Topic: Slump Hits Home, Cities Downsize 

Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Date:   Tuesday, December 22
Time:   15:00 GMT

Language:   English
Level:   Intermediate
Summary - The local impact of the global recession

Warm Up

• Describe the global crisis' impact on your local community

Vocabulary and Definitions (difficult words in video or article):

• word:  slump
• word:  wages
• word:  investigative
  
• word:  festive
  
• word:  tax receipts
  
• word:  decade
  
• word:  ragged
  

Article (Except)

The police department in this city of 200,000 has lost about 10 officers, and is hiring civilians to do investigative work for lower-wages. The children's baseball teams must pay the city $10 an hour to turn on the field lights. The library is no longer open on Sundays.  And, city offices are now closed on Fridays. Even the festive lights of years past no longer decorate the downtown streets this holiday season.

Springfield's tax receipts, hit by the recession, are not expected to recover anytime soon. Mayor John Stevens doesn't believe city services will return to pre-recession levels for a long time, if ever. "We are redefining what cities are going to be," says Mr. Stevens.

Residents do not like the new definition of their city and its related services.  Residents like Homer Gregory, who has lived in Springfield for more than three decades, noticed the city's parks "looking a bit ragged".  He is unhappy that the library cut back its hours and misses the Christmas lights. "It was really beautiful," he says.

Discussion Questions (used to keep the conversation going):

Paragraph 1

• What recent changes did the town make?
• Why are civilians doing some police-related work? What kind of work do you think the city is giving civilians?
• Why do you think the town made so many changes?
• What kind of decorations does your town put up around the holidays?

• What are tax receipts?
• What is the difference between tax receipts and expenditures? When do you have a surplus or deficit?
• Do you believe that most cities' services will not return to pre-recession levels? Provide your logic?
• How are they redefining what cities are?  Provide your own new definition of small and large cities.

• Describe a park that looks ragged?
• Are there any services you miss in your city due to cut backs?  If so, which?
• How long has Homer Gregory lived in Springfield?

Role Play or Activity:   

You are the mayor of a small city.  You are currently running a deficit (tax receipts < expenditures).  List the different services your city offers.  Now list the services you will eliminate or reduce.  Prioritize them and provide your logic.

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December 19, 2009 - Chicago-based LingoPass! LLC today announced the launch of its new Chicago-based Language Exchange Group on MeetUp.com. The group aims to bring together many of language speakers already on MeetUp.com who participate in regular monthly language group meetings held around the city.

According to Chris Titus, founder of LingoPass!, "we are providing a productive forum for language groups on MeetUp.com to meet in-between their regular in-person group meetings. In order to join our Free Language Lessons group, members must add a discussion in their native or target language. Completing the online discussion form takes ten minutes, provides a standardized framework for each meeting, and gives you access to all discussions in all languages for one week. Members simply find a topic to discuss (a short article/video), identify the difficult words, and create some questions to keep the conversation flowing. In short, everyone contributes to the group's progress."

Members are encouraged to add discussions in both the language they are learning and their native language. According to Titus, "the extra effort and critical thought required to create discussions in your target language increases your ability to acquire and retain that new language." If you don't see your language, please request it be added.

Membership to LingoPass! is free and provides members with access to a free audio/visual chat room, language partners, and various other resources. The Chicago Language Exchange group is recruiting native and non-native speakers of many languages around the Chicago area, including Arabic, Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

Monthly meetings will help familiarize new members with navigating the website and adding discussions. Please bring a laptop and headset to meetings. Organizers of other language groups are encouraged to attend and incorporate the LingoPass! Free Lessons program into their groups. Please contact Chris Titus for further information.

To join the MeetUp.com Group - Click Here. To join the LingoPass! Free Lessons program - Click Here. To join LingoPass! on Facebook - Click Here.

About LingoPass!

LingoPass! is a business-oriented language exchange community offering professionals the ability to learn and exchange languages. In addition, LingoPass! offers online group business English conversation classes with a native-speaking executive in the United States.

