that a separate consumer division is
necessary. _______
All companies in the sector have had to consolidate in response to recent
changes in the sector. _______
Ensno was performing well until the company lost two contracts. ______
_
Set 35
Tall order Something that is difficult to achieve or fulfil.
But turning the company around after this latest setback is going to be
a very tall order .
Tanked Done badly or failed; fallen.
The bad news is that growth is tanking across several industries.
Tap into To take advantage of something or to create a connection with
something.
Orion is set to listen to experts as it seeks to tap into buoyant financial
markets.
Throw in the towel To stop trying; to quit doing something.
60 S. HART
Investors seem about ready to throw in the towel after these latest
measures.
Teetering on the edge Likely to soon experience an unpleasant or
undesirable situation.
The Italian economy is now teetering on the edge of recession.
Thrash out To discuss something intensely in order to reach a decision
or agreement.
Banking regulators have been thrashing out proposals to deal with these
large bonuses.
Throw your hat in the ring Make it known that you are keen to do
something, join something or apply for something.
Sixteen firms threw their hat in the ring to assist with the process.
Throw (your) might/weight behind Use all your influence and power
to support something or someone.
The investment demonstrates that leading firms are happy to throw their
weight behind sustainability policies.
Ticked up Increased or went up.
Inflation ticked up to 2.6% in October after falling the previous two
months.
Consumer confidence ticked up in April but many suspect it will still
be a tall order to return to pre-lockdown levels any time soon. With
firms teetering on the edge and investors seemingly throwing in the
towel over the uncertainty, five of the industry’s leaders are throwing
their weight behind a potential kickstart fund. One of them, who wished
to remain anonymous, told us that ‘our stock has not tanked in the way
some has in the past year but we were still more than willing to throw
our hat into the ring and help thrash out a deal that can help others
tap into the still enormous growth potential of our sector.’
Consumer confidence rose in April. _______

Investors seem to have abandoned the sector. _______
Industry leaders are supporting the development of a fund to help
businesses. _______
One of these leaders is involved because his company has performed

poorly. _______
He believes that despite the poor showing from some firms, the sector
can have a bright future. _______

—What does a soft showing refer to?
a poor performance a calm negotiation
a relaxed attitude a cautious position
—When you take control of something you are said to…

take stock take the reins
take the plunge take it on the chin
—Which one of the following terms is considered to be positive?

teetering on the edge take the wind out of your
sails
take the edge off a spanner in the works
—To ‘take stock’ means to…

Invest increase
lose out reflect
—When you are near or close to achieving something you are…

in striking distance throwing your weight
behind it
taking up the slack squaring off
—A ‘squeeze’ is…
a restriction on spending a breakthrough in
negotiations
a criticism a sustained period
of growth
62 S. HART
—Which of these is the odd one out?

stand down step down
throw in the towel take the reins
Set 36
Tie-up An agreement or association between two companies or organisa-
tions.
The tie-up with Mendco is more of a bailout than a partnership between
two equal firms.
Tighten/Loosen the purse strings To decrease/increase spending.
With consumers continuing to tighten the purse strings , many retailers
have seen their profits slide.
Tight-lipped Refusing to communicate or comment on something.
Directors remained tight-lipped about the possible acquisition.
Tip off To alert or inform someone, often secretly.
The financial services authority had received a tip-off from an insider
around three months before.
Tip of the iceberg Only a small part of a much bigger problem.
The $500 million that has been recovered so far is just the tip of the
iceberg .
To bear fruit To produce a favourable or successful outcome.
They are not frightened to pursue investments that take time to bear
fruit .
Took off Saw a rapid rise in popularity, activity or development.
The sector took off as banks withdrew traditional lending products
during the financial crisis.
To punt around Play around with; use casually or carelessly.
Many traders still see it as a commodity just to punt around .
Top up To increase or add to; to raise the level of something.
The government has been under pressure to top up these furlough
payments.
Although both companies had remained tight-lipped, it does appear

that there will be a tie-up between Ensno and RanCorps that will see
both firms loosening their purse strings in the hope that business in
the Asian markets will take off. It seems a tip-off by someone close to
the company alerted the media to the news of the association. Orion had
been punting around with the idea of joining forces with one of their
rivals to top up the strong rise they had achieved in sales volumes in the
last quarter anyway. An industry insider believes the deal between the two
is just the tip of the iceberg, especially if the arrangement bears fruit for
both parties.
Ensno and RanCorps are not planning on spending significantly despite

their collaboration. _______
Orion had been thinking of doing a deal with a rival. _______
There may be further partnerships between Ensno and RanCorps in the
future. _______
The two companies were trying to keep the news from leaking. _______
Their dealings in the Asian market are limited at the moment. _______
Set 37
To the tune of The rough or approximate sum; amounting to.
They claim that the business hub will boost the local economy to the tune
of £4m a year.
Touch and go Uncertain as to the outcome of something; unpredictable
and potentially risky.
Most experts agree that it will be touch and go whether there will be a
rise anytime soon.
Track record The performance history of an individual, company, instru-
ment or asset.
The track record of the fund would also need to be assessed.
Trim (your) sails To change behaviour, often in a restrictive or limiting
way, to suit a new set of circumstances.
This trimmed the market’s sails and led to a period of uncertainty.
64 S. HART
Turn a blind eye To ignore or pretend not to notice behaviour and

actions that are, usually, wrong or illegal.
The authorities can no longer turn a blind eye to money laundering
risks.
Turn a corner To improve or find success after a bad period.
Directors at the firm will now be hoping this will allow them to turn a
corner .
Turn on its head The opposite or reverse; to view something opposite
to what was originally proposed.
Manserts posted impressive first half figures but this was turned on its
head in the second half.
Turn the screw To increase the pressure or place extra stress on
individuals or businesses.
It is a move that will turn the screw on inactive members of the
boardroom.
Turn the tide To reverse the course of events and change things for the
better.
This could be the venture that turns the tide and delivers much needed
profit.
With a new grant set to help them with their cash-flow problems to
the tune of £3 million, Ensno will hope to turn a corner and put this
bad year behind them. Having trimmed their sails somewhat after a
period of financial turmoil in which it was touch and go whether they
would survive, there is cause for optimism. One commentator told us
that ‘with their track record of getting out of tight spots I think they will
be fine. A lot of it was their own making. They turned a blind eye to
many inefficient practices and unnecessary risks being taken. But the new
management have come in and turned the screw. It’s tough, the industry
has been turned on its head by these new mobile banking firms.’ I guess
we will see in the months ahead whether Ensno has indeed managed to
turn the tide.
Ensno has cut costs recently. _______

Ensno was not in danger of going bust at any point. _______
The firm has a reputation for getting out of trouble. _______

They knew about but ignored inefficient practices within the company.
_______
Mobile banking firms have been successful of late. _______
Set 38
Under the cosh Under pressure or experiencing difficulty and stress.
Ensno has been under the cosh of late, not least from environmental
groups who have criticised its recent partnerships.
Under the microscope Examined or studied very carefully; being the
subject of intense scrutiny.
Manserts’ auditing of 3NP is another that has been under the micro-
scope.
Until the dust settles Until things quieten down and are calmer.
There is unlikely to be any meaningful developments until the dust
settles on this economic crisis.
Up front In advance or beforehand; before goods or services are received;
honest and straightforward.
Suppliers are now requiring that all products must be paid for up front .
Upstream At an early point in the production process or nearer the
source.
The complaint centred around the burden that these firms impose on
upstream suppliers.
Uptick An upward trend, increase or rise.
The dollar’s recent uptick has stalled somewhat with the delay to the new
stimulus package.
Up to the job To be capable of performing the role; having the necessary
ability to do something.
The question is whether these pension funds are even up to the job.
Wade in To feel the need to get involved in something that has already
begun, sometimes without being asked to.
With the credit crisis holding firm, it is time for the Federal Reserve to
wade in and cut interest rates.
Ward off To prevent something from happening or occurring.
66 S. HART
These firms will need to diversify their operations if they are to ward off
future financial crises.
With certain companies under the microscope after questionable
bonuses were sent out to bosses despite falling profits and redundancies,
industry spokespersons are asking firms to be more up front about their
dealings. Internal enquiries have not been up to the job and so an inde-
pendent body may have to wade in to the crisis to get to the bottom
of it. Orion is one of those companies under the cosh and may have to
put growth plans on hold until the dust settles. They have been plagued
by production problems upstream of late, but will hope the predicted
uptick in the sector’s fortunes will ward off any further threats to their
operation.
Companies are being scrutinised over bonus payments. _______

Internal enquiries by companies have revealed these bonus payments.
_______
An independent enquiry is likely to be set up to investigate further. ____
___
Orion will probably wait a while before going ahead with expansion plans.
_______
The sector is predicted to grow in the near future. _______
Set 39
Warn off To advise against doing something or getting involved in
something.
The sort of risk that is involved in these types of venture does warn off
many investors.
Water down To make something weaker, less effective or less offensive.
Ultimately, it is a watered down version so as not to upset the larger
firms.
Wave through To give approval to something or permission.
The authorities are set to wave through the merger next week.
Wear off To gradually fade or disappear.
The hype surrounding these events tends to wear off within a week or so.
Weathering the storm Successfully dealing with a difficult situation or
period.
Many companies have weathered that particular storm and are now
looking to expand their business.
Weigh(ed) on Cause problems for; affect or be burdensome.
The drop in price has weighed on firms heavily involved in the sector.
Weigh up Consider and evaluate the good and the bad of something.
US stocks have seen mixed results with investors weighing up the chances
of another stimulus.
Whipsaw(ed) To be subject to two trying situations at the same time; to
experience a double loss.
European and Asian stocks whipsawed Tuesday as investors reacted to
both the disruption caused by the pandemic and falling oil prices.
Whittling down Reducing gradually or eliminating in stages.
Banks continue to whittle down their rates leaving savers with few
options.
If the weakness in the markets in 2019 had weighed on the perfor-
mance of Orion, then they certainly weathered the storm in 2020 and
are set to bounce back stronger in 2021 as the crisis wears off. With a
takeover of RanCorps set to be waved through, a spokesperson for the
company has also revealed that their new predictive analytics system will
soon be up and running to warn managers off making investments in
certain companies.
It’s not all good news for the sector though. The government is whit-
tling down its support to small businesses and is also set to water down
the tax benefits large corporations had been receiving for the past year.
Stocks have been whipsawed on the back of this as traders begin to
weigh up the effects of these announcements.
Orion’s performance was steady in 2020. _______

The future is looking bright for the sector as the crisis ends. _______
The takeover of RanCorps is not going ahead now. _______
68 S. HART
The government looks set to end its support of small businesses. _______
Traders will likely avoid dealing with the sector. _______
Set 40
Wind down To gradually relax or bring to an end or a close.
The bank announced that it would wind down all of its non-European
banking operations.
Wind up To close down a business or company or gradually bring
something to an end.
The only option is for them to wind up operations in these regions.
Also: to end up or result in.
Some firms might even wind up reporting greater losses than before if
the marketplace becomes saturated.
Wipe off To remove or erase; to reduce in value by a large amount.
They succeeded in wiping off this debt from their balance sheet by the end
of the year.
Work out (at) Amount to; add up to.
After tax, this figure works out at a mere $12 an hour.
Wrangle over To argue or have a dispute about something, often for a
sustained period.
Eurozone leaders have been wrangling over this debt deal for months
now.
Wring out Obtain, extract or eliminate.
Historically, these fund managers have been able to wring out higher
returns.
Write down/Writedown A reduction in the value of an asset in the
accounts of a company.
The write-down in their valuation is largely due to a shift in the way
they are reporting figures now.
Writeoff/Write off A debt that cannot be recovered; to set an asset’s
future value to zero.
A 6% writeoff is a good result given the situation they were in.
Wrongfooting Getting caught out by something unexpected.
The jump in demand has wrongfooted suppliers who had been expecting
a quiet quarter.
Orion’s ill-fated European division could wind up having to write off
debts of $60 million following a wrangle over contracts. If the division
is eventually wound down, it is likely to wipe off at least 500 million
dollars from their market value according to a spokesperson. ‘There are
several figures coming out at the moment and one suggests that they will
write down the value of their assets by up to 350 million dollars.’ Their
ability to wring out costs though should allow them to wrongfoot the
economists who had forecast they would also struggle domestically with
costs in the sector having risen dramatically in every area of production.
One estimate has worked it out at 13 dollars per unit.
Orion is having some difficulties in Europe over disputed contracts. ____

__
It would cost Orion 60 million dollars if the division was to fold. ______
Orion has a reputation for managing their costs. _______
Forecasters had predicted Orion would perform poorly. _______
Orion is known to be struggling domestically. _______

—If a company ‘turns a corner’ it…
changes its mind about ignores something
something
improves its position worsens its position
—If you decide to spend less you…

stay tight-lipped tighten your purse strings
loosen your purse strings turn the screw
70 S. HART
—Which one of these in no way relates to reversing your fortunes?

weather the storm turn the tide
turn on its head turn the screw
—Which one of these terms relates specifically to getting involved in

something?
wade in wave through
wring out ward off
—Which one of these terms relates to adapting your behaviour to suit the
conditions?
wind up weigh up
trim your sails turn a blind eye
—If you are ‘under the cosh,’ you might be described as?
keen hardworking
stressed successful
—Which one of these terms is a warning that there may be bigger

problems ahead?
weather the storm tip of the iceberg
loosen the purse strings turn the tide
CHAPTER 2
Part B: Financial Language—Expressions

from Spoken Exchanges
The expressions used when professionals discuss finance and business in

both formal and informal settings are diverse and often baffling if English
is not your first language. But even for native speakers, spoken exchanges
between business people might be difficult to understand if you do not
work in these industries.
Again, a mix of slang, metaphor and idiom is prevalent in exchanges
taking place in boardrooms, offices, lobbies and coffee houses. This
section covers terms most commonly employed when people working in
the business, finance and banking professions meet and converse.
Expressions from Meetings and Interviews

These extracts have been adapted from original interviews and meetings.
After each extract, a couple of questions are posed to test your initial
understanding. The extracts appear in sets of two and are followed by
definitions so you can check whether you interpreted them correctly. The
final section is the ‘performance indicator’ which tests your knowledge
again, this time once you have read all the passages and revised the defi-
nitions. Will you be able to pick out the right expression for each of the
scenarios given?
SPECULATE:

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4086-6_2
72 S. HART
(1) Banking is a tough profession. Quite often you are living on the
edge. You’ve also got to have that attitude where you don’t suffer
fools. You are competing and you make sure you do whatever it
takes to move up. Quite early on you are benchmarked to see
whether you improve what they already have.
What do you think ‘living on the edge’ means?
_________________________
Which expressions help to demonstrate that the banking industry
is competitive?
_________________________
(2) Even if you never planned to work long hours when you started
you get caught up in it. What takes up most of the time when you
first start is all the monkey tasks they make you do. And you don’t
have much free time or flexibility, I mean it is even frowned upon
by some to book a personal appointment during work hours.
What might it mean to get ‘caught up’ in something?
_________________________
What do you think some of his colleagues would say if the
interviewee booked time off for a personal appointment?
_________________________
(1)
living on the edge—living dangerously and taking risks in life.
don’t suffer fools—to have little patience with or tolerance of
people who are stupid or irritating.
move up—get to a higher level in a company; gain a promotion.
benchmark—evaluate or measure the quality of something by
comparing it with a standard.
(2)
caught up—heavily involved in something without either expecting
to be or being aware of your degree of involvement.
monkey tasks—tasks that are a waste of time or insignificant and
that could be carried out by unskilled workers.
2 PART B: FINANCIAL LANGUAGE—EXPRESSIONS … 73
frowned upon—referring to something that people or employers

disapprove of.
SPECULATE:
(3) There are some that don’t make the grade where perhaps they
found it difficult having to swim with sharks. You know, if you
are not making waves from the very start it can be difficult to
prove that you can do the job. Going hell for leather doesn’t suit
everybody and so you have to be realistic and accept that maybe
you weren’t cut out for it. You just have to take it on the chin and
move on I guess. Thankfully, I didn’t get that tap on the shoulder
and the axe fell on a couple of my colleagues instead.
If you are ‘making waves’ what might you be doing?
_________________________
How might you react when taking something ‘on the chin’?
_________________________
(4) You have to take your cues from your superiors. They tend to
throw their weight around as you would expect, especially in
meetings. They see things in black and white and are very much
in charge so you have to sit there really and just keep your powder
dry. If you try to compete or say something that is not really your
business then, down the line, it will cost you.
How might superiors act in meetings?
_________________________
What advice is being given on how to act with superiors?
_________________________
(3)
make the grade—succeed; achieve the required standard. Be good
enough to remain in the job.
swim with sharks—to hang around or do business with dangerous
or powerful people or those with a ruthless reputation.
making waves—being either proactive and proficient (positive) or
causing trouble and upsetting the norm (negative).
hell for leather—acting in a determined way and doing everything
possible; working on something at a very fast pace.
74 S. HART
cut out for it—suited to or good at a task or a role. Often used with
‘not’ to mean unsuited to something.
take it on the chin—to accept a bad situation without complaining;
to carry on despite a setback.
tap on the shoulder—taken to one side for a chat, possibly to be
given bad news.
axe fell—to be dismissed from a job, often because the company
needs to save money.
(4)
take your cues—copy, be influenced by, or behave in the same way
as, someone else.
throw their weight around—using authority and status to be overly
assertive and controlling.
black and white—to see a situation clearly and to easily understand
what is good and bad, or right and wrong, about it.
in charge—in control or having overall responsibility.
keep your powder dry—to remain cautious and wait before taking
any action or using any resources.
down the line—in the future; at a stage further along in the process.
(5) When you go in, there are always a few loose cannons who don’t
heed the advice and they go against the grain and do their own
thing. So, you need to focus on what you are doing and make sure
you are not tarred with the same brush as these bankers. Once
you do a few good trades, as long as they are not Mickey Mouse
ones then your standing will shoot up.
Why is it best to avoid certain bankers?
_________________________
What might a Mickey Mouse trade be?
_________________________
(6) We need to make sure that we all chip in in the next few months to
ensure that things continue to run smoothly. I mean it is a tentative
schedule at the moment but as things roll along it should become
clearer. There will come a time when we’ll have to roll our sleeves
up and bail water, but until that point, we can follow the proposed
timetable confident of success.
What does it mean to ‘chip in’?