Contact:

Chris Titus admin@lingopass.com LingoPass! LLC http://www.lingopass.com

Topic: Childhood Obesity is Big Business

Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Date:   Tuesday, December 22
Time:   15:00 GMT

Language:   English
Level:   Pre-Intermediate to Intermediate
Summary - We will discuss food marketing trends in the United States 

Warm Up

• Describe some food related television commercials that are for children in your country

Vocabulary and Definitions (difficult words in video or article):

• word:  to curb / to limit
  
• word:  obesity
  
• word:  saturated fat
  
• word:  to influence
  
• word:  binding
  

Article (Except)

Officials from many federal agencies recommend curbing advertising of foods and beverages that have a lot of sugar, sodium and saturated fat.  The recommendation is related to the growth in childhood obesity.

The proposal says that food companies should only market healthy foods to children.  Congress created the group of agencies to change current marketing standards that influence children's eating habits.  Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz says that the food industry isn't doing enough to limit the marketing of unhealthy foods to children.

David C. Vladeck, director of the FTC's consumer protection bureau, said that the proposals aren't regulations and aren't binding.  He said companies should pay attention because if they don't change food marketing standards, "Congress may decide for all of us."

Discussion Questions (used to keep the conversation going):

• What do the federal agencies want to change?
• Why do they want to change it?
• How will they change it?
• Do the agencies want the food companies to regulate themselves?
• If the food companies can\'t make changes, what will Congress do?
• Do regulations exist in your country for this type of marketing?
• Should similar changes be made in your country?

Role Play or Activity:   

You are a food company executive.  Your best selling product has too much sugar relative to the proposed regulations.  Will you change your product, marketing, both, or do nothing?  Why?

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Topic: Global Emissions Summit

Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Language: English (business)
Level: Intermediate and up

Vocabulary

• curb
• tensions
• to police
• summit
• binding
• substantive
• emissions

Idioms

• Get up to speed / Hit the ground running
• 80/20 Rule
• Get buy-in
• Kick off
• Eyes on the ground / Johnny on the spot / man on the ground
• Checks and balances

Article/Questions

The United Nations proposed that rich countries pay to help poor ones curb pollution, while cutting their own emissions by at least 75% and possibly more than 95% by 2050 -- a suggestion that heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over climate change.

• Why should rich countries pay to help poor countries curb pollution?
• What exactly should rich countries pay for?
• Do you think global pollution increases when a company moves its factory from the U.S. to China?  Why?  Do they have the same regulations for controlling pollution?
• Does anyone really want to reduce their pollution? 
• What are the effects on daily living if you reduce your pollution output?
• When they say a country must reduce its emissions by 95%, what is the measurement?

It isn't clear that the Copenhagen summit will yield a binding agreement on nations' efforts to combat climate changes. The U.N. document is the first official attempt to outline a substantive agreement from the summit.

• If an agreement is reached, what is a key component that must be included?  It is related to your field of work.
• How can a government or global agency, such as the U.N., police something like CO2 emissions?
• What are some checks and balances they could put into place to measure CO2 emissions?
• Would you need men on the ground to measure these things?

Role Play / Activity

On Friday, negotiations continued for a fifth day of the 12-day conference, with ministers from a number of countries directly participating in the talks. The draft proposal is vague in key areas to be discussed late next week, when many world leaders arrive.

• If the leaders agree to sign this deal, what will they need to do back in their countries? (look in the idiom list)
• You work as the chief internal auditor responsible monitoring CO2 emissions in your country.  Develop a plan for monitoring CO2 emissions on a global basis?  Describe the economic impact of other countries not sticking to the agreement.  Use as many idioms as possible from the list above.

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Writing Assignment - Global Warming

 
Instructions

Select a topic or question to write about (below).  Write in your blog on LingoPass!  Write two paragraphs and use as many combinations of the words below. 

Vocabulary

Examples:

• toxic + waste = toxic waste
• environmental + clean up = environmental clean up
• fuel cell + technology = fuel cell technology

Topics / Questions

1. Describe an environmental catastrophe that has happened in your city or country.
2. Describe how you are or plan to be environmentally conscious in the future.
3. What do you think governments should be doing to reduce global warming?
4. Who is most responsible for global warming - governments, companies, or consumers?  And why?
    

Topic: Annual Reviews - The "Puppy Theory"
Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Language: English (business)
Level: Intermediate and up

Vocabulary

• Annual review / Employee review / Performance score (n)
• antiquated (adj) - obsolete, out of style
• feedback (n)
• micromanager (n)
• to implement (v)

Idioms 

• On the same page
• Bent out of shape
• Beyond the call of duty
• Every time I turn around
• Face the music
• To lose your temper

Warm Up Questions:

• Tell me about the worst manager you have had during your career.
  
  - What were some of the things you disliked about this person?
  - Was there anything you liked about this person?
  - How much of your dissatisfaction was related to the job you were doing?

Interview Excerpt

Interview with Carol Bartz (CEO of Yahoo!)
Conducted by Adam Bryant

Question: How do you give feedback?

Answer: I have the puppy theory. When the puppy pees on the carpet, you say something right then because you don't say six months later, "Remember that day, January 12th, when you peed on the carpet?" That doesn't make any sense. "This is what's on my mind. This is quick feedback." And then I'm on to the next thing. : How do you give feedback?

Questions

• List a few pros and cons for the puppy theory.
• I am your manager. After reading the interview, I come to your office very excited about this new theory. I tell you to replace the annual review process with the "puppy theory" method for providing employees with feedback. Using the pros and cons you just listed, convince me why it is a mistake.
• Same roles as above. Now, it is you who has read the article and must convince me to incorporate the puppy theory in our overall review process. It is your choice if you want to replace or modify the annual review.
• Describe the main obstacles to implementing this plan in your culture or organization.

Answer (continued): If I had my way I wouldn't do annual reviews, if I felt that everybody would be more honest about positive and negative feedback along the way. I think the annual review process is so antiquated. I almost would rather ask each employee to tell us if they've had a meaningful conversation with their manager this quarter. Yes or no. And if they say no, they ought to have one. I don't even need to know what it is. But if you viewed it as meaningful, then that's all that counts.

Discussion / Questions 

• Tell me about your relationship with your current manager.
• Describe the last meaningful conversation you had with your manager
• How does he provide feedback?
  • Describe his tone of voice, his approach, etc.
• Tell me about something in your organization that is antiquated and how you might change it. Examples include a procedure we‘ve not talked about, a technology, dress code, etc. 

Additional Conversation Topics

Are you currently managing anybody?

• If yes, what is your management style?
• If no, you are going to develop a management style now. How would you manage employees? Describe how you would handle the following situations:
  
  • First day on the job
  • Giving people new assignments
  • Hiring people - what personality traits or achievements would you look for?
    • List five and rank them from most important to least
  • Resolving conflict between two employees
  • Correcting a problem in someone's work ethic (motivation)

Tell me about a few experiences that have shaped your management style

Name some things that affect a manager's style of management, then rank them from most important to least: (possible answers below)

• His/her boss
• Organization
• Subordinates
• Childhood
• Education or lack thereof

Writing Assignment

Consider Carol Bartz's comments about bad managers.

I also think people should understand that they will learn more from a bad manager than a good manager. They tend to get into a cycle where they're so frustrated that they aren't paying attention actually to what's happening to them. When you have a good manager things go so well that you don't even know why it's going well because it just feels fine.

When you have a bad manager you have to look at what's irritating you and say: "Would I do that? Would I make those choices? Would I talk to me that way? How would I do this?"

When people come to me and say, "I can't work for so-and-so anymore," I say, "Well, what have you learned from so-and-so?" People want to take a bad situation and say, "Oh, it's bad." No, no. You have to deal with what you're dealt. Otherwise you're going to run from something and not to something. And you should never run from something.