_________________________
What type of circumstance would require someone to have to ‘roll
up their sleeves’?
________________________
(5)
loose cannons—unpredictable and unreliable people.
go against the grain—to do the opposite of what people expect or
what people have advised.
tarred with the same brush—thinking that someone has the same
bad qualities or faults as someone else or as their company just
because they are connected to or associated with them.
Mickey Mouse—small, amateurish or insignificant.
Shoot up—increase suddenly and by a large amount.
(6)
chip in—contribute; give time or money to a cause or project.
roll along—steady or smooth progress over time of, say, a scheme
or project.
roll our sleeves up—to prepare for difficult or challenging work
bail water—help to fix a difficult situation.
(7) A lot of the products the bank was offering ran over many years.
This was the way a lot of institutions were going about things
and we certainly picked up the ball on this providing some very
competitive investments. You know, we doubled down on a few
key areas. This all came about last year when we had the chance
to take stock of where we were and what direction we wanted to
head in.
76 S. HART
What might it mean to ‘double down’?

_________________________
What did the company do to find out the direction they wanted to
go?
_________________________
(8) You can work your tail off on a project and suddenly find out
from management it is being parked for whatever reason. It is
difficult to talk back now and question the decision. These projects
used to just be rubber-stamped with no fuss made but it really is a
different kettle of fish now. Things change; decisions are reversed
constantly.
What can sometimes happen to a project?
_________________________
How is decision-making different from before?
_________________________
(7)
ran over many years—lasted for many years.
pick up the ball—to take responsibility or ownership of a task or
situation.
doubled down—to increase effort or commit more resources
towards something to try to maximise the result.
take stock—taking some time to reflect and assess a situation before
giving an opinion or taking action.
(8)
Work your tail off —work hard and likely for a long period.
Parked—to stop working on something such as a project or idea,
either indefinitely or with a view to returning to it in the future.
Talk back—to answer or reply to someone in a position of authority,
often boldly or disrespectfully.
Rubber-stamp—to officially approve or endorse something, often
quickly or in a routine way.
Different kettle of fish—a situation or subject that is very unlike
the one being discussed.
(9) This department sits above the finance teams. If you end up
there it means you really have worked through the grind. These
guys have remained loyal, they haven’t jumped ship thinking
they could do better somewhere else. They are not your garden
variety, they are loyal, driven and very capable individuals.
What do you do if you decide to ‘jump ship’?
_________________________
What might a ‘garden variety’ individual be like?
_________________________
(10) You start off shadowing one of the senior team if you are a
green junior banker. Even after a few days it really drives home
how intense it can be working in the industry—but also how
rewarding. Certainly, I leaned on a few of the senior staff at the
beginning. But eventually you have to step up and start making
strides to impress the managers and progress.
How did she interact with the senior staff at the beginning?
_________________________
What does it mean to ‘step up’?
_________________________
(9)
Sits above—has a higher rank or standing.
Through the grind—through a series of difficult, challenging or
tiring experiences.
Jumped ship—to leave an organisation or a project because it is
likely to fail or because of a better offer elsewhere.
Garden variety—ordinary or unexceptional.
(10)
Shadowing—following an experienced employee around to observe
them and learn from them.
Green—inexperienced or young (also slang for the American dollar).
Drive home—to make something clear through emphasis, often an
important point.
Lean on—depend on someone for support or encouragement; put
pressure on someone to do something.
78 S. HART
Step up—to take action or make more effort to meet a challenge.

Making strides—making progress and achieving.
(11) We have often made knee-jerk reactions to minor crises. Some-

times it is required in the near-term but in the long term, there
are knock-on effects that are not anticipated. So, we do tend to
caveat that and bake long-term planning into the cake.
What kind of reaction might a ‘knee-jerk’ one be?
_________________________
Why do you think some effects are labelled ‘knock-on’?
_________________________
(12) This can give legs to certain rumours and make companies feel
that there might be a weakness there that gathers steam. Then
you are on alert and making sure that any moves you make
are just solid and not headline-grabbing. As everyone knows,
downturns can morph into something more serious.
What happens to rumours that are ‘given legs’?
________________________
What sort of ‘moves’ are being suggested by the speaker?
________________________
(11)
Knee-jerk reaction—responding to something automatically or
immediately without necessarily considering the facts or wider
picture.
Near-term not too far into the future; occurring soon.
Knock-on effects—secondary or indirect effects, often unintended
or unplanned, that an initial action causes.
Caveat—a warning, often regarding conditions or limits to some-
thing.
Bake into the cake—important information has already been taken
into account or included.
(12)
Give legs—give something credibility or weight, often to a project
or to a rumour.
Gather steam—to gain momentum; to increase in energy or
strength.
On alert—ready to deal with what may happen or occur.
Headline-grabbing—something likely to attract attention or
publicity.
Morph into—to change into something else.
(13) You can do all the factfinding you want or punt around hoping
to stumble upon something but sometimes you have a gut feeling
about a trade. I mean, it can work against you; you can be seen
as a hothead or reckless in the eyes of your seniors but if you are
making money and it’s all above board then the management
will love you. They keep score after all and that’s where you earn
your bonuses!
What does it mean to have a ‘gut feeling’ about something?
___________________
If something is ‘above board’ then it is considered what?
____________________
(14) They can put you on the spot, you know, railroad you into
doing something for the good of the firm and that’s fair enough.
The younger analysts are a bit of a sideshow for the senior ones.
It’s not like comparing apples with apples. They soon realise
who is going to make it. If you are disciplined enough you just
have to go on autopilot for a time and do as you are told. But
some are good at getting around the rules.
If you have been railroaded into something what has happened?
____________________
How does someone act if they ‘go on autopilot’?
_____________________
80 S. HART
(13)
Factfinding—the act of working out the details of a case or issue;
research to gather facts.
Punt around—casually exploring or seeking out something.
Gut feeling—a personal and instinctive feeling but not necessarily
based on facts.
Work against you—to contribute or lead to a negative or
unfavourable result.
Hothead—someone easily angered or someone who is reckless and
does things without thinking.
Above board—open, honest and legal.
Keep score—to keep a record of the number of times something
happens, often relating to successes or failures.
(14)
Put you on the spot—force someone into answering something or
making a quick decision about something without warning and that
may be difficult or awkward for them.
Railroad—to hassle or force someone into doing something or to
ensure something happens by forcing it.
Sideshow—a diversion of minor importance; an event of lesser
significance.
Compare apples with apples—to compare two things that are very
similar.
Go on autopilot—to do something without needing to think about
it or without paying much attention.
Get around the rules—avoid or evade the legal barriers or regula-
tions to accomplish something.
(15) The recent situation with the economy is not good. Nobody
expected it to fall off a cliff , which is what has happened really.
The data shows it has certainly taken on a sour note. Being
aggressive is not even going to get us off the hook. All busi-
nesses are in a bind at the moment. Hopefully, we can keep our
side of things on an even keel and just wait for the headwinds
period to arrive. As soon as there is an uptick we can pursue our
original goals.
How is a business doing if it is ‘in a bind’?

_________________________
Are ‘headwinds’ considered good or bad for business prospects?
_________________________
(16) If they give us a number that is in the right ballpark, then hope-
fully we can put this deal to bed in the next few months. As with
all deals like this, time is of the essence. We keep the paper trail
to show the work we have put in as a department but ultimately it
is a company-wide effort, it’s across the board. We can tap into
expertise from other departments and help them out when they
need support.
What does a ‘paper trail’ do?
_________________________
What happens when a deal is ‘put to bed’?
_________________________
(15)
fall off a cliff —to suddenly and rapidly reduce or deteriorate.
Sour note—a negative aspect or end to something that has been
mostly positive.
Off the hook—to get out of, or no longer have to deal with, a
troubling or unpleasant situation.
In a bind—in a difficult or awkward situation; faced with a problem
that may or may not have been self-inflicted.
On an even keel—stable and balanced; working smoothly and
steadily.
Headwinds—a condition in which growth or success is made more
difficult.
Uptick—a small increase or slight rise.
(16)
In the right ballpark—near the correct amount that is desired or
has been discussed.
Put to bed—finish dealing with something.
Time is of the essence—a need for a quick response or to act fast
due to limited time.
82 S. HART
Paper trail—written evidence for the events or activities of a person

or company.
Across the board—affecting or applying to everyone or everything.
Tap into—to establish a link or connection with something to take
advantage or benefit from it.
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR:
So which term should I employ?
i. I WANT TO SAY THAT… after positive talks the meeting ended

with a slight disagreement.
A. frowned upon B. knee-jerk reaction C. sour note D. made waves
ii. I WANT TO SAY THAT… there was a written record of all the
meetings and discussions that took place.
A. bake into the cake B. factfinding C. take stock D. paper trail
iii. I WANT TO SAY THAT… the data that was used to make the
decision was very basic and not very detailed or extensive.
A. garden variety B. black and white C. headline-grabbing D.
benchmarked
iv. I WANT TO SAY THAT… we need a quick response to this.
A. in a bind B. go on autopilot C. gather steam D. time is of the
essence
v. I WANT TO SAY THAT… we will be having a look at a few
opportunities in the coming weeks.
A. gut feeling B. punt around C. drive home D. give legs
vi. I WANT TO SAY THAT… we need to stop and reflect for a little
while.
A. take stock B. tap into C. go on autopilot D. put to bed
vii. I WANT TO SAY THAT… someone took responsibility for
something and did well.
A. picked up the ball B. tapped into C. rolled along D. leaned on
viii. I WANT TO SAY THAT… someone needs to watch and learn
from the management.
A. tap into B. take stock C. tap on the shoulder D. take their cues
ix. I WANT TO SAY THAT… we need to work as hard as possible
on this project.
A. hell for leather B. go against the grain C. fall off a cliff D.

through the grind
x. I WANT TO SAY THAT… managers notice who is performing
well and who isn’t.
A. keep score. B. tap into C. shadowing D. punt around
xi. I WANT TO SAY THAT… several of the managers left before
things got really bad.
A. picked up the ball B. rolled along C. made waves D. jumped
ship
xii. I WANT TO SAY THAT… everyone needs to contribute
A. make the grade B. chip in C. take their cue D. catch up.
Expressions in Informal Conversations

The following conversations have been adapted from real exchanges that
took place between business people in informal settings. The expressions
appear in bold and the explanations are in brackets.
17. CONVERSATION I
A: There were loads of options but I did kind of swing it in your

favour (change the result or outcome to benefit you).
B: Great. Job done then, yeah?
A: Job done.
B: Yeah, so sorry about my colleague. He was ill last week.
A: Well, he’s in my bad books (he has done something to annoy me)
anyway. I’ve never spoken to him or met him but he’s a key guy
we need.
B: Well, the branches are key. One school of thought (particular
way of thinking) just to give you a sense of what’s happening is
the devices will be on show regardless. Because it will be tricky
(difficult) for us otherwise....Yeah and just to be right up front
(honest and frank straightaway) and say whether the branches
are up and running, the devices will be ready and displayed in
these areas. So, to ensure that I am pitching correctly with what
we are going with because I don’t want to devalue the process in
any way.
84 S. HART
A: They are sold on the concept (convinced by the idea) but the
only person they have heard it from is me. But Morgan is talking
to Michael today.
B: So how does he sit within this? (what is his role?)
A: So he sits...so you’ve got Margaret in enterprise and a guy called
Mike on channels. And John sits on strategy.
B: Ok, I understand.
18. CONVERSATION II
A: I didn’t get done what I wanted to today but then that’s always
true of a task like this. How about you?
B: Yeah, you need to get in the right frame of mind (right mood
or attitude) for it. It’s not something that we particularly relish
either so when you have to do it, yeah, you have to knuckle down
(apply yourself and work hard) and just get on with it I guess.
Although sometimes you do feel like just downing tools (stop
working or refuse to work anymore).
A: I’ve spent two weeks with John there and all the time we were
at crossed wires ( misunderstanding each other). It’s a bit of
a merry-go-round (a continuous cycle of people arriving and
leaving) at our place really. We’ve had a real purge (got rid of
a lot of staff) and there may be others heading for the door
(leaving the company) soon. I mean, a couple of guys didn’t last
five minutes. Ever come across (meet or hear of) a guy called __?
B: Yeah, I’ve heard good things.
A: Well, he’s good at rolling them out (launching and introducing
products) but he needs support. Sometimes he’s only got a team
of two or three with him.
B: How are the likes of John Berango? (How are John Berango
and those associated with him or similar in position to him).
A: He’s OK. He’s been sussing you out (trying to understand and
evaluate you).
B: Yeah? I think he’s been looking at me and two others.
A: But then that’s not strictly speaking your patch? (the area in
which you work).
B: Maybe not.
A: You know he does the hard yards (works very hard). That’s
all you can ask. We are very pleased with him so far. In fact, at
this stage, you could say he does over and above (does more
than is expected of him). He keeps some people at arm’s length
(away from him, having little to do with them) though so you
have to manoeuvre your way around that. And he is a hard-
liner (sticks stubbornly to a particular position / is strict and
uncompromising). He is a stuffy guy.
19. CONVERSATION III
A: A lot of cross sales, that’s what we’re doing. It’s working for us at
the moment. But you only need one like Andy and...
B: Maybe Andy lost sight of it (forgot about it or didn’t pay enough
attention to it).
A: He did. It was pretty inadequate.
B: There you go. And Michael?
A: He does not have a clue (have the knowledge or understanding).
I mean, he’s good at the soundbites (short catchy statements or
quotes) but doesn’t get his hands dirty (get involved in things
that are difficult or require effort).
B: That’s it.
A: Complete waste of time. I think we could have a problem with
the product he’s been working on, that’s why it needs to be tested
thoroughly.
B: It’s got a decent spec (good specification or performance).
A: It has. But it’s not black and white (an issue that can be clearly
defined as good or bad, right or wrong) you know, there are other
things at play (involved or influencing things) that we need to
be aware of.
B: It depends on how you break it down (explain it or view it by
looking at each part) I guess.
A: We need to be careful of L_____.
86 S. HART
B: I agree, they have some seriously heavy people (important, influ-

ential or powerful people) there so it will be difficult to compete,
but I think we can represent our side of things.
A: Well, I’m happy to keep cherry picking (choosing the best or most
desirable) bits and pieces out and then we’ll get a draft written up
and go from there.
20. CONVERSATION IV
B: There are lots of big players (powerful or leading figures) in the

sector today. I mean that wasn’t the case even ten years ago. Our
parent company is a good example.
A: Yeah, it’s how they make their money. Just their sheer size and
reputation. They’re good at it too, beating off (succeeding or
winning against) the competition, intimidating.
B: You are your own man (not influenced by or dependent upon
other people) out there for them though. It’s good in some ways
but it’s certainly not for everyone, that way of working. It could
put some people off.
A: Exactly
B: I mean some people do get put off (lose interest or enthusiasm)
by it, working in that way.
A: Yeah, yeah.
B: You know, you get recruited and are then expected to hit the
ground running (start performing well and with energy and
enthusiasm straight away). It’s fair enough but it’s not the same
as the expectations elsewhere.
A: I’ve heard from some others that it’s pretty intense.
B: Oh, you have an initial meeting and they sit you down and then
it’s bang, bang, bang, bang, bang (a continuous set of instruc-
tions or directives). And you are left on your own to get on with
it. They do expect a lot. You post ugly numbers (poor results)
early on and that’s it.
CHAPTER 3
Part C: Financial Language—Expressions

from the Textbooks
The language employed in textbooks and in academic papers is an obvious

area that will require much study and diligence if English is not your
first language. This section, laid out in a clear A–Z format, contains
academic terms that occur frequently in formal written texts. The expres-
sions have been chosen based on frequency, their value to a student of
the subject, and potential level of difficulty (standard and obscure terms
being omitted). They were extracted from a corpus comprising more than
100 graduate essays, 250 academic journal articles and 15 general text-
books on business, finance, and banking. The examples have been heavily
revised from the source material to leave just their essence.
Format:
Word This represents a key academic term important to business and

finance. A definition is provided alongside TWO examples of use.
Acquisition
Gaining possession or gaining control of (a company).
The next step is to look at cash-financed acquisitions.
Or perhaps the company goes public and creates public shares

to use for future acquisitions.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4086-6_3
88 S. HART
Word This represents a common academic term found in many texts

on the subject. A definition is provided alongside ONE example
of use (unless two examples are necessary)
Amortise to pay off an amount owed over time by making

regular payments.
The premium arising on loan issues is amortised over the term of

the loan to which it relates.
+Word This represents a mathematical/statistical term. A definition is

provided.
+beta
a coefficient that measures the correlation of a security or an

investment portfolio to movements in the overall market.
[Word—] This represents an institution/actor/element in the business

and finance fields. A definition is provided.
[Acquirer—usually, an acquiring bank that creates and maintains

the merchant’s bank account.]
Accrue/Accrual
to accumulate, receive or have due over time.
The greater this national disparity, the less gain accrued by the target
shareholders.
It is unlikely that they are picking up the stock mispricing associated with
these accruals .
[Acquirer—usually, an acquiring bank that creates and maintains the
merchant’s bank account.]
Acquisition
Gaining possession or gaining control of (a company).

The next step is to look at cash-financed acquisitions .
3 PART C: FINANCIAL LANGUAGE—EXPRESSIONS … 89
Or perhaps the company goes public and creates public shares to

use for future acquisitions .
Amortise to pay off an amount owed over time by making regular

payments.
The premium arising on loan issues is then amortised over the term of the
loan.
Annualised relating to a rate of interest, inflation, or return on an
investment recalculated as an annual rate.
EMPLR is the annualised employment rate of the labour force.
[Annuity—a series of payments made at equal intervals, such as mortgage
and pension payments.]
Anti-trust laws that encourage competition by limiting the market power
of any particular firm.
The Reagan administration deliberately loosened enforcement of the
antitrust regulations.
Appraisal an approach for conducting an analysis or evaluation of an
asset, a business or an organisation.
Tobin’s Q is one of the most commonly used performance appraisal
indicators .
Appreciation increase in the value of an asset over time.
The annual rate of real appreciation grew at less than 0.5 percent per
year.
Arbitrage
Making a profit by simultaneously buying and selling an asset or

commodity in different markets to take advantage of the price
difference.
90 S. HART
Rational investors are able to use arbitrage to correct asset

prices.
Better investor protection leads to more informed arbitrage.
[Asset—a resource of economic value that is owned or controlled by a

business or individual.]
Asymmetry/Asymmetric relating to information that is unbalanced,
such as one party having more or better information than another and
therefore able to make a more informed decision.
Larger firms tend to provide more information to outside investors,
resulting in less asymmetric information.
[Audit—an official inspection, usually by an independent organisation, of
a company’s finances and dealings.]
Backdating assigning an event to a date prior to that of its actual
occurrence (a likely fraudulent activity) or to the time of first action or
agreement but prior to execution or finalisation (often just to honour or
observe the initial starting point for future reference).
To place revenue to an earlier period on their financial statements, the
company backdated invoices to make it appear that the revenue occurred in
the earlier period.
As all the details and the formal documents would require some time for
preparation, the backdating served as evidence of their intent to transfer the
property on this earlier date.
[Bankruptcy—A method to eliminate any debts in order to become
solvent and make a fresh start. Any assets owned would also be taken
away from the person or company filing for bankruptcy.]
[Bear—An investor who is pessimistic or negative about market perfor-
mance and expects prices to fall in the near future.]
Benchmark
A standard by which to judge something; to test or measure a rival,
a product or a business practice to improve your own performance.
The data for 2003–2007 was used to benchmark the performance
of these companies.
These results can also be benchmarked more directly through
macro benchmarking.
[Beneficiaries—people or entities that gain an advantage from something

or profit from something.]
+Beta
a coefficient that measures the correlation of a security or an investment
portfolio to movements in the overall market.
Bilateral relating to, affecting or involving two sides or parties.
This has served to undermine the bilateral relations with China.
+Binomial
a type of distribution that has two possible outcomes.
Book-to-market/Market-to-book a ratio assessing a company’s value by
comparing its book value to its market value. Market-to-book is therefore
used to compare the current market value or price of a business to its
book value.
This is particularly the case with small firms after controlling for the
book-to-market ratio.
Borrowing to receive money from another party with the agreement that
the money will be repaid; the amount of money that is borrowed.
The Sharpe ratio is the reward-to-variability ratio for a portfolio formed
by borrowing at a risk-free rate and investing in the managed portfolio.
Short-term debt may improve a firm’s credit rating and reduce its
borrowing costs.
92 S. HART
[Brokerage—an organisation that acts as a middleman to connect buyers

and sellers to facilitate a transaction such as buying and selling money or
shares.]
[Bull—an investor who is optimistic or positive about market perfor-
mance and expects prices to rise in the near future.]
[Buybacks—the repurchase or re-acquisition by a company of its own
shares or stock, to either encourage investors or to reduce the number of
shares for sale.]
[Callable—bonds, shares and other investments that can be bought back
before maturity by the issuer that offered them or sold them.]
Capitalisation the sum of a corporation’s stock, long-term debt and
retained earnings. A quantitative assessment of a firm’s capital structure.
Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, its market capitalisation stood
at US$2,600 million by 2008.
Coalition an alliance (often temporary) between people, parties, compa-
nies or states for a specific purpose and to achieve a common goal.
A coalition of central banks, including the Bank of England and the
World Bank, has issued a rallying cry urging all stakeholders to address
climate challenges.
+Coefficient
(usually) a number that is used to multiply a variable.
+Cointegration
two or more time series variables that are stationary or constant over time.
Collateral
Property or asset that is guaranteed by a borrower as security for
repayment of, say, a loan.
Banks hold liquid assets as collateral against withdrawals to
retain their leverage.
Simply put, these investments have generally lower collateral

value.
Commission a fee paid to an agent or employee for performing a service

or conducting some business.
Under the agreement, he received commission for all the clients he
introduced to the company.
an official agency created to perform a particular function.
These shares were investigated by the Chinese Security Regulatory
Commission (CSRC).
[Commodity—an economic good such as a raw material that is bought
and sold on the markets.]
Comparables a comparison of financial metrics or other factors to obtain
the valuation or the performance of something, such as a business or a
property.
Public company comparables are the classic starting point for valuation
analysis.
Compensation monetary reward to someone for service or to make up
for someone’s loss, damage, or injury.
The cost is considered as the expected return of the compensation for
lenders.
Competitive involving competition; being able to compete effectively.
They found evidence that in a competitive market, acquirers bid more
aggressively.
comparable in level or standard to the existing competition.
The employee was also offered what was considered a competitive salary
at the time.
Compliant conforming to requirements.
Authorities will be cracking down on any products that are non-
compliant .
94 S. HART
Concessions things granted or conceded to someone such as special

rights or privileges.
The United Kingdom has also introduced key concessions into its rules to
decarbonise new vehicles.
Congestible likely to become crowded and often used to refer to goods
that act as public goods when demand is low, and common goods
otherwise.
They explore the basic economic theory of pricing a congestible resource.
[Conglomerates—corporations that are made up of several different,
independent businesses. These groups usually comprise a parent company
along with many subsidiaries.]
Consolidate to combine financial assets, data, statements or accounts
from several companies or departments.
It launched a three-year plan aiming to liberalise the industry and
encourage it to consolidate and restructure.
Constraints things that limit or affect what can be done.
The authors suggest that the financing constraints and other market
imperfections are particularly severe.
[Counterparties—the other people or organisations entering into a
financial contract or transaction.]
Consumption spending to acquire and use goods or services.
A rapidly growing economy means high demand and consumption in the
country.
Contingency
A potential negative situation that could occur and needs to be

planned and prepared for.
The contingency approach to management accounting is based
on the premise that there is no ideal accounting system that can be
applied in the same way in every company.
The finance sector has long been focused on contingency plans to

minimise impact.
Contractual relating to a contract and the agreements and obligations

that are contained within it.
Such relationships are usually based on contractual arrangements
making the link between the provider and the end customer.
Convertible a bond that can be exchanged for common stock in the
company issuing the bond.
Many of these transactions employ other means of payments such as
preferred stocks or convertible bonds.
+Corollary
a proposition that follows from the proof of another proposition; a
natural result or consequence of something.
Corporate relating to a corporation or large company.
Back then, these transactions were still uncommon corporate strategies
employed by firms.
+Correlation
The statistical degree to which two or more things move in relation to
each other.
+Covariance
A statistical measure of the relationship between two random variables.
Covenants formal agreements or promises between two or more parties,
often made by lenders to ensure borrowers repay their debts.
With restrictive covenants on debt, it is optimal to renegotiate with
borrowers regarding the terms of the contract.
[Creditors—banks or individuals who deliver products, services or loans.]
Creditworthiness the ability to borrow money and therefore the likeli-
hood of being able to pay it back.
96 S. HART
The main way of evaluating a firm’s creditworthiness at the time was to

provide qualitative information.
Cross-border an activity or deal that involves two or more countries;
taking place, literally, across borders.
We find that both cross-border and domestic targets gain significantly
positive abnormal returns around the announcement date.
[Debenture—a bond that is unsecured, meaning it is backed up only by
the reputation of the issuer rather than collateral.]
Decentralised when activities or operations move from one central area
or location to several regional or local centres.
These tokens create a decentralised marketplace for creators with little
regulation from intermediaries .
+Decile
One of ten equal parts of a dataset.
De facto in fact and in reality but not necessarily by legal right or
accepted.
Some commentators are suggesting that this has become a de facto
currency war.
Default(ed/ing) failure to meet the obligations of a loan i.e. failure to
pay back a loan.
The criteria for defaulted firms were those who went into bankruptcy,
insolvency or were liquidated.
Defer / Deferral withheld, suspended or delayed; in accounting, paid for
or received before expenses are used or income has been earned.
Existing customers would then have the option to defer their payment.
[Deficit—when spending is in excess of revenue; a loss or shortfall.]
Denominated financial instruments such as shares or bonds that are in a
certain currency.
As with the previous sets, all these indexes are denominated in USD.
[Depositor—someone who deposits money into a bank or other financial
institution.]
Depreciate/Depreciation
The reduction in the value of an asset over time.

During 2006, the US dollar experienced depreciation against
the euro.
The depreciation is estimated from the value of the fixed assets
and the useful periods.
Deregulation reduction or removal of government power over a

financial sector or industry.
Only four of the banks suffered from the effects of the monetary
deregulation in 1981.
[Derivative—a financial instrument that derives its value from underlying
assets.]
Determinants determining or fundamental elements or factors.
Most studies on the determinants of FDI have concentrated on the
economic performance of the host country.
+Deterministic
fully determined by the initial values, state or conditions; the idea that
events are directly caused by other events.
Devaluation downward adjustment of the value of a country’s currency
relative to another currency.
A rise in the inflation rate will also be accompanied by a devaluation of
the home country’s currency.
+Differential
an infinitely small difference between successive values of a variable.
[Diligence—a detailed examination of a company being targeted for, say,
a merger or acquisition.]
98 S. HART
Disclosure
The publishing of information about a company so individuals and
institutions can make investment decisions.
Small firms are restricted by the high costs associated with
meeting these disclosure requirements.
The reporting of public information is regulated by the country’s
financial disclosure standards.
Discrepancy a difference or inconsistency between opinions, financial

statements etc.; things at variance.
They attributed the discrepancy between their results and our findings to
the different samples used.
[Divestiture—the sale or transfer of assets, investments or divisions of a
business.]
+Discrete
A variable that can only take a finite number of (definite) values.
[Dividend—a reward such as a share of the profits or earnings that a
company pays to its shareholders.]
Discretionary
To make decisions on one’s own without the need to gain permis-

sion or consult others.
Managers sometimes report lower costs and reduce discretionary
expenses to avoid reporting losses.
A 300 million dollar discretionary fund was made available to
support the businesses impacted.
+Discriminant
referring to analysis that helps to classify outcomes from predictions made
based on independent variables.
Disincentive/Incentive a financial (dis)advantage that discourages/
encourages action.
This is a disincentive for multinational enterprises thinking of investing
in the host country because unpredictability could affect risk management
and inflate costs.
This can lead to better earnings management, especially for those firms
with a greater incentive to avoid reporting losses.
Distortion a deviation or difference between what has been reported
and the reality of the situation. In financial markets, any interference that
significantly affects prices.
The market does not have strict regulations and rules for financial
statements, which causes some degree of distortion in the financial data.
Distress a situation in which a company is struggling to generate enough
profit to meet its obligations.
They may choose to swap their debt structure to long-term debts so as to
prevent financial distress .
Diversify(ing) a measure often used by companies to reduce risk where
investments are spread across various industries and instruments.
The expansion to an unrelated market through diversifying acquisitions
could increase the agency problem between managers and shareholders.
Downgraded negative change in the rating of a bond or security or in
the credit rating of a financial firm.
Furthermore, the IMF and World Bank have downgraded the credit
ratings of these blacklisted countries.
+Dummy
a variable that takes the value 0 or 1 to indicate the absence or presence
of an effect.
[Durables—goods that are intended to last a long time and therefore
bought infrequently by individuals.]
100 S. HART
[Enterprises—companies or organisations selling goods or services to

clients.]
Econometrics applying statistics or mathematical models to test
economic theories or predict future financial trends.
Although the bootstrap method can help to solve numerous econometric
difficulties, we have criticised the methodology.
Efficiency (market) the speed and degree with which a market can
accurately incorporate information into its prices.
Strong regulatory representation of the stock market impedes the efficiency
of the Chinese capital market.
Elasticity
The relative change of an economic variable in response to a change

in the behaviour of buyers and sellers.
The estimated elasticity of interest rates is quite small, on
average at 0.05, suggesting that an increase in interest rates in
the long run has a limited negative effect on house prices.
The higher the elasticity, the more sensitive the tax revenues are
to these changes.
[Equity—the value of ownership in something; the difference between

the value of an individual’s or entity’s assets and liabilities.]
+Endogenous
a dependent variable in a statistical model that is changed or determined
by its relationship with other variables.
[Endowment—the part of an institution’s income or funds that is derived
from donations.]
[Entrenchment—a situation where managers use their position to act in
ways that benefit themselves not the shareholders.]
Equilibrium a state where market supply and demand are balanced, and
so prices become stable.
When the two rates and the debt level reach equilibrium, the optimal
ratio has been achieved.
Equitable
Characterised by fairness; reasonable.