Write one paragraph about a bad situation (job, manager, school, etc.) you experienced. Write a second paragraph describing what the situation taught you about yourself or life in general. Use the idioms above in your paragraph

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LingoPass! LLC

http://www.lingopass.com/blogs/

Debt Restructuring Shifts Power from Dubai World's Management

Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Language: English (business)

Level: Intermediate and above

Vocabulary - How many phrases can you create with ‘debt' using the words below?

counseling ∙ management ∙ management ∙ restructuring ∙ service ∙ relief ∙ consolidation ∙ laden

• debt restructuring - the process by which a company adjusts the terms of its outstanding debt (maturity, interest rates, terms & covenants)
• debt consolidation - taking many debts and combining them into one
• debt counseling - providing advice to individuals and businesses on managing their debt.
• debt management - the process by which a company manages its outstanding debt.
• debt service - the act of paying interest on debt. "Company XYZ services its debt every six months."
• debt relief - when debt is forgiven or deferred, typically in bankruptcy court.
• indebted - to have debt or obligation to someone or an entity. This can be used to mean non-financial obligations.
• debt-laden - to have a lot of debt.

Article Excerpt

The debt-laden city-state of Dubai announced it would restructure the debt of its largest corporate entity, Dubai World. The conglomerate includes significant investments in real-estate and ports. The announcement also stated that Deloitte LLP would lead the restructuring effort, providing debt management counseling to Dubai World.

The Financial Support Fund, a government fund set up to manage Dubai's debt, is evaluating the extent of restructuring required. Officials plan to ask lenders to defer World Dubai's debt service requirements until May 30. The temporary debt relief will allow officials time to develop an appropriate debt restructuring plan.  It is also expected that such a plan will shift power from Dubai World's management to the government.

Due to the recent real-estate market crash, the company urgently needs to defer its $3.65 billion real-estate bond that will come due next month.

Questions

• Who or what is Dubai World?
• What has the government of Dubai announced they are doing?
• How is Deloitte LLP going to help?
• Why does Dubai World need debt relief?
• How much debt does Dubai World need to immediately restructure?

Activity

You are the senior manager at Deloitte LLP working on the Dubai World debt restructuring project.

A) What things should you consider when developing an appropriate debt restructuring plan? 

• You should consider Dubai World's source of income, the consistency/reliability of that income, the company's expenses, amount of debt, and value of the assets.

B) Make some recommendation the company should consider.

• Suggestions may include: assets they could sell, finance, or refinance, expenses they may seek to reduce, and other revenue sources not being exploited.

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One in Four Homeowners Is Underwater

Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Language: English (business)
Level: Intermediate and above

Vocabulary:

• Underwater - when a borrower owes more than the home is worth because the home fell in value.
• Home equity = (Home Value minus Home Loan)
• ‘hardest hit' - experiencing the worst of something
• ‘the second shoe to drop' - means more bad news will come making the current situation worse.
• to land - to fall onto
• to saturate - cannot hold anymore. Image: a sponge full of water. The sponge is saturated.
• bloated - at or beyond capacity
• Leverage - Purchase something with debt. You own more assets working for or against you. Leverage can be very good or very bad...very quickly!
• ‘to bottom out' - to reach a bottom and move sideways.

Warm Up Questions:

• Has housing been a good investment over the long-term? Why?
• Is now a good time to buy into housing? Why?
• If you could buy a home today, where would you buy it and what kind of home would you buy?

Article

The amount of U.S. homeowners underwater has risen to 23%, jeopardizing the outlook for a sustained recovery in housing.  According to First American CoreLogic, a real-estate information company based in Santa Ana, CA, roughly 10.7 million households had negative home equity balances in the third quarter. The hardest hit states were Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. Underwater mortgages as a percentage of total mortgages ranged between 45% and 65%.  The high proportion of underwater mortgages is likely to be the second shoe to drop in the financial crisis. Many of these mortgages will land in bank foreclosure and the homes will further saturate an already bloated housing market. Economists don't expect U.S. home prices to bottom out until early 2011 due to a saturated market.