The reduction was approved by a special resolution of the
company but it had not been shown to be fair and equitable.
A fair and equitable management system can reduce employee
turnover rates and improve a company’s reputation in the commu-
nity.
Ex-ante ‘before the event,’ therefore referring to the prediction of future

trends and events.
In the review, they only looked at the firms’ ex-ante disclosures .
Exemption(s) free from an obligation or liability that is imposed on
others, such as tax.
Once firms achieve a certain performance, they can benefit from an
exemption from local income tax and a reduction to their corporate income
tax rate.
+Exogenous
any independent variable that is not affected by other variables and whose
value is not determined by the model.
[Expenditure—the amount of money that is spent by a company; funds
used to acquire or improve assets.]
Exponential rising or expanding at a rapid rate, such as growth or
returns.
These market scandals have emerged in recent years in response to the
exponential growth of the market and weak corporate governance.
Exposure the amount of money that an investor has invested in a partic-
ular asset and therefore the amount they stand to lose if the investment
should fail.
102 S. HART
Bigger companies with a large cash flow will suffer less foreign exchange
exposure.
Externalities the cost or benefits of a transaction to unrelated third
parties i.e. to those who do not directly participate in the transaction.
The underproduction of goods with positive externalities occurs because
the producers of the goods do not capture this extra value.
[Fiduciary—a person or organisation that acts on behalf of someone else,
such as the relationship between a trustee and a beneficiary.]
[Financiers—people engaged in managing finance and investment oper-
ations on a large scale.]
[Fiscal—relating to taxation, public revenues and treasury or public
debt.]
Fledgling a company that is fairly new, still developing, and with little
experience in its industry.
This could explain the high returns they demand on their investments in
these fledgling businesses.
Flotation where a company begins to offer shares for sale on a stock
market.
The positive relation is largely because firms tend to spread high flotation
costs over a long-time horizon.
Forecasting the process of making informed estimates or predictions of
a business’s future performance based on historical data.
It is recommended that they establish forecasting systems for predicting
the tendencies of major traded currencies.
Fragmentation consisting of several different parts; the use of different
suppliers and manufacturers in the production of a good.
The informal sector in the country is characterised by fragmentation and
an unstable economy.
Fraudulent obtaining property or money by illegal means and through
deceit and dishonesty.
A key concern of customers when they perform online transactions is that
their information can be used by the vendor in a fraudulent way.
Fundamentals the information that contributes to the financial well-

being of a company, security, or currency and therefore its underlying
value.
We examine the problem of whether exchange rates are cointegrated with
fundamentals by using the Levin and Lin panel unit root tests.
Fungible something that can be easily exchanged for something else;
things that are interchangeable.
Most investors prefer their money to be in cash than in less fungible
investments.
[Futures—financial contracts requiring the buyer to purchase an asset or
the seller to sell an asset at an agreed future date and price.]
Governance the system by which something is governed or controlled
and the rules that are put in place.
Good governance provides access to the capital markets on more
favourable terms.
Guarantees formal assurances or promises to take responsibility for
another’s financial obligation and provide payment for their debt if
required.
Orion has issued more than $12 billion in guarantees for more than 400
projects in over 65 developing countries.
Hedging
Reducing investment risk from adverse price changes by using

financial instruments or market strategies.
Companies should carefully consider their hedging strategies
when faced with foreign exchange exposure.
The larger the volume of hedging activities, the lower the
currency exposure in the sample of 30 Japanese banks during
1987–1995.
Heterogeneity consisting of parts that are different, diverse and distin-

guishable.
104 S. HART
Further studies may be required to explain the heterogeneity in the level

of integration among these frontier markets.
[Holdings—the asset contents of an investment portfolio held by an
individual or company.]
Hostile unfriendly or aggressive; when relating to a takeover, it is an
attempt to buy a company when the people who own it do not wish to
sell.
Some scholars argue that hostile takeovers have an important and positive
governance role, while others associate hostile takeovers with a poor form of
governance.
Imperfect
Incomplete and with limitations; when relating to markets, it is

when not all parties have complete information and prices can be
controlled and influenced by powerful individuals or companies.
However, in reality, the market is imperfect , and capital struc-
ture, the mix of debt and equity, has a significant impact on firm
value and costs of capital.
This feature of Chinese listed companies contributes to the
imperfect bond markets and the under-developed stock market.
Imposition something imposed or enforced such as fees, levies or taxes.

The imposition of record keeping obligation on firms can play a signifi-
cant role in tracing money laundering.
Incentive (see disincentive).
Incremental/Increments in a series of small amounts or steps.
The Chinese GAAP is said to be unable to provide incremental price
information.
Incumbent someone who is currently holding the position or role.
Incumbent executives may seek to undertake more projects with the aim
of higher profitability.
Incur to experience or be subject to something unwelcome, such as costs

or expenses.
This is a cost incurred in making an economic exchange when buying or
selling assets .
[Indenture—a legal bond or loan document that serves as a contract to
reflect or cover a debt or purchase obligation.]
Indexed (see also indices) to adjust something based on the reference
value of an index.
The Social Security pensions are then directly indexed to consumer prices.
Indicator something used to gauge or interpret the health or future
movements of a company or a market.
This indicator plays a significant role in explaining variations in the
stock performance of target firms.
[Indices—tools to measure the performance of a segment of the stock
market, created by combining the value of several stocks to create a single
value.]
Inflationary causing price increases in an economy.
Asset prices can be effectively used as an indirect information variable to
measure future inflationary pressures.
Inflows the amount of cash coming into a company or asset (cash) or the
amount of capital coming into a country (capital).
Leverage restructuring seeks to reduce a firm’s cash outflows . In asset
restructuring, however, the goal is to increase cash inflows .
Intangible
Not physical in nature; a non-material asset that can be difficult to

put a value on.
Industries such as IT have more intangible assets and are
expected to have lower leverage.
106 S. HART
They predict that this model is not as successful on a sample of

high-growth companies investing heavily in intangibles .
+Integer
A whole number, including whole negative numbers and zero.
[Intermediaries—people or organisations that act as links or go-betweens
to try to bring about an agreement.]
+Intersection
A new set containing all the elements that belong to two or more
sets. The intersection of sets A and B, therefore, represents all elements
or outcomes belonging to both A and B.
Intervention taking, usually swift, action about something in order to
have an effect on its outcome.
Government intervention was intended to open up the market to
marginalised groups.
Intrinsic the important or base characteristics of something; the objective
value or worth contained within an object or entity.
The non-intrinsic variables such as banking restrictions, economic
freedom and accountability may reduce bank failure.
Intuitive based on feeling and instinct rather than fact.
The sticky price model is intuitively attractive but contains little ability
to explain the exchange rate change.
[Inventory—a list or account of all work-in-progress, raw materials and
finished goods of a company.]
Irrational
Not logical or reasonable; of a market, inefficient and unpredictable.
But then a market can sometimes irrationally overreact to news.

Investors can also be irrational and not use the accounting
information when making decisions.
+Isoquant
A downward-sloping curve that shows the various combinations of
production inputs that produce any given output.
Issuance the act of making something available or supplying a financial
product such as a bond or stock.
Short-term debt issuance with a fixed repurchase price would mitigate
the underinvestment problem.
Lag(ged) occurring later than is required; to move or develop slower
than something else or than expected.
The economic slowdown was due to the lagged effects of a reduction in
investment.
Leasing the purchase of an asset by a company which then retains owner-
ship of the asset and hires it out for use by clients in exchange for
rent.
Leasing companies may offer a variety of services, including acting as
lease brokers arranging deals.
Leverage
Borrowing money to finance purchases with the expectation that the

income or gain will exceed the borrowing cost; to provide money
or support.
There is no effect on volatility but the degree of operating
leverage is negatively related .
The companies also leverage them through formalising their
governing principles in the form of legal agreements.
108 S. HART
Levered / Unlevered relating to a company, one that uses/doesn’t use

debt to help finance its operations.
When a firm is levered by short-term debt, an inverse relationship between
tangibility and leverage level would be expected.
Levy a sum of money that is imposed or collected e.g. a tax or tariff.
The country does not have elected, regional governments with the power
to levy their own taxes.
[Liabilities—debts, wages or sums of money that a person or organisation
is obliged to make or is responsible for.]
[Libor—The London Interbank Offered Rate. A benchmark used for
short-term borrowing between banks.]
+Linear(ity)
extending along a straight line. Moving in sequence or in a series of steps.
Liquidity
How quickly a business can convert its assets or securities into ready
cash for investment and spending.
The outcome of this harmonisation of accounting standards is
higher market liquidity and diminishing cost of capital.
Market makers respond to insider trading by reducing the
liquidity of the market .
Litigation the process of settling a dispute in a court of law.

Accountants are already overwhelmed with litigation due to the nature
of their service.
+Logarithmic
relating to logarithms, the power to which a base number must be raised
in order to produce other numbers.
Loophole an omission or vagueness in the law that allows someone to
take advantage and do something that would ordinarily be unlawful.
So, managers try to use the loopholes in the accounting standards to

classify cash outflow as investment or financing cash flow.
Malpractice negligent, ignorant or intentional misconduct often relating
to the failure to properly carry out a duty.
Malpractices were identified and their redeeming actions organised into
a list of projects which became a 5-year plan.
Marketable a product that is in a position to be sold and likely in demand.
In order to offer something different, they reduced the monetary value
of the product and still managed to convert it into a marketable financial
product.
Market-to-book see Book-to-market
+Martingale
a trading strategy that suggests doubling up after each loss with the
assumption being that eventually a win will be achieved. Generally used
when two outcomes are 50/50.
Maturity the date on which a transaction or financial instrument finishes,
after which it is either renewed or ends.
Banks are also subject to interest rate risk because their assets typically
have a longer maturity than liabilities .
Maximisation an increase in order to achieve the greatest possible
amount or degree.
We propose replacing the narrow profit maximisation indicator with a
broader maximisation approach such as efficiency.
Mechanism a planned method or systematic way of doing something;
an established process or working.
High-quality sellers will prefer to stay out of the market. In the worst-case
scenario, this mechanism cripples the market.
[Mediation—a neutral person or party that assists two other parties in
sorting out differences and reaching an agreement.]
Merger the unity of two separate companies or entities so that they
become one company or entity.
Deregulation also improved the concentration ratios especially after the
wave of bank mergers following the Asian financial crisis.
110 S. HART
Mitigate/Mitigation
To lessen in force or intensity; reduction in the risk of loss.

They argue that an understanding of target firms would miti-
gate the risks around legal barriers.
To discuss mitigation strategies in the event of a business
disruption, they decided to organise departmental work groups.
Mobility able to move freely.

If there is institutional segmentation of high labour mobility costs in a
labour market, then foreign investors are forced to pay higher wages to hire
skilled labourers.
Monetary relating to money or to the mechanisms of a country’s financial
system.
The study concluded that the impacts of the monetary policy shocks on the
sensitivity of interest rate risk are modest.
Monopoly/Monopolistic a market structure characterised by a single
seller with little or no competition; control of a market or area of business.
This is a similar situation to Microsoft’s when it was alleged to have
gained a monopoly over computer software and operating systems.
[Moral hazard—the tendency or incentive of an individual or organisa-
tion to behave inefficiently or increase exposure to risk because they will
not suffer the full effects of that risk or are able to transfer the risk to a
third party.]
Motive a reason or cause for doing something.
Retail investors tend to have speculative motives and will often not focus
on the company’s long-run performance.
+Multicollinearity
a statistical phenomenon in which multiple independent variables have a
high correlation with each other.
Multilateral involving more than two groups or countries.
Multilateral agreements for fighting money laundering and cybercrime

will facilitate international cooperation on a more comprehensive scale.
+Multivariate
involving two or more distinct variables.
Municipal anything relating to local government; instruments issued by
local government such as bonds or notes.
Municipal councils are providing workshops and assistance for small and
medium-sized firms to export.
Mutual
Relating to or experienced by two or more; held in common; an
organisation that brings together and manages many investors.
It was the lack of mutual trust and understanding of each
other’s culture which ultimately ended the cooperation between the
two parties.
Their law prohibits mutual exchanges of gold and silver except
when it is done simultaneously.
Negligible an amount or effect that is so small and insignificant it is

not worth considering or recognising.
If debt issuing costs and transaction costs are negligible, then low-
quality firms can mimic the maturity structure of debt in good-quality firms
without much cost.
Nominal a rate that is not adjusted for inflation; a term that relates to
money; a fee that is small or minimal; a (par) value at which a company
sets its shares.
There may be a predictable relationship between changes in nominal
interest rate deviations and exchange rate changes.
+Notation
a system of characters, symbols, or abbreviated expressions.
112 S. HART
Notional the nominal or face value that is used to calculate payments

made on financial instruments.
Most researchers use a notional amount instead when investigating the
relationship between derivatives usage and interest rate risk exposure.
Obligations acts or actions to which a person is morally or legally bound
to take; duties or commitments.
The company’s obligations are unlikely to change that quickly, so it is
impossible to eliminate exposure in the short-term.
Offset to balance one influence against an opposing one.
Selected currency borrowing can also offset a certain amount of the
exposure.
Open-ended unrestricted; with no fixed limits.
They used basic risk-adjusted measurements to seek the relationship
between risk and open-ended mutual fund returns .
Optimal best, most effective or most favourable.
A bank that is relatively cost efficient at its current output levels may not
be cost efficient at optimal output levels.
[Options—a financial contract that gives the buyer the right, if they
choose, to buy or sell an underlying asset at an agreed-upon price and
date.]
Outflows money leaving a business (cash) or movements of assets out of
a country (capital).
Indirect costs refer to the economic losses that may occur when a firm faces
bankruptcy, regardless of cash outflows .
Outlays costs that are incurred to acquire an asset or paid to vendors for
goods or services.
These firms would be restricted from selling assets or making major
investment outlays except with the consent of the lender.
[Overhead—a cost related to the production of a product or service and
day-to-day running of the business.]
+Panel
a data set containing repeated observations on a given sample of individ-
uals over multiple time periods.
+Parameter/Parametric
a factor or limit that establishes the boundary of something; a numerical
or other measurable factor defining a system or setting its conditions.
[Perpetuity—a bond or other security with no fixed maturity date; a cash
flow payment that pays indefinitely.]
Parity the condition of being equal, especially in terms of status, pay or
value.
In other words, it is measuring the purchasing parity of the two currencies
(that is, how much one can buy in the two countries).
Passive not actively or directly participating; regarding investments,
holding them long-term with limited day-to-day portfolio management.
Both assets are indices which follow a passive investment structure and
this can be seen from the small changes in their variance.
[Patents—titles that give their owners the exclusive right to make, use
and sell a product, preventing others from doing so for an extended
period.]
[Payables—money owed by a business for goods or services purchased
on credit from a supplier.]
Pecuniary/non-pecuniary relating/not relating to money, banking, or
investment.
These pecuniary interests include personal financial interests, such as
involvement in a trust fund or an investment.
Pessimistic believing that the worst scenario will happen; not confident;
cautious and risk-averse.
Yet, these investors were excessively pessimistic about the growth rate of
value stocks.
+Pooled
data or information from different sources that has been combined.
114 S. HART
Portfolio a group of financial investments like stocks, bonds, commodi-

ties and cash held by an investor.
Neoclassical theory does not distinguish between portfolio investment and
FDI.
Predictive being an indication of the future or of future conditions;
trying to determine the future value of something.
Could the legal origins theory have predicted the manner in which the
United States responded to the crisis or did it lose its predictive power?
[Proxies—agents legally authorised to act on behalf of other parties; the
written authority to act or speak for another party.]
Productivity the efficiency of production: the quantity or rate of
total output per unit of inputs used in production.
This is a profitability ratio and measures the productivity of a firm’s
assets .
Profitable yielding profit or benefits; achieving financial gain.
Managers might find that stopping the sale of shares instead of reducing
investment by using existing cash from the firm is more profitable.
Projection an estimate or forecast of future performance based on an
analysis of present trends.
If economic growth projections are correct, then the proportion of GDP
devoted to these pensions will increase during this period.
Promissory a written promise made by one party (the issuer of the note)
to pay another party (the note’s payee) a definite sum of money by a
certain date.
Often, only a promissory note is required if an issue is placed privately
with one or two financial institutions.
Proprietary owned and controlled by a particular company; protected by
trademark or patent.
Voluntary disclosure of proprietary information has a significant effect
on information transparency.
Prospective likely or expected to happen; soon-to-be, forthcoming.
The investors consider them high prospective growth companies because
they retain most of their earnings for reinvestment and pay fewer dividends .
Provision a measure taken beforehand to deal with a need; an amount

set aside for a known liability or an anticipated future loss.
However, this provision may be treated as an expense and therefore is
deducted from revenue before calculating profits and losses.
Prudential careful, meticulous and avoiding risks.
Prudential regulation and supervision could reduce the risk of failure by
limiting the bank’s exposure to external shocks.
+Quantification
a standardised form of measurement that turns observations and experi-
ences into quantities.
Quarter-on-quarter a comparison of previous quarters in the financial
year to the current quarter, a quarter being a period of three months.
According to the financial report, sales revenue dropped by 7% quarter-
on-quarter to THB 80,000 million.
[Quotas—limited numbers or quantities of something which are officially
allowed or necessary.]
+Random
a selection process in which each item of a set has an equal probability
of being chosen.
+Raw
data that has yet to be processed, manipulated, coded, or analysed.
[Receivables—money owed to a business for goods or services purchased
on credit by its customers.]
Recession
An extended period of declining economic performance across the

entire economy.
Although the United States was the country most affected by the
recent financial crisis, Singapore was the only country in East Asia
to experience a recession.
116 S. HART
Value firms disinvest more during a recession because their

assets are less profitable than those of growth firms.
[Recipient—a person or entity that is receiving something.]

Recourse / Nonrecourse the legal right of a lender to demand compen-
sation, payment or take collateral when a borrower is unable to pay; with
non-recourse, the lender has no legal right to pursue certain assets of the
borrower if the debt is unpaid.
The risk and return are derived from the obligor, so in the case of defaults ,
investors have recourse to the obligor and secured creditors cannot recourse
the asset .
[Redemption—the act of an issuer repurchasing a bond or security at or
before its maturity date.]
+Regression
a measure of the nature of the relationship between a dependent variable
and one or more independent variables.
Regulate/Regulatory
Rules imposed are designed to modify the economic behaviour of

firms and individuals.
The type of industry impacts on the debt maturity of a firm, and
regulated firms tend to have a long debt maturity structure.
That puts huge regulatory pressure on the governments to make
appropriate and timely responses.
[Reimbursement—monetary compensation paid by an organisation for

expenses incurred by an employee/customer or following overpayment.]
Remuneration the total amount an employee receives for performing a
service or for being employed, such as base salary plus any bonuses.
Managers are tempted to manipulate accounting data because their

remunerations are directly associated with reported firm performance.
Residual the amount remaining after other things have been subtracted
or allowed for; the final value that an asset is worth after it is completely
used up.
Another organisation control technique is Economic Value Added, also
known as residual income.
Retracement a short-term reverse movement of a stock price that takes
place within the overall trend.
What this offers to investors is entry into the market with a specific level
of retracement and low risk.
[Returns—a measure of profitability: the money made or lost on
an investment over some period of time.]
[Revenue—the income generated from a firm’s business operations.]
Robust(ness) the ability to continue working or performing despite
alterations to conditions.
The second method to test how robust these forecasts are is the FEB method.
Sensitivity
The quality of being easily influenced or affected by something.

Four elements of sound risk management are assessed to deter-
mine the sensitivity to risk rating .
The larger the gap, the more sensitive the equity market value
is and the more risk the banks face.
Sentiment a specific feeling, opinion or overall attitude about something.

They also determined the relationship between the negative, neutral and
positive sentiment of investors and abnormal stock returns .
Shortfall a failure to come up to expectations; insufficient funds to cover
an obligation; a negative discrepancy between revenue and expenses.
118 S. HART
Well-capitalised banks should adjust lending less during economic down-

turns in order to avoid regulatory capital shortfalls.
Signalling underlying market indicators that participants pick up on
when observing behaviour and actions.
To make trade decisions, sophisticated investors could analyse the
signalling of insiders, intended or not, to adjust the current stock price.
+Skewness
lack of straightness or symmetry; a curve that appears distorted, skewed
either to the left or to the right.
Solvent/Insolvent a company that is able/unable to meet its long-term
debts and financial responsibilities.
The first group was formed of 30 large manufacturers that had folded
within 18 months; the second group was formed of 30 solvent firms.
Speculate/Speculative
A short-term type of investing that relates to price movements and

often higher risk in an attempt to profit from high returns.
Overly ambitious entrepreneurs may engage in highly specula-
tive activities .
Information released about these stocks will cause investors to
speculate and drive abnormal returns .
[Securities—tradable financial assets.]

[Spillovers—the costs or benefits of a transaction to parties who are not
directly involved; effects from an event that are felt in another seemingly
unrelated area.]
Stabilise/Destabilise to fix, make stable or maintain/to upset the
stability of or weaken.
Roughly, an equal number of markets show stabilising and destabilising
effects by these events.
Standardisation/Standardised the process of creating standards or rules

that contain the same basic features to achieve conformity and regularity.
The next stage is to find out whether the standardisation of the
accounting reporting model is useful for improving the value relevance in
emerging markets.
Statutory required, permitted or regulated by a formal written law.
In Vietnam, a statutory tax rate is employed for all firms, whether small,
medium or large.
Stimulate/Stimulus
To encourage something to develop or to grow; a measure to boost

the economy.
The president signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 to inject more government funds to stimulate the
economy.
A stimulus package of 75 billion pounds was injected into the
UK economy.
+Stochastic
having an unpredictable result or some randomness and uncertainty.
Strategic relating to strategy and the way an organisation or government
plans its actions and makes its decisions.
Strategic interactions can lead to various results in terms of market
disequilibrium.
Streams (revenue) the various sources from which a business earns
money.
The company was also known for creating non-traditional revenue
streams .
Stringent strict, severe or precise.
120 S. HART
If the risk-based rule is sufficiently stringent , then raising the standard

will have a moderating impact on bank risk taking.
+Structural break
an abrupt or sudden change in a time series at a point in time.
Subsidiaries
Companies that are owned or part-owned by parent or holding
companies.
These multinational subsidiaries indirectly create a competi-
tive atmosphere in the markets of the host countries.
Translation exposure exists owing to the need to periodically
consolidate the financial statements of foreign subsidiaries.
[Subsidy—financial assistance or aid provided by the government to

reduce the price of a product, boost exports or encourage production.]
[Substitutes—products or services that can be replaced with others or
that can satisfy a consumer’s need just as well.]
Systematic an organised and often detailed method or plan.
The benchmark for the Treynor ratio is market risk premium. If the ratio
is high, the investor would receive a high return for one unit of systematic
risk.
+Tangent
a straight line or plane touching a curve at a single point but not crossing
it.
[Tariffs—taxes collected by a country on the goods and services
imported from another country.]
Threshold the level, amount or limit at which something is affected by a
rule or belongs to a class.
Logit values higher than the threshold are classified as healthy companies;
otherwise, firms are classified as failing.
Tranche a slice or portion of a security that is sold to an investor.

Although the senior tranche is likely to be given an ‘AAA’ rating,
meaning it is less risky, it may still consist of subprime loans.
Transaction an exchange or transfer of goods, services or money.
Dirty money is separated from the source by going through layers of

complex financial transactions designed to hamper the audit trail.
Transparency
The process of being open and honest about business operations

and dealings.
This type of financial disclosure paves the way for information
transparency and limits private information.
There is a linear relationship between transparency and
the quality of accounting standards .
[Treasury—the department within a company responsible for managing

the firm’s finances.]
Trigger an event or situation that initiates an action or causes something
to begin.
Most economists pinpoint the main triggers of the current global finan-
cial crisis as the bursting of the housing bubble and the collapse of the
subprime mortgage market.
Trivial unimportant or of little value.
But for very large firms these transaction costs tend to be trivial .
Uncertainty doubt or hesitancy about something; difficulty in
predicting an outcome due to limited or inexact knowledge.
It is clear that the more uncertainty in the IPO prices, the greater the
amount of underpricing.
122 S. HART
+Unconditional
without conditions or limitations; not dependent on terms or conditions.
[Underwriter—an individual or institution that takes on financial risk or
accepts financial responsibility for losses for a fee.]
+Univariate
a type of data involving only one variable.
Unlevered (see Levered).
Unsecured not secured or insured against loss; not backed by collateral.
Where 0% represents the safest assets such as government bonds and
100% represents the riskiest exposures such as corporate debt and unsecured
personal loans.
Value-added the amount a product or service increases in value at each
stage of its production.
The general trend has been a decline in the domestic value-added
component of exports.
+Variables
any characteristic or attribute of an object under study that can be
measured or counted.
+Variance
a statistical measurement used to indicate how widely individuals in a
group vary.
[Venture—an activity that is often speculative and may involve risk.]
Violation an infringement or breach of the rules or the law.
Some of these violations of the CAPM include abnormally high returns
on the stocks of small firms.
Volatility
The degree of variation of a price or rate over time; likely to change

suddenly and unexpectedly.
We demonstrated that there is a relationship between the

volatility of exchange rates and trading volume.
We tested how macro variables affect returns and volatility of
the stock market.
+Winsorise
to minimise the influence of extreme values in statistical data.
Yardstick a standard used for comparison.
The company’s stock price provides a useful yardstick for measuring
performance.
Yielding producing or generating a financial return.
These may be asset -based or asset-backed, yielding a wholly different risk
profile in the event of a default or liquidation.
CHAPTER 4
Part D: Financial Language—Expressions

for Written Assignments
To help develop your written English, this final section explores a number
of useful expressions that are often used in academic essays or papers.
Key areas of a typical academic essay are covered in sequence, including
introductions, literature reviews and reporting findings. By adopting the
language that academic writers and researchers use in the fields of busi-
ness, banking and finance, you will be better able to express yourself
clearly and efficiently when writing. Included in this part are examples
from the Journal of Economics and Finance (Vol 44, No 3).
Opening Statements
The initial words of a sentence or paragraph tend to be among the hardest
to construct, even more so when you are in the early stages of your essay
or paper. Fortunately, there are certain opening expressions that academic
writers rely upon to begin their papers and that you can use to get your
essay up and running.
This first set of expressions can be employed when you are intro-
ducing your topic to the reader and explaining why you have chosen to
investigate the particular area.
—Sometimes a topic is selected because it has recently been receiving a
lot of attention by researchers.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4086-6_4
126 S. HART
The emergence of…has

The emergence of corporate social performance indexes has resulted in
several studies investigating their ability to evaluate outcomes.
As noted by a growing body of literature,
As noted by a growing body of theoretical literature, diversification can
carry benefits and costs.
In light of the recent research on…
In light of the recent research on financial accounting, avoiding income
tax expense appears to be as important as avoiding cash income taxes.
Prior research has revealed that…
Prior research has revealed that the financial strategies of small firms are
driven by both firm and owner characteristics.
Several studies have reported…
Several studies have reported a positive association between firm size prior
to the disaster and ability to continue to operate post-disaster.
Recent studies have shown that…
Recent studies have shown that 61% of British consumers are willing to
complain about poor customer service on social media networks.
As previous literature has pointed out,
As previous literature has pointed out, small firms are usually unable to
follow a pecking order due to debt capacity constraints.
—Equally, a topic may be a viable one because it has been under-
researched.
There has been little research on…
There has been little research on managerial optimism in corporate
bankruptcy settings.
Journal of Economics and Finance (2020) 44:507 .
Research is scarce on…
Research is scarce on non-financial characteristics and their influence on
capital structure in the establishment phase.
Little attention has been paid to…
Little attention has been paid to liquidity risk, one of the major risks banks
and other financial institutions have faced in recent years.
4 PART D: FINANCIAL LANGUAGE—EXPRESSIONS … 127
—With the topic stated, these next expressions can be employed to

introduce the essay or paper itself.
To answer the question of…
To answer the question of why the market timing skill of the fund
manager is weak, we collected monthly returns data from 500 US
open-ended mutual funds.
To address/examine the issue of/this issue…
To examine the issue, this paper applies both fixed effects panel models
and random effects tobit models.
To investigate the effect of…
To investigate the effect of firm size on the effective tax rate, we employ
panel data analysis and the fixed effects model.
The goal/objective, then, is to assess…
The objective, then, is to assess the environmental indicators for OECD
before the financial crisis and after the financial crisis.
—An explanation is often required on how you are using the current
literature.
Similar to previous studies… we explore how innovation impacts the
internal capability of a firm.
Building on these ideas… we assess whether companies with greater
growth opportunities will have a higher debt ratio according to the
signalling model.
In line with… this, we measure the impacts of corporate takeovers on
firm performance by taking into account pre-event performance.
Consistent with prior studies… we suggest that informed traders follow
passive trading strategies around negative news events.
—And, naturally, you should state what you are doing differently from
the current literature.
While many studies have examined…. betting in the NFL, data limi-
tations prevent a rigorous empirical study of gambling efficiency on the
Super Bowl, specifically. The volume of games in the NCAA tournament
makes such an analysis possible.
Journal of Economics and Finance (2020) 44:612.
128 S. HART
Unlike previous studies… focusing on a weak dollar period, we inves-

tigate whether a stronger dollar could give rise to wealth violation for
target shareholders.
No prior study has shown… how the use of different firm size proxies,
including non-market-determined proxies, can affect the value relevance
of these models.
This underscores the need for… an investigation into the critical success
factors surrounding Islamic bank projects.
In this study we will not be…we are only interested in….
In this study we will not be using the static trade-off model, we are only
interested in explaining the differences in the financial behaviour between
the high and low growth companies.
This study differs from previous efforts… that explore dark fragmen-
tation around earnings announcements.
This study fills a critical gap… in research on frontier stock markets.
This research places its focus on… the potential determinants of capital
structure decisions.
Opening Paragraphs
Let’s turn our attention now to the construction of paragraphs, specif-
ically the initial ones of an essay. In a typical academic paper, there is
a four-stage opening that provides the reader with a concise and effec-
tive summary of what is to follow. Something similar can be used when
presenting other people’s research in the literature review as we shall see.
Now, this paragraph will appear early on in the synopsis or abstract. It
will appear again, but slightly adjusted (re-worded), in the introduction
in the main body of the paper. Here are the four main parts or stages of
this key paragraph.
Part one: The problem
What is the issue that is being investigated or discussed?
Part two: Solutions to the problem found so far.
What current efforts have been made to solve the problem stated?
Part three: Gaps in/Weaknesses of those efforts

How have current efforts fallen short of offering an effective solution to
the problem?
Part four: Solution offered by this work
What is your proposed solution to resolve this?
An example paragraph opener from an academic article is now presented.
Explanations are provided after each part to demonstrate what the author
was looking to achieve.
Part one:
Investors, corporate managers and researchers desire a more accurate
model to estimate stock returns in order to make better portfolio alloca-
tion decisions and to determine which factors are related to future stock
returns.
Here, the writer has stated the issue they would like to resolve in their own
study. Through their study, they wish to suggest or perhaps even develop a
more accurate model to the one currently available.
Part two:
Numerous papers have examined models and their explanatory variables
for predicting stock returns, including Ball and Brown (1968), Fama and
French (1995), Brown and Sivakumar (2003) Campbell and Thompson
(2008), Penman (2011), among others. Brown and Sivakumar compare
operating earnings to ‘bottom-line’ GAAP net income and find operating
earnings provide greater value relevance in predicting future stock returns.
The writer begins to introduce some of the key studies relating to the
topic, picking out one in particular and providing information about their
method and finding.
Part three:
However, no prior study has shown how the use of different firm size
proxies, including non-market-determined proxies, can affect the value
relevance (interchangeably referred to as stock return predictability in this
paper) of these models.
Now the writer is suggesting that, despite plenty of research on the topic,
there has been a lack of attention in one area and this needs to be addressed.
130 S. HART
Part four:
Hence, this study fills this gap by investigating the relative and incre-
mental value relevance of three firm size proxies in predicting stock
returns.
Finally, the writer states how they are going to resolve this problem and fill
the gap in the knowledge.
And here it is in its entirety:
Investors, corporate managers, and researchers desire a more accurate

model to estimate stock returns in order to make better portfolio allocation
decisions and to determine which factors are related to future stock returns.
Numerous papers have examined models and their explanatory variables
for predicting stock returns, including Ball and Brown (1968), Fama and
French (1995), Brown and Sivakumar (2003) Campbell and Thompson
(2008) and Penman (2011), among others. Brown and Sivakumar compare
operating earnings to “bottom-line” GAAP net income and find oper-
ating earnings provide greater value relevance in predicting future stock
returns. However, no prior study has shown how the use of different firm
size proxies, including non-market-determined proxies, can affect the value
relevance (interchangeably referred to as stock return predictability in this
paper) of these models. Hence, this study fills this gap by investigating
the relative and incremental value relevance of three firm size proxies
in predicting stock returns. (Journal of Economics and Finance (2020)
44:434–435)
Adverbials (Sentence Starters)

Academic writing relies heavily on conjunctions and sentence adverbs
to move the writing along and link clauses and sentences. There is an
over-reliance on certain ones such as ‘moreover’ and ‘additionally,’ which
offer little and essentially are just stating ‘I am going to say something
else.’ The examples below are more effective because they have a precise
meaning and, importantly, give definition and direction to what follows.
—When you want to bring the point just made into more focus or to
explain it better.
Essentially, the higher the stock price of the acquirer on the agreement
date, the fewer of the acquirer’s shares are issued to buy the target, and
the lower the stock swap ratio.
Interestingly, a negative cross-border effect appears in our study.