Questions:

• Why is the housing recovery in jeopardy?
• Why is having a mortgage that is underwater a bad thing?
• Which were the hardest hit states? Do you think the amount of borrowers underwater was very high? 
• Valuation is often a relative measure. What should the proportion of underwater borrowers be in a healthy market? Take a guess and explain your rationale. 
• What was the first shoe to drop? Describe the second shoe to drop. Will the second shoe have more of an impact than the first, or just delay a recovery? 
• If you live in Massachusetts, how much of an impact will you feel by a second round of real estate foreclosures in Nevada, Arizona, or Florida?

Activity

You are an investor who believes a second shoe is about to drop. How can you take advantage of this situation? Name different ways you could you profit. Name different ways you could protect your current investments.

Possible Answers:

• Cash: Have cash ready to make purchases after prices fall again. However, it would be best to wait until the market has bottomed out and begins rising again.
• Knowledge: Become familiar with the geographic areas that have high proportions of underwater borrowers. Learn whether your area will suffer the same problems. 
• Protect: Sell any properties ahead of the next fall in prices
• Rental Properties: Lock tenants into longer-term leases (at lower prices if necessary)
• Derivatives: Purchase credit default swaps that bet mortgages fail. This is for more sophisticated investors - typically institutional investors. Yes, these are the securities that got us into this financial mess.

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AmEx's Online Credit Card Processing Revolution

Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Language: English (business)

Level: Intermediate and above

Vocabulary

• online credit card processing
• cutting edge technology
• reloadable
• social media
• slashed
• entrenched

Warm Up Question:

• When you take a trip with miles you've accumulated, how does your credit card company pay for the miles they award you?
• How does your credit card company earn money? We will read about one revenue channel.
• Do you feel more comfortable paying over the Internet if you see a Visa or American Express logo on the merchant's page?

Article

American Express (commonly referred to as "AmEx") announces the acquisition of Revolution Money, an Internet-transaction company, for $300 million. The deal provides AmEx with a reloadable, prepaid product technology that can compete with alternative online credit card processing services designed for social media sites. The company also plans to develop mobile credit card processing solutions in the U.S.

"New payment products and platforms are evolving rapidly and it's important for us to keep identifying cutting edge technologies," said AmEx Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth I. Chenault.

Credit card processing fees, the amount a merchant pays per transaction for accepting credit cards, has long been a source of tension between merchants and credit card processors. To compete with larger, more entrenched companies, Revolution Money slashed its credit card processing fees by up to 75% for merchants.

Questions

• How often do you use your credit/debit card?
• Do you ever use it online? If not, why?
• Why is AmEx making this acquisition?
  Acquiring a cutting edge technology that will expand their business and keep customers making all their purchases (plastic, online, mobile) through the AmEx system, for which they earn a fee on each transaction.
• So, how do credit card companies earn their money?
• Is this expense hidden from the consumer?
  Yes
• How much is AmEx paying for Revolution?
  $300 million
• What do they offer AmEx?
  The ability to retain customers and earn more from their transactions in new media channels
• Can you name a few social media websites?
  Facebook and LingoPass! are examples
• Can you name a few credit card processors?
  Think of the logos you see in stores:
  Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx
• How has Revolution Media competed with these companies? 
  Better service, price, technology, etc.? Price and technology

Activity

You are the CEO of PayPal, a global online credit card processing service that is owned by EBay. For years, your company has operated in a niche industry with little competition. You hear about AmEx's acquisition and realize that a much larger company is going to begin competing directly with you.

• Make a list of three possible actions you could take to protect your business?
  Examples include acquiring new technologies, slashing prices, promotions, etc.
• Before you select one, tell us the pros and cons for each
  For example: How will slashing prices affect your long-term profitability and ability to compete?
• After you select one solution, describe it.
  For example: If it is a promotion, maybe create an advertisement or describe the terms of the promotion. If it is a new technology, what does it do and why is it better than the current technology.
• Lastly, tell us three things you need to consider when implementing the solution
  For example: Will a new technology be disruptive for your current clients?