(more) Precisely, it demonstrates that short-term price movements are,
on average, negative before purchases and positive after purchases.
Specifically, the study shows a statistically significant positive associa-
tion between SBA lending per capita and state-level employment rates
(EMPLR).
—When you want to show the result or effect of the previous point.
Accordingly, studies have investigated the extent to which countries
practically (de facto) adopt the IASs.
Consequently, sales manipulation could result in lower cash flows from
operations.
Evidently, these patterns shown in the data summary provide an oppor-
tunity to investigate the value relevance of accounting earnings among
different components.
Understandably, they attempt to choose an accurate benchmark which
enables the investors to interpret the market situation.
Unsurprisingly, column 0 has the lowest adjusted R2 (3.20%).
—When you want to show similarity to, or difference with, the previous
point.
Equally, this raises questions regarding the relative importance of disclo-
sure items that are firm-specific.
Similarly, Goodwin (2009) did not find evidence that managers use
discretionary accruals or cut R&D to inflate earnings prior to the merger
announcement.
Even so, the return patterns for the size and book to market are still the
same. This contradicts the ideas supporting changes to risk according to
the economic conditions.
Contrary to many theoretical arguments that assume dark pool execu-
tions occur at the midpoint of bid and ask prices, they find that most
132 S. HART
trades in the dark venue execute away from the midpoint. Journal of
Economics and Finance (2020) 44:592.
Conversely, when execution risk is limited around negative news events,
traders will tend to maintain their passive trading strategies. Journal of
Economics and Finance (2020) 44:592.
—Other useful adverbs:
Briefly, these consider the performance of biopharmaceutical stocks and
the share price reaction of the stocks to news announcements.
Initially, two main approaches were used to measure disclosure indices:
weighted approach and unweighted approach.
Notably, the Korean stock market was severely affected by the 1997 East
Asian crisis.
Potentially, each industry will have its own set of incentives that are
employed by the vast majority of the companies.
Theoretically, the intended HR practices will improve employee perfor-
mance and have a positive effect on organisational performance.
Literature Review: Summarising Sources

The section in an article or essay that reviews the current literature is
crucial for setting up and justifying the view or method your own research
takes or follows. It is important when reviewing several works that each
one is covered sufficiently but also as concisely as possible.
The following elements are likely to be needed:
– Identify
– Main focus and method employed
– Outcome/consequence.
Let’s take each one in turn and see how you might go about summarising
a source in your review of the literature.
Identify: Another study that looked at the Malaysian mutual funds
market was by Soo-Warh (2007).
Here the author introduces the study under focus, naming it and the topic
it investigated.
Main focus and method employed: Using the Kuala Lumpur Composite
Index (KLCI) and the Exchange Main Board All-Share (EMAS) Index as
two benchmarks, he investigates the influence of selectivity and market
timing ability of a fund manager on the choice of market benchmarks.
His dataset includes monthly returns of 40 Malaysian mutual funds
from January 1996 to December 2000. He seeks the answer by two
methods: Jensen’s single model and Henriksson and Merton’s (1981)
market timing model.
Now the author provides some more detail on the objective of the study and
the method used to fulfil the objective.
Outcome/consequence: The result finds substandard performance in
evaluation for both the KLCI and the EMAS Index. It also indi-
cates that there is a weak relationship between market timing ability of
the fund manager and selectivity performance across alternative market
benchmarks.
Finally, we are provided with the main finding of the study. Note that there
is no evaluation or judgement of the source in this instance.
Here is the paragraph again:
Another study that looked at the Malaysian mutual funds market was
by Soo-Warh (2007). Using the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI)
and the Exchange Main Board All-Share (EMAS) Index as two bench-
marks, he investigates the influence of selectivity and market timing ability
of a fund manager on the choice of market benchmarks. His dataset
includes monthly returns of 40 Malaysian mutual funds from January 1996
to December 2000. He seeks the answer by two methods: Jensen’s single
model and Henriksson and Merton’s (1981) market timing model. The
result finds substandard performance in evaluation for both the KLCI and
the EMAS Index. It also indicates that there is a weak relationship between
market timing ability of the fund manager and selectivity performance
across alternative market benchmarks.
You only really need to go into this kind of detail for important sources
that are highly relevant to your work and method. Sometimes, one short
paragraph will suffice—just as long as it contains the three key elements.
Karolyi (2006) focused his efforts on a single event, the Sanctions Bill
of 2009, and concluded that the Bill is clearly associated with negative
abnormal market returns.
134 S. HART
Often a judgement will need to be made about a paper under study.

The following expressions are useful for evaluating the sources you have
consulted, i.e. showing what has been done well and what the studies are
lacking. These expressions can, of course, also be used to assess your own
efforts when concluding your essay or paper.
A key strength of () is…
A key strength of this framework is that it enables central banks to
automatically adjust interest rates in a stabilising direction.
One drawback of () is…
One drawback is the way the data has been collected.
A minor/major criticism of () is…
One of the major criticisms about their model is that it is quite static,
which limits its function in generating competitive advantages.
A shortcoming of…
One shortcoming of the study is that they only investigate the cost
efficiency of ASEAN banking.
It should also be noted that ()…
It should also be noted that this study only uses individual events to
identify adverse impacts from daily data.
Reporting Verb Selection

Reporting verbs are used when referring to studies. The verbs appearing
in this first list can be employed when you have reasonable confidence
about the claims being made by the study, its findings or its method.
Capture
The debt burden of firms was captured by the ratio of total liability over
total assets (leverage ratio) and the ratio of long-term debt to total assets
(long-term debt ratio).
Confirm
The study confirms that formal credit from a bank and other formal credit
institutions is the first choice for entrepreneurs.
Demonstrate
However, the study demonstrated that overconfidence generally improves
market pricing.
Find (evidence/no evidence)

Grullon and Michaely (2004) find no evidence that repurchasing firms
experience a considerable improvement in their operating performance
relative to their peer firms.
Highlight
The study highlights the significant and positive association between
firm value and level of compliance with the mandatory and voluntary
disclosure requirement.
Observe
The study observes the cognitive constraints and their effects on financing
investment of new and small firms.
Obtain
The study obtained a discriminant Z-score value that was able to predict
failure two years prior to the event.
Provide evidence for
They provide evidence for the relationship between shareholder protec-
tion and financial development.
Report
These results contrast with Balakrishnan and Taori (2017), who
report that higher levels of dark fragmentation reduce price discovery,
contributing to greater PEAD.
Verify
The study verifies that positive monetary policy shock has a significant
impact on the housing bubble.
—These verbs relate more to how the study presented its findings and the
tone of the study’s claims.
Argue
Initially, they argued that the four variables used were able to perform
well.
Assert
They asserted that gains from coordination might be of more importance
in models of a new generation relative to the first generation.
136 S. HART
Assume
The study assumes that core earnings are more persistent than noncore
earnings.
Believe
They believe outsiders cannot distinguish good quality from bad quality
firms.
Contend
They contend that a country’s legal origin shapes its fundamental
approaches to solving social concerns.
Note
Hotchkiss (1995) notes the presence of optimistic attitudes by showing
a high proportion of bankrupt firms overstate their expected operating
income.
Journal of Economics and Finance (2020) 44:507 .
Offer
They also offer an adjustment to the industry trend by using median
industry performance as their control.
Posit
This follows from Baruch et al. (2017), who posit that when execution
risk is limited around negative news events, traders will tend to maintain
their passive trading strategies.
Propose
We employ the investment-based optimism measure proposed by Camp-
bell et al. (2011).
Suggest
The study suggests that growth ratio is an important determinant for the
German listed firm disclosure.
—These next verbs are employed to show how the study was carried out
with no real judgement either way about the study’s claims or its findings.
Assess
They assessed combined forecasting models in terms of return prediction.
Compare
They compared the announcement returns of companies acquired by
large emerging-market firms.
Construct
They construct a simple market-making model that illustrates the two
hypotheses under a multiple market-maker system.
Detail
She also details the major determinants of compliance with IASs/IFRSs
mandatory disclosures, namely, institutional and enforcement setting,
corporate governance and the role of auditing.
Discuss
Further, as discussed in Baker and Wurgler (2007) investor sentiment is
likely to have a different impact on pricing based on asset characteristics.
Document
Several research studies document that it is more likely for large firms to
use derivatives than small firms.
Employ
He employs a wider range of countries, including advanced and emerging
markets, and uses higher frequency daily data.
(re)Examine
They also examine whether those measures produce different results and
change over three sub-sample periods.
Explore
Moreover, previous studies focusing on the banking sector explored the
linkage between bank- specific fundamental variables and the cross-section
of expected bank returns.
Implement
The study implements new models based on those created by Morgan
(2000).
Investigate
Likewise, Morgan (2018) investigates the integration to specific individual
markets such as the United States rather than the global market.
138 S. HART
Test
They test the level of compliance with the mandatory disclosure require-
ment for Greek-listed companies from January 2000 to March 2001.
Undertake
They undertake a study of international audit firms to signal the credibility
of firms’ financial reporting practices.
Utilise
They utilise a three-month US Treasury Bond yield to determine the risk-
free rate for US groups.
The Language of Mathematics

We now turn to the methodology section where models are likely to be
introduced and tested. The terms in bold are common phrases used when
academic writers work with equations and formulas in a paper or essay.
(This can be) written as:
When the tokens are partitioned by unigrams, xn is written as:

x = w1 , w 2 , . . . , w W n

(This can be) expressed as:
The market model is expressed as follows:
Rit = αi + βi1 Rmt + βi2 It + εit
(This is) calculated as/by

A forecasting error is calculated by subtracting the forecasted value from
the actual value.
Is formulated as
The null hypothesis of stationarity is formulated as:
σε2 = 0
This is defined as
The change is defined as the change in ratio from the two fiscal years
preceding the filing (year = 2) to the latest fiscal year before the filing
(year = 0).
This can be specified as

The regression model expression can be specified as
LEV(or LD) = f(SIZE, PROF, GROW, TANG, VOLITY, NBTS)
To determine
We determine overall sentiment of each tweet by counting the total
number of words in P W L minus the total number of words in N W
L. The sentiment for a given tweet is written as:
snB = #(xn ∩ PWL) − #(xn ∩ NWL)

Assume / we assume that
To illustrate the concept, we assume that a firm produces two outputs: y1
and y2.
Here
Here, P stands for the period 2000 to 2007.
Let
Let T stand for terrorist attacks.
Suppose
Suppose that rational expectations are assumed in this model; the inflation
rate is then determined as follows:
πte = πt + ϑt
We know that
We know that i should be between 5% and 5.2%.
We also know that
We also know that the price equals the face value F if the bond matures
immediately (n = 0).
Since…(thus/then)
Since the error term is not stationary, lag terms must then be added for a
white noise term.
(Hence) we obtain
Hence, we obtain the convergence of call prices.
140 S. HART
It follows that
It follows that this error term represents the speed of adjustment when
there is a deviation from the long run equilibrium.
Represents/Stands for/Signifies
Xi, q represents the actual earnings number for firm i in quarter q.
Substituting
Substituting the original four options presented in the original model,
nine different growth options are obtained.
Omitting
Omitting housing stock from the equation, the coefficient of income falls
substantially.
Control for
This is the time-varying exporter fixed effects that controls for YX.
Results: Describing Trends and Outcomes

These terms can be used when working with trend graphs.
steady/stable
spike
slight dip
decline/diminishing
plunged
fluctuation
—The following terms are useful for describing the size or nature of an
effect or a trend.
Mild/Moderate/Severe
The impact of these measures was mild and short-lasting.
At moderate debt levels, the probability of financial distress is trivial.
Failure to obtain credit would likely have a severe impact on the economy.
Increased/Enhanced/Intensified
This has led to an increased fragility of the entire financial system.
The investment efficiency of these firms will then be enhanced.
The pressure from this increased competition gradually intensified.
Reduced/Eased/Lessened
They argue that allowing incompetent managers to keep power in poorly
performing firms leads to reduced profitability.
The revenue shortfalls can be eased by across-the-board spending cuts.
Complying with the IASs requirements has actually lessened these
presumed benefits.
—Sometimes the effect is not clear or is not particularly significant.
Ambiguous
The retention effect in such bankrupt firms is ambiguous.
Inconclusive
Granger causality testing was used, but the results were inconclusive.
Marginal (Gain)
The meta-analysis confirms that there is only marginal evidence for an
adverse impact on returns.
Minimal
At this time, house prices in Germany were stable and any changes were
minimal.
Mixed
There is some evidence of general market inefficiency in what are,
otherwise, mixed results.
142 S. HART
Negligible
However, the incremental value relevance of Eyld is negligible compared
to TBA.
Partial
But there is only a partial asymmetric adjustment to the long-run
equilibrium in these countries under study.
Transient
The impact is only transient because there is no relation to the future
value of the asset.
—And once the analysis is complete, the results may come down to
a simple yes/no answer or true/false assessment as you revisit the
hypotheses stated at the beginning and reflect on the evidence obtained
during the study.
Accepted/Rejected
The null hypothesis is accepted, indicating that inefficiency effects in the
cost function are not present.
We empirically find that the coefficient of financial deficit is now dramat-
ically reduced and the hypothesis is largely rejected.
Does Support/Does not Support
This finding supports hypothesis three in that high levels of dark trading
result in improved price discovery on the lit venue.
Favourable/Unfavourable
This strategy of risk management has yielded a favourable result despite
the fact that the circumstances were difficult.
Holds for/Does not hold for
With respect to the existence of insider trading, strong form EMH
does not hold, because the private information will not be captured by
outsiders when no trades are based on it.
Indicates/Fails to indicate
This result indicates that the non-executive can perform better in timing
the market.
Reliable/Unreliable
The data is more reliable than market value due to being audited by an
external company.
This is therefore a biased model and produces unreliable results.
Satisfies/Does not satisfy
Therefore, the stationary sequence does not satisfy the D0 condition.
Surprising/Unsurprising
It is surprising that although 2007 has the smallest number of transactions
completed, the deal value in this year is higher.
—Finally, it is time to make a judgement on your findings.
One possible explanation (could be that)…
One possible explanation for the failure of the effect is that the equation
is not linear.
One possible solution is to…
One possible solution is to substitute the expected determinant R(t), but
it may raise a possible specification error because of uncertainty.
One could argue that/It is arguable whether...
Therefore, it is arguable whether TBA adjusted for current values is
beneficial.
This could be due to…
This could be due to a lack of effort to clearly portray the unique
characteristics of the firm.
This lends (further) support to…
It lends further support to the importance of using this method for the
analysis of marginals.
This is particularly true in/for…
This is particularly true in the case of lending activities.
144 S. HART
This is certainly the case in/for…

This is certainly the case for our sample countries.
This is likely to be caused by…
The overall mutual fund return being higher is likely to be caused by the
different datasets.
The evidence points to/indicates…
The evidence points to the market being largely efficient, though there
are some specific instances that are shown to win more than expected.
CHAPTER 5
Answers
Part A
Set 1. Speculate. True True False True False
Set 2. Speculate. False True True False True
Set 3. Speculate. False False True True True
Set 4. Speculate. False True True False False
Performance Indicator: Sets 1–5

Which of the following phrases relates to ‘honesty’?
above board
If you are trying to ‘allay’ someone’s fears, then you are said to
be…reducing them
What phrase can be used for when changes are made throughout a
company? across the board
What is a ballpark figure? A rough estimation
If you hear that a company is going to be belt-tightening, you wouldn’t
expect them to be... investing heavily
Which of the following means to ‘reluctantly agree to do something’? bow
to

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4086-6_5
146 S. HART
Which one of the following is unlikely to be employed for a negative

situation or event? buck the trend
Set 6. Speculate. False True False True False
Set 7. Speculate. True True True True True
Set 8. Speculate. True False True True False
Set 9. Speculate. False True False False True

Which of the following refers to trying a different method or way of doing
something? changing tack
Which one of these refers to a gain or increase in something? dial up
If you call time on a project, you... end it
Which term should be used to complete the following sentence? This is
just one of the several rumours currently doing the rounds
If a share price began at 90p then went up to 120p and is now at 108p,
what term could be used to describe its current situation? dip back
Which of the following does NOT relate to coming to an arrangement or
agreement? drum up
Which of the following is not a recognised term? clamp up
Set 11. Speculate. True True True True False
Set 12. Speculate. False True True True False
Set 13. Speculate. True True True True False
Set 15. Speculate. False False True True False

When you achieve something to be proud of you... have a feather in your
cap
Which one of the following can be used to describe positive growth or
conditions? tailwinds
Which of these terms does not relate to something being ‘held up’?
cancelled
5 ANSWERS 147
If you get into trouble for doing something against the regulations or
guidelines you… fall foul
If you ‘go bust’ you… fail financially
If an idea of yours is beginning to get noticed and praised it is said to
be... gaining traction
If you have hawkish tendencies then you favour… high interest rates and
low inflation
Set 16. Speculate. True False True False True
Set 17. Speculate. True True True. False False
Set 19. Speculate. False True True True False

If you are in with a chance of securing a role, you are said to be… in the
running
If you are going to wait for a bit and delay a decision you will be… holding
fire
Which one of these terms does not mean move on or move ahead? lock
in
Which one of these terms does not relate to a ‘knee-jerk’ response?
considered
As you can’t decide on which project is better, you invest time in both
and… hedge your bets
If your managers have been lukewarm in their praise for you, you may
find yourself… in the firing line
If you are ready and prepared to take action if needs be, you are… keeping
your powder dry
Set 22. Speculate. True True False True True
148 S. HART

Which one of these terms does NOT refer to a decrease in value? pop.
If you take responsibility for something when no one else is prepared to,
you… pick up the baton
If a company seeks new blood, they… are looking to recruit
If something is likely to happen, it is…on the cards
If you let things develop without interfering, you are waiting to see how
something… pans out
If you ‘nip something in the bud,’ you…put an end to something before it
becomes a problem
Which one of these terms has a negative meaning? on the brink
Set 28. Speculate. False True True False False
Set 29. Speculate. True True True False False
Set 30. Speculate. True True True False True

If you put a problem or dispute ‘to bed,’ you… resolve it
If something is given a ‘shot in the arm’ it often has a…positive effect
Which of these relates to changing an opinion or reversing a previous

decision? row back
If something goes all the way to the end it…comes down to the wire
If you remove or eliminate something you…root it out
Which one of the following means to accumulate? rack up
If you roll something out, you… launch it

Set 32. Speculate. True False False True False
Set 35. Speculate. True True True False True
5 ANSWERS 149

What does a soft showing refer to? a poor performance
When you take control of something you…take the reins
Which one of the following terms is considered to be positive? take the
edge off
To ‘take stock’ means to… reflect
When you are near or close to achieving something, you are…in striking
distance
A ‘squeeze’ is… a restriction on spending
Which of these is the odd one out? take the reins
Set 36. Speculate. False True True True. True
Set 37. Speculate. True False True True True
Set 38. Speculate. True False True True True
Set 39. Speculate. True False False True False

If a company ‘turns a corner,’ it… improves its position
If you decide to spend less, you…tighten your purse strings
Which one of these does not relate to reversing your fortunes? turn the
screw
Which one of these terms relates to getting involved in something? wade
in
Which one of these terms relates to adapting your behaviour? trim your
sails
If you are ‘under the cosh,’ you might be described as... stressed
Which one of these terms is a warning that there may be bigger problems
ahead? tip of the iceberg
150 S. HART
Part B
Performance Indicator: So Which Term Should I Employ?

i. C. sour note
ii. D. paper trail
iii. A. garden variety
iv. D. time is of the essence
v. B. punt around
vi. A. take stock
vii. A. picked up the ball
viii. D. take their cues
ix. A. hell for leather
x. A. keep score
xi. D. jumped ship
xii. B. chip in
Works Consulted
Part A Financial Language: Expressions from the Media

Business Live—The Guardian (April 2018–June 2019) https://www.thegua
rdian.com/business/series/guardian-business-live
CITY A.M. Print Editions (Issues 3180–3205)
Financial Times: Print editions (17th May 2018–29th May 2018; 6th July 2018–
13th July 2018; 17th July 2018; 30th September 2018–20th October 2018;
25th October 2018; 3rd November–12th November 2018)
Part B Financial Language: Expressions from Spoken

Exchanges
CNBC. (2019). CNBC Transcript: John Waldron, President and COO, Goldman
Sachs. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/06/cnbc-transcript-john-waldron-
president-and-coo-goldman-sachs.html
FOMC Meeting Transcript. (1988). Federal Reserve Bank. https://www.federa
lreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/FOMC19881214meeting.pdf
FOMC Meeting Transcript. (2013). Federal Reserve Bank. https://www.federa
lreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/FOMC20130320meeting.pdf
FOMC Meeting Transcript. (2014). Federal Reserve Bank. https://www.fed
eralreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/open-board-meeting-transcript-20140903.
pdf
Luyendijk, J. (2011–2013). Voices of finance. Joris Luyendijk banking blog. The
Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/commentIsfree/series/voices-of-fin
ance
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive 151
license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4086-6
152 WORKS CONSULTED
Part C Financial Language: Expressions from the Textbooks

Bodie, Z., Kane, A., & Marcus, A. (2005). Essentials of investments 6e. McGraw-
Hill.
Brealey, R. A., Myers, S. C., & Allen, F. (2011). Principles of corporate finance
(10th ed.). McGraw Hill-Education.
Hyman, D. N. (2011). Public finance: a contemporary application of theory to
policy (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.
McLaney, E. J. (2011). Business finance: theory and practice (9th ed.). Financial
Times Prentice Hall.
Mishkin, F. (2001). The economics of money, banking and financial markets (10th
ed.). Pearson.
Part D Financial Language: Expressions for Written

Assignments
Amini, S., & Singal, V. (2020). Are earnings predictable? Evidence from equity
issues and buyback announcements. Journal of Economics and Finance, 44,
528–562.
Cox, J. (2020). Market fragmentation and post-earnings announcement drift.
Journal of Economics and Finance, 44, 587–610.
Fasipe, O., & Huey-Lian, S. (2020). Real activities manipulation in stock-for-
stock mergers. Journal of Economics and Finance, 44, 570–586.
Hickman, D. C. (2020). Efficiency in the madness? Examining the betting
market for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Journal of Economics and
Finance, 44, 611–626.
Koulakiotis, A., Babalos, V., Kiohos, A., & Kyriakou, M. L. (2020). Long-
run memory in ethical and conventional investments. Novel evidence from a
VAR(1)-FIEGARCH model. Journal of Economics and Finance, 44, 563–569.
Hung, M.-W., & Tsai, W.-H. (2020). Managerial optimism, CEO retention,
and corporate performance: evidence from bankruptcy-filing firms. Journal of
Economics and Finance, 44, 506–527.
McGurk, Z., Nowak, A., & Hall, J. C. (2020). Stock returns and investor senti-
ment: textual analysis and social media. Journal of Economics and Finance, 44,
458–485.
Mohapatra, S., Misra, A. K., & Kannan, M. M. (2020). Risk factors explaining
returns anomaly in emerging market banks—Study on Indian banking system.
Journal of Economics and Finance, 44, 417–433.
Orzechowski, P. E. (2020). U.S. Small Business Administration loans and U.S.
state-level employment. Journal of Economics and Finance, 44, 486–505.
Wakil, G. (2020). Firm size proxies and the value relevance of predictive stock
return models. Journal of Economics and Finance, 44, 434–457.
Index
A Assess, 127, 134, 136

Above board, 2, 3, 10, 79, 80 Asset, 89, 90, 92, 94, 97, 98, 100,
Accepted, 142 101, 103–105, 107–109,
Accordingly, 131 112–114, 116–118, 122, 123
Accrual, 88 Assume, 131, 136, 139
Accrue, 88 Asymmetric, 90
Acquirer, 88, 93 At arm’s length, 2, 3, 85
Acquisition, 87–89, 92, 97, 99 At bay, 2, 3
Across the board, 2, 3, 10, 81, 82 At odds, 2, 3, 10, 11
Add fuel to the fire, 2 At pains to show, 2, 3, 10
Address, 127 At play, 85
After the (closing) bell, 2 At the helm, 3, 4
At the mercy of, 3, 4
Allay concerns/fears, 2
Audit, 90, 121
Ambiguous, 141
Axe fell, 73, 74
Amortise, 88, 89
Annualised, 89
Annuity, 89 B
Anti-trust, 89 Backdating, 90
Appraisal, 89 Backfire, 3, 4, 11
Appreciation, 89 Back out, 3
Arbitrage, 89, 90 Backsliding, 4, 11
Arguable, 143 Backstopping, 4
Argue, 135, 141, 143 Backtrack, 4
Assert, 135 Bad books (in my), 83
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive 153
license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4086-6
154 INDEX
Bail water, 74, 75 Briefly, 132

Baked into, 4 Bring to account, 9
Bake into the cake, 78, 82 Bring to bear, 9
Ballpark, 4, 10 Brokerage, 92
Bang, bang, bang, 86 Buck the trend, 9, 11
Bankruptcy, 90, 96, 112 Building on, 127
Bear, 90 Bull, 92
Bear fruit, 5 Burn a hole (in their pocket), 9
Bear the brunt, 5, 6 Buybacks, 92
Beating off, 86
Beef up, 5, 6
Believe, 136 C
Bellwether, 5, 6 Calculated, 138
Belt-tightening, 5, 6, 10 Callable, 92
Benchmark, 91, 108, 120 Call into question, 9
Benchmarked, 72, 82 Call (someone’s) bluff, 11
Beneficiaries, 91, 102 Call time (on), 11, 19
Beta, 88, 91 Capitalisation, 92
Big players, 86 Capture, 134, 142
Bilateral, 91 Cash in, 11
Bind (in a tough), 5, 6 Caught up, 72
Binomial, 91 Caused/sent ripples, 11, 12
Bit between their teeth, 6 Caveat, 78
Black and white, 73, 74, 82, 85 Cede ground, 11, 12, 19
Black stuff (the), 6 Change tack, 11, 12
Bloat, 6 Changing hands, 11, 12, 19
Blood-letting, 7 Cherry picking, 86
Blowback, 7, 8, 11 Chip in, 74, 75
Bode well/ill, 7 Choke off (demand), 12
Boil down to, 7, 8 Clamp down, 12
Book-to-market, 91, 109 Claw back, 13, 14, 19
Boot out, 7 Clear-cut, 13
Borne out, 7, 11 Clocking (up), 13, 14
Borrowing, 91, 107, 108, 112 Clock (is) ticking, 13, 14
Bottomed out, 7 Close out, 13, 14, 19
Bounce back, 7, 31, 67 Coalition, 92
Bow out, 8, 9 Coefficient, 88, 91, 92
Bow to, 7, 8, 11 Cointegration, 92
Bragging rights, 8, 9 Collateral, 92, 93, 96, 116, 122
Brainchild, 9 Come across, 84
Break it down, 85 Come under fire, 13, 14
Break the deadlock, 8, 9 Commission, 93
INDEX 155
Commodity, 89, 93 Cut ties, 14, 15

Comparables, 93
Compare, 129, 130, 137, 142
Compare apples with apples, 80 D
Compensation, 93, 116 Dampen hopes, 15
Competitive, 93, 120 Dash hopes, 15
Compliant, 93 Deal a blow, 15
Concessions, 94 Debenture, 96
Confirm, 134, 141 Decentralised, 96
Congestible, 94 Decent spec, 85
Conglomerates, 94 Decile, 96
Connect the dots, 13, 14 Decline, 140
Consequently, 131 De facto, 96
Consistent with, 127 Default, 96, 116, 123
Consolidate, 94, 120 Defer, 96
Constraints, 94 Deferral, 96
Construct, 125, 137 Deficit, 96
Consumption, 94 Defined, 138
Contend, 136 Delinquencies, 15
Contingency, 94, 95 Demonstrate, 129, 131, 134
Contractual, 95 Denominated, 96
Contrary to, 131 Depositor, 96
Control for, 140 Depreciate, 97
Conversely, 132 Depreciation, 97
Convertible, 95 Derail, 15, 19
Corollary, 95 Deregulation, 97, 109
Corporate, 95, 101, 122 Derivative, 97, 112
Correlation, 88, 91, 95, 110 Destabilise, 118
Cough up, 13, 14 Detail, 133, 137
Counterparties, 94 Determinants, 97
Covariance, 95 Determine, 128–130, 138, 139
Covenants, 95 Deterministic, 97
Crack down, 13, 14 Devaluation, 97
Creditors, 95, 116 Dial in, 15
Creditworthiness, 95, 96 Dial up, 16, 19
Crimped, 14, 15, 19 Differential, 97
Criticism, 134 Different kettle of fish, 76
Cross-border, 96 Diligence, 87, 97
Crossed wires, 84 Diminishing, 140
Cushion the blow, 14, 15 Dip, 140
Cut a deal, 14, 19 Dipping back, 16
Cut out for it, 73, 74 Disclosure, 98, 101, 114, 121
156 INDEX
Discrepancy, 98, 117 Elasticity, 100

Discrete, 98 Emergence, 126
Discretionary, 98 Employ, 127, 136, 137
Discriminant, 99 Endogenous, 100
Discuss, 137 Endowment, 100
Disincentive, 99, 104 Enhanced, 141
Distortion, 99 Enterprises, 99, 100
Distress, 99 Entrenchment, 100
Diversify, 99 Equally, 126, 131
Divestiture, 98 Equilibrium, 100, 101, 119
Dividend, 98, 114 Equitable, 101
Document, 137 Equity, 100, 104, 117
Does over and above, 85 Essentially, 130
Does the hard yards, 85 Evasive action (take), 18
Doing the rounds, 16, 19 Even keel (on an), 20, 21
Doling out, 16, 17, 19 Even so, 131
Don’t suffer fools, 72 Evidently, 131
Doubled down, 75, 76 Examine, 127, 137
Double-digit, 16 Ex-ante, 101
Double down, 16 Exemption, 101
Dovish, 16, 17 Exogenous, 101
Downgraded, 99 Expenditure, 101
Down the line, 16, 17, 73, 74 Explore, 125, 127, 128, 137
Down tools, 84 Exponential, 101
Drag (on), 16, 17 Exposure, 101–103, 110, 112, 115,
Draw a line under, 17, 18 120, 122
Drawback, 134 Expressed, 138
Draw down, 17–19 Externalities, 102
Draw up, 17, 19 Eye-watering, 20, 21
Dried up, 17, 19
Drive home, 18, 77, 82
Driven by, 17, 18 F
Drum up, 18, 19 Face down, 20, 21
Dummy, 99 Factfinding, 79, 80, 82
Durables, 99 Fall foul, 20, 28
Dwarfing, 18 Fall off a cliff, 80, 81, 83
Fall short, 20, 28
Fall through, 20, 28
E Favourable, 142
Eased, 141 Feather in their cap, 20, 21
Econometrics, 100 Feed into, 20, 21
Efficiency, 100, 109, 114 Feeling the pinch, 20, 21
INDEX 157
Fend off, 21 Go bust, 23, 28