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Business English: Day Traders Create Commodities Bubble in a Post Crisis Environment

Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Language: English (business)

Level: Intermediate and above

Warm Up Discussion:

• Read the headline above and describe what is happening.  
• Can you guess why a bubble is forming while we are in the middle of a global recession?

Vocabulary (Dictionary: Merriam-Webster)

• day trading - often buying and selling shares of a stock within the same day
• commodities - a product of agriculture or mining (grains, metals, etc.)
• spike - to rise very quickly, almost instantaneously
• overheating - to grow too quickly, creating inflation or an abnormal rise in prices
• cite - to use as support in an argument
• resurgence - renewed growth or interest in something
• sophisticated - complex or having a high level of knowledge
• scarce - not many, not plentiful

Article

Chicago, IL - Nov 16 - Despite a weak economic outlook, the recent spike in commodity prices would lead you to believe that the global economy is overheating. Prices for many commodities are back to pre-crisis levels. Many analysts cite an increasingly volatile U.S. dollar. However, a recent report suggests that a resurgence in day trading activity has given fuel to this rebound. Individual investors have been enrolling to day trading courses to learn the art of day trading. Some trade online from work, while others have left their job to day trade for a living.

Most day traders begin by learning how to day trade stocks. In recent years, individual investors have moved into day trading commodities because there is less risk of corporate fraud, a problem in recent years.  The skills required for day trading commodities are the same as those needed for day trading stocks - technical analysis. Using technical analysis, the trader develops a psychological profile of a stock or commodity by observing its price and volume patterns. As more sophisticated investors have entered the market, trading profits have become scarce with the wild swings in the market. Many investors have lost all of their saving, prompting the government to take action.

Questions

• If you play the stock market, do you prefer day trading or long-term investing?
• If you trade/invest in stocks, how do you decide which stocks to purchase?
  If not, how would you decide?
  Describe your logic when deciding. Do you consider the company's products, sales growth, earnings, management, price charts, etc? If so, what do you look for?
• Why do you think most people begin with trading stocks?
  Stock brokers are easier to find and most people have contact with others who trade stocks.  And, it requires less capital.
• Do you know how commodity prices are related to the U.S. dollar?
  It is an international standard to quote commodities in U.S. dollars (see example above). If the U.S. dollar is weak relative to other currencies, it costs more to buy imported commodities, such as oil.
• Had you heard of technical analysis before? Can you think of other factors a day trader should consider when trading?
  Stocks: Company, industry, and economic news - earnings releases, new product launches, etc.
  Commodities: Economic news and weather forecasts.
• Why is it becoming more difficult to earn profits trading?
  More sophisticated people are trading. Many use computer algorithms to trade.

Activity

Present the student with the following stock chart:

This is a three month chart for Yahoo!'s stock.  Each bar represents one day.

• In one week, where to you think the stock will be, higher or lower?  And, why?
  
  
• Place up/down arrows next to large areas (> 1 week) where many people purchased/sold the stock. 
  How do you know many people were purchasing it?
  - The price was rising. Only Demand > Supply can move the stock higher.
  What happened to the volume?
  - Typically, the volume increases as the price increases
  
  
• Do you see any spikes in volume or price?
  Circle them.
  Do you think it is more important to have spikes in volume on the way up or down?
  
  
• Circle the areas where the stock has difficulty penetrating or pauses?  
  Often the stock moves sideways in these areas.
  Draw a line across the chart at these levels. ($15.50 & $18.00)
  What was the relationship between supply and demand?
   - Supply = Demand
  Stocks have memories...well, the people who trade them have memories and view these levels as significant.
  
  
• With this knowledge, at which prices should I should consider buying or selling YHOO?

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LingoPass! LLC

http://www.lingopass.com