Fiduciary, 102 Go cap in hand, 24, 27
Financiers, 102 Golden handcuffs, 24, 25
Find, 129–131, 133, 135, 142 Go on autopilot, 79, 80, 82
Find their floor, 21, 22 Go to the wall, 24
Firm up, 21 Governance, 101, 103, 104
Fiscal, 102 Green, 24, 39, 40, 77
Fit the bill, 21, 22 Greenback, 17, 24, 25
Fizzle out, 22, 28 Guarantees, 103
Flagging up, 22 Gut feeling, 24, 25, 79, 80, 82
Fledgling, 102
Flex (their) muscles, 22
Flotation, 102 H
Fluctuation, 140 Had a real purge, 84
Flush out, 22 Hammer out, 25
Forecasting, 102 Hardliner, 85
Formulated, 138 Hard line stance, 25
Fragmentation, 102 Hard on the heels, 25
Fraudulent, 90, 102 Hard to square, 25
Free rein, 22 Hash out, 26, 27
Free up, 23 Hawkish, 26–28
Freewheeling, 23, 24 Heading for the door, 84
Frowned upon, 72, 73, 82 Headline-grabbing, 78, 79, 82
Fundamentals, 103 Head off, 26, 27
Fungible, 103 Head south, 26–28
Futures, 87, 89, 90, 92, 100–103, Head up, 26, 27
105, 114, 115 Headwinds, 26–28, 80, 81
Heavy people, 86
Hedge (their) bets, 26, 27
G Hedging, 103
Gain ground, 34 Held up, 27, 28
Gain traction, 23 Hell for leather, 73, 83
Garden variety, 77, 82 Hence, 130, 139
Gather steam, 23, 79, 82 Here, 128–130, 133, 139
Gearing up, 23, 24 Heterogeneity, 103, 104
Get around the rules, 80 Highlight, 135
Get his hands dirty, 85 Hinge on, 27
Get put off, 86 Hit a snag, 29
Give a leg up, 23 Hit the ground running, 86
Give legs, 23, 24, 78, 79, 82 Hit the wire, 29, 30
Go against the grain, 23, 27, 74, 75, Hive off, 29
83 Hold fire, 29
158 INDEX
Holdings, 104, 113, 120 In the firing line, 30, 31, 36, 37
Hold off, 29 In the offing, 30, 36
Holds for, 142 In the pipeline, 30, 31
Hostile, 104 In the right ballpark, 81
Hothead, 79, 80 In the running, 31, 36
Hot on the heels, 29 In the wake of, 31
Hunker down, 29, 37 Intrinsic, 106
Intuitive, 106
Inventory, 106
I Investigate, 125, 127, 128, 131, 133,
Imperfect, 104 134, 137
Implement, 137 Iron out, 31
Imposition, 104 Irrational, 106
In a bind, 80–82 Isoquant, 107
Incentive, 99, 104, 110 Issuance, 107
In charge, 73, 74 Itchy fingers, 31
Inconclusive, 141 It follows that, 140
Increased, 141
Incremental, 104
J
Incumbent, 104
Jumped ship, 77, 83
Incur, 105
Jump ship, 31
Indenture, 105
Jump the gun, 32, 37
Indexed, 105
Indicates, 133, 142, 144
Indicator, 89, 105, 109, 118 K
Indices, 105, 113 Keep a lid on, 32, 33
Inflationary, 105 Keep powder dry, 32
Inflows, 105 Keep score, 79, 80, 83
In good faith, 29, 30 Keep under wraps, 32
Initially, 132, 135 Keep your powder dry, 73, 74
In light of, 126 Kick in, 32
In line with, 29, 30, 127 Kick on, 32, 33, 36
In pole position, 30, 31 Kickstart, 32, 36, 60
In rude health, 30, 31, 36, 37 Kneejerk, 32
Insolvent, 118 Knee-jerk reaction, 78, 82
Intangible, 105, 106 Knock-on effects, 32, 33, 78
Integer, 106 Knuckle down, 84
Intensified, 141
Interestingly, 131
Intermediaries, 96, 106 L
Intersection, 106 Lag, 107
Intervention, 106 Lay off, 33
INDEX 159
Lay to rest, 33 Maximisation, 109

Lean on, 77 Mechanism, 109, 110
Leapfrog, 33, 34, 36 Mediation, 109
Leasing, 107 Merger, 97, 109
Lend weight, 33 Merry-go-round, 84
Lessened, 141 Mickey Mouse, 74, 75
Let, 128, 132, 139 Mild, 141
Leverage, 92, 105, 107, 108 Minimal, 141
Levered, 108, 122 Mitigate, 107, 110
Levy, 108 Mitigation, 110
Liabilities, 100, 108, 109 Mixed, 141
Libor, 108 Mobility, 110
Linear, 121 Moderate, 141
Line (their) pockets, 33 Monetary, 93, 97, 109, 110, 116
Liquidity, 108 Monkey tasks, 72
Litigation, 108 Monopoly, 110
Living on the edge, 72 Mooted, 35
Lock(ed) in, 34 Moral hazard, 110
Lock horns, 34 Morph into, 78, 79
Logarithmic, 108 Motive, 110
Loom large, 34 Move in lockstep, 35
Loophole, 108, 109 Move up, 72
Loose cannons, 74, 75 Mull over, 35
Loosen the purse strings, 62, 70 Multicollinearity, 110
Lose ground, 34 Multilateral, 110, 111
Lose steam, 35 Multivariate, 111
Lose track, 34, 37 Municipal, 111
Lost sight of it, 85 Murky waters, 35
Lukewarm, 35, 37 Mutual, 111, 112
M N
Make a stand, 35 Nearterm, 78
Make the grade, 73 Negligible, 111, 142
Making strides, 77, 78 Netting out, 37, 38
Making waves, 35–37, 73 New blood, 37, 38, 44
Malpractice, 109 Nip in the bud, 37
Marginal, 141 Nominal, 111, 112
Marketable, 109 Nonrecourse, 116
Market-to-book, 91, 109 Nosedive, 37, 38, 44
Martingale, 109 Notably, 132
Maturity, 92, 109, 111, 113, 116 Notation, 111
160 INDEX
Not be drawn (on details), 37 Overhead, 112

Notch up, 38
Note, 133, 136
Not have a clue, 85 P
Notional, 112 Paid off, 41
Panel, 103, 113
Pan out, 41, 42
O Paper trail, 41, 42, 81, 82
Obligations, 95, 96, 99, 112 Parameter, 113
Observe, 135 Parity, 113
Obtain, 135, 139, 141 Park, 42
Offer, 130, 136 Parked, 76
Offset, 112 Partial, 142
Off the back of, 38 Passive, 113
Off the hook, 38, 80, 81 Patents, 113
Off the table, 38 Pave the way, 42, 44
Omitting, 140 Payables, 113
On alert, 78, 79 Pecuniary, 113
On an even keel, 80, 81 Pegged, 42
On a tear, 38, 39, 45 Penny-pinching, 42
On board, 10, 39, 44 Perk up, 42
On course (for), 39 Perpetuity, 113
On record, 39 Pessimistic, 90, 113
On stream (come), 39 Peter out, 42
On the backburner, 39, 44 Phase out, 43
On the back of, 38, 46, 49, 67 Pick up, 43
On the brink, 39, 45 Pick up the ball, 76
On the cards, 39, 44 Pick up the baton, 43, 44
On the front foot, 39, 45 Pitting against, 43
On the hook, 40, 41 Play ball, 43
On the line, 40, 41, 44 Play down, 43
On the radar, 40, 41 Play out, 43
On the slide, 40, 41, 44 Plunged, 140
On the wane, 40, 41, 44 Point out, 126
On track, 40, 41, 45 Pony up, 43
Open-ended, 112 Pooled, 113
Opening salvo, 40, 41 Pop (in value), 43
Optimal, 95, 101, 112 Portfolio, 88, 91, 104, 113, 114
Options, 112 Posit, 136
Outflows, 105, 112 Potentially, 132
Outlays, 112 Precisely, 131
Out of the woods, 40, 41 Predictive, 114
INDEX 161
Priced in, 45, 46 Redemption, 116

Productivity, 114 Red flag, 47, 48
Profitable, 114, 116 Reduced, 141, 142
Projection, 114 Re-examine, 137
Promissory, 114 Regression, 116
Propose, 136 Regulate, 116
Proprietary, 114 Reimbursement, 116
Prop up, 45, 46, 53 Rein in, 47
Prospective, 114 Rejected, 142
Provide evidence for, 135 Reliable, 143
Provision, 115
Remuneration, 116
Proxies, 114
Report, 126, 134, 135, 138
Prudential, 115
Represents, 140
Pull back, 45, 53
Residual, 117
Pull(ing) off, 46
Rest on their laurels, 47
Pull out, 45
Punt around, 79, 80, 82, 83 Retracement, 117
Push through, 46 Returns, 96, 101, 102, 112, 117,
Put on hold, 46 118, 122, 123
Put to bed, 46, 81, 82 Revealed, 126
Put you on the spot, 79, 80 Revenue, 90, 96, 115, 117, 119
Ride a wave, 47
Ride out, 47
Q Riding high, 48, 49
Quantification, 115 Right frame of mind, 84
Quarter-on-quarter, 115 Right to the wire, 48, 49
Quotas, 115 Right up front, 83
Ripped off, 48, 49
Robust, 117
R
Rocketed, 48, 49
Rack up, 46, 53
Roll along, 74, 75
Railroad, 79, 80
Rolling out, 49
Rally (on), 47
Ramp up, 47 Rolling them out, 84
Random, 95, 115 Roll our sleeves up, 74, 75
Ran over many years, 75, 76 Roll up (sleeves), 49
Rap across the knuckles, 47, 48 Root out, 49
Raw, 93, 106 Row back, 49, 53
Reach a watershed, 47 Rubber-stamp, 76
Receivables, 115 Ruffle feathers, 49
Recession, 115, 116 Rule out, 50
Recipient, 116 Run down, 11, 50
Recourse, 116 Run up, 50
162 INDEX
S Sound(ed) out, 54
Satisfies, 143 Soured, 54
Scale(ing) back, 50 Sour note, 54, 80–82
Scarce, 126 Spanner in the works, 54, 61
School of thought, 83 Specifically, 127, 128, 131
Securities, 108, 118 Specified, 139
Sensitivity, 110, 117 Speculate, 118
Sentiment, 117 Speculative, 110, 118, 122
Set alarm bells ringing, 50 Spike, 140
Severe, 132, 141 Spill over, 54, 118
Shadowing, 77, 83 Spin off, 54
Shake up, 50, 53 Splash out, 55, 56
Shave off, 50 Spurred by, 55, 56
Shell out, 50 Square off, 55, 56
Shoot up, 74, 75 Squeeze, 55, 56, 61
Shore up, 25, 50, 53 Stabilise, 118
Shortcoming, 134 Stable, 140, 141
Shortfall, 96, 117 Standardisation, 119
Shot in the arm, 51–53 Stand down, 55–57, 62
Shrug off, 51, 52 Stands for, 139, 140
Sideshow, 79, 80 Starting to bite, 55, 56
Signaling, 118 Statutory, 119
Signify, 140 Stave off, 55, 56
Sign off, 51, 52 Steady, 22, 28, 45, 67, 75
Similarly, 131 Steel, 55, 56
Similar to, 127 Steer clear, 56
Since, 139 Step down, 56, 62
Sit out, 51 Step up, 77, 78
Sits above, 77 Sticking point, 56, 57
Sit tight, 51, 52 Stimulate, 119
Sit within this, 84 Stimulus, 119
Size up, 51 Stochastic, 119
Skewness, 118 Strategic, 119
Smooth over, 51 Streams, 119
Snap, 52 Strength, 134
Snap back, 52, 53 Striking distance, 56, 57, 61
Snap up, 53 Stringent, 119, 120
Snuff out, 54 Strip out, 56
Soft showing, 54, 61 Structural break, 120
Sold on the concept, 84 Stump up, 57
Solvent, 90, 118 Subsidiaries, 94, 120
Soundbites, 85 Subsidy, 120
INDEX 163
Substitutes, 120 Through the grind, 77, 83

Substituting, 140 Throw in the towel, 59, 60, 62
Suggest, 127, 129, 136 Throw their weight around, 73, 74
Supports, 142 Throw your hat in the ring, 60
Suppose, 139 Throw (your) might/weight behind,
Surprising, 143 60, 61
Sussing you out, 84 Ticked up, 60
Swim with sharks, 73 Tie-up, 62, 63
Swing it in your favour, 83 Tighten the purse strings, 62
Systematic, 109, 120 Tight-lipped, 62, 63, 69
Time is of the essence, 81, 82
Tip off, 62
T Tip of the iceberg, 62, 63, 70
Tail off, 57 To bear fruit, 6, 62
Tailwinds, 26, 28 Took off, 62
Take a tumble, 57 To punt around, 62
Take heart, 57 Top up, 62, 63
Take it on the chin, 57, 61, 73, 74 To the tune of, 63, 64
Take stock, 58, 59, 61, 75, 76, 82 Touch and go, 63
Take the edge off, 58, 59, 61 Track record, 63, 64
Take the plunge, 58, 61 Tranche, 121
Take the reins, 58, 59, 61, 62 Transaction, 92, 94, 95, 102, 109,
Take the wind out of their sails, 58 111, 118, 121
Take your cues, 73, 74 Transient, 142
Taking hold, 58 Transparency, 114, 121
Taking their cues, 58 Treasury, 102, 121
Taking their toll, 58 Tricky, 83
Taking up the slack, 58, 59, 61 Trigger, 121
Talk back, 76 Trim (your) sails, 63, 70
Tall order, 59, 60 Trivial, 121
Tangent, 120 Turn a blind eye, 64, 70
Tanked, 59, 60 Turn a corner, 64
Tap into, 59, 60, 81–83 Turn on its head, 64, 70
Tap on the shoulder, 73, 74, 82 Turn the screw, 64, 69, 70
Tariffs, 108, 120 Turn the tide, 64, 70
Tarred with the same brush, 74, 75
Teetering on the edge, 60, 61
Test, 138 U
The likes of, 84 Ugly numbers, 86
Theoretically, 132 Uncertainty, 119, 121
Thrash out, 60 Unconditional, 122
Threshold, 120 Underscores, 128
164 INDEX
Understandably, 131 W
Undertake, 138 Wade in, 65, 66, 70
Under the cosh, 65, 66, 70 Ward off, 65, 66, 70
Under the microscope, 48, 65, 66 Warn off, 66
Underwriter, 122 Water down, 66, 67
Unfavourable, 142 Wave through, 66, 70
Wear off, 66, 67
Univariate, 122
Weathering the storm, 67
Unlevered, 108, 122
Weigh(ed) on, 67
Unreliable, 143
Weigh up, 67, 70
Unsurprising, 143 Whipsaw(ed), 67
Unsurprisingly, 131 Whittling down, 67
Until the dust settles, 65, 66 Wind down, 68
Up front, 65, 66 Wind up, 68–70
Upstream, 65, 66 Winsorise, 123
Uptick, 65, 66, 80, 81 Wipe off, 68, 69
Up to the job, 65, 66 Work against you, 79, 80
Utilise, 138 Work out (at), 68
Work your tail off, 76
Wrangle over, 68, 69
Wring out, 68–70
V Write down, 68, 69
Value-added, 122 Write off, 68, 69
Wrongfooting, 68
Variables, 92, 95, 99–101, 106, 110,
111, 116, 122, 123
Variance, 98, 113, 122 Y
Venture, 122 Yardstick, 123
Verify, 135 Yielding, 114, 123
Violation, 122 Your own man, 86
Volatility, 107, 122, 123 Your patch, 84

A Student&#39;s Guide To The Language Of Finance - Essential Expressions For Business, Finance, And Banking Students (2023)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Student&#39;s Guide To The Language Of Finance - Essential Expressions For Business, Finance, And Banking Students (2023)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Student’s Guide

to the Language of Finance

ISBN 978-981-19-4085-9 ISBN 978-981-19-4086-6 (eBook)

Cover credits: Amana Images Inc/Getty images

This problem is perhaps more apparent in finance and business

Bath, UK Steve Hart

1 Part A: Financial Language—Expressions from the Media 1

Performance Indicator: Sets 11–15 146

Works Consulted 151

Part A: Financial Language—Expressions

The expressions used by journalists, bloggers and content creators in

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Set 1 Financial Language:

Above board In a legitimate and honest way. Conducting affairs in a legal

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

The economic recovery has been widespread. _______

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Bit between their teeth Doing something in a determined and

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Bow out To withdraw or retire from a role or activity.

Brainchild Someone’s original idea or invention.

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR: SETS 1–5

—What phrase can be used when changes are made throughout a

—What is a ballpark figure?

—If you hear that a company is going to be belt-tightening you wouldn’t

—Which one of the following means to ‘reluctantly agree to do some-

—Which one of the following is unlikely to be employed for a negative

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Forecasters predicted that Orion would be investing heavily. _______

Stocks fell on Friday to close out a difficult week for pharmaceutical

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Pharmaceutical companies have been criticised recently. _______

Dampen/Dash hopes To reduce/ruin someone’s hopes or plans.

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Regulators had bad news for the sector. _______

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Orion is looking to limit their expansion plans. _______

Drive home To emphasise a point powerfully or forcefully; make some-

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Orion’s recent tax controversy may not be over. _______

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR: SETS 6–10.

—Which one of these refers to a gain or increase in something?

—If you call time on a project, you…

—Which term should be used to complete the following sentence?

—Which of the following does NOT relate to coming to an arrangement

—Which of the following is not a recognised term?

The leading banks have admitted to falling short on protecting their

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Fizzle out Ending in a disappointing or weak way after a promising

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

FTSE 100 early gains remained steady on Friday. _______

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Orion’s strong performance has not come as a surprise. _______

Held up To endure or continue; to stay strong.

SPECULATE: Answer with either ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Orion is optimistic about next year. _______

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR: SETS 11–15.

—Which one of the following can be used to describe positive growth or

—If you ‘go bust’ you…

—If an idea of yours is beginning to get noticed or praised it is said to

—If you have hawkish tendencies then you favour…

A Student's Guide To The Language Of Finance - Essential Expressions For Business, Finance, And Banking Students (2023)

A Student's Guide To The Language Of Finance - Essential Expressions For Business, Finance, And Banking Students (2023)